22 Minutes of Fame in Spain

           Well, here I am in Spain, writing parts of this blog, I will finish it upon my return. 

  

So fortunate to have these guys as friends.

My dad had taken me to Newcastle Airport, on the 17th of September, and came inside with me briefly. The parking charges at Newcastle Airport are extortionate.

It has been some time since I last travelled, 2013 to be exact, when I travelled to America, which was my first time taking a flight and being outside of the UK, so not being experienced I found trying to find my way around the airport quite daunting. I could feel myself getting anxious, however, I am getting better at understanding my inner feelings, so changed this to a more positive "Oh you are just excited". I decided to approach the man on the Bureau de Change and after getting initial directions I figured out the next steps to eventually get to the boarding area.

I was flying with EasyJet and have to say the plane was a little smaller than I expected. My recollection of my last flights all those years ago where of bigger planes with more room, this is of course, when I think about it, was because they were International flights, taking many hours and not just a 2-hour hop over. 

The flight over was without incident, I was in a window seat and as we were coming in towards Alicante I could see the sky light up with flashes of lightning which looked amazing.

Upon my arrival in Spain and Alicante Airport, my friend Dragos had arranged to meet me, having driven the 2 hours from Valencia to pick me up. It was around 11:45pm when I stepped out of the airport, going down the escalators, after some very kind directions from a lady who was working on the EasyJet counter. Dragos had WhatsApp’d me so I found him straight away.

It was a wonderful reunion, so good to see Dragos once more, we shared a big man hug, I love this dude he is so easy to get along with. It had been some months since we last got together at the private screening of our film Meet the Local Hero - Glenn Johnstone, which was screened at Newcastle's Quayside and the Xerox Bar, a huge shout out to everyone there for your support. We popped my gear into the boot of Dragos's car and departed the airport car park and began our drive to Valencia, and the town of Alzira, where Dragos and his partner Ana have relocated. 

We spoke of many things on the 2-hour journey, one of which was of Dragos telling me how stressed he was after purchasing this used BMW 3.5 TDI estate. Unfortunately, the car had developed some kind of an engine problem, and I could tell this was causing Dragos major stress and a real headache. 

Upon arrival at Alzira, and the road leading towards Dragos's villa it was pitch black and Dragos warned me about how bumpy, this kind of adopted road was, boy he wasn’t lying. This same road would get us onto the trail we would ride the following day, it was okay for mountain bikes, but not so good for the suspension of the car. It reminded me of one of those Belgian paving courses they use to test new cars, like what you see on shows like Top Gear, where as the car drives along bits shake and fall off.

Once at the house I was met by a very cautious “Joy”, what is a Joy I hear you ask? Joy is Dragos & Ana’s little dog, she is a collie, and man has so much energy, I would say boundless energy. Joy soon came over to me, and as I held my hand out for her to sniff, she then recognised me and her tail began wagging, she got all excited, and stopped her barking preferring to run all over excitedly. Joy has a habit of running around and around the outside furniture on the patio, to the point she makes you quite dizzy. 

Joy on the patio, you can just see the edge of the table that she goes around and around

Dragos gave me a little tour of his villa and then showed me to my room, so I could unload my small wheeled travel case and backpack, which contained my Bartlett G3 Infinity Knee. The lady at Customs back in  Newcastle had been very interested in my knee, saying, "Well it's the first time I have seen one of those". I think she meant the unique knee design, as I am sure she has seen her fair share of legless people, and by that I mean amputees and not inebriated Geordies.

Joy

Whilst just chilling outside and chatting, Dragos showed me a video clip of his poorly car, which was being investigated at a local BMW dealership. Now I’m no mechanic, however, the car sounded terrible, all rattly, with a knocking sound. I thought it sounded like a timing chain issue and after Googling, possibly something more serious like big ends. It was late now about 2:00 am, so time to get some sleep, it had been a long day, as I had been to work that morning so had been up since 5:30 am.

The following day, more anxiety for Dragos as he tried to sort his car out. Dragos went on to explain the pace of life in Spain. I couldn’t believe when he described people stopping work at various times from say 12 noon, then basically having a nap, then returning at 4pm to 6pm, “How does anything get done” I asked, to which Dragos just replied, “Very slowly”.

Drago's partner, Ana approached the kitchen as we were talking, and came in and gave me a big hug. Ana is such a lovely lady, you have to remember I had only met her once, at the private screening, a few months earlier, Ana is one of those people you are instantly drawn to as she is so warm and friendly. 

