Going to Barcelona, Which Can Be a Big Deal for an Exploding Head

Pretty Woman From Valencia Not My Wife 2022. Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 36"

In 2012 I went to France and my head exploded. At first I thought it was ghosts, wrecking havoc on my stress and timidity. I stayed in Montcambrier, a 14th century bastide on a hill with Roman roads cutting through farmer’s fields. I painted pictures and feared going to sleep in the bed provided, since every time I walked into the room, a wave of body odor from some unseen stranger upset my nose and made my hair stand on end. I set up a 10 day camp in the unheated studio in late October and barely stopped painting to eat or sleep. It was a wonderfully horror-filled experience. I didn’t speak the language and denied myself human interaction like a hermit monk. I wouldn’t even visit the bakery across the street, although the morning smells were so inviting. On my last night I was finishing up a painting of a chicken and heard the intensely loud slap of a paddle against a wall. It knocked me off my chair and I layed on the floor shivering in terror with my eyes closed, praying to any sympathetic god within earshot.
Back at home a month later, in bed sleeping, a cannon BOOM went off in my head and I thought I was dead. I went to the computer and typed “my head just exploded” and Google saved friends and family from hearing another boring ghost story about my terror-stricken trip to France.

So for this trip I’d like to keep my head from exploding. I think it will help that I’m not traveling alone, and our daughter will be in Barcelona to welcome us. I know a little Spanish, however, hearing Catalan will certainly bring some distant thunder rumbles to stressed-up neurons. I hear there’s a thriving local craft beer industry, and marijuana bars if I want to take on a seldom-used stimulant for a racing heart. Probably not a good idea. Is valium over-the-counter in Spain? Any popular tapas topped with a dollop of benzodiazepine?

This trip I’ll do whatever it takes to keep my head quiet. Roll the cannons back into the armory and lock the doors. Rose deserves a break, and a promenade with a relaxed man. Breathe peace in and anticipation out. The sun will be shining, and there’s only one life to live.