Swimming with Dolphins!

The kids woke up this morning and the first thing they wanted, not totally unexpectedly, was to go to the indoor pool.  The boys are not doing so well in the art of compromise.  And were less than thrilled when we told them that we weren’t going to swim until AFTER the dolphins.  They don’t seem to get that they were getting what they want while Josh and I get what we want.  Something to keep working on I suppose.

View from our room on our first morning... not to shabby!

Liam and I hanging out on the balcony of our room

A daytime view of our car without hubcaps ;)

Regardless, we had a few hours to kill before leaving for the dolphin swim and so we decided to walk around St. Julian’s for a little bit.  Malta from what I can tell is very much a mix of modern and ancient – with a big shopping center next to what must be a centuries old building.  Also something to note that I only found out the night before we left – Malta has more people per square mile than Washington, DC.  That’s a lot of people on one tiny island and it shows.

I have no idea what the purpose of these slabs of concrete on metal spikes are supposed to be for, but they made great impromptu surfboards!

Cool building near our hotel - no idea what the purpose of it is, but I liked the way it looks...

Liam told us he was going to run across the beach and meet us on the other side - that lasted less than 2.3 seconds before he yelled that he had rocks in his crocs!

And I have to say, for what little bit I’ve seen, it’s also not the cleanest island.  Trash everywhere and when we went to a little inlet of rocks by the water, there was broken glass at every step (and I even found a few condoms, ew!!).  Not what I would call island paradise.  However, giving the benefit of the doubt as I’ve heard there are some stunningly beautiful parts to this island, I’m just going to guess they are not in St. Julian.

St. George's Bay

Aidan playing along the (scary, glass covered, rocks)

But he can make any setting look good ;)

Near a little inlet

My two handsome boys!

With my other handsome boy... 

Me taking a picture of Josh taking a picture ;)

While walking we also came across a guy for the hop-on, hop-off bus.  Given that there are so many places for us to see in just a few days plus not being really sure of what the parking situation is in many parts, this may be our ideal.  Since we couldn’t do it today and with Josh diving tomorrow, we’ve put this in for a possibility on Wednesday.  It will be easier with the kids than us having to find our way around the island and give us the chance to see a lot of things. 

But the big part of our day was Aidan and Josh getting to swim with dolphins.  Now, I’d looked on TripAdvisor before booking this excursion and I’m glad I did because I wasn’t let down.  As expected, the park itself was pretty run down and really had not much to offer beyond the dolphins.  We went to the dolphin show before the interaction that we had scheduled.  It wasn’t anything to write home about (and yet here I am, writing home) – I’ve seen much better shows.

However, you would have thought that Liam had never seen dolphins or a dolphin show before because he was absolutely in his element and so excited.  I also think that getting to see the dolphins beforehand got Aidan excited – I could tell he was a bit nervous about the idea beforehand.

Liam in awe of the dolphins

Look at her jump!

Josh and Aidan getting ready to swim

Josh and Aidan touching the dolphin

Look at that smile on Aidan's face

The dolphins were swimming all around them and when Josh and Aidan put their heads in the water, they said they could hear the dolphins "talking" under them.

Aidan hugging the dolphin

Aidan can barely control how cold he is here... what a trooper!

Josh hugging the dolphin

The only downside to today’s swim was the weather.  Now I know my friends back home won’t appreciate me complaining about temps in the early 60s, but add in 20 mph winds and not only did it not feel like 60, but of course, they had to get in the water too!!  Aidan was a total trooper and I think loved every moment of it. 

Ok, I normally don't buy the pictures these places take but I have to say, these all came out awesome, so we had to buy them!

So while the marine park wasn’t all that great, the swim with the dolphins was well worth the money.  Josh, I could tell, also loved it.  We kept this as our one big thing for today, keeping the day relatively low key and not overdoing it with the kids (we’ll do that on Wednesday!).  And in the end, the kids also got to swim in the hotel pool, putting a perfect end to the day!!

Besos,

Julie

Easter Break Trip to MALTA!

