Our (Non) Christmas Market Day in France

Josh's parents arrived in Barcelona in time to celebrate the holidays with us.  It's a visit we've been very much looking forward to, especially the kids.  While the holidays here have been great in the last 2 years, there is something to be said about having extended family with you to join in the celebrations.  It's one of the things we've missed about being home.

With Paul and Roisin here, we decided that we would not take a vacation during the kids' Christmas break but instead do some day trips.  The first of those trips was to France in search of Christmas markets.  Since it was just a day trip we were limited to those in the south of France, basically within a 3 hour driving distance of Barcelona.

After doing a little bit of research we decided upon 2 places, Argeles-sur-mer and Carcassonne.  One, a quaint village and the other more of a tourist attraction.  One of our favorite towns just over the French border is Collioure, a picturesque village filled with artisans and artists as well as bordering the Med which only enhances its beauty.  Matisse said "In France there is no sky as blue as the one in Collioure".  I had hoped there would be a Christmas market there as I imagined it would be the quinticential French market.  Unfortunately it looked like there was no market in Collioure but the neighboring town Argeles-sur-mer did have one.

I searched for photos online to see if this would be the market to take Josh's parents to.  Nada.  So we figured worst case we would add on Carcassonne which appeared to be only a 45 min drive from Argeles-sur-mer.

We got to Argeles-sur-mer in just under 2 1/2 hours.  Not so bad.  With the holidays fast approaching there was really no traffic to contend with.  And while it wasn't quite as quaint as Collioure, I definitely could see some similarities with brightly colored homes of turquoise, reds, purples and oranges - I know those don't sound like they would work, but they do.  We were about 45 minutes early for the opening of the market and so took the time to walk around the town and become familiar.  It didn't have the small winding streets of Collioure but was pretty nonetheless.

When we had arrived I had set the GPS for the square the market was being held and in which we parked.  So right upon arrival I was a little suspicious that the small tent in the parking lot was in fact, our Christmas market.  But since we had to wait the 45 minutes to confirm those inklings, we figured the worst case would be that we would be in and out in a matter of minutes and head on to Carcassonne.

Liam in front of a calabaza (pumpkin) - my name for him... 

Argeles-sur-mer town center

More of Argeles-sur-mer

After blue lollipops

Pretty house number - the image is actually of Collioure

Church in Argeles-sur-mer

Cool mural

Aidan didn't like the statue's face

Dancing in the streets

Left:  Cool mural... right:  Liam getting a ride from Papa

My boys

In fact, we were right, this was the market.  And it was an utter fail on our end.  Nothing Christmassy about it.  Well with the exception of one vendor at the very end that was selling chocolate covered flavored marshmallows like those we purchased at the Strasbourg market last year in the Alsace region. And so, I bought some more (several of which a week later are still sitting on my counter in Barcelona).  Ah well.  Ok, so it was a slight waste of time but I'm glad that Paul and Roisin got to see a little bit of charming France before moving on to touristy France.

The Christmas "market" in Argeles-sur-mer

And my predicted 45 mins (from just looking at the map, not actually googling the directions) from Argeles-sur-mer to Carcassone was actually double that time.  Apparently I didn't do a great job in the planning department.  The Christmas markets here looked pretty cool from their town website only it didn't specify where the markets were being held - in the Cité or somewhere in the actual town.  So we decided to go the Cité which is the old walled city and see where that took us - at a minimum Josh, the kids and his parents would get a chance to see a medieval walled city.

Now as we walk through the walled city which is a bit on the touristy side I'm reminded of something my best friend, Michelle, said to me when we visited Carcassonne 2 1/2 years ago - yes, the touristy part certainly takes away from the authenticity however, looking back hundreds if not thousands of years (the city was initially founded in BC times) there were still vendors in these sites, so while they aren't artisans making swords or horseshoes or suits of armor, they are still artisans selling their wears, even if those goods are of the touristy sort.

And it turned out that once we were in the walled city that you could see in the distance where the Christmas markets were, on the other side of town.  How could I know this?  Oh by the giant ferris wheel - it would have been a pretty cool market I'm sure just based on the fact that there was a ferris wheel.  But since the drive took longer than anticipated our first goal was lunch.  Josh did a quick Trip Advisor search and came up with a place a matter of meters from the Cité.  However, when we mapped it, it had us going along the grass just outside the walls which wasn't actually a street.

Searching for the restaurant

Outside the Cité

With much complaining from Aidan that his feet were getting wet and muddy, we abandoned Trip Advisor and decided to go into the Cité and eat there despite the fact that it is most definitely a tourist trap.  With 2PM rapidly approaching we were hitting the hungry grumpy point of no return for all involved, especially the kids.  But as always, when in a group it's hard to make a decision.

We finally agreed upon a small cafe in a square that was filled with tourists.  It should have been a sign.  Nothing good will come of this.  And nothing good did come of it.  Not only was the service beyond terrible, so was the food.  And yes, I know European service is different than US service but there is a difference between giving you your space to enjoy your meal and being downright negligent.  They were the latter.  And they screwed up our meal which took forever for very simple fare.  Regardless, we should have known better and no one is to fault but ourselves - in the end, at least we ate something.

