Plaza Cataluña (xixerone.com)
When I was a young man, I began searching for the meaning of life. Along the way, I wrote a travel journal, a mix of prose and poetry, and labelled it Fool’s Odyssey.
I’d decided to go to Barcelona in search of the meaning of life. Who am I kidding? It was because I’d spotted this beautiful girl in London two weeks earlier: Sun-bleached hair, sky-blue eyes. I’d walked cockily up to her, and said, “California, right?”
“Perdona?” she’d replied.
Once I’d suavely removed my foot from my mouth, I discovered Gabriella was, 1) from Barcelona, and 2) delighted to meet an American (go figure). She invited me to visit her in sunny España (which, in fact, looks a lot like sunny SoCal). We were obviously soul mates. There might or might not be a God in heaven, but there definitely was a Gabriella in Barcelona.
It was impossible hitching a ride out of Lyons amid a thousand other outstretched thumbs. So I stopped trying, and gave all my raisins and Bonbel cheese to some skinny Krishna kids who were flat broke and chanted out. We talked about God, or, well, I did. They mostly just ate. Then I found a bus depot, and bought a ticket to Barcelona.
I sat next to a Spanish kid named Daniel, and his grandpa Tito across the aisle. Daniel and I talked a lot at first because it was exciting to be going somewhere, anywhere. But then after an hour, they cut the lights inside and it was dark outside, so we drifted off into, as I cleverly put it, an “eslumber.” To which Daniel replied, “That does not mean anything en español, señor Mitch.”
I doubt if I could ever have so thoroughly mastered Spanish if it hadn’t been for Daniel. The moment we awoke, we began to teach me Spanish. I wrote in my journal:
For ten hours we spoke!
We spoke till we were hoarse
nay, till we were furry
and feathers clung to our throats
and grandpa had to laugh.
And when we stopped we stole
big blue handfuls of grapes
in the south of France.
Then we ate some more Spanish
while the Pyrenees came up and washed over us
carrying us deep into the
castle-dotted seas of Cataluña.
And all the while the autobús
burped and hollered
and punched its way down
the skinny isles of Spanish villages,
through city lanes of verdant green
on walls of powdering stone,
where there were balconies and dresses
and wet undershirts strung overhead
like a festival in the sun.
We finally arrive in Barcelona, the land of la chica bonita
Gabriella!
To read the next episode, click here.
Mitch Teemley 
Stay tuned, eh!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Exactamente!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I just watched your “Healing River” this morning. I still have fibromyalgia symptoms (2 decades of it) and was wiped out by giving a program at a library last evening about Grandma Leora, who lost three of her five sons during WWII and was widowed about a year after the war. So I watched “Healing River” with that still in my head. Very compelling–the actors, the story, the music. Even enjoyed finding the author at the end. lump in throat
LikeLiked by 2 people
Joy, so sorry to hear about your issues with fibro (one of my daughters has had it for about ten years now, so we know how painful and disruptive it can be).
On a different note, I’m so glad you enjoyed and were moved by Healing River! May I encourage you, if you feel so led, to share about it on Facebook, and to leave a brief review at Amazon? (The more reviews it gets, the more they recommend it). Also, you can rate it from 1 to 10 stars on IMDb (link below). Note: IMDb only recognizes the rating if you rate a few other movies, as well. Thanks and blessings. Have a wonderful, healing weekend. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5848326/
LikeLike
What a great story! I can’t wait to read the next installment. I’ll bet your Spanish got “muy better” by the end of the trip, no?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Más o menos. I learned more in three days than I did in two years of high school Spanish–which isn’t saying mucho.
LikeLike
Haha, that’s a delightful read! I was chugging and bumping along with you and Daniel…
LikeLiked by 1 person
;>) Thanks, Hannah.
LikeLike
🙂 🙂 That’s one way to learn Spanish!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Really love this one, Mitch!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Renee!
LikeLike
What a nice journey. Wish I were there to listen to your vivacious talk. And “eslumber” sounds like a word. LOL.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The question is, did Spain and la chica bonita live up to expectations.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wait and see.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll be patient. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some great writing, per usual!👍 Beautiful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Zina!
LikeLiked by 1 person
How lovely! ♥️
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t wait to see where this goes.
LikeLiked by 1 person