Last week my old neighbor in Beijing and good friend David celebrated his 40th birthday. He sent an sms and email around that he would give a big party at his home on Saturday. He also sent these messages to me, but already mentioned that it was a pity I couldn’t be there and that we would catch up some time later this year.
Since Barcelona, where David lives, is only 3 hours away by train I decided to give him a big surprise!
The train travels at a pretty high speed and at times drives along the coast. It is easy to see from the landscape when traveling through Valencia province by the many oranges farms lining the railroad track. The train also traveled past Sitges, a nice little coastal town that I visited in 2004 when I was in Barcelona.
Upon arrival at Barcelona Sants I took another train to Barceloneta where David lives. On my way to his home I gave him a call to make sure he was indeed home. He said he was very busy to which I replied that it sounded he could use a helping hand. When I said I would be there in 10 minutes he couldn’t believe what he heard and when I was standing in front of him it took a while to realize that I was indeed there!
The afternoon we spent catching up while preparing for the party. David’s brother Sergio, who I saw for the last time 7 or 8 years ago also came by with his son, great seeing him too again!
This month Shona, the daughter of Cho who runs Cafe Sambal and Paper in Beijing, is staying with David and his wife Shun and she did most of the cooking of the gorgeous food. She was managing the kitchen like a pro, preparing 3-4 dishes simultaneously.
On the party I met another familiar face from the Beijing times, Italian Fabrizio who lived in Beijing and then moved to Shanghai later on. He now also lives the better life in Spain. Maria, a friend Sergio came to China with, came to the party too with her sister.
Great to retell all the stories of the old times in Beijing! The story about the ayi we shared and who ate two very strong space-cookies from David’s fridge or the story of David and I getting arrested one morning at Trendsetters for borrowing a bike of some Chinese guys…
The party went into the wee hours and the next morning we first had a much needed coffee on the beach in fantastic weather. The rest of the day we spent cleaning up the mess and at 4pm I took my train back to Valencia.
All in all a great party!
Fantastic to see old friends and making new ones and knowing that Barcelona is so close to Valencia, I think I will go there for more weekends!