Over the next few days, I was to discover just how generous these two people were, they couldn’t do enough for me. I didn’t really want a fuss. However, they were off shopping for my favourite foods and even brought back English breakfast tea. Ana would go on to make breakfasts and lunches, and everything just tasted wonderful. I even attempted things I wouldn’t normally eat, and you know what, I enjoyed them, so things like cheese, I even experimented with a little mustard. Oh, and now that I am thinking about it, that first cup of Chinese tea had a lovely taste to it without milk or sugar.

Dragos took me for a bigger tour of the Villa and its grounds. So much to see, it's a beautiful house that looks as if nature has somehow tried to reclaim it back, as the house is covered with inter-twining vines. Trees of many various types surround the house as if standing guard and protecting their domain. At specific times of the day, you hear water start to get pumped through hydration pipes to nourish all the plants, it's a very relaxing sound. The orange trees, of which there are many, in the huge fields, are also serviced by these pipes, requiring lots of water in order to grow and keep them from dying in the very hot weather. The outdoor swimming pool, which is about 10.5 x105 meters, looked cool and inviting. From late afternoon into early evening, the Cicadas start their song in the trees, which at first sounds strange, but soon become part of the beauty of the area. A relaxing place, a slower pace of life and so much nature and greenery.

The House on the Hill

Lovely Pool for the warm relaxing days

As the afternoon approached Dragos suggested we go for a ride on some e-bikes. I gave him a hand to change the pedals from flats to my Time pedals, as I need to clip in when using my G3 Infinity Knee. We checked each bike over together, and oiled the chains, making sure the bikes were charged up and good to go. Dragos provided me with a helmet, I had tried to bring my own, however,  I didn't have enough room in my case or bag. I wanted to travel light, and not put my G3 knee into the cargo, as I was worried it might get lost. Everything sorted or just about, I went to swap my knees out, so that I could ride, removing my Ossur Rheo XC micro-processed knee and replacing it with the G3 Infinity Knee. A little tinker with alignment and then we were good to go.

 

Sorting my prosthetic riding leg out

Putting all the bits together so we could go riding.

Joy

The drive leading up to/away from the house is very long, at the entrance are some large steel gates, they are there to not only protect the property but to keep the wild boars out. Dragos explained he had encountered some damage to his fence just a few days earlier where a boar had been rutting to get in the fields to access the beautiful orange trees and their fruit. 

Row after Row of Orange Trees

As we rode through the gates and got on to the trail, Joy coming along for our adventure, she is a most excellent trail dog, we began with a nice cruise in Eco mode riding the gravel trail and then we headed up onto a concrete section of road. As we approached the corner of this road we stopped and Dragos was showing me all the oranges in various people's properties. 

Dragos

Dragos, these Oranges were so tasty.

We were just about to set off again up this fairly steep hill and as I went to clip in, and give a firm push off I didn’t get enough momentum, and instantly fell over on my prosthetic side “Oops”. Neither myself, and more importantly the bike nor my knee were damaged, so all good. Attempt two, no problems, I did have to stop at the top of the hill to realign my foot as it had twisted.

Continuing on it was a mixture of concrete and then a dusty gravel trail. This had a mixture of small and large rocks, as we rode higher into the foothills of the mountains. As we climbed, it was time to switch to trail mode, as the ascent became steeper. I had been riding my bike on my turbo trainer at home, so had some semblance of fitness however it's not like riding in real-time, so at times I guess I was huffing and puffing.

This was to be the first time I had used the new G3 Infinity Knee. I mean I have used one previously on a trial for a week, however, I couldn't recall how it felt. I immediately noticed a lot of difference between my G2/G3 hybrid knee, which is now beyond economical repair. The new G3 felt like it had a lot more resistance through the tendons. I was running approximately 20 psi in the Rock Shox Deluxe. I was also probably using the wrong socket as I experienced some chaffing on my upper thigh/ butt as the resistance of the tendons pulled the socket up, upon each pedal stroke. The G3 Infinity Knee provided lots of support for getting out of the saddle and leaning over the back of the bike, which was great for the long descents, after riding those steep ascents.

Dragos and Me

None of these images do the place justice, gutted I didn't get more and better quality.

