U3A Benalla and District Inc.
  • Home
  • Benalla
    • Benalla
    • Benalla District
    • Who, What and Where? - Benalla Rural City
  • About
    • Our U3A
    • President's Page
    • Executive Committee
    • Policies
    • Convenors >
      • Convenors
      • Convenors A - Z 2025
    • Program Ideas
    • Newsletter
    • Website
  • Groups
    • Groups A - Z
    • Recent Groups >
      • Armchair History
      • Chess
      • Cooking Solo
      • Demystifying Psychology Course
      • Enjoying the Internet (S2)
      • Family Research Drop In
      • Sky's the Limit
    • Archived Groups >
      • A - M >
        • A Different View Of German History
        • Armchair History (British)
        • Armchair Traveller
        • Booker Reading Group
        • Bushwalking - Mid-week Walks
        • Comparative Religion
        • Facebook for Mentors
        • Family Research - Advanced
        • German - Beginners
        • Google Apps/TS Plus
        • History - An Introduction to Western Civilization
        • History - Moments in Australian History
        • Hot Topics/The News - Fact or Fiction?
        • 'In the Lap of the Gods'
        • Investment I (1996 -2015)
        • Jane Austen Book Club
        • Legal Matters (Short Course)
        • Meditation
        • Making the Most of the Internet
      • O - Z >
        • On Target - Learning to Shop Online
        • Opera
        • 'Over There'
        • Rail and Tourism
        • Russian Literature
        • Tech Savvy Apple - 'Pages'
        • Tech Savvy Apple Devices - Intermediate
        • Tech Savvy Community Projects
        • Travel Group
        • Wise Guys Book Group
        • Zoom Short Course
  • A-Ch
    • A-Ch
    • 'A Taste of Art'
    • American History
    • Art Appreciation
    • 'As Time Goes By'
    • Australian Shares and Stock Market
    • Be Connected - Android
    • Be Connected - Tech Advice
    • Birdwatching
    • Brain Games
    • Bushwalking - Easy Walks
    • Car Torque
    • Cards '500'
    • Chat n' Chew
  • Co-E
    • Ch - E
    • Coin Collectors
    • Collectors
    • Colour Mixing and Watercolour Techniques - Botanical
    • Come and Learn Croquet
    • Community Singing
    • Creative Writing
    • Demystifying Psychology - Discussion Group
    • Demystifying Psychology - Perception
    • Exercises for Fun
    • Exploring the Universe
    • Exploring Writing Children's Books
  • F-Pa
    • F- Pa
    • Family Research
    • Film Discussion
    • French at the Table
    • Garden Appreciation
    • Garden Team
    • German >
      • German Home
      • Lessons
    • Let's Talk Books
    • Lifeball >
      • Home
      • Lifeball Videos
    • Mahjong
    • Meet and Mingle
    • Music Appreciation
    • Page Turners
    • Patchwork and Craft
  • Ph-W
    • Ph -W
    • Photography
    • Play Reading
    • Politics & Current Affairs
    • Recorder
    • Singing for Fun
    • Spanish
    • Stock and Land
    • Sustainability
    • Tech Talks
    • Train Buffs
    • Ukes4Fun
    • Wine Appreciation
  • Join
    • Join Us
    • Membership Application/Renewal Form
    • Program Guide
    • Timetable with Dates
    • Venues and Maps
  • News
    • News Update
    • May Newsletter
    • 'What's On' Calendar 2025
    • Monthly Calendar
    • Website & Facebook
  • FB
  • Gallery
  • Links
    • Resources and References
    • U3A Network Victoria
    • Seniors Online Victoria
    • U3A Albury Wodonga
    • U3A Beechworth (Indigo U3A)
    • U3A Bright
    • U3A Goulburn Valley
    • U3A Murrundindee East
    • U3A Wangaratta
  • Contact

A Love Letter to Travel - 'Barcelona'

22/2/2021

0 Comments

 
​"The sun was kissing the terracotta rooftops, bidding farewell to another day and casting long shadows on the cobbled street. Slowly people were gathering, as though they had been waiting for this precise moment in time to emerge from their hiding places. Music could be heard faintly wafting into the Plaza and mingling there with the sounds of people greeting friends. The smell of food beckoned me.  I realised that my stomach was protesting that it had been too long since my last meal.

