Today I’m going to try to write my blog as my day happens rather than just a recap – this is my first day on my own so I have a feeling some monumental things will be happening. So keep in mind while you read this that it is a progressive account of my day as it happened…
I want to first and foremost give a shout out to Josh. He was here for three weeks on his own and did not complain once to me (maybe out of fear since we are doing this for his job and he’s afraid I’d hurt him or maybe because he really had nothing to complain about, I may never know why). Anyways, he was a superstar. He found stores and used ATM machines and took the metro to places unknown. Finding his way thru this strange city with a language he can’t understand. I think maybe if I didn’t have the kids with me I might feel more confident about braving this on my own but as of today, I’m not so sure how far I want to wander…yet. Plus it’s raining out so who wants to go anywhere in the rain? I have to say, he’s been great since we’ve been here too – taking charge as far as going out to get things we need to turn this flat into a home. Sure, I’ve done the majority of unpacking but if it were up to him it would all remain in boxes – I suppose each playing to our own strengths. But what’s surprised me is how much I’ve come to rely on him in the last few days. He’s been fixing things, he’s been using the kitchen that for some odd reason frightens me (most kitchens frighten me but this one more than most), he’s been taking care of the dogs… in short, he’s been doing all the things I normally do in everyday life except unpack. And this has all been fine. But today… Josh went back to work and I’m on my own.
As I said, Josh had to go back to work this AM. Oh and he is going out tonight so not only am I on my first day alone here, but my first night! I had grandiose plans of going for a run today but with my 1-2 hrs of sleep it just wasn’t happening. That and at 7AM, it was still pretty dark outside – like middle of the night dark. Hello?? It’s 7AM! I finally got out of bed around 8ish – boys are still sleeping. For those that know me, sleeping til 7 is a luxury, much less 8… but I’m still adjusting to time change AND a lack of sleep (reference back to children in our small bed every night since arrival).
On Tues night we realized that the heat didn’t work in the boys room. Tried in vain to see if it was just us being idiots and not knowing how to work the heat (the heat is turned on/off via remote control in each room). It was not. Tues night not so cold, we didn’t even use heat in our room. Last night cold. Tried to email the owner of the building on Wed but it being Three Kings Day and a high holiday, no response. Sent email to management company too just in case. In the end, as expected we did not hear back from either. Boys ended up sleeping on our double bed with us. Josh ended up on the couch and I in a weird contorted position at the foot of the bed. Another night with no sleep. So is it jet lag or just lack of good sleep? I must get the heat fixed today or suffer yet another sleepless night. But we are in Spain and the Spanish are different regarding their sense of urgency and their response time.
However, I am determined to make the most of Josh being away today. It’s raining, again (hello, 40 days of rain a year and we’re already on our 3rd day??? And I looked at accuweather – January must be the rainy month as it’s expected pretty much thru next week…grrrr) so we may be inside today. So I plan to finish any unpacking left to do (random clothes on everyone’s floors that need to be put away, office that still needs some organizing, etc etc) and come up with a game plan of things to accomplish. Like to put a note that I will translate on google translate on our door for the maid service. We had a cleaning lady at home 2x a month and since I will be spending significantly less here without target, baby gap and toys r us, I feel that I can still rationalize that expenditure. But if you recall my attempt to talk to Virginia (I did get her name) in my poor Spanish and her poor English, we may need to resort to note writing. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Yes, that is my goal today, a note to the maid. I tend to be an overachiever and in a normal day in the US, that one item on my to do list (aside from cleaning this place up), would normally go down as a day where I accomplished NOTHING. But here, it’s a huge accomplishment. If I can get out and go to an ATM (about 2 blocks away) AND be able to actually take money out of it, I will consider the day a success.
Another goal – work the TV. For those in the know, you know Josh and his gadgets. I can barely work our tv on the cape. This slingbox thing – probably hopeless for me! On a positive note, I haven’t watched ANY tv since we’ve been here. Josh put it on last night and I kind of listened. You can translate the US shows to English but the commercials are still in Spanish. Very interesting. We haven’t used the slingbox since we’ve been here. I’m about to try to turn on the TV before I wake the kids and see if I can get the dvd player to work. We shall see how it goes… pause for moment while I go to attempt… 3 mins later. YES, SUCCESS!!! I can work the DVD player. I don’t think you realize how big an achievement, not to mention sanity saver that will be for today! However, I still have no clue how to work the slingbox (for those of you not in the know, the SlingBox is attached to our tv at home and the slingcatcher is here in Spain - once I learn how to work it, I can watch my tv at home here in Spain).
