The sounds of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” came booming from the DJ’s speakers. Cyndi’s image was being projected on the wall in all her glory from the original video production circa 1983. My cousin was dancing, feeling the music, and enjoying the night life. She had mentioned earlier during the day that she wanted to find a club, or discotheque while we were in Spain, and go dancing. After walking many hours through the night, we found a discotheque, or so we thought. People were dancing and music was playing, a classic, yes, but we had no idea we would be hearing a song from the 80’s when traveling half way around the world to go to a Spanish disco. It was an interesting scene and state of events that transpired to say the least. We ended up meeting an awesome person and dancing with her for the rest of the time the club was open. She invited us to stay at her flat for the night because it was really late, however, we declined. She was very concerned about us since it was so late.
We all ended up leaving the scene at the same time so Joanna and I walked with her for a while. She went her own way and we headed to the square in the main part of the city. It was 3 am and no transportation vehicles were heading back to the campsite so we decided to sit in the center of the square. After three men came up to us trying to sell us beer, we decided to leave the area. Since it was so early, or late, depending on your version of time, we chose to try and find Patk Güell and be there when it opened. So there we were, on foot, walking hopelessly around a city, trying to find a map. We were wearing those Merrel Barefoot shoes that we both had just purchased right before the trip for running. We learned this night and day that these were not the best shoes to have worn on a 36 hour walking excursion. We found a bench outside of a restaurant and Joanna closed her eyes the moment she sat down. I stayed awake as a lookout just to be safe. About an hour went by and we started walking again.
We traveled up a giant hill and came across a little living area inside the city filled with locals and sweet little storefronts. We bought some fruit, a map of the city, and watched some dancing, then we carried on in the hopes of finding the park designed by Antoni Gaudi. Following the route on the map led us straight to signs leading the way to the park. We still had a ways to go to get to the entrance. We were two of the first people there and other locals were walking their dogs or doing their morning workout routines along the trails. All I wanted to see was the mosaic features of the park. I wanted to find the dragon, or iguana fountain. Joanna opted to sleep when we found the sitting area at the top of the park. We took some photos and then she took a nap. I traveled on looking at all the features and did some sketches. I found the fountain and then the park came alive with people. So many people. There were tourists hustling and bustling about, musicians, and local merchants selling their wares throughout the park. I went back to find my cousin and just saw a sea of people. I closed my eyes, tried not to panic, and thought of where she would be. I turned, opened my eyes, and I saw her across the sitting area. We locked eyes and walked through the craziness toward one another. After hugging each other, she calmly looked at me and said, “Someone sat on my head! That is what woke me up!!”
Thank you for reading and have a wonderful weekend! Next week I will do my best to post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!
-Karen Hilliard
Also, if you would like to show support, I recently joined “buy me a coffee” which is a way for anyone to contribute to the creative process behind the paintings. Fuel the artist so to speak. Here is the link if you are interested and I truly appreciate the support and the fact that you are liking these blogs, as well as my art posts. I am working hard to bring you all fresh content! Here is the link to my Instagram where I try to post daily. You can also find me on Facebook at my art page Karen Hilliard Art.
Thank you again for all of your support!