Lost in translation

---

Geo: 40.4167, -3.70325

Had a peach for breakfast (unripe and gross) and a yogurt drink at Plaza Mayor. Both my pens have burst - is it the heat? Julia, you need to buy better pens!!! Getting slightly used to the horrendous heat. It's becoming slightly manageable.

The first bad sign of the day - I felt rain drops, but saw no clouds. Birds were flying overhead. I think they pissed on me. It could've been worse, I guess - like maybe getting saturation bombed in a hailstorm of their collective crap! Can you tell what an optimist I am?

I had another calamari sandwich for lunch - I'm already getting sick of them. I also had some Mazapan - Toledo is supposedly famous for it. Crappy. Definitely not as yummy as the hotel girls from Toledo - they are the REAL delicacy of this town.

I did some shopping until ..... attempt #1 - aborted!!!! I nervously shuffled up to Isabel at the reception desk, broke into my terrible Spanish, said hello and "You probably don't remember me, but I was here last year." "Claro que si!" (of course I do!) she giggled. As impossibly cute as ever! I don't think I'll ever forget that moment or that feeling. I asked if we could speak outside for a minute. She seemed pretty nervous as we spoke and asked that I return later after her boss left. Not a bad thing as I blanked a little bit.

So she went back inside (probably to call the cops to have her stalker arrested) and I went to find a place to calm my nerves! My first impression - more beautiful than I remembered, but she seemed taller? Maybe she grew??? I must admit that the same instant feeling I had almost a year ago was not there ... but as we spoke, everything rushed back. Everything I felt last summer was in fact real. It's small consolation, but I guess all I really wanted was to know if that whole incredible experience was merely a figment of my imagination.

I waited on a bench nearby and practiced my little speech .... aloud .... passerbys probably thought I was crazy. If only they knew why I was sitting on that bench ... I re-applied deodorant and used some more mouthwash (I have only one shot and need to make it count!!!). Attempt #2 - once I had disabled the policemen she had called, I said "Do you know that for the Chinese, the number three is very lucky?" She replied "Yes, I knew that!" I whipped out the three slightly-wilted roses I had bought earlier in the day.

Her reaction was priceless and made everything worthwhile - embarrassed, humbled, incredulous, stunned, unsuspecting ... and incredibly cute. She gasped, covered her mouth with both hands, and actually stepped back, not knowing what to do. She turned around as if she was going to run away (I've been known to have this effect on women!), but was met with a wall. Muhahaha, she had nowhere to run or hide from the onslaught of cheese!

She didn't seem to want to take the flowers - I knew then that she was still taken, but no matter ... I came here to say something to her, and nothing was going to stop me from finishing it. I told her everything I felt .... imagine cheeze whiz oozing out of my pores or her getting run over by a gigantic wheel of cheddar .....

Trust me, this all sounds WAY better in Spanish; it's truly a language meant to be used for crazy things like this. It just doesn't sound the same in English. Break out the nachos, because a waterfall of liquefied cheese is coming: I told her that "The beauty of flowers never lasts, but for me you are, and always will be, very beautiful." Who is this bizarre personality that possesses my body and makes me do such crazy things in Spain??? She blushed and responded "Oh, I don't know what to say!" Like I've always said, the most attractive thing about this girl is that she has no clue as to how absolutely stunning I find her.

All the while, she was becoming more and more embarrassed - it was like after each comment I made, she was thinking "Ok, it can't get any more unbelievable than this!" You could tell that while she was really embarrassed, she was also very flattered. It was nice for me because I managed to keep surprising her with higher and higher levels of cheese.

"I have some words for you and the only thing I want is for you to listen to them. I have waited almost a year before returning here. For me, a year is only a small amount of time to wait for someone I believe is a very special and good person. For the last year I have hoped that when I returned, you wouldn't be married."

She started to say "Well, I'm not married, but ..." - I knew what she was going to say but had to finish. "The truth is that I am here for only one reason - to see you again. Since meeting you last summer, I have been unable to forget about you. Maybe it was the kindness in your eyes or the gentleness of your voice - I really don't know what it was, but there is something unforgettable and indescribable about you."

"Without a doubt, coming here is the craziest thing I have ever done in my life - any sane person would agree." She giggled and nodded "un poquito" (a little bit). "I used to be the most logical and rational person but after meeting you, I have become a man unafraid of taking chances and saying what he feels. I have come here with only a little bit of faith and the highest of hopes. I have traveled very far, following my dreams. To have the chance to spend a few minutes with you and to come to know something about you would make this entire journey worthwhile. But even if this is not possible, it is enough to see you once more."

At one point she was a little upset - it was out of concern for me because I had done all this for nothing. "But we hardly spoke last year. We haven't emailed or called each other ... how could you feel this way?" She truly felt bad as if it was her fault. "My boyfriend and I have been together for 5 years ..." She thought I was still trying to convince her to go out with me, but really I just wanted to say what I came here to say. Honestly, it would have been a huge turnoff if she still wanted to go out with me despite having a boyfriend.

"I think we should give ourselves the chance to get to know each other a little bit better. The least that could happen is that we become friends and to me, this is also something worthwhile. I hope that you can see in me someone that could become something more ..."
That was pretty much the end of the prepared speech. How did Isabel respond to it all? There wasn't much, really ... what can someone say under such an improbable scenario? I really didn't expect her to say anything, though she obviously wanted to say something to make things better. Really, there was only one thing she could have said to me that would have mattered ...

I told her that love at first sight is not possible for someone like me. But last year ... maybe ... I told her that the only way to find out was to spend some time with her, but I knew that it was not possible. I told her that I understood and that while I was very sad, I was also very happy because I anytime I have seen her, I have these incredible feelings that I can't describe.