Listening to Mike FM as I clean up and organize my office. Feels like home already! I’ve got my American music, my desk, my laptop… all I need is a printer. Maybe a task for tomorrow unless it stops raining. My office is now ready other than the printer part. Feels good to feel that as soon as I have that I can say that I am completely up and running. Hoping to be back to work pretty much full time as of Monday.
And because I’ve got 6 hrs ahead on the US, I’m going to actually go and play with my kids!!! Something I feel like I don’t do enough of at home but hope to do more of here with the time difference playing in my favor.
Tackled dishwasher. Yes, you would think it would be easy. But while I found the booklet had an English section, there is this whole schpeil about salt and water hardness. Afraid that I might break the dishwasher, I followed the instructions and still have no clue – I’m hoping for the best at this point. Will let you know in an hr when the dishes are done. If this doesn’t work we may be handwashing for the next 2 years.
Tomorrow I’m going to get my NIE number. I’m going with 2 of Josh’s co-workers that he has not met and Josh can’t go with me. Supposedly the place where I do this is about 15 mins from me but I need to switch trains on the way. I will tell you – I’m terrified to do this by myself!! Ok, I won’t be by myself, I’ll have my children with me who I’m guessing will be no help! If I can get thru this tomorrow, I can do anything. Just thinking about this endeavor is making my heart race.
While my heart is racing, it makes me think that I haven’t figured out the heat issue yet. Since I had no response from our building owner or her management company, I’m trying to call our realtor, Mele, from my Spanish phone. But I can’t do it and I’m almost in tears with frustration and fear. Am I supposed to dial something before the number? I keep getting an automated sounding message in Spanish so I don’t know what to do. I’ve got to get the heat fixed for the kids and I’m hitting a desperate moment here. It’s not going to be pretty. I can feel the tears coming. All I want to do is fix the heat. If I can’t make a phone call how am I going to do things like find a doctor (Liam was rubbing his ear a lot during the night, I probably should do that soon), a vet, make an appt and honestly, fix the stupid heat!!! I’ve tried IM’ing Josh and he’s not responding. Yet he’s responding to my emails about NIE stuff so I know he’s at his desk. Josh??? Josh are you there???? I’m going back to the US – day 4 and I’m already toasty!! See you in 2 years!
Ok, fast forward about an hour… I’ve sent Josh a desperate note to please contact Eva, the building owner. I do not have her phone number (or I would call her) and to please just take care of things. And you know what? He did! In all the time we’ve been prepping for this move, I kept complaining that Josh needed to step up to the plate and participate in the details. This is his moment to shine and I am thankful to have him – he is a rock when I needed him to be and this moment makes up for all those times when I was complaining he wasn’t doing enough. This is stepping up Josh…thanks! So tonight we are supposed to have someone come between 6-7 to do the repair AND he arranged for the dryer install for Tuesday. I can postpone laundry til then… I think. So no need to tackle that today. I did the dishwasher, delegated the heat issue to Josh (still accomplished something) and have been slowly making my way thru the pile of clothes to be put away – somewhere to be determined.
Josh did note to me that he believes Eva, our landlord is on vacation. Just a side note here but when the Spanish vacation, they vacation. There is no work on vacation. A definite difference than in the US. If you were on vacation in the US and your tenant emailed you to say they had no heat – you would have received that message via email, blackberry, home phone and cell phone – AND you would have stopped what you are doing and fixed the problem (mainly if it were urgent – if they were looking for you to mow the lawn or something you might tell them to shove it and I wouldn’t blame you).
So I’ve decided to postpone my laundry day til either this weekend or if I can make it – Tues when the dryer gets installed. Why air dry in 50 degree cold (or inside hanging off a chair) when I can use a dryer. I would also like to note that my dishes came out clean! Oddly, the Spanish silverware didn’t clean as nicely as the US in the Spanish dishwasher and I ended up doing those by hand. Hmmm… wonder why that is?
