Nicholas Quirke was relieved to wake to a rainy day on 12th February 2020, not because he was tired of the sight seeing but because he was suffering from a bout of sciatica and it meant he could rest up, find a sports massage, and relax. Finding an appropriate massage proved difficult. With the offer of something more sensual was quite prevalent he’d had to enlist the help of the hotel reception to find something suitable. They found a hotel spa where sports massages were on the menu on the 14th floor of a department store. After a lazy restful morning he set off to Dongdaemun to get some help in releasing the nerve. He discovered a new area of Soul that was both modern yet felt old too. And it all looked somehow romantic in the winter drizzzle. He had a map and tried to follow city mapper but he could not find the hotel or the spa. He hit the 14th floor of several buildings. He showed the map and asked, ‘Is this here’ and they either said yes, or sent him to another building. He spotted a tourist information office and finally after an hour he got to to spot he needed to be. There was some negotiation and Nicholas used Google translate to get the right information across. he felt a little nervous and the ladies didn’t seem 100% convinced of what he was asking, but it was a sports massage and thats what he got. Every muscle was pummelled, stretched , pressed and battered and though he felt like a wrung out towell by the end of the hour, the pain in his leg had, for now disappeared. He got back to the hotel just as his guide Patrick arrived. He helped Nicholas with some research for as trip the next day and on new hotel, he was due to check out on Friday, as well as train tickets for Busan. They then set off for Insadong. a colourful artisan area full of gift shops and traditional arts wares, where they ate and then went to as bar to chat and learn more about Korean life. During the evening Nicholas got to speak, though briefly with his two sons. It was good to hear from them and his spirits, particularly now the sciatica seemed to have receded, soared and saying goodnight to Patrick made his way home to his penultimate night at the hotel. He reflected on the day which should have been relaxing and though he still relived the stress of searching for the spa undoubtably felt happy and positive. His plans had gone awry but solutions were presenting themselves.