I’m looking forward to setting up the knee to get the best out of it, it’s just a shame I will be riding nearer to Stanley and the dreary weather, rather than an idyllic place like Spain, hey as long as I’m getting out I’m happy, where ever I am. I will of course miss riding with Dragos as he is such good fun to be around. Dragos and I rode approximately 16.5 miles. I forgot to pop my roaming data on so Strava didn’t record, hey I’m new to this travelling and setting up techy stuff, of which I am not exactly "Tech Savvy".

  

Joy leading the way, this dog is a machine

As we were on our way back home, the temp was 22 degrees, so felt hot to me, now and again we would stop to give Joy some water and take some on board ourselves. 

  

Joy taking a moment to catch her breath, what a good dog

We just happened to stop at what I thought was a closed restaurant, and we went into the car park where there were some wooden tables and benches. Sitting on one of the benches was a fellow mountain biker, a young man, both Dragos and I gave him a “Hola” greeting. I was trying to get away from the habit of saying "Alreet". From here we began chatting and this guy who could speak English, well you couldn’t meet a nicer fella. He introduced himself as Victor, going on to tell us he was a local from Alzira. Dragos was asking Victor about the area and Victor was only too happy to oblige with some very interesting areas for Dragos to explore. Victor said he would be happy to show Dragos around. Victor took a real genuine interest in both Dragos and myself, I can’t say this enough what a lovely lad. As we shared stories with Victor he told us he worked in a family business, running a restaurant and invited us to visit. We all shared our various social media details, so we could reconnect, and then said our goodbyes. As Dragos and I rode back down the trail, Victor passed us waving.

Dragos, our new buddy Victor and me, Glenn

Arriving at the bottom of the bumpy trail near to Dragos’s house, Dragos asked if I want to see the derelict house that resides next to his, so we got off the bikes and walked up to this dilapidated large house. Dragos and I then had a talk about the house as we wandered around its grounds, coming up with various ideas about how it would look if it was knocked down and rebuilt and the possibility of business ideas. The house has rows and rows of Orange trees which, unfortunately, are dying due to no water supply.

  

This derelict house is right beside Drago's place.

Be amazing to do it up and live there

Finally, we hopped back on the bikes for the short ride back to Dragos villa. Ana greeted us and asked about our ride and we relayed the adventure, informing her of the beautiful scenery, the mountains and valleys, how difficult the route was and of course about meeting this great guy named Victor. Even after running the 16 or so miles Joy was full of energy and began her round and around of the table, that dog is a machine. 

Oh, and my consecutive days of riding unfortunately came to an end as I missed a few days, so I think I may start again tomorrow. I got up to 1760 days.

Later that evening Ana cooked and we had yet another lovely meal, I was really being spoilt. I am not usually a big eater, however being on these steroids for this Ulcerative Colitis I just don’t seem to be able to stop.

We all enjoyed an evening sitting outside around the table, sharing memories, of funny tales and life experiences, and then it was time for another day to come to an end. I asked was it ok to have a bath, as I was pretty sweaty from all the riding, plus as I mentioned sore. That initial seated position in the bath stung a bit, however soon turned into relief.

The following day both Dragos and Ana had to catch up with some work, they never appear to stop, always something to do. I kept myself busy by attempting to write a poem and reading the book I had brought along, it was Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now, I was also messing around online on my phone. 

The Villa upon a Hill 

(I was on trying to think of a title, this will do for now)

A closed gate opens to reveal a long, winding drive,

beautiful trees, sentinels that line the route.

Whispered words are ushered upon the warm soft breeze,

as they blow gently through the leaves.

Welcome you're here, is what you hear.

An invitation extended to use all your senses.

To savour each moment and hold dear,

these special memories that are created.

A villa that stands upon a hill,

perfectly in tune with its surroundings.

Natures embrace as vines wrap around it,

as if cradling this place in safe loving arms.

A relaxing sound can be heard,

as water flows freely, dripping and spraying, 

nourishing the red-tinged earth,

which then gives rise to new birth.

Orange trees laid out in so many fields,

as far as the eye can see, miles and miles,

each one tended with so much love and care,

natural growth to produce a fruit vibrant and sweet.

And that is as far as I got LoL

Later in the morning, I did have the opportunity to chat with Ana and it appears we share some of the same points of view on life and what makes the world go around. I told Ana I was on reading Eckhart's book, and Ana informed me she had read it and found it interesting. Ana herself is a very interesting lady and I found conversation came very easy with her.

