First there was this, one morning, with the sun still newborn
Beckoning quaintly, softly, painted on a rock wall
No flashy billboards in this quiet mountain town, stuffed with garishness
Fake smiles filled with fake teeth, techno beats from advertising dances
Here they keep it simple. This is what we offer, drop by should the mood strike
It did, so we followed the arrow
Lovely food, with the attendant grace of true service and not unrequited attitude
Sun-burnished locals wandered through the open patio
Some stayed and joined, others just said hello, drifting among the tables
All were friends here, including the quartet they’d just met
We eventually moved on, as one must do, other things to explore
Like another patio in another square, later, with the sun aging
Where the welcoming committee was a bit more furry
He didn’t give his name, but cats often don’t
Still, he encouraged all of us to stroke him briskly, repeatedly, navigating the forest of our legs and attentions
He mewed, he did, telling us of his wants and desires
Most of them centered on the contents of nearby tables
Potential dropped manna from a shorter sky, hope springing eternal
But he had other dreams as well, secret quests
One of them called to him, as they do, and he slipped away
Fog on little cat feet
The bell in the nearby church tower spoke of a long hour
Darkness comes late this month of the year, but still it comes
It was time to go, but hard to do
As the locals continued to circle the square
Calling out greetings across the cooling cobblestones…
Greetings from Cómpeta, Spain. More to follow. Assuming the cat doesn’t convince me to follow the fog to a secret place in our faded imaginations…
Categories: Travel
Bonnywood Manor 
Man that vacation air has stirred something in you, this is one of the best things I’ve ever read. Ever. 🙂
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Aww. Thank you kindly, Stargazer. And please come to Competa for the Springtime…
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Watch out for Jonny Walker!
P.s. Did you receive my 3 Word Challenge?
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We’re having to watch out for lots of things, strangers in a strange land. And whoops, I haven’t checked for new entries lately, but I will now…
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Hope you’re enjoying your holiday.
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Yeah! Great to hear from you in real time about events that are happening now and from locations you’re at this moment. Carry on, furry or not! 😀
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I might have to rethink how I do this whole blog. But first I need to find the gato from the square and see what new wisdom he might have to share…
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A beautiful post, Brian. Being on holiday is good for you. 😀
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Methinks you speak of great wisdom… 😉
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Lovely. Just lovely.
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Thanks, Patti! The sunlight does something to you here…
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That’s excellent – what a multi-talented guy you are. 🙂
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I have lots of secret bits… 😉
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Vacation suits you.
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I’m sure you understand when I say that sometimes a new place speaks to you in a voice that is different but familiar…
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You bet I understand.
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Fog on little cat feet …… just loving that sentence.
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To be fair, it’s a line borrowed and modified from a Carl Sandburg poem. I’m hoping he doesn’t mind the gentle theft…
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It was worth the theft.
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This is such an evocative piece of prose that I literally feel the fur and hear the purr of the cat as it weaves amongst you and the clanging of the bell in the distance, the scorching dry Spanish sun caressing my needy skin and my (albeit it rather tired and hungover) eyes safe behind their Jackie-Os seruptitiously scanning for more visual delights on which to sate myself. The tapas and the crisply chilled cava call me …. I’m assuming you wouldn’t consider swapsys just now, right? 😉
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Oh, my. I thought you WERE with us on the Gato Patio. There was a stylish woman at a table, off to one side, surveying all with a pleasantly keen air, jotting notes in a worn leather journal and smiling at private thoughts. I now hope she doesn’t mind that I slipped her a note as we left. “Meet me at our special place by the fountain so we can swap journals and carry on.” Perhaps she just laughed it off and tossed a bit of yummy to the gato…
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Rumbled … just call me an always stylish stalker 😉
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This is proof you belong in Spain.
Off to read more.
Adios amigo
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It is proof, indeed. Now I just have to figure out a good reason why I need to seek asylum in Spain….
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I love how you wrote this, with snippets and impressions, and all very lyrical.
Your photos are lovely.
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The words were easy to find on that lovely sunny day…
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