I told her that it had been many years since I had met someone like her. She was embarrassed again - a common theme. We talked about how my Spanish was coming along. I complained about my grammar and intonation needing work ... she said it was a difficult language to learn and I replied "Only for crazy Canadians". She laughed and flashed her radiant smile ... the highlight of this whole trip will be making her laugh and smile - it really was a great feeling.

We talked about how my friends ask me "She must've been the most beautiful girl in Spain - why didn't you get a picture of her?" I told her my answer was "Yes, it's the truth - but I never thought about it when I was with her." "No ..." she started to say, slightly embarrassed. I interrupted "For me, you ARE the most beautiful." She's so cute when she blushes! I can almost feel my Grinch-sized heart grow as I think about it 😊 But at least I got some pictures to remember her by. She warned me that she looks bad in photos - I told her that it wasn't possible. She blushed again 😊 She was so nervous as I took the pictures - fidgeting, blushing, etc. It was pretty much everything that I found so incredibly attractive about her the first time.

I even whipped out some cheesy lyrics from a Luis Miguel song - if I'm going to go down, I'm going to go down in flames! I asked her if she knew the song and she gave a mischievous smile and said "yes". I should have just told her that I think about her when I hear the chorus. But that's not how a wannabe Spanish Casanova does things! So I spit out a few lines of the chorus. A mistake? Definitely - but what the heck! It's not like anything else I did that day was any less embarrassing.

She truly could not comprehend how I had done all this for her ... learning Spanish, waiting all this time, and just showing up with a little bit of faith. I couldn't explain it to her because honestly, I don't understand it myself. I asked her if she got my email from last year - she didn't. Oh well, I believe in fate and fate was not with me today. But at the least, I made a beautiful girl smile and laugh probably like she never has before.

I can't say that I'm really disappointed because I pretty much expected this outcome. In some ways it went better than I thought it would. Still, I'm quite sad as I had some pretty high hopes, but I have no regrets. The only regret I would have had was to wonder for the rest of my life. I would do it all over again, even with the same outcome - this experience was priceless. It really was worth it just to see her again and know that last year wasn't just a fluke for me. But for some reason ... it still doesn't seem enough. The way she handled everything ... so gracefully and with so much kindness ... makes her even more attractive, in my mind.

I did all that I could. I don't expect much in life, only to have the opportunity to try for happiness - and I did just that. It's amazing what the warmth of a smile or the happiness of laughter can do for you when it comes from someone special. I could've stayed and talked with her longer; in many ways I wanted to. But I really needed to get away from it ... it's difficult to be around something so beautiful and perfect, knowing that you can never touch it. And I knew it would've been wrong for me to stay any longer.

I thanked her before leaving and told her that I hoped to one day see her again. I wished her luck and she thanked me for everything. At the least she was very flattered by the whole thing. I know that, for at least a few minutes, I made her feel incredibly special (perhaps stalked is a better word - I'm not really sure!). She knew that standing in front of me for those brief moments, she was the only thing that mattered for me. At least, I hope she knew ... She offered to call me a taxi as I prepared to leave. I declined, saying that I would walk. As I turned away from her I said "Some day ... maybe ..."

She has my contact info - I told her that I am in Europe until October 21 and that if she wants, I would return at any time. And that perhaps someday, if she ever travels to Canada, I could show her my city and my country - as friends. She asked if she should email in English or Spanish - I said Spanish, because I need the practice. But I doubt she will ever email me - perhaps this is for the best.

I never got her email address and I still don't know her last name or where she actually lives. It's too bad because stalking her would be so much easier with these vital pieces of information! So this is the end of the Isabel saga. However, I think I'd like to one day return just for the heck of it (i.e. - without any romantic intentions), just to see the look on her face.

So, off to Madrid to catch a night train to San Sebastian. Six hours to kill ... went to Puerta del Sol and Gran Via for some walking. Amazing string quartet was playing outside of El Cortes Ingles (department store). Did a great version of Ave Maria. Everything came full circle, in a way - heard a great version (pan flute) in Nazare, Portugal last year. Both times I thought of Isabel. Also used the same internet cafe that I used last year the night before meeting her. There's a sense of closure to everything now. Though it's not the ending I had hoped for, I am still quite happy and have a hop in my step. It was an amazing experience, regardless of the outcome.

I did some window shopping then had dinner at Rodilla (fast food sandwiches). Shrimp/cream cheese; tuna/cheese; turkey/apple. Crappy apples for dessert. Not the best meal. Off to the bus station.

Bus station was quite nice. "About a boy" was playing on the ride to San Sebastian. The old lady next to me kept falling asleep and leaning on me. Quite irritating. Would've cut her some slack if she was a cute little Spanish hotel receptionist, however 😊

---

Photos

1.
A bunch of car scrapes on the wall at the hotel. I wonder if the one that John and I made last year is still there?

2.
The Isabel emergency kit. With the heat, mouthwash and deodorant are a necessity before seeing her.

3.
Beautiful flowers for a beautiful girl .... aaawwwwww .....

4.
A photo of the incomparable Isabel. Sorry, but I had to obscure the face; it's for your own protection. I don't want any of you guys seeing her and instantly falling for her, too. You all saw how I was ... it wasn't pretty.
And notice the charm hanging from her necklace - it's a Chinese character, though I'm not sure which one. Perhaps she has a thing for Chinese men? But unfortunately for me, I don't look or act Chinese!!!

5.
Segways for rent. Actually a pretty good idea in this hot, hilly city.

6.
Nothing special, just a restaurant that John and I ate at last year.

Comments

[pwong]

Re: late Debes estar simpatica a mi! Soy viejo, decrepito, y lento!