Later that day Dragos and I were to head off to Barcelona. We were a little later than expected getting away and I could tell poor Dragos had a lot on his mind, what with work and this broken car. I felt really bad for him, as well I consider him a good friend, even though we haven’t known each other all that long, well you don't like to see people worrying. Just before we were to leave my Rheo Knee started beeping and flashing its yellow light, saying it had a low battery. I knew I had put it on charge the previous night, having borrowed a plug adaptor. Oh and speaking of charging, my mobile phone also wasn't charging particularly well. I had pre-empted my phone having problems when I was at home before my trip away.

On the 20th of August, I decided to purchase a new phone from O2, as I have been with them for years. I opted for a Google Pixel 9 Pro. I went to the Metro Centre in Gateshead and went through the process of pre-ordering the phone and putting down a rather large deposit. I then awaited the arrival of my new device, but it did not come. I have contacted O2 on numerous occasions and always get the same useless message "Your recent order has taken us longer to process" Yada, yada " Your order should be with you tomorrow". I mean it didn't make much difference as I was by now in Spain, however, the phone still has not arrived. Why a company would change its warehousing the very week of a big preorder launch of a device is beyond me, so as you can tell I am not a happy bunny, as it impacted on my trip. My old Nothing One phone kept going flat, so I didn't get as many pictures as I would normally have liked. I love photos as I can relive those memories, so O2 has a lot to answer for. Okay moving on.

As we set off on our long drive to Barcelona I listened to Dragos’s concerns and I tried to pep him up by putting a positive spin on things, I hope it helped. The drive to Barcelona was a long one around 4 hours, this gave us plenty of time to talk about many things. I commented as I was asking him questions, “ Hey this is a bit like a Q&A session, we should have recorded it”. One of the questions I put to Dragos was “What does success mean to you”? It’s a very interesting question, one in which everyone has a different view. Dragos’s answer was to follow his passion and related to creativity, in loving what he does, however, he described it more eloquently than I just have. The same question to me I found difficult to describe. I was good at coming up with failures in my life, the fact I have never owned my own home, or that I couldn’t pursue my goal of running, even though I had a good go at it. I then stated, “I guess success for me would be my dream house in Scotland, that would give me independence and bring that dream alive in what I think I would like to do”.  It’s all in my head, and my plans change from day to day. Sometimes I just want to be in my house all alone, and at other times I would like many people to be there to bounce off and share life's experiences and memories.

We also had a bit of a joke about what we would do if we won big on the lottery. Dragos's ideas are a lot bigger than mine, he wants to go and live it up in Hawaii for a year and ride next to this big active volcano" I told him if I win, that is exactly what we can do. Oh, he also fancies a Porsche Panamera and possibly a BMW X5 just for kicking about in. So I had better make sure my numbers are on.

OMG! Arriving in Barcelona, it was totally bonkers, so much traffic. Time was ticking away and it became stressful due to being stuck as it was stop, start. Would we make it on time to the Film Festival and the screening of our film?

Parking was a complete nightmare, how Dragos kept his cool I do not know. The sat Nav directed us down this street where our Hotel was and these bloody pop-up barriers were in place. Taxi's were beeping at this point behind us, right up our arse. Dragos quickly got out of the car and checked the barrier type thing, then I told him "Let's go another way, don't risk driving through" I was worried this barrier would pop up under his car totally wrecking it. The taxi behind us continued beeping however didn't back up so Dragos had very little room to negotiate getting out of the street. Eventually, we came up with the idea let's just find the nearest parking, go to the film venue and then check in later at the hotel. We found an underground parking facility, took our ticket, parked up and then when we got out. We actually got changed into our evening wear ready for the film in the car park, at this point I didn't care who saw me parading around in my boxer shorts. 

 

A quick change in the car park

We then quickly made our way following Google Maps to the film venue. My knee constantly beeping and me thinking " Oh crap this I going to give out at the most inopportune moment and I will probably fall".

Yay, the film venue wasn't far away it was in a place called Galeries Malda, this is where The Love & Hope International Film Festival was to take place. There is a shopping centre, and we climbed some stone steps to get to Cinema Malda. There we were met by the other Dragos, we had made it with only 5 minutes to spare. As we entered the cinema, it was totally dark I couldn't see a thing, I mean I can't see that well at the best of times these days. Both Dragos's were trying to usher me to a seat, however, I couldn't see where the damn floor was and thought there were steps, so I was trying to shuffle my good foot forward to feel the edge of a step. It's awful when you have no concept of feeling or where one of your feet is in space. Eventually, I found a seat on the edge of the row and we caught the tail end of one of the films. Then it was our turn.

