Carnaval en Lloret

My arrival here coincided with the Carnival celebration... I´ve gotta tell you, I have to add one more thing that people here know how to do very well... and that of course is partying! I have been so engrossed in my misery lately that I completely forgotten on how capable they are at showing you a great time... that is, if they can keep the bitching at bay!

I was in front of a mountain of cardboard boxes full of needless things, but that you carry them anyway! Probably as a comfort blanket, nothing more... and I couldn´t take it any longer! The walls were kinda tumbling down on me, and I felt totally lost in a sea of bits and pieces from my previous lives! I had a number in my pocket... Ramon! from Thursday night at Moby´s. What the hell! I thought. Let´s give him a call and see what´s in the agenda for tonight!

I doubted he would remember me. After all, it was Aida who made the connection... I was there just for the booze, and surrounded by my usual aloofness! Didn´t pay too much attention to him or anyone else... But, he did remembered me! And the funniest part is that we are neighbors! Who would have thought! We live accross the street from each other, and naturally he offered himself to show me some of the local waterholes... along with their fauna! LOL

It was Carnival. Everybody was in costume! Many did disguised themselves around a theme and did it in bunches. It was a very wild night... a very good one too! Only, I danced and jumped so much that I managed to loose my cellphone, or maybe it was stolen... I don´t really know. Found out the next morning around 8AM when I finally made it to somebody´s home! lol

The bartender of the first tavern we hit

Some of Ramon´s friends

Sergi in costume.... he was supposed to be some kind of truck driver cock sucker from Rumania or something...

More of Ramon´s friends

Snow White and not the dwarfs, but Ramon himself!

Sergi again... of course!

I would have liked to say ¨don´t you just take my word for it¨ and then post the pics I took that night... But, it seems there is a little uploading problem here at the Internet Cafe. I promise you I will try again tomorrow... Cause no matter what, an image is worth a thousand words!

24-7... an unheard concept here in Spain!

I have an upcoming trip to Puerto Rico, but needed to change the date cause it caught me right in the middle of moving to my new place.

What did I do???? I called the airline to cancel my flight. Because that's what you normally do, right? WELL, NO NO NO NO... NOT IN SPAIN!!!!


Something as simple as a 24-7 eight hundred number is an unheard concept here in Spain. It seems really impossible that in this time and age, you'll find a country in the world (not the third world!) that doesn't have the right tools to offer a good Customer Service... But I am in SPAIN!!! and unfortunately, things here don't work that way.

Customer Service???? They don't even know what it means! I kinda got used to the idea that Spaniards are rude and nasty when it comes to deal with public in general. But I've gotta tell you, this is TOO MUCH!!! This goes beyond rude and nasty! This is simple and plain common sense!!! For crying out loud!!!


You would have expected that even in a "third world country", like this fucking country! (but don't even tell them!!!) an American company would have a better understanding of the services they need to provide. Specially, cause it probably has to deal with lots of Americans, like me!!!! used to a FIRST CLASS SERVICE, NO MATTER WHAT!!!! But nooooooo!!! It seems that American Airlines has gotten the same virus that affects the rest of this forsaken place!

I swear! the ham is great, the cheese superb, the espresso hmmm, the paellas... the food in general! Marvelous, wonderful, amazing!!!!! The rest.... IT SUCKS BIG TIME!!!!! I think they are gonna give me an ulcer, if I haven't got it yet!

Oh well, I am gonna take a long hot bath, and I'll get ready to go out and have dinner somewhere... After all, it seems to be the only thing they know how to do well!

"Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Arenys de Mar didn't turned out to be the place I was looking for. One has to kiss many toads before one finds her prince!

Decided to go on with my search, and always on the coast, that's how I met with Gabriella and Sergio. The Argentinian couple that came to live to Spain after many, many years living in the States. It was funny how we instantly clicked!

It was me, as usual, who, and with no consideration at all to anything, (or should I say with the same deference I have received since my arrival here...) I started bitching about this fucked up place called Catalonia, and for that matter but some grades bellow, Spain.

In Sergio I found the perfect ears to deposit all my frustration and despair. He was supposed to show me just a couple of flats. That was something than in any other circumstances would have taken an hour at the most, but in this case, it ended up been a delightfully 5 hour long rendezvous. We even shared a cup of hot Earl Grey, my favorite!