Even though it has only been 4 weeks since our last trip, for some reason it feels like months.  Maybe it’s because February and March aren’t always the best times in Barcelona – the weather is chilly and it’s the “rainy” season.  So this month has just dragged in my mind.

But this is a good thing because it made me all the more excited for our trip to Malta!!  “Why Malta?” a lot of people have asked us.  Well, why not?  It’s an island, it’s only a 2 hour flight (located just south of Sicily and slightly east of Tunisia) and it has about 7000 years of history.  A trifecta of fun in my mind!  Add that to a hotel chain that we like with a 50% off sale and reasonable flights and it seemed like the perfect place to go to for the kids’ Semana Santa (Easter break).

The only bad part in my mind is that we had to fly.  I think I’ve mentioned this before but I seem to have gotten a bit more anxious as I fly these days.  You would think it would be just the opposite since we fly so often and it’s not like I wasn’t flying for years before we moved to Barcelona too.  But it gets worse and worse with every flight.  I haven’t let it stop me from travelling but regardless I can feel my heart pounding in my throat during takeoff and any little bump of turbulence is enough to have me white knuckle the seat.  Maybe I need meds…

Anyways, I digress… the flight was a bit bumpy, not my cup of tea.  I’m at about minus 10200 in my solitaire game which I only play when I fly.  Can you tell that I just need some kind of repetitive distraction???  But we made it and we made it safely. 

Seriously, you are already trying to take my picture??  I don't think so!!

But I love having my picture taken mommy!!!

Why won't you leave me alone??

I'll keep you company!

 

Malta Airport is pretty small and so it didn’t take long to get our luggage and our car.  We had gotten a really great deal on the car, I think it was less than 100 euros for 5 days… I should have known better.  When the guy at the Thrifty counter said that the car was missing it’s hubcaps because often they get stolen, that should have been a sign.  Go with what you know – and we usually use Sixt.  And let me tell you, I have yet to see another car on this island without hubcaps.  I also think that even when Josh and I bought our first cars, they were nicer than this car.  But it’s getting us from point A to point B and really that’s all that matters.

Our car, minus the hubcaps...

Our hotel, the Corinthia St. George Bay, was, as expected, excellent.  We have a room overlooking the Mediterranean – can’t beat that!  And with our late arrival at 9PM, the kids were super excited to have room service for dinner.  While the dinner was lackluster in my opinion, the trip is off to a good start.  And it doesn’t hurt that tomorrow, Monday, Josh and Aidan are going to swim with dolphins – I can’t wait to see!!!

Besos,

Julie 

The Rules of the Road

While I'm sure there are plenty of worse things that can happen, for today, there was nothing worse than coming out of my parent/teacher conferences to find that my car was no longer where I parked it.  It actually took me a minute to even realize it wasn't there.  I actually crossed the street over to another campus building, passing by the side of the street where my car was (no longer) parked and didn't make the connection that there was not a single car on that side of the road.  It wasn't til Aidan asked if he could wait in the car while I helped Liam's friend gather his things in his cubby that I realized that, no, Aidan, you can't wait in the car because the car... it's not there.

Ahhh Spain!  Because it's not enough that the kids didn't have school Friday or Monday because of conferences, but my big plan to have both kids have friends over so I could work while they were entertained was very quickly turning to dust.  I surprisingly took it all pretty well because I figured that this happens regularly up at school and they must know where my car was.  I immediately delegated Aidan to help Liam and Logan get Logan's things and I headed up to the school office to see if they could help me.  

So why was I towed?  Well, there is no parking lot at the school.  Everyone parks along the side streets next to the campus buildings.  These are not official city parking spots but with several private schools in the area, beggars can't be choosers.  And from what I know, and I could be totally wrong, they don't tow during drop off or dismissal times.  But it has been a concern for me on the days that I pick Aidan up and then have to wait and hour to pick up Liam - the only good thing is that the school up the road gets out at 5 so my hope is the tow trucks don't bother with the cars during those times.  

But today I wasn't there during drop off or pick up times - I was there at 9:30 for conferences that would take me til 11:30.  Regardless, it was totally unexpected and not the way I was planning to spend the rest of my morning.  