At the Galeries Malta, the stone stairs to the right to the Cinema Malda

Our film burst into life, and as I watched it, it happened again I started crying. The film is so emotive for me to watch, this tells me that the two Drago's and everyone involved with this piece of creative work have done a remarkable job. I am so proud to have been asked to take part in it and in the final result.  After the film had finished, it received a good round of applause, as all the films do, it's a nice sign of appreciation for the hard work and dedication that goes into the making of them. I would have liked to spend more time watching each of the films entered and if I had the money I could see myself travelling purely to film festivals to watch these amazing emotive pieces of work. They are in many cases so personal and real pieces of creative art in the stories they tell.

There was another very interesting film on following ours which we got to see and then following this the lights came on, and all the film-makers, producers, directors and in my case, well I am not an actor, more of a participant, were invited for a brief Q&A session. Dragos was the first invited to speak, following being asked a question from a member of the audience. His response was fantastic and put a really different spin on the title of the film, "Meet the Local Hero", as whilst everyone would possibly assume I am the so-called hero, the title actually has a hidden meaning, and it is, in fact, my dad, Ernie, or "The Ern", as he is affectionately known to his friends, as he is such a legend, that is the hero. I would tend to agree with this as my dad is everything, a father, a best friend, and a genuinely amazing and lovely man. Dragos even calls him "Dad"

Following the Q&A, everyone went downstairs to network, make new acquaintances, and generally just chat about the various films they had seen.

Dragos M, Glenn & Dragos T

Now, I am not used to these types of events or occasions, so I just kind of stood back and observed, the two Dragos having popped outside for a smoke. Almost immediately, a lady and gentleman came over to me with hands extended, introduced themselves and congratulated me on our film, going on to say how inspirational it was and asking a whole range of interesting questions about the cinematography, myself and my dad. They then asked if they could have their photos taken with me, "Wow", I thought, someone wanting to have a photo with little old me. It was so surreal for me. The lady in question introduced herself as Leslie Ann and invited me to become friends with her on Facebook. Leslie had a film at the festival and is a writer/director/actor/story editor and I was later to discover she also writes poetry. This was to continue as the evening progressed, with various people within the industry coming up to me and the two Dragos complimenting us on our film. We received some very positive feedback, which was awesome, and we got to talk to some very interesting people about their own projects.

Leslie Ann and Myself

There was to be an after-show get-together in town, so before heading to this, we again used Google Maps and went to our hotel to check in, deciding to just leave all our gear in the car until the following morning. Following the check-in, the three of us walked through Barcelona to find a place to have something to drink and a bite to eat.

Not far up through the winding streets, we found a suitable place, which looked good as we peered through the window. As we went in, we were shown to our table and walked past some of the most amazing-looking tapas. 

 

Very nice side dishes

Love these two guys

We ordered our drinks and then went and selected some of the delicious-looking dishes to take back to our table to eat before our selected main meal.

Awesome food nom, nom!

Spoilt for choice

"Wow"! The food was amazing. Not long after polishing off the tapas, our main arrived. I had ordered a burger, with some fried potatoes, as had Dragos. I am not sure what little Dragos had as I was too busy devouring this gorgeous burger. Once finished we all shared 3 deserts, which went down a treat. The friendly waitress then gave brief instructions on where to find a taxi and we headed off.

Man, this is where I really got my eyes opened. As we were walking through Barcelona, which was really busy, Dragos spotted this sort of light. It was just small, however very bright, and it drifted up into the air. "That is someone selling drugs," he said. Sure enough, as we crossed the street, this dodgy-looking guy came right up to us cool-as-you-like and asked straight out, "You want some coke, best in all of Barcelona", even though I am pretty naive, I knew he wasn't trying to sell us a "Coke or a Pepsi Cola". As we walked a little further on, looking for a taxi rank, this other dude came up to us, and this one had even more "patter", not only did he offer us the "Best coke in all of Barcelona", amongst other drugs, this friendly chap also wanted to introduce us to some "Ladies of the night", who apparently did wonderful things. "Err, no, I think I'll pass". The guy was quite helpful as he directed us to the taxi rank, with a parting word:" I will see you when you come back this way". I'm sure this was followed by a "Muhahahahaaa", and when we got out of earshot Dragos commented saying "Man he is the Devil".

