Whatever the source of our extravagant musings, it was time to get back inside the box, or at least inside the bus for the trip across old Barcelona to EULAR’s 60th birthday party in the Parc Guell.
Good Things Are Worth the Work – and the Wait
If nothing else, the party was lively and energetic. It was held in a lush, sprawling park high above the city. The park was designed by Gaudi, a visionary architect who also created the Sagrada Família, a magnificent church that has been under construction for more than 100 years. As I learned when I toured the church, at the current pace, it will likely take at least another 20 years for completion. Even in its unfinished state, however, the church is one of Europe’s most famous attractions. Suffice it to say, Gaudi thought outside the box and created a style that is variously organic and quirky, outrageous and thrilling in its ambition.
The party at the park had a carnival atmosphere worthy of Mardi Gras. Lipsticked men in green satin shirts sang and mimed. Dancers with large puppets on their shoulders paraded through the crowded park grounds. The dinner was tapas city as the partygoers sampled a mélange of Spanish food – octopus, sausage, beans – all fragrant and boldly seasoned with peppers. Fortunately, Rioja was in abundance to smooth the taste of the spicy food.
At dusk, drums thumped as a large procession of dancers and musicians descended from a grove of trees that overlooked the large expanse where we ate. Leading the procession were women with streaming black hair and iridescent blue body paint. To raucous music, they paraded in a conga line. As the women danced around the park grounds, the night air exploded with a barrage of flash bulbs amidst “ohs” and “ahs” of awe and disbelief at the women’s attire.
As many walked to gaze upon the blue women, I went in the opposite direction to the edge of the park and looked into the distance. As the sun set over the Mediterranean, the jagged edge of Sagrada Família inscribed a blue-black line against the red glow of the evening sky. With my fifth glass of Rioja jazzing my mind, I returned to the conversation with my colleagues in the lounge and I became convinced – if not enthralled – by the endowment idea that we had conjured earlier in the day.
