Today was the day, Friday, Aug 29th, 2014. It was Miguel's 30th birthday. This was the date that he set for himself to reach a goal. He promised himself to reach Europe, to of traveled outside the USA, by his 30th birthday and I promised to help him reach that goal. We did it. We're in Barcelona, Spain, Europe for his birthday. I wanted him to have a special day, even though each day should be special since we're alive! I wanted to do something special. We planned on a weekend in Sitges for him.
Before we traveled, I committed to a birthday project. I was able to get two tiny notebooks. Seriously, they were small. Think of four quarters in your hand. I did not go to sleep that night. I based what I was doing on our anniversary date, July 1st, 2013. I found 7 poems to use, I wrote one long thoughtful message, and did a cutesy thing about 13 things I love about him - switching from his physical features and his inner self. I filled each page with carefully crafted words, thoughts, and drawings. I wish I could share, but it was all for him. He loved it! I gave it to him before we left for the beach.
For breakfast, our roommates Claudia and Aldo treated both of us to a birthday breakfast at a restaurant called Marmalade. It was one of two restaurants, the other being called Milk. It had a traditional American/English breakfast that we enjoyed. Fresh juice, fruit, bacon, eggs, potatoes, and it was enough to stuff ourselves! Claudia and Also provided thought provoking conversations and their wonderful company. We do miss those two!
We traveled to Sitges to see the sun set as we walked towards our first ever hostel to spend the night. We booked his room and had delicious sandwiches, made by yours truly. That evening was beautiful. People laughed as they walked the streets, the sun drifted to sleep behind the waves, and bats swirled around to rid us of pesky bugs (got to love them). His hostel was close to the beach, quiet, clean, and affordable. We were very happy with our choice! The only thing that was bittersweet was my departure. Miguel was due for some Miguel time, in fact for two days! I owed him. (Couples, you know how great it is to have your own space, sometimes.) Well, we both didn't want to leave each other, however, I knew he would enjoy himself. Plus, I was returning the next day to be with him. That was the plan....but plans can change.
Early in the morning after I was asleep from staying awake through most of the night due to a lack of a warm, cuddly husband, Miguel walked into the bedroom. I was shocked! "Hunny!" Miguel quickly answered my unspoken 'What happened?' with, "My phone was stolen." NO! OH, NO! Miguel rushed back to try and track his phone with the computer but couldn't get inside the flat's building since I had the keys. He yelled for me for an hour. I didn't hear him due to the ear plugs blocking any sound. :( We were both so upset. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt or his passport was stolen. We walked through the few things he did lose, but most of what he had on his phone was backed up. His identity wasn't stolen, nor our money taken. Most was replaceable, but a few photos.
Miguel was at a crowded bar and he already had one beer. He was on his second when he left their doors to talk with people outside and reached for his phone....it was gone. They must've pickpocketed him. His phone is so slim and smooth that I wasn't surprised he didn't feel anybody delicately slip it out. >:-I We were angry, upset, and hurt. A phone is a personal item and why did this have to happen on his birthday! I was livid.
We rushed back to Sitges to report his phone being stolen, but we were told that it was long gone by now. We were also trying to track his phone on my own phone via the internet and it didn't appear on the screen. Online, we deleted all the information on his phone. We had to be safe. I was not going to leave mi esposo's side. We ate breakfast, which was great at this hostel. We napped in the hostel from a day of no sleep. We then tried to enjoy the rest of the day. It was gone and Miguel needed to be distracted from that fact.
That weekend, we met many interesting people. We met an Aussie named Nicole who did research on curing cancer, a Portuguese guy teaching languages in Germany, and a Dutchman nanotechnologist named Baas. Geez, what am I doing with my life? All of them were lovely people and fun to talk with about cultures, the world, traveling, and aspirations. I mentioned to the Portuguese guy that I wanted to be a novelist and he asked me, "What's stopping you?"
"Well, I need an education."
"No, you don't. Just write."
"Well....I....wow, you're right. I just want to improve my writing and feel secure with myself. That's why I want to have a writing degree."
"I get that, but you don't need a degree to write. I'm giving you my email. You're sending your first chapter to me in the beginning of October."
I was stunned. No one had ever asked for that...no, demand. Plus, he is right. I just need to write. I need to finish.