My children are still alive after being together for many many days straight now. At least over the last 2 weeks I had Josh to play intermediary with them when needed. So far I’ve only had to take away the DS today. I think the jetlag has gotten to Aidan – he wasn’t happy I woke him today and he’s had some majorly grumpy moments. His approach to me is rather entitled and it’s a bit on the annoying side. He’s very demanding. I don’t think he seems to get the whole “tone of your voice” thing. Liam is taking a nap so I’m hoping that gets him back on schedule or close to. However, Aidan is the loudest child on this earth and I think he gets pleasure from seeing me cringe each time he makes a very loud noise that I fear will wake his brother… Yup Liam is up but since it’s almost 4 it’s about that time. They are now playing whack-a-martian together. Nothing like hitting something to bring out the brotherly love!
Kids now playing hullabaloo. Haven’t played that since Liam was born I don’t think. I will say, he loves it. Any excuse to jump around. Of course mid jump he let one go… Liam Marcus!!! Must have been all that jumping that shook things up a bit ;)
On to my note to Virginia – if I can do this, I can call it a successful day. This is my English and Spanish version of my letter. Yes, it is very simplistic, but A. I get the point across, B. Google translate can only do so much and C. I don’t speak Spanish so it’s my only alternative. I will post it on my flat door tonight!
Dear Virginia,
I apologize for our communication issues the other day. While we are currently studying Spanish, we are not yet fluent. We are definitely going to be in need of house cleaning services. Can you please let me know how much money we would pay you if you cleaned one time every two weeks? Do you have a key to the flat in case we are not here? We have dogs but they are friendly. If you don’t like dogs, I can put them outside when you are here. Please let me know at your convenience.
Thank you!
Julie
Estimado Virginia,
Pido disculpas por nuestros problemas de comunicación, el otro día. Si bien actualmente estamos estudiando español, aún no estamos con fluidez. Estamos definitivamente va a estar en necesidad de servicios de limpieza de la casa. ¿Puedes por favor hágamelo saber cuánto dinero pagaría usted si usted limpiarse una vez cada dos semanas? ¿Tiene la llave de la vivienda en caso de que no están aquí? Tenemos perros, pero son amistosos. Si no te gustan los perros, me puede poner fuera de cuando usted está aquí. Por favor, hágamelo saber a su conveniencia.
Gracias!
Julie
I’ll keep you posted on her response! I’m sure she’ll think I’m an idiot… but at least I’m a resourceful idiot! Now to find the tape to post to door… did I ship tape???? Ah… tape.
So I just received a note from HR at Vistaprint for the procedure for the NIE number (equivalent of a social security number for foreigners). I have to say I am completely and totally freaked out by this process. As cowardly as this is, I’m not ready to do this on my own. To go into a state office and ask somehow in broken Spanish for my ID # and then go to another office across town to get that number approved by the appropriate people and filed away. Especially with two children in tow. I’m considering doing this on Tues when Aidan is at school and I only have one child that I can strap into a stroller so that I can focus. Anyone with children will understand where I am coming from. Two children in a government office while I’m trying to focus on something I don’t understand spells DISASTER! Maybe I can psyche myself up for it tonight… we shall see.
It’s 7PM and I have yet to see the guy to fix the heat in the boys’ room. Do I take this as a Spanish, everything more relaxed kind of thing or should I be in a panic that once again my kids will be without heat for the night meaning they are bunking in with us again???
It’s just after 8 and I got a call from the owner of the building. She was super nice (and spoke great English – bonus!) and said that they can’t fix the heat until Mon or Tues. I told her that really doesn’t work for me and she actually agreed and said that she is going to bring over a space heater tomorrow. I’m a little freaked out about the space heater / fire hazard thing especially since as I’ve mentioned, there are NO fire alarms in our flat (yet it’s new construction so it’s even more surprising). But if it gets the kids out of my bed for the weekend, I can deal with it for a few days.