By the time we finished our "meal" it was 3:30.  Despite the fact that we weren't in a rush to get back to Barcelona neither Josh and I were thrilled with the idea of another 3 hour drive late into the night.  So instead of heading to the markets (which we didn't have an actual address for, just a ferris wheel that you could see from an elevated location) we would continue to explore the walled city for a while and then head back to Barcelona.

Part of the outer wall

Liam and Papa heading up to the walled city

Heading to the drawbridge

Aidan all excited to go inside

Playing games while waiting for lunch

Inside the Cité

Cathedral inside the Cité

He's too cute for words

Cool walkway

View from over one of the walls

Mom what's down there??

View of the lower (non walled) part of the city

Family photo

I think everyone liked Carcassonne - it's a very cool thing to see a place like this that has been restored so authentically and to know that people still live within its walls.  And while it is touristy, it is also beautiful.  I think we were all a little sad to miss out on the Christmas markets but in the end, we got a little piece of history instead.

Besos,
Julie

Keeping Our Children Safe

I started this post on Friday, December 14... it's taken a bit of time before I felt ready to complete and publish it...

Today I saw a post on my Facebook from a good friend of mine back home.  It said "Worst nightmare, school shooting at the kids' school. Both are fine thank God. Please pray though."  These are the words that no parent ever wants to see or for that matter, hear.  And sadly, in the US, it's becoming all too common.  And today, it really hit home - how safe are our children in today's society?  

I was in Sandy Hook, CT this summer with the kids when we were home visiting.  My friend Kath used to live in our neighborhood in Attleboro and moved to CT a few years before we moved to Spain.  Aidan and her son, Chase, have always gotten along great and Katie, her daughter, is in the same grade as Aidan.  I've read about tragedies like these before, sadly, but the impact was never like this.  Knowing people who have been directly affected by such a tragedy has intensified those feelings a hundred fold and I can't stop the tears from flowing.  Knowing that her children could have been victims is heartbreaking, gut-wrenching.  Knowing that any of our children could be victims of such a horrible act - terrifying.  

Sandy Hook is a tiny little town.  It's adorable.  It's kind of in the middle of no where.  Which is why this all feels so inexplicable - it's not like it's in the middle of a big city or even all that close to a big city.  It's suburban.  It's well to do.  This is not the type of place that these kinds of tragedies occur.  And that's why it makes it scary - because now, they do.  

I don't intend this post to be about gun control and the pros and cons of it.  I honestly don't have a strong opinion on it - I believe people have the right to bear arms but I also think that there needs to be stricter control over who is allows to bear those arms because obviously, they are getting into the wrong hands.  Not to mention weapons that are military grade should not be in the hands of common citizens. And I don't want to seem insensitive posting about something so tragic.  Even if no one reads this post, that will be fine by me.  I'm writing this because I'm scared for my children and what their future looks like.  And this blog is about writing about my feelings as events unfold during our time abroad, whether or not those events are here in Spain does not matter.  

No, we aren't living in the States right now.  But we will live there again.  And I've expressed fear over moving back because I was afraid I wouldn't be challenged in my life.  However, this tragedy brings another point to light.  I'm also afraid because after a catastrophic event like today, I'm also afraid for my children and their futures.  

One of the things I have noticed in our 3 years of life abroad is that despite living in a city versus the suburbs, I feel safe here.  I actually feel safer here than I did at home.  And honestly, I never felt unsafe, or so I thought.  Or never did til I lived here and looked back and saw just how overprotective I had become of our kids.  Because there is always this underlying fear that something will happen.  Maybe it's not gunshots in your child's school, but the fear of someone stealing your child.  I know I'd have to be foolish to think it could never happen here, I know it could, but it's not the first thing that comes to mind when I lose sight of one of the boys for a moment or two.  

In the States we live in a very close knit neighborhood - we even have a neighborhood Facebook page :)  And yet, up til I went home this summer, with Aidan being 8 years old, I was still a bit nervous about allowing him to roam the neighborhood unsupervised.  Back in the day, I was roaming my neighborhood when I was 5.  You came home when your mom called you.  You were outside from dawn til dusk and in the summer, you'd play flashlight tag or catch fireflies.  I don't remember a parent in sight.  But times were different - we didn't worry about kidnappings (I do remember the story about the clown driving the ice cream truck though - that freaked me out!), molestation, guns or any other unspeakable acts of violence.  

And yet, I can't imagine this life for my boys.  I want to imagine this life, but it's not a life they will ever get and it makes me sad.  And the events of Sandy Hook are one more example as to why - the world has changed since we were kids.  Why has this happened - is it more hyped up media?  More mentally ill people not getting the care that they need?  Is there even one specific reason why the world has changed in such a depressing way?  However, living in Europe, they might get one or two steps closer to normalcy than they would at home.  At least it's something.  

