Getting Paid to Have Fun in the Sun

If I had been told a year ago that I would have an all expense paid trip to a European city, have the tour guides and buses taken care of, and be able to swim in the Mediterranean and get paid for it, I never would have believed it.

My office sends the whole office on study trips in groups of 15-30 to study the architecture of another city. This year is was Stockholm or Valencia. I went on the Valencia trip with 15 other people. I knew a few by name, but had never hung out with them before, so it was going to be a great way to get to know my co-workers. And what decided to show up that morning; the flu.

Saturday we landed late afternoon so we had some time to go explore before the group dinner. Kate and I headed for the city centre but after realizing we went the wrong direction we just stopped for pints, life you do. We thought we had several hours to drink, so we kept on drinking, but then realized that we had forgotten about the one hour time difference and showed up fashionably late for dinner. We had a wonderful 5-course meal with lots of wine. About this time, the flu had me coughing and sniffling, so they got me whisky. Since I cannot be the only party pooper on the first night, I headed to the clubs with the rest of them. I went back to beer since the bubbles felt good on my throat. After dancing on top of tables, watching the guys get hit on by other men, two guys going into the toilet stall together after I was done and witnessing an erotic dance with a blow up skeleton, whiskey became a good idea again. Oh I wish I had had thee foresight to stop at the wine with dinner, but I was having fun. About 4:00, the group was heading on to the next club on the beach, I opted for my bed. Thorsten (my 6’-8” co-worker that made us feel safe), Kate and I jumped into a cab and headed for the hotel. Little did we know this would be our earliest night in, so we set the alarm for 9:00 to make sure we had enough time for breakfast before the tour.

Who needed an alarm, I had had too much fun the night before. Kate made sure that I got some breakfast into me before we loaded up onto our little tour bus. Most of our group had only just coming in at 8:30, so I am glad that I choose to head home for sure. Our bus driver spoke no English, so I tried to translate since he was asking where our guide was, but between the flu and my hangover, I just managed to tell him I was sorry that I was sick and I cannot understand what he is saying. He just smiled and nodded, since I think I was a nice shade of green. We managed to find our tour guide after a few others pulled out their phrase books. We drove around the whole downtown area seeing most of Santiago Calatrava’s work, since he is from Valencia. We got out and walked around the city. It has been revitalized in the last 10 years since it went into decay after the river flooded terribly about 30 years ago. The city eventually rerouted the river so it goes along the outskirts of town, and turned the old riverbed into a beautiful pedestrian walkway that is uninterrupted for 30 km. It has been a work-in-progress for the last 30 years, and it is a sight to see. We tried to view some of the cathedrals, but mass was in session. We stopped for coffees, tapas and drinks at one of the many outdoor cafes. About this time I started feeling better, since my cold medicine kicked in. We headed back to the bus for our siesta before heading out for the night.

The Rugby World Cup Ireland versus Namibia was on, so we tracked down an Irish Pub, and settled for a few scoops. Of course we won since we had a brilliant season in the 6 Nations Finals. A group of the lads, along with Kate and I nibbled at some more tapas around the corner at the local Spanish chipper that was about as good as deepfried lard. To work off such a fattening meal, we decided to change directions and head toward the Pier where the American Cup yacht races are held. We settle for an open-air pub right on the water. Dancing a debauchery ensued. One of the women putting her off the shoulder crocheted shawl on one of the blokes. He decided to get the bright idea to unbutton a few buttons, but of course the women make him take it off. They then put jewelry on him, and then out came the cameras. I was his human meat shield protecting him from most of the camera flashes, but a few squeaked by. It was closing time, and since we were a crowd of drunken Irish, the police we called to have a presence to encourage us to move on. We walked along the beach for a bit until all our beers and wine bottles were drank we began the long walk back to the hotel. I was just glad that I was not wearing my tallest heals, just my medium sized ones. Many Irish songs were sung and as we headed for a nightcap in the blokes room. I instead went straight to bed since it was 5, in the full throws of the flu.

Kate crawled into bed around 7 and was up by 9 for breakfast. We declined to join the group heading to the museums, since we went straight for the beach. The perfect cure for her hangover and my flu is to float in the Mediterranean. Warm waters and sunny skies can make any day better. After several hours of relaxing, we made our way back to the hotel for a quick shower, lunch and some shopping. We wandered through the streets searching all the shops for a Valencia football jersey for Kate’s husband. Kate picked out a beautiful red dress that was a must have for our paella feast. It was great having a group size that could be accommodated all at one table, and that we were able to stick together for most of the time. We had a wonderful meal that took hours to eat with so many starters and lovely dessert. We went for a moonlit walk along the beach where there were naked people abound. We also nearly stumbled over a huge jellyfish. We went to a club right on the beach that had beds in the back harem style that 5 people could lounge on while sipping their drinks. One of the women pulled a stunt on one of the guys by rubbing “a soothing cream” on his sunburns which really was tinted moisturizer. (People did comment on how great of color he got while on holiday when back at work, HA!)

The next morning we stopped at the shop to pick up chocolates, wine for less than a Euro, Aqua de Valencia (that is a local drink), and champagne. We boarded our bus and toasted our great trip with our morning mimosas. The craic was 90’ and great memories were made! I am already looking forward to next year’s trip.