And Then Came Josh

One of the greatest things about moving abroad is being able to take those that you left behind in and make them feel at home in your home. Along with their smiles, they also bring memories, a breath of fresh air and a 'new' way of looking at where you now live. They remind you to keep living and following your path and at the same time you silently urge them to keep trekking as well. It is always a beautiful exchange. There is nothing better than stretching your toes out after a long day of sightseeing, drinking a glass of wine and talking to the wee hours of the night. And for some reason there is something so much more magical about it when it's someone from back home. The weekend after my parents left I got to host another lovely couple, Josh and Natalie. Before we begin the route, let me tell you a little about Josh.

He is one of the very few friends I still keep in touch with from High School and for some wonderful reason, keeping in touch has always been so easy with him. He is an amazing writer, an adventurer and one of those people that you somehow know will always be there and always make it easy to meet. I have no doubt that no matter where I live, he will always find a way to come and see me. And then he met Natalie who was another little jewel that I got to know better while she was here. A professor of Pilates and a dancer as well, she gracefully and almost silently makes her way around, admiring everything around her and almost whispering her words as she smiles. I like people who smile when they talk, the world needs more of them. And so two years ago, they decided to start saving up their money and fly around the world for four months. The journey is as follows: LAX to NYC, NYC to an intense month all over Spain (pit stop in BCN of course), Portugal, possibly Morroco then over to Asia- Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand to finally arrive back in LA with the idea of starting over again and dedicating themselves to their passions, dance and writing. It is virtually impossible to not love these two.

And so we took the city by storm, walking down one of my favorite streets, Lluis Pellicer with the greatest dive bar in town, ok one of the greatest...We walked like Egyptians thru Gracia



Mary Katherine played a stunning show with a set of hand drums and we sang along to oldies but goodies at Musical Maria, a bar with the most awesome collection of vinyls from the 60's and 70's




The following day we spent literally all day walking around as I showed them my favorite hidden spots and later went to a Catalan version graffiti expo...ya, they haven't seen the hoods in LA yet...We left and Josh decided it was time to cut his beard. As we walked thru el Born, he stopped in front of a Muslim barber shop and claimed this would be the place. Both Natalie and I looked at him with concern in our eyes and he shook his head and explained, "If there is anyone who knows how to cut a beard, it is that man in there." The boy had a point. And so we sat and watched him get prettied up with "The Muslim Shave".


After the once in a lifetime experience, we headed over to a few authentic bars and laughed our tired heads off and enjoyed the last few hours of great company we had. As you can see, the clean shaven Josh was an Ace of Hearts and us girls were true dolls.


The last night we had together, we sat around and listened to great music and told each other stories, realizing that we had so much to write about and I made a promise to myself and to Josh that I would get on it. The stories are brewing folks and Josh came along to remind me of it. Josh always comes along at the right time...it's refreshing.

Today as I had a fresh filet of salmon and green salad with mint leaves, Jordi handed me the mail and within the junk was a postcard from the two straight from Granada, a faded picture of Lorca and black ink reminding me to keep my promise and to keep moving. The world turns much too fast to sit around and do nothing but get dizzy.
thanks josh...happy travels!