While I am slightly hungover and can't write too much (or maybe even in proper words/sentences) - some fun has been had, and some minor tragedy has passed.
My sister left her holiday in Costa Rica to visit mum in Busingen last week, and then jet-setted her way back to Barca on Friday morning - she then nabbed a hire car and sped across to visit us in Perpignan.
Out first night passed in a fury of booze fuelled amusements, and much good food was consumed (along with much beer, wine, dessert wine, sangria etc etc). We pulled some bad poses to amuse little Kimmy (our famous peasant faces - come so naturally) who is languishing away in Perth and swamped in study. After watching some v amusing salsa dancing at a little club near our hotel, we stumbled on home to bed. I enjoyed stereo snoring. Tam and I half made breakfast, JB was not quite up for it.
We finally hit the streets some time mid morning (or mid arvo - who can say?) to discover our beloved pimped-up biciclettes/velos/steeds were not where we'd left them. Theivery! Bastards. We were sad...we visited les gendarmes for assistance - only to be shooed away 3 times as they were too busy to take our complaint. Must go back Monday. Fabbo. The insurance company was even worse - almost impossible to get on the phone and then quick to assure us that 'bikes aren't luggage' and so aren't covered, despite wording to the contrary in their brochure. JB politely set the woman straight and we must file a claim when the cops finally let us report the theft.
We nursed our broken hearts over crap lunch, and returned to the bunker where we were at a loose end most of Sat. Poor Tam - must have been a sweeeeeet Saturday to drive 2 hours from Barca and then watch Jamie and I in mourning in our little hotel for a whole day.
About 5pm, the will to live slightly returned - along with the will to eat, and perhaps to imbibe again. We're not alcoholics - we had to drink to kill the pain. We plodded around, boozing randomly at cool looking places, and finally found a splendid dinner place. MUCH seafood was consumed, along with some splendid apertifs (Martini bianco - GOLD) and a couple bottles of blanc. Our spirits lifted...we cruised home (by way of last night's dodgy dance club), and Tammy momentarily rose above her heinous back injury to pull some extremely wrong dance moves with me for Kim's amusement back home. Everyone ended up with minor injuries, dirty clothes and finally, hangovers again.
A very good weekend (besides the bike theft, of course).
Even though we do miss our metal friends - the most annoying part is we now need to wait here for the special trailer hitch fittings to be sent again from Holland, then buy new bikes (that the fittings will fit) - and then attempt to find fittings/attachments etc to fit our bike luggage. Or buy all new bike luggage/panniers etc. And new "I love my bike" bells. And new safety flags...the flappy top half we are left with is not much use without our special patented masking tape flag fittings, securing the flag bases to the missing bikes.
Random incident - across the dark floor of the dance club, I saw a woman in her mid forties coming towards me - in what I thought was a trick of the light, I announced to Jamie and Tam that a lady with her nipple out was approaching. No trick. She sauntered over, grabbed and smilingly held my hands for a moment - all the while her entire (enhanced) right breast was, well...out there. It had escaped from her shirt entirely. Random.
My sister left her holiday in Costa Rica to visit mum in Busingen last week, and then jet-setted her way back to Barca on Friday morning - she then nabbed a hire car and sped across to visit us in Perpignan.
Out first night passed in a fury of booze fuelled amusements, and much good food was consumed (along with much beer, wine, dessert wine, sangria etc etc). We pulled some bad poses to amuse little Kimmy (our famous peasant faces - come so naturally) who is languishing away in Perth and swamped in study. After watching some v amusing salsa dancing at a little club near our hotel, we stumbled on home to bed. I enjoyed stereo snoring. Tam and I half made breakfast, JB was not quite up for it.
We finally hit the streets some time mid morning (or mid arvo - who can say?) to discover our beloved pimped-up biciclettes/velos/steeds were not where we'd left them. Theivery! Bastards. We were sad...we visited les gendarmes for assistance - only to be shooed away 3 times as they were too busy to take our complaint. Must go back Monday. Fabbo. The insurance company was even worse - almost impossible to get on the phone and then quick to assure us that 'bikes aren't luggage' and so aren't covered, despite wording to the contrary in their brochure. JB politely set the woman straight and we must file a claim when the cops finally let us report the theft.
We nursed our broken hearts over crap lunch, and returned to the bunker where we were at a loose end most of Sat. Poor Tam - must have been a sweeeeeet Saturday to drive 2 hours from Barca and then watch Jamie and I in mourning in our little hotel for a whole day.
About 5pm, the will to live slightly returned - along with the will to eat, and perhaps to imbibe again. We're not alcoholics - we had to drink to kill the pain. We plodded around, boozing randomly at cool looking places, and finally found a splendid dinner place. MUCH seafood was consumed, along with some splendid apertifs (Martini bianco - GOLD) and a couple bottles of blanc. Our spirits lifted...we cruised home (by way of last night's dodgy dance club), and Tammy momentarily rose above her heinous back injury to pull some extremely wrong dance moves with me for Kim's amusement back home. Everyone ended up with minor injuries, dirty clothes and finally, hangovers again.
A very good weekend (besides the bike theft, of course).
Even though we do miss our metal friends - the most annoying part is we now need to wait here for the special trailer hitch fittings to be sent again from Holland, then buy new bikes (that the fittings will fit) - and then attempt to find fittings/attachments etc to fit our bike luggage. Or buy all new bike luggage/panniers etc. And new "I love my bike" bells. And new safety flags...the flappy top half we are left with is not much use without our special patented masking tape flag fittings, securing the flag bases to the missing bikes.
Random incident - across the dark floor of the dance club, I saw a woman in her mid forties coming towards me - in what I thought was a trick of the light, I announced to Jamie and Tam that a lady with her nipple out was approaching. No trick. She sauntered over, grabbed and smilingly held my hands for a moment - all the while her entire (enhanced) right breast was, well...out there. It had escaped from her shirt entirely. Random.