Anyways, we had a lot of fun that weekend with plenty of drinking and dancing with our foreign hostel buddies. After the clubs closed, we walked back through a quiet Sitges with cats darting here and there from homes, which we liked seeing.
There was one thing wrong in the hostel....there was one man who snored....and grunted....and choked while he was sleeping. It was a disturbing thing since most of it was simultaneous. That was only one night to withstand. Most people in the room switched the next day.
Sunday - we walked to Sitges' reknowned gay nude beach, which was first recorded in 1930. Along the path, we started seeing clues in rainbow colors leading to the beach. This was my first nude beach, let alone it being gay. People who know me in person know that I have transformed my body in a few years time and I do not have the greatest body image. When there, my body was still a little saggy from the rapid weight loss, but after trying to pitch our beach tent (an actual tent, guys) I went for it and walked across the beach, dodging rocks, and experienced the clear Mediterranean waters and smooth sand underneath nude. The sea was perfect, the rainbow flag flied, and everyone was accepting. It was a freeing experience. I just needed a nudge. Like other things in my life, just do it! I'll admit that I was still self conscious because of the better bodies out there, thought there were some skeletons out there that made me feel better.
I'm glad that we were there all day. We saw our Dutch friend by coincidence and made a new friend named Keith. Keith happened to be an army cook in London, one of our destinations. We chatted about English life and that we were to be there by November or December. Of course, being us, we made a new friend and have been invited to stay there!
Keith was such a nice guy. We admitted we weren't ready to head back to Barcelona, yet. He invited us to his hotel room to spend another night since his roommate returned to England for an emergency. He had three extra beds and he wanted some company. That night we partied with our British friend and drank some new alcoholic drinks after a lovely dinner at Parrots.
We were awake for another gorgeous sunrise. This one was different. The view from the hotel room was mountains in front of you with the beach to the right and the sea outstretching even further. The sun rose behind the mountains and I saw the sun's light flash on the horizon and sea before it bathed the town and beach. Pink, red, purple, orange, and white mixed to form our morning's recognizeable blue sky. We didn't want to leavea nd we asked why we didn't visit earlier. We could easily return.
Before leaving Keith, he treated us to breakfast. Some yummy Spanish tortillas - onion, eggplant, and ham. We said our temporary goodbyes and assured him we would be in touch. We soon returned to Barcelona for our last days before we left for Scotland, but we did have one more place we wanted to visit - La Sagrada Familia. That'll be my next post, guys! Write to you soon.
Before we traveled, I committed to a birthday project. I was able to get two tiny notebooks. Seriously, they were small. Think of four quarters in your hand. I did not go to sleep that night. I based what I was doing on our anniversary date, July 1st, 2013. I found 7 poems to use, I wrote one long thoughtful message, and did a cutesy thing about 13 things I love about him - switching from his physical features and his inner self. I filled each page with carefully crafted words, thoughts, and drawings. I wish I could share, but it was all for him. He loved it! I gave it to him before we left for the beach.
For breakfast, our roommates Claudia and Aldo treated both of us to a birthday breakfast at a restaurant called Marmalade. It was one of two restaurants, the other being called Milk. It had a traditional American/English breakfast that we enjoyed. Fresh juice, fruit, bacon, eggs, potatoes, and it was enough to stuff ourselves! Claudia and Also provided thought provoking conversations and their wonderful company. We do miss those two!
We traveled to Sitges to see the sun set as we walked towards our first ever hostel to spend the night. We booked his room and had delicious sandwiches, made by yours truly. That evening was beautiful. People laughed as they walked the streets, the sun drifted to sleep behind the waves, and bats swirled around to rid us of pesky bugs (got to love them). His hostel was close to the beach, quiet, clean, and affordable. We were very happy with our choice! The only thing that was bittersweet was my departure. Miguel was due for some Miguel time, in fact for two days! I owed him. (Couples, you know how great it is to have your own space, sometimes.) Well, we both didn't want to leave each other, however, I knew he would enjoy himself. Plus, I was returning the next day to be with him. That was the plan....but plans can change.
Early in the morning after I was asleep from staying awake through most of the night due to a lack of a warm, cuddly husband, Miguel walked into the bedroom. I was shocked! "Hunny!" Miguel quickly answered my unspoken 'What happened?' with, "My phone was stolen." NO! OH, NO! Miguel rushed back to try and track his phone with the computer but couldn't get inside the flat's building since I had the keys. He yelled for me for an hour. I didn't hear him due to the ear plugs blocking any sound. :( We were both so upset. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt or his passport was stolen. We walked through the few things he did lose, but most of what he had on his phone was backed up. His identity wasn't stolen, nor our money taken. Most was replaceable, but a few photos.