In the end, the business transaction took a second place before what is, and to put it in Bogie's words... "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship".

Gabriella turned out to be as charming and supporting as Sergio. She was the one to take me to Lloret de Mar. When I walked inside the flat, it didn't take me more than a minute to make up my mind! I guess that deep inside I knew I would know it... Know that I was home. The only thing missing is flatware! No biggie, really!

We left Lloret straight to their office in Pineda, where I signed the pre-contract, and today I will finalize the transaction signing the contract with an option to buy! The whole thing couldn't be more perfect, and who knows, if I can really integrate myself, I might end up been the owner of a flat in the Costa Brava!

The other good news are that I might also get a job working with the F1 circuit... in every country that holds the Grand Prix, except for Brazil.

Life is certainly starting to look better for me... which reminds me of a Spanish saying: "No hay mal que dure cien años... ni cuerpo que lo resista". Which basically means that nothing lasts forever, not even the bad times.

Boadas still!!! hahaha

Still am at Boadas! And I am thinking you could probably ask for any kind of cocktail here.... I am sure they would know right away what is it you are asking for, even if it is to just prepare it Boadas' style!

Sipping my second Cosmo now, and I have to admit its sweetness is starting to get to my head! Not enough food today, I guess. But it's OK! After this one I will walk out in style... no walks of shame tonight! lol I'll take a cab and make it home, not the new one though... but it's getting pretty close now! My dream apartment still is in my pocketbook and just an hour away from here!

One great thing about my soon to be new home though... it is IT, the place to be during the summer. I will be smack in the middle of the summer action... and that my friends, that is PRICELESS!!!

Shit! I haven't even made a dent to my second glass and my head feels as light as a feather! Dammit!!!! lol .... I am wondering now about that graceful and stylish exit I had in mind just a few minutes ago... where is it going???? hahahaha

BTW, surprisingly enough, they don't take credit cards here at Boadas... so, if ever in the neighborhood, please do take some cash with you. Otherwise, I see you washing glasses for a couple of nights... meaning it isn't cheap! But totally worth it!

The only thing that could top what I'm feeling right now, would be TT walking in and making a pass at me! hahaha But what the hell am I saying!!!! Must be Boadas' Cosmos speaking! What the hell would a soccer player be doing in a place like this! Although, I wish it could really happen... Anyway, he probably is a prick! I know, I know... I am in love with a body, a smile, and a color! hahaha It would be funny though, if I ever meet him, to find out if he really is worth the time of day... but foremost, if he really deserves me! AHA!

Not that I want to, but the closeness of this place doesn't help... I overhear a conversation between a patron and one of the bartenders, a regular for the familiarity of the exchange... their respective wives don't like flying and the patron has the cure for it... a couple of whiskeys and a Valium!!!! I sure wouldn't want to be in her shoes!!!! The kind of things you can hear in places like this!

I will sign off now, I wanna finish the rest of my drink in private, if you don't mind.

Ta-ta, see ya!

A farewell to Barcelona

I started celebrating too early. The owner of what I thought was my dream apartment is asking for a 2,000 Euros bank guaranty!!! Nevertheless, and since I know I will live in an even better place, I decided to go out in style and celebrate anyways... after all, my just recovered will needs a Cosmopolitan desperately!!

Right now I am at Boadas, the oldest cocktail bar in Barcelona. Established by Miguel Boadas in 1933, the place has remained practically the same since. All thanks to the continued tradition in the hands of his daughter now, who's approximately around 80 years old!!! The business of making people "happy"... literally!

As I write these lines, I am sipping a Cosmo, my favorite drink. I have to say, it isn't at all what I expected, but it isn't bad either. I guess it is a Spanish style Cosmo!. A little bit sweeter than the ones you get in the States, a little bit tangier too, with a subtle orange whiff to it. Different, yes... but not bad, not bad at all.

Mahogany is all over the place. Mahogany is the main characteristic of this picturesque place! It is a very small room, and they told me it used to be even smaller. I don't think it can hold more than 30 patrons at a time, and 25 of them standing up. Aside from the bar, there is a mahogany sill all around the room, for the purpose of putting your drink down. Above it, the room is full of photographs, cartoon likenesses and oil paintings of the founder and his daughter.

