I met my fiance thanks much in part to my horrendous credit union! I planned a trip to Spain last year for 2 weeks (I had flights into Madrid, out of Barci, and a railpass valid for 6 days, and nothing else, that's how I plan!). When I arrived in Madrid, my bank card and one of only two credit cards I have didn't work. Then I realized that the one I did have was not taken at many places. (that and it had a 3% fee, and my pension had a 5% surcharge for using CCs instead of cash, so using it would quickly cause the trip to become much more expensive than planned if I didn't get it resolved). I was wondering aimlessly and getting very hungry on my 2nd day, credit cards not working. A handsome waiter asked if I would like to eat at this restaurant. I asked if they took my credit card, as I was hungry enough that I didn't care about the surcharges. He told me they did and he sat me at a table in his section of the restaurant. As he served me he asked questions about why I was alone and had only one credit card, where I was from, etcetera. He asked me what I was doing after I ate dinner, and I told him I had no plans, as I had no (little) money. He asked if I would like to go with him to a ‘discoteca’ (at this point I was picturing in my head a 70’s themed club with disco ball and all), but whatever, he was cute, and I had no other plans and I did not want to spend the little money I had. We never made it to the discoteca that night. Instead, we walked the streets of Madrid for hours, and shared our first kisses. He invited me to come meet him at his restaurant the next night and I did. That night, we did go to the discoteca and danced and talked all night (and I found out that it simply means dance club in Spanish). I decided to stay in Madrid one more night, because I wanted to spend more time with him. He took me to the train station the morning I was leaving. I had planned to go to Sevilla, Granada, the south coast, and then head to Barcelona and my return flight to the U.S.. He helped me get in the correct line to purchase my reservation to Sevilla. We spent many of the next minutes, kissing and hugging, not wanting to let go. He needed to get ready for work and left to go home and hurry to work. I broke down as soon as he walked away. I told him later it was then that I realized I had already fallen in love with him. I studied my rail schedule book, and decided that I would go to only Sevilla, then Granada, then catch a train straight from Granada to Madrid. I could stay in Madrid 2 more nights before heading to Barcelona for 2.5 days. I purchased the reservations and decided I was going to surprise him. He surprised me instead when I saw him running through the train station ~90 minutes later looking in every direction. When he saw me he told me he had to see me one more time, one more kiss before I left. He looked and smelled so good at that moment. I decided to tell him then that I was returning 4 days later for 2 more nights, and his face lit up. He met me at the train station when I returned to Madrid, and we had 2 amazing nights (he had to work during those days). When I left on the train the second time, I cried the entire train ride to Barcelona, not knowing when I would see him next.