Miguel was at a crowded bar and he already had one beer. He was on his second when he left their doors to talk with people outside and reached for his phone....it was gone. They must've pickpocketed him. His phone is so slim and smooth that I wasn't surprised he didn't feel anybody delicately slip it out. >:-I We were angry, upset, and hurt. A phone is a personal item and why did this have to happen on his birthday! I was livid.
We rushed back to Sitges to report his phone being stolen, but we were told that it was long gone by now. We were also trying to track his phone on my own phone via the internet and it didn't appear on the screen. Online, we deleted all the information on his phone. We had to be safe. I was not going to leave mi esposo's side. We ate breakfast, which was great at this hostel. We napped in the hostel from a day of no sleep. We then tried to enjoy the rest of the day. It was gone and Miguel needed to be distracted from that fact.
That weekend, we met many interesting people. We met an Aussie named Nicole who did research on curing cancer, a Portuguese guy teaching languages in Germany, and a Dutchman nanotechnologist named Baas. Geez, what am I doing with my life? All of them were lovely people and fun to talk with about cultures, the world, traveling, and aspirations. I mentioned to the Portuguese guy that I wanted to be a novelist and he asked me, "What's stopping you?"
"Well, I need an education."
"No, you don't. Just write."
"Well....I....wow, you're right. I just want to improve my writing and feel secure with myself. That's why I want to have a writing degree."
"I get that, but you don't need a degree to write. I'm giving you my email. You're sending your first chapter to me in the beginning of October."
I was stunned. No one had ever asked for that...no, demand. Plus, he is right. I just need to write. I need to finish.
Anyways, we had a lot of fun that weekend with plenty of drinking and dancing with our foreign hostel buddies. After the clubs closed, we walked back through a quiet Sitges with cats darting here and there from homes, which we liked seeing.
There was one thing wrong in the hostel....there was one man who snored....and grunted....and choked while he was sleeping. It was a disturbing thing since most of it was simultaneous. That was only one night to withstand. Most people in the room switched the next day.
Sunday - we walked to Sitges' reknowned gay nude beach, which was first recorded in 1930. Along the path, we started seeing clues in rainbow colors leading to the beach. This was my first nude beach, let alone it being gay. People who know me in person know that I have transformed my body in a few years time and I do not have the greatest body image. When there, my body was still a little saggy from the rapid weight loss, but after trying to pitch our beach tent (an actual tent, guys) I went for it and walked across the beach, dodging rocks, and experienced the clear Mediterranean waters and smooth sand underneath nude. The sea was perfect, the rainbow flag flied, and everyone was accepting. It was a freeing experience. I just needed a nudge. Like other things in my life, just do it! I'll admit that I was still self conscious because of the better bodies out there, thought there were some skeletons out there that made me feel better.
I'm glad that we were there all day. We saw our Dutch friend by coincidence and made a new friend named Keith. Keith happened to be an army cook in London, one of our destinations. We chatted about English life and that we were to be there by November or December. Of course, being us, we made a new friend and have been invited to stay there!
Keith was such a nice guy. We admitted we weren't ready to head back to Barcelona, yet. He invited us to his hotel room to spend another night since his roommate returned to England for an emergency. He had three extra beds and he wanted some company. That night we partied with our British friend and drank some new alcoholic drinks after a lovely dinner at Parrots.
We were awake for another gorgeous sunrise. This one was different. The view from the hotel room was mountains in front of you with the beach to the right and the sea outstretching even further. The sun rose behind the mountains and I saw the sun's light flash on the horizon and sea before it bathed the town and beach. Pink, red, purple, orange, and white mixed to form our morning's recognizeable blue sky. We didn't want to leavea nd we asked why we didn't visit earlier. We could easily return.
Before leaving Keith, he treated us to breakfast. Some yummy Spanish tortillas - onion, eggplant, and ham. We said our temporary goodbyes and assured him we would be in touch. We soon returned to Barcelona for our last days before we left for Scotland, but we did have one more place we wanted to visit - La Sagrada Familia. That'll be my next post, guys! Write to you soon.