The good news is that, as expected, the school is used to this and not only had a piece of paper with all the details on where I needed to go, but also called a taxi for me as I not only had my two kids but a friend of Liam's with me (and we still had to go pick up a friend of Aidan's!).  The taxi arrived pretty promptly and we were off to the Dipòsit Municipal.  

Thankfully the school was prepared!

It was pretty straightforward thankfully - they asked for my license plate number which I don't know.  I described the car and he told me where it was and that I had to bring my registration back for them to confirm everything.  So I hunted down my car in the lot, got the registration and then back to the payment counter.

It took him forever.  It wasn't a complex process, but he had to copy all of my registration info, all my license info (good thing I had that!) and then the computer froze and he had to do it all by hand.  About 15 minutes and 147 euros later, my little car was free!!!

It felt really good that I didn't freak out and knew that somehow I would find my car despite not being able to communicate totally fluently.  It was just an ahhhhh Spain kind of moment that I knew had to sneak up sooner or later!!  Right now, my car is safe and secure in her little spot in my garage and there she shall stay for the rest of the day!!

Logan, Liam and Aidan ready to leave the tow lot!

Besos,

Julie

Walk This Way

Before moving to Barcelona, the closest that Josh and I had ever been to living in a city was when we lived on Chestnut Street in Waltham, just a block off of Moody Street.  We used to walk down Moody Street a lot, to restaurants, to bars... and....um, that's it.  We drove everywhere else.  But it was likely the closest experience to city living that we've had up til now.  And that was 14 years ago...

Fast forward to 2010 when we moved to Barcelona.  First off, we had no car (and didn't for just about 3 years), we were living in the center of the city and suddenly we were walking EVERYWHERE!  Our options, walking and public transportation.  And often times when it was just Liam and I, which it was for the first 9 months here, we opted to walk.  We walked everywhere.  We walked just about everyday.  And we probably covered miles just about each day.  The only times we stayed home was if it rained.

Barcelona is a totally walkable city.  It's not as big as it appears and Liam and I spent a chunk of time those first nine months just exploring every inch of it.  The climate is great for walking all year round, except of course in August when just getting the one block to the grocery store is a challenge.

I used walking as a way to entertain Liam.  It was also a time where I hadn't quite gotten my bearings as far as where to shop for what products - something that I have since become uber efficient with.  And so we had spent a lot of time doing our errands, walking to the beach, walking to the park, etc.  I wasn't working as many hours since he was home with me.  Once Liam headed off to school in the fall of 2010, I found myself not needing to walk as much.

My walking didn't stop entirely, just slowed down a bit.  If I was walking 3 miles a day before, then I was down to maybe 2 miles a day.  My social life picked up when Liam left for school and so I would meet up with friends for lunch, some shopping and often would walk home from the center of town.  Just being out and about in the city center meant I was walking quite a bit.

But in the last 6 months, my social life has taken a significant hit - I still have friends here but we all have different commitments in our lives these days leaving very few days to get together.  I've also increased my work load quite a bit, thereby not leaving the house as much as I used to.  And as I mentioned, I've also become more efficient in my errands, not needing to do much more than go to the grocery store and perhaps the fruit/vegetable stand around the corner from me daily.  Beyond that, everything else is done when Josh takes the kids to tennis on Saturday morning.

I didn't realize how little I've been walking though these days. Not until this week at least.  Spring has finally arrived in Barcelona.  I know, I know... I can't complain about the weather here.  But winter is still winter and it's brisk and chilly here and not always very sunny.  And it does not motivate you to get out and about to walk by yourself much.

But with the arrival of spring the other day, all I wanted to do was to get out in the city and... walk.  And I did.  A lot.  My feet hurt after.  It's been a long time since my feet hurt after walking - I thought I was immune to that after all the walking I did here for those first 2 1/2 years.  But apparently you can reverse that process.  I walked from home to Placa Catalunya and all around.  Placa Catalunya is only about 1 1/2 miles from me, but it was an intense walk - and one where I just took in everything around me.  That night, I walked to meet up with a friend for dinner - about 3/4 mile from me which I could have reduced by taking the metro but didn't.  We continued on to dinner and then I walked home from dinner since it wasn't too late - which added on some more milage for my day.  And it felt good.  Ok, the fact that it started to rain on my way home wasn't the best, but overall, it felt good to be out and about again.