I don't want to live that way.  I don't want to live in fear.  I don't want my children to live in fear.  I know that Josh will read this and then say to me, "and tomorrow you could be struck by lightning".  Josh is all about living for today and not fearing those things you cannot control.  But as a friend and I were talking about the other night, we may not be able to control every situation, but we can remove some of the factors that can cause tragic things to happen. 

So how do you remove those factors in this situation?  It's a well-to-do, suburban elementary school.  For all intents and purposes, this should be one of the safest places on earth for your kids.  So why wasn't it?  I can't explain it.  It was the "perfect storm" of events unfortunately and that's all it takes, all the elements coming together at just that right moment.  

So do we live in fear and home school our kids?  Do we stop leaving the house for fear that someone may open fire in a mall or on a university campus?  Putting guards up in schools (and then do we put guards up in malls and movie theaters too?  Where is the limit?)?  How do we protect our kids from suffering the tragedies that these young, innocent kids and their families had to face?  And the parents that sent their kids to school like any other day only to not have them come home - ever again?  

For us, for the moment, living in Europe is one way to reduce our risk factor.  That's not to say other tragedies couldn't befall us, I'm sure they could.  But based on this wikipedia article (and yes, I'm well aware that this does not mean it's 100% valid), Spain is a pretty damn safe place to be, ranking in the top 15 of safest places out of the 75 countries listed.  The US, a dismal top 12 highest gun fatality rate.  The statistics are based per 100,000 people so it does not matter that one country is bigger than the other, because yes, I know that the US has a much bigger population than Spain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate.  

In the end, I don't have an answer.  I don't even have a way that I want to end this entry - this is one of those entries that I started writing in a flurry of emotion and then, it just stopped.  My heart aches for the families of Newtown, for my friends and their kids and the emotional rollercoaster that they have been on for the last week and knowing that just because time has moved on, it doesn't mean that the healing process won't take time.  All I know is that we never know what tomorrow will bring - we can only continue to live day by day and live the life that we have to the fullest.  

Besos,
Julie

Spontaneous Day Tripping - Christmas Market in Espinelves

Ahhh, the beauty of having a car!!  With us having Thanksgiving the first weekend we owned our car and me in Madrid last weekend, this was our first chance to get out of the city with our new car.  On Friday night we went back and forth on where we should go on our first big adventure... France?  Tarragona?  Girona?  The choices are endless.

In the end, Liam's friend Henry's mom happened to email about Henry's upcoming birthday party and so we emailed back and forth regarding getting together and yup, some spontaneous planning for today.  They were originally supposed to go to Vall de Nuria in the Pyrenees but it was cancelled and were interested in heading to some Christmas markets about an hour north of Barcelona in Espinelves.

None of us had been there and in typical Spain fashion it wasn't as easy to get to as we had planned.  Armed with our GPS's we still ended up in a bit of traffic due to a medieval fair in Vic (note to self to look up said medieval fair as it might be something fun to do with Josh's parents later this month!).  So instead of an hour it was more like an hour and a half.  Now Espinelves is a tiny village, yes village - I wouldn't even qualify it as a small town.  And yet there were more cars trying to park up and down the streets than in a small city.  I'm still amazed we were able to find a spot (though in typical European fashion I had to get a little creative on my parking - go me :)) to head up to the markets.

The tiny streets were jam packed with people and with vendors.  Adorable handmade crafts with artisans giving demonstrations on how their goods were made.  Aidan was especially in awe of the glass blowing and the wood carving.  We ate tons of goodies like butifarra with pan con tomate and of course, some churros and chocolate - nothing better to warm our bellies on a very chilly day.  Aidan even tried castañas and some root licorice (that literally looked like a piece of a tree).... ah my adventurous eater, you and I are so not cut from the same mold!!

Jediknights on a mission for Christmas goodies!

Let the battle begin!

Main street of the village of Espinelves

Cool building

Christmas trees

More trees

View from the top of the village

Homemade honey

More homemade treats

Christmas cookie!

Loving all these goodies!

Showing how the beeswax candles are made - the put the wax into bamboo to mold them.

This guy is making caga tios

Pretty stone house with flowers

Chestnuts roasting... castañas as they are called here

More of the village

Henry and Liam got new knight swords... 

Very fall-ish feeling decorations - where are the xmas ones?

Knights ready to protect their castle!

Caga tios (ready to poop presents!)

Aidan loved all the artisan crafts

More of the village

Wood carver - Aidan and I could have sat there forever watching him...

Aidan practicing his Spanish to buy some sweets (I gave him 5 euros but told him he had to get them himself using Spanish).

The kids enjoyed some kid time on the jumparoo which was situated on the village sport court as well as a pony ride (for Liam - Aidan was a little too big for these ponies!).  It certainly made the day easier with them knowing they had something to entertain them as well.  In the end it was a fun day, filled with spontaneity, friends and the holidays!  And as a side note, we need to learn the Spanish highways better because I didn't dare to venture from the GPS on the way home and it took us a totally different route back which basically meant driving through long, windy roads through the mountains. Amazingly, pukey child managed to do pretty well and was happy to tell us when we got home that it was a puke free trip :)

All three kids racing up and down the jumparoo

Liam and his pony, Goofy

Besos,
Julie