Taxi rank discovered, taxi acquired, a short 7-minute ride to the after-show party at a club named Sala Aquarella. There were quite a few people in attendance and free drinks. I am not good in social situations, so I didn't approach anyone. However, a few lovely people came up to say hello, one of which was the lady who had come over to shake my hand at the cinema, Leslie Ann. Leslie is a very interesting lady, easy to get on with, she came across as being genuinely interested in other people's stories and not just all about herself. This industry, the more I get to understand it, I can see it is very competitive and quite cutthroat. Leslie and I shared stories and life experiences, our love of writing and poetry, and even some of the books we have discovered over the years. I recommended she read Neville Goddard's "Feeling is the Secret" It is a book I often return to, and it helps me on those occasions when I need a boost in my mental thoughts and positivity.  As the night neared its end Dragos and I decided we would take a taxi back towards our hotel and go for a drink and pick up some water.

Dragos with what I think was a Mojito 

Barcelona and Spain work on a very different time schedule to the UK, it comes alive on an evening. Little Dragos (Apologies, Dragos, I cannot think of another way to describe you, at the moment. How about funny or talented, as you are a man of many, many talents) Anyhoo Dragos had to leave us as his flight back home was at 7:00 am the following morning. The other Dragos and I jumped in a taxi and took a ride back near to our hotel, and we called in at a bar to have a drink. Don't worry, I was just drinking coke, hey I should probably now say "pop" as I don't want you to get the wrong idea. Dragos had what looked to be a very nice, I think Mojito and we grabbed some water to take back to our room at the hotel.

The hotel was quite expensive for what it was, basically a room with a bed, no room service or breakfast included. I had an unsettled night as it was warm. By now, my phone was on like 5%, and my leg was slowly dying. I had left both chargers in the car. In the morning, I had a quick wash at the shared bathroom and then went and knocked on Drago's door, it was around 8:00 am, so we checked out and headed to Starbucks for a coffee and a bite to eat. The coffee smelled delicious. However, I can no longer drink it, so I had to have a cup of tea, "Bummer".

After having a refreshing kind of breakfast, we went in search of where the car was parked, as we were walking there, I reminded Dragos about the parking ticket, he checked his wallet and then said, "Shit, I can't find the ticket", he looked once again, but nope it wasn't there. "What are we going to do"? Dragos said, and I just tried reassuring him it would be okay, there was bound to be someone we could speak to at the parking garage.

When we made the short walk to the parking garage and took the lift down to the ground floor where the car was, there was a ticket machine with a button to call someone. After a little while with instructions in both Spanish and English, this Jolly-sounding man responded. He said, "Don't worry, it happens all the time", and helped Dragos pay for the stay. Mind you, it came to 55 Euros, and when Dragos commented on this, the man jokingly apologised and said, "I don't own the company, if it were up to him, he wouldn't charge as much". We then returned to the car and prepared to drive out. As we got to the barrier, the damn barrier would not go up, more stress, "Oh come on, man". As we checked the screen on the ticket display machine, it was showing the wrong registration, a digit was missing. A parking dude came out from his kiosk over to us. However, he didn't speak English and Dragos's Spanish, well, he is just learning it, having only been in the country some 3 months or so. What ensued next was a mixture of broken Spanish, alongside broken English, lots of gesturing and Dragos, trying to show the payment on his phone and take photos of his number plate to get us through and out of the parking garage. Ahh, Finally we were out.

Dragos really wanted to show me some of Barcelona, especially things to do with the famous architect/designer Gaudi, who I can tell how he speaks of him, Dragos has a passion for and admires his work. Dragos went on to apologise that he also had to try to do some work on his computer and that he wanted to get home to try and get his car taken away from BMW and transported to a local garage, as it just takes so long to get things done in Spain. Once again, I could see he was stressing, what with wanting to show me around and all these other things going on. We drove through Barcelona and parked near to Gaudi's Cathedral, the correct full name being "Basilica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia". Here, we found a little coffee shop, ordered some drinks, and Dragos began work on one of his projects whilst I sipped a lovely cup of tea. By now, my knee was dead, having gone on me whilst we walked to the coffee shop. This meant when Dragos suggested I have a walk to the cathedral, I had to have my knee locked out, so I was half goose-stepping like some soldier. I walked around the block to get to the cathedral, which was quite tiring, having to alter my gait. I grabbed a few photos from outside the cathedral from the pavement and then as I was heading back to the coffee shop, popped into a tourist shop and bought a few fridge magnets to take back for my dad.