Well Josh is out and the kids are in bed (my bed) so I’m off to re-install my Rosetta Stone on my new computer so that I can get on the ball again with my Spanish… but before I go, a quick summary…
To recap accomplishments of today:
1. Got up before 10! Yes!!! Actually showered, dressed, woke kids, dressed and fed kids… all before 10!
2. Swept floors – easy peasy…
3. Did I mention that “I” fed the kids today and not Josh? I feed them at home but it felt different doing it here.
4. Tried to get kids on a schedule which meant waking kids before noon and having Liam take a nap today. Check and check…
5. Washed dishes via the Spanish dishwasher… dishes are now clean!
6. Delegated the fixing of the kids’ heater to Josh. Heat is supposed to be repaired tonight (fingers crossed). Heat not fixed tonight but not Josh’s fault…
7. Wrote letter to potential cleaning lady.
8. Reinstall my Rosetta Stone so I can hablo español sometime in the next 2 years…
Hasta la vista amigos!!
Julie
Showing posts with label Moving to Barcelona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moving to Barcelona. Show all posts
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Finally a day to explore!
Day 3 of Barcelona. Is it really Day 3? Feels like we’ve been here longer. Or maybe it’s just that we really haven’t left this apartment in days other than a trip to the grocery store that I’m just going stir crazy. The sun is out and to me it’s a new beginning!
However before we have a new beginning I must touch upon the fact that I was wrong to say the kids seem to be adjusting well to the time difference. I jinxed myself. They went to bed at a relatively normal time last night and yet around 11ish (this is after Aidan came downstairs 2x before that to say he couldn’t sleep), they were both up and having a par-tay in their room. The challenge of them sharing a room I guess – one wakes the other. Around 12:30 I felt safe to think they may sleep thru the night! WRONG!!! Night #1 Liam came into our room…Night #2 our guest was Aidan. Aidan who also kicks and thrashes in his sleep just like his brother. It was probably 2AM or later (Our clock is analog and doesn’t glow – nice purchase Josh) is my guess before I fell asleep. Thank goodness for those blackout shades though! While I heard Josh much earlier than when I got out of bed, trying to fix the boys’ heater which seems to be broken… think constant beeping is what Josh was getting it to do. Anyways, we got up around 10:30 (we’re fitting in with Spain and it’s only day 3!) and the sun was shining! It’s a new day!
It being sunny out and Josh’s last day before he goes back to work, we decided that we absolutely must leave the flat (I sound European already) today and go somewhere, anywhere. Armed with our winter jackets (yes, it was still chilly though not nearly as cold as home I’m sure), our new $200 stroller (reference back to trip to airport if you are questioning that purchase), a sippy cup and the dogs, and we are off!
Just a random side note here – as I type this Josh and I are IM’ing on Facebook to determine what the kids should have for dinner. This whole close the door for heat thing is going to improve our communication drastically I can see.
Our fruit stand by our flat
Anyways, so today is Three Kings Day. The biggest holiday there is (I believe) in Spain. EVERYTHING is closed except for restaurants. This was incredibly frustrating to Aidan. He wanted to go in and check out all the stores (he apparently takes after me with his desire to shop til he drops). The walk itself was relatively uneventful – it was a beautiful day. The dogs behaved very well – I say this because normally Jake barks at anything or anyone that walks by us on a walk. Not a peep! A good start to their time in Spain – I will walk them often if this is the behavior I can expect.
So anyways we headed down Travessera de Gracia which is the main road that we live off of. From there we headed south down Passeig de Joan. This is a main road that has a really nice walking/biking/rollerblading area in the center. There are also a few playgrounds scattered here and there. Very interesting since you have northbound and southbound traffic on either side of you. We stopped at one of the playgrounds for the kids to play for a little bit. Aidan wanted to head home after this so we continued south another block or two and then headed back in the direction of home – but first we came upon La Sagrada Familia. The famous Gaudi church. The kids could have cared less. However, they did like the little café just outside the church. First they wanted popsicles which I indulged them in (brrrr…. It’s maybe 45-50 here, not really ice cream weather). Then I told them that they had waffles with chocolate and whipped cream. YES!!!! So we got one of those and sat down for a few to enjoy our gofres con chocolate y nata. Delish!!! We finally made it home and took a few minute breather while I caught up on work.
Anyways, I’ve digressed. The reason I was mentioning Tibidabo is because when we went for our walk, we headed south, as in downhill. We live in Eixample which is in the center of the city. It is also uphill from most anything. I thought it was a gradual incline and for the most part it was but there were a few moments where my legs were crying “oy vey!”. Part of my original “plan” while living here is to bike at least once a week to Josh’s work – about a 3 mile trek with a trailer and 30 lbs child… towards the sea, aka downhill… