I checked into my hotel, and didn’t sit down very long before I grabbed my purse again and went out the door to catch the metro to my old apartment. I had been keeping my room there, and because I hadn’t given ample notice to my roommate Pam before I left for Valencia, the room had been mine for all of November and December. I still had some things to pack up. All my bedding needed to be sent to Valencia. As well I still had a few articles of clothing, my Rubbermaid container with my micro-current machine, and some toiletries. And when I arrived in Barcelona I knew this task was something that I wanted to get out of the way immediately. Why? Because Ries was going to be coming to meet me in Barcelona, and I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could. Obviously.
Lous, Pam, and Lucas
At the apartment packing went smoothly and I was actually able to hang out for awhile with Pam, Lucas, and Pam’s mom Lous who was in from Amsterdam. We drank vodka/tonicas from the lemon vodka I had left there in the freezer, and munched on Christmassy type snacks: olives, crackers, cheese, ham. We watched The Lord of the Rings. It felt like a true seasonal get-together with friends.
The next day was the 27th, and Ries flew into Barcelona to see me. I was super excited and of course didn’t sleep very much the night before. I went out to El Prat to meet him, and I watched as he came through the gate with a huge smile breaking across my face. He seemed as nervous as I was, and was searching through the crowd to find me. Finally he was only feet away from me and I practically knocked him over as I collided with him in an embrace that was one of the sweetest hugs I’ve ever had. Our reunion was awesome - we just stood there and held one another in deep silence for a few minutes with our eyes closed. Then our foreheads finally touched and we stayed like that for probably a couple more minutes, quietly talking to one another, damp eyes and all. I actually had a hard time keeping myself from climbing all over him right there in the airport, I was so happy to see him!
Standing on our balcony in the sunshine
Back at our hotel at Placa de Catedral, we stood on our balcony and watched the crowds walk by. The weather has been fantastic in Barcelona. It's been a little rainy at times, but warm. At Christmas time the energy is very cool, renewed almost, as hordes of tourists come from all over Europe for a quick Christmas getaway to a city that’s relatively warm.
Goofing off in front of the camera, as usual!
The weather was so fine on the day Ries came in that we spent the majority of the day walking arm in arm, playing in the streets of Ciutat Vella, the Barri Gotico, and Riberia.
We ate bocadillos standing up against a sunny wall, and then meandered in the direction of the Maremagnum at the Port. I was hoping that my friend, the artist Vincent Miro, would be in his usual spot, and lo and behold he was! I surprised him a little I think, and asked him if he remembered me. He gleefully told me that of course he did, and we gave one another a warm hug and kisses to both cheeks. I then introduced him to Reis, and they started to chat in French. It was really nice for me to introduce Ries to Vincent. I am so fond of our friendship and of course I love his art work. It’s funny: the last time I spoke with Vincent I had to pull out my dictionary many times in order for us to complete the conversation. And I also didn’t understand much of what he said to me. This time, I understood everything and we chatted easily together. It was great to see him again, and I’m glad I got the chance to say “hasta luego” to him. After that, Ries and I continued strolling around the Port and at one point just felt like sitting and hanging out in the sunshine. Finding a bench on a busy, busy December Day would normally have been impossible, but both of us spotted a vacant spot smack dab in between two other couples. Reis was like “Quick, before someone else gets there!”, and I giggled and took him by the hand, saying “Run!” And with that we sprinted over to the bench and plopped ourselves down on it, laughing outloud and saying "You don't mind if we sit here do you??", shocking and surprising both of the couples on either side of us. A minute later they were smiling with us. We were totally oblivious to the scene we had just caused. Being that we’re both Elementals, it’s clear that we like to laugh and have fun, and can probably seem a little over the top when we’re together. We sat in the sun and whispered to one another, talked about our feelings, our fears, and the sun just kept beating down on us. It was a perfect afternoon. I had to keep reminding myself that it was the end of December! Then, almost at the same time, we decided it was time to keep on moving (it is difficult for two fairies to sit still for very long). We left the sunny bench in the Port to just let our feet take us wherever they wanted for the remainder of the afternoon. I showed him the little square that was infamous for the executions back in the 30’s, and he showed me a perfect, very out of the way place where he wanted to go for dinner later on. But our senses were heightened and we were kids in a candy story, marveling at all that beautiful Barcelona has to offer. Such a great city this is!
We wandered aimlessly, laughing and joking and getting reacquainted, until we got hungry again. I can’t tell you what time that was because, like it was for us in Amsterdam, the time just seemed to slip away. We seem to go by the sun first and secondly by our growling stomachs! All else is totally unplanned. We found our way back to one of the tapas bars that we went to the very first time we met in Barcelona, Bilbao Berria.
Being back there with him was super special. And he still preferred to eat tuna, while I went back to munching on asparagus wrapped in bacon. Our conversation was ever changing. We both had decided that we were going to take a good look at our relationship when we met in Barcelona, and so sometimes it was difficult. It’s not easy to be real, to express exactly what you want and how you feel with someone who you don’t know very well. It takes a lot of work and perseverance. And most of all it takes a great desire of each person to want get to know one another. So there were moments that were difficult, where we had to choose our words carefully to hopefully ensure the other person understood what we meant. This is even more of an issue for Ries who speaks English at an advanced level. He sometimes needs to take more time to search for the appropriate word. But if he’s got something to say then I definitely want to hear about it. It is such a treat being with a man who wants you to get to know him and opens himself up enough so that you can, and who wants equally to get to know you. So we put a lot of energy into communicating with one another. But right after the intense moments, there were moments that were super fun. Ries is a man who knows how to laugh at himself, and who knows that that having fun is equally as important as the hard work and intensity that goes into building a true relationship. In this department, we definitely have the same attitude, and I think he is super refreshing, intelligent, and funny.
On the way back to our hotel for a siesta, we stopped to listen to the 3 piece band that was playing in the street close to our hotel. Suddenly, Ries grabbed me by the hand and spun me around in a dramatic gesture, wanting to dance. I laughed out loud and followed his moves, and we danced arm in arm in the middle of the street, crowds of people being forced to maneuver around us, and we didn’t care what anyone thought of us. When we looked around a few minutes later, several other couples had followed suit. There we all were, dancing in the streets of Barcelona on a sunny, warm afternoon in late December. Fantastico!
Ries wanted to take me to this restaurant called Cuatro Gats, which actually was only just around the corner from our hotel. Cuatro Gats is a modernista restaurant that has been open since the late 1800’s. Complete with a piano player and violinist, Cuatro Gats was created to be a tavern that offered affordable meals and live music, and was said to be frequented by Picasso, Gaudi, and other bohemian type artists, musicians, and architects. The food was awesome, the ambiance even more awesome. I think we must have dined there for at least 3 hours, enjoying each other’s company, talking, drinking rose wine, and applauding the pianist. Heck, we would have gotten up and started dancing together again had there been room enough in the crowded restaurant for that.
Cuatro Gats!
I put my foot in my mouth just a little after dinner though. I suggested we "go Dutch", and then instantly realized what I'd said. Both my hands flew to my mouth, and Ries was like "what's that? Go Dutch?", and I couldn't help it, I started laughing and apologizing at the same time. Couldn't believe I said that! ha ha!
After dinner and tipsy from a bit too much rose, we went back to the hotel room and sang Christmas carols and lyrics from special songs that we could each remember, me singing some of the classic songs from the movie Moulin Rouge, him sharing his favourite tunes by logging into youtube. I admit I didn’t recognize too many of his favourites. Such different worlds we live in, Canada and Holland.
When Ries and I are together, we can’t rest. The entire time we’re just running on each other’s energy. This weekend was no different. These past couple of days together have been fun and very eye-opening for us. We discovered little quirky idiosyncracies about one another.
Ries, you always make me laugh!