Gaudi's Cathedral

Gaudi's Cathedral

Upon my return to the coffee shop and Dragos, he was still working, so he suggested I really must go back to the cathedral and go inside as it is amazing, so off I went again, another circuit of the block and crossed over towards the Cathedral. As I walked around following the signs I noticed you had to have a ticket at one entry point, so I walked further around as instructed by the sign, and when I got around the corner, there was this huge meandering queue around some tapped barriers. By now my phone screen had gone dark, in battery power saving mode, so I couldn't take any pictures so I slowly returned back, crossing the street and returned to the Coffee shop. I explained to Dragos about the ques and he said they would have probably let me in quicker with my disability, I hate playing that card though as well I get around pretty well, well apart from when I have to goose step due to a flat battery. 

  

Gaudi's Cathedral

As I was walking around a circuit of the block, I was secretly looking for a guitar shop, just as well I didn't find one, or my credit card may have taken another hit.

Dragos had gotten what he wanted to do sorted on his laptop, so we returned to the car, bonus no parking ticket, and we headed the long drive back to Valencia. Time was against us as Dragos had to arrange with the seller of his car to go through his insurance in order to get a recovery truck. Dragos called it a "platform", then pick the car up from BMW, and deliver it to this other garage that was going to strip the engine and see what it needed, they could then provide a quote to carry out the work. I can totally appreciate why Dragos was stressed, it's horrible when you buy a car and it breaks down and then you are looking for some recourse with the seller hoping they won't just drop you in it, and leave you with a huge bill.

The drive home took longer than expected; we only stopped once for diesel and some snacks, and I was trying to assist Dragos in getting in touch with the people at the garage by typing in English, then translating to Spanish, sending it to Dragos's WhatsApp and then him firing off a message to the garage. Would they still be open on our return at 6:00 pm? 

Eventually, we made it back and went straight to the BMW garage, it took absolutely ages for the BMW dude to sort out handing over the car keys. Dragos was trying his best to explain, "Look, I have to take the car now, a platform is arriving", and the service guy said, "Oh, the car has a recall which has to be sorted", this was all done through Google translate. In the end, Dragos took the keys, and I helped him manoeuvre his car out of the tight car park the short distance to the roadside, and we awaited the recovery truck. Not long after the truck arrived, the recovery man picked up the car and we headed to the other garage and met a couple of the mechanics there, who then directed us to their bigger garage, where the recovery driver dropped off the car. I could see the relief in Dragos as the car was now at least in the right place to get checked out, and I am now sending positive vibes that it is all sorted in a timely manner, with the minimum of fuss and at no further cost to Dragos, he deserves some good fortune as he puts himself out for other people.

I found this Joker playing crd lying next to Dragos's car on the pavement so decided to keep it and pop it on my dream board as a memory. Here it is stuck on the back window of Dragos's Beemer. I also tried doing something creative in Snapseed, not sure it works LoL

Joker

Upon returning back to Ana and Joy at the villa, again coming along that "BuMpY" road, Im sure I lost a filling. Dragos had a little more work to do on his project, and Ana suggested making a little meal. I messed around on my phone, which I had to recharge yet again. I also tried plugging my leg in. However, it just beeped and flashed, and there was nothing going on. After Dragos had got his work done, he looked around and found another charger, it didn't work either, so he was off searching for yet another charger, he found one that had the adaptor cut off, so he cut the end off the one that wasn't working and carefully attached this new charger to the adaptor," try this", it worked so I sat there whilst my knee happily charged.

As the evening went on, Ana suggested why didn't we go and pay a visit to our new friend Victor and his families Restaurant/bar, named Il Taroncello Restaurante so we all had a quick change of clothing, and Dragos drove us along into Alzira to Victor's family restaurant. Il Taroncello Restaurante Facebook Link An awesome place if you are in town and highly recommend.

IL Taroncello

The place was buzzing, with everyone outside listening to upbeat music. The music plays until 10:00 pm every Friday, it's like a party atmosphere. Victor was outside rushing around however, as soon as he saw us, he came over with a high five, a big welcoming hug and a huge smile. I can't say this enough: this man is so friendly. 

