10 December 2021 Up early. Barcelona time lasted a day. The gym won’t let us in. Tags don’t work. Nevermind. Walk the streets. The city is ours this time of morning. Barri Gòtic is even better in the dark and everyone asleep. Home for porridge. Make some notes for the blog. Satan’s for brunch. Cotardo’s…
Stereotype
9 December 2021 Hangover. We wake up late. No gym. So this is Barcelona time. A quick stop at Satan’s. Cortado’s, many. Omurice for breakfast. Walking the streets. I get my watch. A late lunch that is also dinner at Tapeo. The food is excellent. Fried anchovies. Iberian pork ribs. Squid stuffed with vegetables. Sausage…
Generosity
8 December 2021 John and Tina taught me to sail. Not really. John told me which sheets to pull and when. I loved those evenings. The sound of wind and water and nothing else. Advice given. Listening. Kindness shared. Support I am forever grateful for in a difficult time. Ali is Tina’s son. I met…
Pulse
8 December 2021 Barcelona has a slow heart rate. Measured. It won’t be rushed. You bend to it. It won’t change for you. I love it. It slows you down. “The shared meal elevates eating from a mechanical process of fueling the body to a ritual of family and community, from the mere animal biology…
Leg Work
7 December 2021 Found a gym nearby. 6.00 am session. Consistency is king. A few bike items we needed. A quick 5km walk through El Born and Barri Gòtic. You slow down on foot. Walking gives you a true sense of a place. El Born and Barri Gòtic need to be walked. Ancient. Tight winding…
Eldiset
6 December 2021 Previously- Showered. I sit down feeling better. Exhausted and happy. Hungry. It’s lunchtime and dinner time and almost breakfast. I peer out the window. Is that a tapas bar across the lane? I have eaten at tapas bars. I have never eaten in a tapas bar in Spain. We get changed. It…
Arrivals
7 December 2021 “There’s a sort of jet lag where you travel to your own past” – Bill Waterson 2.30 am. My body thinks it’s lunchtime. I am awake. Shell is asleep. It could be Tuesday. It is. Jetlag. Scientists tell us how important sleep is. Time zones and international flights don’t care what scientists…
Brain Rape
5 December 2021 I am reading Meditations. Advice in small pieces. Suits my short attention span. Lengthy discussions recently over whether to get a PCR test pre flight. Emirates is clear, not required for the short layover in Dubai. Country of origin, also not required. Proof of vaccination acceptable. You never know with KLIA. And…
The Barber King of Chow Kit
3 November 2021 Grooming is not my thing. Left to my own devices, I would shave my head. The convenience of hair that requires no attention. Shell feels differently. It’s my ears, we both know it. A good barber is as important as a good physician. More important. “Beware the young doctor and the old…