Absolutely nothing around me was familiar as I wondered how it could be that just days ago I was standing in my kitchen moving through the drudgery of preparing the evening meal for my family. The daily grind, nothing alarming, but seriously boring, was now consigned to another place and time. For now, my feet seemed to move more easily than usual and I wondered at the freedom that travel to this place had brought to me.

At the doorway Cara, my daughter, hesitates, not sure if the eatery would suit me.  Any place where I don’t have to cook and clean up qualifies as perfect!  Kevin, now keenly embracing this new experience, pushes past Cara to the interior of the cafe and proceeds to strike up a conversation with the bewildered Spanish barman. Looking up, he greets us with a smile and welcome “Hola”, before slipping easily into English, at once making us feel at ease.

We sit near the window, Cara and I, sipping our sangrias while waiting for my husband James to emerge from the Church that sits inside this magical Plaza.  Kevin continues to chatter to the barman, making himself at home on the barstool. He’s discovering that conversation comes easily in this exotic place.

The minutes turn into hours and the Sangria flows freely.  Every now and then I wonder how it is that I’m here, living in this moment and drinking Sangria as if it were water. Where is the responsible middle-aged woman I am, where did she go?  James has joined us, food has been ordered and consumed and dusk has given way to the night.  Around us, the bars and cafes have filled with noisy groups enjoying life. I get the idea that this is not a unique experience for these Catalans.  I envy them this place, this way of life.

I’m aware that the hour has turned very late, and that I have not stayed out as late since I was a woman without responsibilities - that time BC (before children). We wander now through the maze of cobbled streets, vaguely aiming for Las Ramblas and our temporary accommodation.  

Music wafts out from late-night bars and since my inhibitions are already dulled by the many Sangria we have enjoyed, I declare we should investigate each and every source of music. The journey to our lodgings becomes very slow as we variously find ourselves in small bars tucked down unassuming laneways. I’m tipsy and giggling and laughing like a young girl.  James too is in high spirits and we find everything funny.   A window display of toilet paper takes on an energy of its own. Official looking guards monitoring the comings and goings of a function that looks like something serious could be happening attract our mirth.  Our hearts are light as we wander about this fabulous place.

Ah, Barcelona.  

A song comes on the stereo and my memories return …  

And you and I we're flying on an aeroplane tonight
We're going somewhere where the sun is shining bright
Just close your eyes
And let's pretend we're dancing in the street
In Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona


(Ed Sheehan)"


Michelle Aitken,
February 2021
0 Comments
    Our Stories

    Michelle's Stories 

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    'A Childhood Memory'
    'A Love Letter To Travel'
    A Memoir - 'The Tattooist Of Auschwitz'
    "Barcelona'
    'Crash!'
    'Found'
    'If Only I'd...'
    'I Was There'
    'Ritual'
    'Someone Who Shaped Me'
    'Summer 1977'
    'The Queen And The Girl Guide'
    'Too Hard Basket'
    'Under Attack'

    Archives

    February 2023
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021

    RSS Feed

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay our respects to their elders - past, present and emerging.
Picture
News
​Newsletter
Facebook Page
​
Program Suggestions
​CO-VID Safety

U3A Benalla & District Flier 2025
Membership Application/Renewal 
​
Semester 1 Program Guide 2025
Semester 1 Timetable with Dates 2025
Developed and maintained by members, this website showcases U3A Benalla 
​Photographs - U3A members; Benalla Art Gallery website; ​Weebly 'Free' images;Travel Victoria and State Library of Victoria