Boy, looking at photos sure brings back the memories, doesn’t it? I got out old trip photos (the ones printed on paper) to look at while I drink my apple-cinnamon tea and munch on a chocolate chip cookie. What I’m viewing right now are photos from a trip that began in Spain. We had flown into Barcelona where we would begin a long cruise.

We, together with another couple, spent the night in Barcelona and when we got ready to get into the cab to go to the ship, we were forced to take separate cabs as we had too much luggage. Not being together did not make us too happy, but things got worse.

When we came to a roundabout, with a huge fountain in the center, the cab in front, that contained our friends, went barreling off to the right, and our cabbie sent us, on two wheels veering off to the left. While screaming at the two-wheel maneuver, I am also pointing and screaming, “Mi amigos, mi amigos,” which is about the extent of
my Spanish. Our driver kept right on in the direction he was headed and shortly pulled into an enormous empty lot next to a Russian freighter. Somehow we got him to understand that the ship we were looking for was one meant for tourists.

He shed rubber as he zoomed out of the lot and headed off on down the road. By this time, I am hysterical and my husband has either dozed off or died. His eyes are closed. But, shortly, we did arrive at our destination. Our friends were nowhere in sight and when they finally showed up, in the nick of time, we learned that their cabbie had taken them to the airport. They also experienced a bit of a language problem.

None the worse for wear, we cruised on. This little escapade did give us and our other table mates plenty to talk about for the rest of the trip. We had decided that our “mi amigos” event would be perfect for a Seinfeld show so we crated many scenarios. They were never officially presented, however.

I may never forget our little side trip to the Russian freighter and as long as things turn out all right, those unexpected events are really the most memorable.

By the way, we loved beautiful Barcelona. (Don’t forget to pronounce the “r” as “th.”)

I’d love to hear about some of your unscheduled trip events.

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