The Alchemists

After lunch, Caspar and Finland continued their tour to Casa Batllo, and finally to Parc Guell. The uphill walk to Parc Guell was too much for Finland. She finally gave up and Caspar had to carry her while laughing.

The next day Finland did not want to get out of bed because her body was still aching from the trip on the previous day. She was drained, especially after climbing the steep steps of Parc Guell.

"Alright, we don't have to go anywhere today, let's just stay home and chill out," Caspar said, coming back to bed to hug Finland. "We can eat and read in bed or watch movies."

"I like it. We'll just go on another trip tomorrow." said Finland then.

Because they were on their honeymoon and were not in a hurry, both of them enjoyed the relaxing time as much as possible. The next day, after Finland felt better, the two left for Casa Mila and then spent their day walking and eating at Las Ramblas.

"When in Spain, it's incomplete if you don't enjoy Sangria," Caspar said. They were sitting in one of the cafes on the Las Ramblas boulevard which was full of people who were thinking the same thing.

Sangria was a red wine drink mixed with pieces of various fresh fruit and a shot of another liquor such as brandy. Finland was shocked when she saw her drink come in a half-a-liter glass!

"This glass is so big..." she hissed in surprise.

"Spanish people really like to drink. They love to talk, take a nap (siesta) and drink... That's why they always look so happy." Caspar explained with a chuckle. He clinked his glass to Finland's and encouraged Finland to drink, "Drink, the most delicious sangria in the world is from Barcelona. Mc Donald's also serves beer here. This is the only country in the world where you can eat at McD while drinking beer. In other countries they only serve soda."

Finland nodded in understanding. Now she understood why Stanis liked living in Barcelona. The weather was much better than in Germany, and the people here lived their lives with excitement, making the atmosphere very pleasant.

She observed that most of the waiters in the restaurants around them were not young and beautiful women, like how it was in most restaurants in Asia. One of the waiters that was serving them was a man in his 30-40s who looked like a night club bouncer, but here he was, serving customers, with a huge smile on his face.

She was amazed that the server's profession in this country was not gender and physically biased.

Finland felt grateful to be able to experience all these things and see new perspectives and cultures from other countries. She had lived in Indonesia and Singapore, and then she visited Germany, and now she was in Spain.

All these countries have their own characteristics. She couldn't wait to visit Paris to see how the French people live and see their culture. Too bad she would be in the city of love with her best friend, not her husband.

***

Finland was surprised when she found out that they were going to Madrid by car.

"Isn't the distance more than 600 km from here...?" she cried in a questioning tone. In Indonesia, to go from Jakarta to Jogjakarta, which was only around 500 km in distance, it would take at least 10 hours of driving to get there.

"The roads in Europe are different from the roads in your country," Caspar said as if reading Finland's mind. "With an average speed of 100 km/hour and a quick rest for lunch at the rest area, we can arrive in Madrid in less than 7 hours. We can leave early in the morning so we will arrive in Madrid in the afternoon. Then, we can immediately rest."

"Won't you get tired if you drive for so long?" Finland asked again.

"Yes, it must be very tiring… Therefore you need to give me a good massage when we get to Madrid. That way we can divide the work," Caspar replied, smiling mischievously.

"Why don't we take the train like normal people?" Finland asked.

"There are many normal people who drive like this, Finland. The view is good. Besides, from Madrid we can go to Lisbon and Portugal, and from there straight to Paris. Later if you want to take public transportation, you can do it with Jean," Caspar commented.

Ah yes, compared to Caspar, Jean was a real ordinary person. Traveling with him would definitely be more normal, Finland thought.