Travelodge Christmas Party . . . In Spain

The Following takes place on Days 168-169, May 14-15, 2011

I still can’t believe that I managed to pack up my bag the night before considering how drunk I was. The whole group from the Lagos Escape Hostel had gone out for a mini pub crawl(except for Alberta as evidenced from the picture in the last post). I knew I had a 6:30am bus. I knew. So why did I allow myself to keep taking shots or drinks?

At least I had the mind to think about packing halfway through the crawl. I literally got up from one bar, walked back to the hostel, packed, then walked back to the pub crawl. I barely slept that night. It made for a very interesting bus ride.

There weren’t too many people on the bus between Lagos and Seville. Indeed, it was a relatively quick eight hour ride. I slept(or was I passed out) for most of it. I don’t even recall when we crossed over into Spain from Portugal.

When I got to the Seville bus station I walked through the scorching 35 degree weather to the small “Plaza de Arms” mall to take advantage of the free Wi-Fi in the McDonalds. And everyone knows that McDonalds is the perfect meal for recovering from a night out on the town. I connected with Kelsi, a coworker of mine from Saskatoon who was now working as an Au Pair in a small town north of Seville. Once I got correct directions from her and we worked out when I would arrive I hailed a taxi and caught the next bus to Palma del Rio.

I arrived in the small town around 4:00pm. I began walking down the [only] road leading away from the train station and saw in the near distance two women walking towards me. It didn’t take long to recognize the long, dark hair of Kelsi. I wasn’t sure how it would feel to be in Spain and to meet up with a friend from back home. Odd is one way to put it. Surreal. It didn’t really feel real.

She and her friend Amy walked with me across the long bridge to where they are both living and working. As Au Pairs, they work as a helper/nanny for a family with kids. They get their own places right beside their families homes. We went to Kelsi’s where we laid by and in the pool, attempting to escape the really hot midday sun. It felt so good to just relax in the water after such a long bus ride. We did the long walk to the hotel/hostel I would stay at to drop my bags off then picked up some food and booze from the local grocery store to enjoy by the pool again before heading out. I did end up watching the finals for Eurovision while beside the pool out of extreme curiosity.

We then took our time making our way to the only club in town where, on a Friday night, we were literally the only ones there besides the bartenders and bouncers. It was odd, but I still think we had fun. Lots of free drinks from the bartender and random dancing on the speakers. Just like back at home! For me and Kelsi, since we both missed the staff Christmas party this past year, made it our own Travelodge Christmas Party. No one got a broken arm though.

The next day I met up with them for a late lunch. It was really nothing more than some tapas as we forgot that in Spain, kitchens close between 2pm and 8pm. Silly of us really. After the beer and snacks, we stopped at a little ice cream shop for more snacks. And to let me flirt with the cute guy behind the counter who ended up giving me a free slushie. I ended up writing my email and my room number on a napkin to give to him but sadly he never got a hold of me. I certainly read that wrong!

Palma del Rio is a really nice little town and I definitely wouldn’t have visited if it hadn’t been for Kelsi. But it was back to traveling for me so I said goodnight to them after we went for supper and settled in to leave the next morning for Seville.

Thanks for a great couple days Kelsi. It was really cool to hang out with you again! Nice taste of home. I’ll attempt to not steal your boyfriend when we both are back in Saskatoon.