Miguel was a man with a very pleasant completion. An oil painting of him catches my attention, a broad smile dominates not only his face, or the portrait, it really dominates the whole room.

Sitting at the curb in the end of the bar, you get the feeling time has stood still. Even the bartenders ware uniforms more appropriate for 1930's fashion than today's. I feel like a time traveler... and right now I am at a place in time where I could see Hemingway walking any minute in and through that door... and we all know how fond was he of alcohol!

It is a farewell to the nights in Barcelona. A "Spanish style" Cosmo farewell!
Tomorrow I will continue my journey in search of the perfect home!

The call

I am on a train. It isn't a destination unknown, I exactly know what I am doing... for a change, lol. Cause it hasn't felt like it lately, but today it is different.

My iPod is on. "Lady in red"is playing, and outside my window I can see the golden lights of the magic hour twinkling over the gentle waves. I will arrive at Arenys de Mar just as the sun starts to come down... I will see the sunset from the terrace of my soon to be new home.

It is funny how life takes you around, plays with you. Sometimes a little, other times a lot! But in the end, and after making you suffer, she'll always give you what you prime for. Funny. Yeah!

I remember myself saying I would some day like to retire to a small town in the Costa Brava with a terrace overlooking the beach. I would then go for a swim any time I felt like... sunbathe with nothing at all between me and the sand, the blue sky or the sea. Breathing my inspiration a bit at a time, mixed in the air that comes from the depths of the Mediterranean... salty, fishy, adorned with pearls and corals. Notes of red, blue and gold. Laced with the waves that brake at my feet... and all that is just 30 minutes away from me now! Hard to believe!

I acted on an impulse. I didn´t even wanted to stay in Barcelona anymore. I was feeling so unhappy, so useless, so impotent! It was as if the city and all it's scum had transformed all of the sudden into some kind of a monster, eating me alive, devouring my will to do anything at all! I had been erased, annulled from existence... a terrible way to go! And then... when I saw the add... I felt the little coves of the Costa Brava calling me. I felt the blood in my veins flowing again, rushing through my heart, pumping my dried out arteries.

I heard the call... and I was answering...

About Spanish Men... Desmystifying the image of the Latin Lover

If any of you out there have ever had the fantasy of a Latin lover... let me just demystify the notion of it.

I know books, songs and movies, and lately Antonio Banderas have a lot to do with the image some have created in their minds about what a Latin lover is or does. But reality can be, and is, quite the opposite!

Since Rudolph Valentino, Latin lovers haven't changed a bit. They still beat women and treat them like objects, really! Everyday I see on the news a new victim of their machismo, and it seems there isn't anything that can be done to stop it. There is no romance when there still is a double standard. It is ok if is the man that goes out at night with his friends, and comes late... or early in the morning, no questions asked. But if it is the woman who does it... well, it is a very different story. The least it will happen, is she will find her pajamas on the sofa, along with her pillow! The worst can easily go from finding the door bolted and impenetrable, to all her belongings in the street... if not death in the worst case scenarios!

The funniest happens after a brake-up. Just like in the movie with the same name, you still have to tolerate each other cause neither party wants to move out. Women are more civilized when it comes to that. Men on the other hand, don't take it as easy as you would think they would. They can tell you they don't love you anymore, they can tell you it is over, but they will also tell you they are not jealous if you go out and come home late... but they will want to know every detail about your little escapade. So, you'll better have your story straight! Fortunately, it is easy to turn them around... Let's face it, we are better liars than them! If they do anything they weren't supposed to do, they will come home with flowers or some sort of a gift they would never give you if not out of pure and sheer plain guilt! Thus, they are always gonna be caught infraganti! Besides, they will always start giving explanations without been asked to give them... and that my friends, is a dead giveaway!

I can only feel amused by the things men will be willing to do or say, just to deny they aren't in love anymore... In some cases it might be true, but when it comes to Latin lovers, it is impossible to let go. Once you've been owned by one of them, you'll always be their property. No matter what you do, no matter how far away you go, they will always feel you have betrayed them!

Tonight I was lucky! I just found my pajamas and sleepers in the living room. My pillows and my iPod over the sofa! Tomorrow, who knows what it will happen! Cause no matter how much a man thinks I am some kind of an object that can be owned, I will never cease to be who I am... my own woman, my own person!

I wonder, what will he want to know in the morning??? lol