So while I go to the gym 5 days a week, I've been feeling lately like that just isn't enough.  But my thought is that I need to get back to my walking.  I need to get my blood flowing again and be out and about in this city.  It's a beautiful city and I have forgotten to appreciate my time here while I can - it's become home and often with home, we forget that there were reasons we moved here in the first place.

My new commitment.  If I'm not going to be out socializing like I used to be, I also cannot sit behind my desk for several hours a day... I need to inject some exercise in the middle, above and beyond my morning work out.  And so my new goal is to start walking more again and exploring the city, there are always nooks and crannies that I haven't seen.  Because some day we will be back in the US and back to driving everywhere.  I need to get back to walking while I can.  It needs to become a habit again.  I'm afraid to make a commitment as to how much extra walking I can do and still get my work done and all other daily obligations, but I can definitely see myself adding more.  We'll see how it goes!

Besos,
Julie

Zip Lining... Again!

Aidan LOVED zip lining last weekend.  He's a natural athlete and being the trees just gave him the perfect opportunity to not just be outdoors in nature, but to challenge himself in ways he hasn't done in quite some time.  He loved it so much last weekend that we told him if the weather was nice this weekend we would take both him and Liam to do it.

And that's what we did today.  The place where Aidan went last weekend for a birthday party also has courses for little kids Liam's age and for adults.  While Josh and I did not participate today, that doesn't mean we (ok, I mean Josh because let's be realistic, I'm NEVER doing this) won't in the future.  Today was about getting Liam started and letting both Josh and I focus on one kid at a time.

Well, Liam is now hooked too.  He loved it.  He had a bit of a problem with the carabiner - he could put it on each line, but he couldn't remove it.  So it was good that his course was quite a bit lower in altitude because I ended up helping him out quite a bit.  But he loved every single moment!!

I didn't get as many pictures of Aidan this time since Josh was with him and I was helping Liam, but I did get some along with a few videos of him doing the zip line.

Aidan's first zip line

http://youtu.be/v4ai2o_WS5U

Aidan's 2nd zip line

http://youtu.be/cIvFC4Hl3F0

Aidan at the start of his first course

Aidan walking along the wire

Waiting at his next station

Getting ready to zip

Waving to daddy!

Aidan zip lining

Climbing the rock wall before his next obstacle

     

Those ropes look hard!!  But not for Aidan - he flies across them!

He's practically running!

The kid before Aidan took a good 10 mins to cross this log... it took Aidan about 20 seconds!

One happy kid!

Liam isn't quite as athletically skilled as his brother but he did surprisingly well and didn't fall a single time!  That alone was pretty impressive!  There were a few moments where he struggled (the rope wall being one) but he held on and persevered - and was successful!  Go Liam!!

We've already decided there will be a next time and when it happens, Josh will do the same course as Aidan so they can be together.  

Liam learning the ropes

And he's on his own!

I love this!!!!

It's hard but I've got it!

Awww, this is easy compared to that wire!

These are a little hard... 

At the end of the (zip) line...

Getting ready to zip!

More ropes

And a wooden log

This was his least favorite spot

Look at me!!

These are a little tricky!

Slightly defeated - must remember to push off harder!

And more logs

And one more wire

Liam's first zip line!!

http://youtu.be/WJL12JuAgmY

Liam's 2nd zip line

http://youtu.be/RfsKcq6k_GE

Liam's 3rd zip line

http://youtu.be/Q0MMJeHc-3I

Liam's 4th zip line

http://youtu.be/n2PE-sYKuPw

Liam's 5th zip line

http://youtu.be/bUuPkgzLtWs

After the boys did their 2 courses each of the ropes and zip lining, we were off to do a picnic lunch in the field nearby.  It was a great chance to just hang out together and for the boys to run off what little energy they had left after an invigorating morning.  It was a great way to spend a Sunday!

Besos,

Julie