I think I was caught off gaurd as man I look miserable. I can assure you we all had a great time

The music was belting out and an awesome atmosphere

Dragos introduced Ana to Victor, and then immediately Victor asked, "What would you like to drink"? then he was off to get us some drinks. As the night went on, Victor provided us with more drinks, which were on the house, and we ordered some food, Dragos and Ana paying for this, again me being spoilt and feeling guilty.

This burger was amazing

Dragos commented to Victor that the chef of the restaurant would hate him as the chef is Italian, and Dragos had ordered a large Hawaiian pizza, his favourite, he then went and put tomato sauce on it. Me I ordered another "Hamburguesa", this was the best burger I have ever tasted, it had this sauce on it that I think tasted like caramel. I actually struggled to get the last bite down as I was so stuffed. A most excellent evening, where Ana, Dragos and myself were sharing stories and talking about how strange the Geordie accent can be, how different languages used very different words, and how they came about for various things, I mean like a fork in Romanian is "furculita", so we were joking around, with things like how you make nursery rhymes rhyme.

I was sure there was a fork mentioned in the "Hey diddle diddle" nursery rhyme, but apparently, I was wrong its a dish and a spoon that ran away, and the fork or furcuilta, must have been left to its own devices.

Back to the villa, and on my final night, we sat talking and listening to various favourite songs on Dragos's laptop. Dragos showed me one of the first creative films that he made, it was in black & white and featured this fitness guy, it was very good. Time to say good night for the final time.   

I slept in fits and starts, Joy came in to greet me early in the morning, so I decided to get up and sit with her, reading my book and looking at stuff on my phone. When Dragos and Ana got up a little later on, Ana made breakfast, a lovely omelette with a side of some bacon rashers. Today was to be a chilled day for Dragos and Ana, with no working on their respective computers. The morning went quickly, to be honest, the whole time I had been there had gone in the blink of an eye. I packed all my gear, Dragos remembered to remove my pedals from the bike and hand them back to me and at about 1:00 pm it was time to hit the road and travel to Alicante so that I could catch my flight home.

The drive back to the airport I felt went quicker than upon the drive when coming in. Probably because it was during the day and the scenery was so beautiful to see, large mountains and just a beautiful sunny day. As I have discovered, it is so easy to chat to these two wonderful people, and upon our journey, we spoke of many things, future ideas and projects, where life may take us and, of course about family and friends.

Arriving at the airport, Dragos pulled into the short-stay car parking area, and we all got out of the car. I went to the back of the car to grab my gear, and Ana came over to give me a big, warm hug with a kiss on my cheek. I then thanked her for everything, for inviting me into her home, for looking after me, for cooking, and our engaging conversation. I then turned to Dragos, and again, there was a big hug and a shake of his hand. I hope that I have in some way helped Dragos through a bit of his stressful week and that both he and Ana know that I am always there for them if ever they need me, in the same way, they have shown me so much love, support and kindness. It is always difficult saying "goodbye", however, I know this is not the end, and we will see one another again.

Ana bless her came into the airport and helped me find out where to go. My flight was delayed a little, it was supposed to take off at 17:40, however, it wasn't too bad as I arrived back in Newcastle at 20:09 pm, with my dear old dad there to meet me in the car park. I asked Ern " Did you miss me"? To which he replied, "Yes I did". The drive home didn't feel like it took long and I recounted my trip to my dad. He is my biggest supporter and although he doesn't say much I know he is proud of me.

A huge thank You to both Dragos and Ana for inviting me to their home, showing me around and for all their love and support, oh and thanks for the additional photos to pop on this post. 

Thank you also goes to the producer of the film and the other Dragos, like I have said, a man of many talents and a pleasure to hang out with and call a friend.

Massive thanks to everyone involved in the making of Meet The Local Hero, which is a " This is Insominia" Production.

Thank you to The Love & Hope International Film Festival for selecting our film and inviting us to the screening and after-event party.

A big thank you to Fate for introducing Victor to us, who is a special kind of guy, so warm and friendly.

Thanks go to everyone at the film festival for their kind words and positive comments, especially regarding my dad, who plays a huge role in the storytelling.

And finally, to my dad for all his support over the years, I can't express my feelings in words.

Apologies if I have left anyone out, well apart from O2 you guys suck!