The next morning, and on very little sleep, we pulled ourselves out of bed to appease our growling stomachs, and to start the day that I had promised would have to be firstly about administration. We went to a little restaurant across the Placa and drank too many café solos and had a nice breakfast. Ries browsed over his favourite English newspaper, while I read through the columns of a Spanish one, something I’ve now grown fond of doing. After breakfast I was on a mission. I needed and wanted to get the last of my packing out of the way so that I could spend the remainder of my time with him in Barcelona having fun – not having responsibilities. I took him out to my barrio, Eixample Derecha, via metro. While waiting for our train, Ries again spontaneously took me in his arms and started dancing some sort of Dutch waltz, as if he’d heard the melody that just popped into his head and needed to follow it. I fell in step with him instantly, and there we were on the platform at the metro station dancing arm in arm all the way from one end to the other, him saying “one, two, and three… one, two, and three…” and me alternating counting with him and giggling at the same time, concentrating on the steps. Playtime is all the time wherever Ries is concerned, and I like it! I looked up and caught a woman with a big grin across her face starring at us. Ha! We got off at Sagrada Familia and walked the route that I used to take to my Spanish classes everyday. He wanted to see what my life was like, and I was touched by this little touch of sentimentalism. Ries has a fantastic way of showing me that he respects my journey. He asks me lots of questions about myself, my views, and the ways I’ve come to be the person I am. I really dig that. And let’s be honest: who wouldn’t?
I love those shoes!
We grabbed my two large bags for mailing and went and stood in line at the Correo (post office), and things went relatively smoothly. The clerk suggested that I wrap paper around my packages, so I had to sit on the floor at the post office taping up my bags. If it wasn’t for Reis’s help I could have made a real mess of things, trying to wrap up a 15 kg bag to send back to Valencia, and a smaller one to Vancouver. He was very adamant about helping me out. At one point I almost flipped out on him, but instead reined in on that old habit and said “Please Ries, this is my ‘stuff’ and I need to take care of it in my way…” He nodded his understanding and took a step back, and let me lead my own way through my administrative stuff. He supported me by being there to back me if I needed it, and well, physically he helped me because the bags were kind of big. And then he only stepped in when he absolutely saw that things could be done in a better way. It’s hard, I have a lot of pride and I’m stubborn. So sometimes I don’t want to hear or see things in other ways, ways that actually could be wiser. But I’m proud of myself too, for having taken care of all my “crap” while being over here and for having done it MY way. But a man likes to help. What kind of a woman would take that basic need away from him?
After the post office, we briefly went back to my little apartment on Calle de Corcega to say “Adios” to Pam, and to hand back my keys to her. I will miss Pam – she is a good friend of mine now. She knows me in a way that none of my friends in Vancouver could know me. She has been there during the deliciously magical time in my life. She is special.
Back at the hotel, we had the intention of taking a siesta and chilling out from our “administrative” morning, but did that happen? Of course not! We couldn’t stop talking with one another, playing music, sharing stories, goofing and laughing. And with all the energy between us still waiting to be unleashed, we threw on our boots and went out for another full day and evening of strolling through the streets of the Barri Gothic. I have tons of pictures to prove it!
The Barri Gotico
Ries showed me the Palau de Musica, and I was so impressed by it. By the time we got there it was closed, but we got some great pictures of the exterior. What a striking building. Fantastic!
At the Palau de Musica
After hours of walking hand in hand through Barcelona together, and running on very little sleep, I was just about ready to crash by the time we got back to our hotel. But of course we were hungry. Again. So we gathered up the last of our momentum and went and found yet another place we knew, Café Schilling. This is a great little bar where Ries and I chatted long into the night the first time we met here in Barcelona, and we were squealing like two little kids when we found it again. We grabbed a seat at the bar, him drinking Heinecken and me taking Cava for a change. We ordered hamburgers and danced in our seats to the funky house music they were playing. We mingled with the couple from Jordan sitting beside us. We flirted, we laughed, we imagined ourselves being a part of one another’s future. We giggled, we cried, we felt insignificant and special all at the same time. This is what our entire time together consisted of. I am alive when I’m with Ries. I know I said it before, but I need to say it again. He taught me how to love again, and made me realize that it is totally possible to mend a broken heart. At a time when I was beginning to wonder whether it would be possible for me to ever feel anything for anyone ever again, he is a blessed gift to my life, and a well-deserved addition to my heart.
This morning when we said our goodbyes, we got misty-eyed but we didn’t cry. I think we were just too darn happy to cry, or at least I was. What a fantastic time we’ve spent together. In the future, I know that whatever time I do get to spend with Ries will be magical, intense, deeply genuine, energizing, and a ton of fun. There isn’t a woman in the world who wouldn’t want this kind of romance in her life again. He makes me feel strong, and he reminds me that I am totally capable of having brighter days in front of me.
Gracias Ries por todo! Te quiero mucho.
Charleen xoxo
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