I know a girl in Barcelona, and I wondered if she was going to meet me at the airport (I rather hoped she would; I was hoping for a guided tour of the city.)
She was, alas, not there. However, a man in a sharp suit was there with a sign for "Snr Newly".
"'s me" I said, staggering in his direction. In broken English, he asked me to follow him (I do know a little Spanish, but even the worst speakers of English in Spain put me to shame.) So follow him I did. To a stretched silver Mercedes Limosine. Inside was my friend; she'd pulled some strings upon learning of the hotel plight and arranged for transportation in style. A chilled bottle of Cava was waiting in the car.
I was, I confess, pathetically grateful.
The hotel I was to stay at had suffered a power failure, not caught fire. However, staying in it wasn't an option. So my friend had arranged an alternative (having friends fluent in the language is always a bonus) but first had a surprise in store.
As if the chauffered Mercedes wasn't surprise enough.
We were to visit a club called 'Carpe Diem' on the seafront. I was told it would be a hefty hit to my credit card, but would be worth it. It certainly was; I can honestly say I've never been anywhere like this before. We ate in a private-ish lounge area surrounded by drapes and cushions, eating horizontally is probably not good for the digestion, but scores highly on the hedonism and decadence stakes.
Another bottle of chilled Cava appeared and disappeared.
An Asian lady named Glenda arrived and gave me an hour long back and head massage. It certainly beats other places where one is harassed by rose sellers or bad violinists.
And then, regretfully, I left. The club had turned into a full-on dance venue; but with head starting to spin with the fizzy wine and dubious chocolate drinks, I needed sleep.
I paused on the way back to look at the dancing fountain in front of the National Palace. I'm told they have opera and classic nights. When I was there, the water was blasting and fizzing in time to Queen ("I want to break free".) When Whitney Houston ("And I-ee-I Will Always Love Yoooooooo") became the tune of choice I knew it was time to sleep.
For what would tomorrow bring?
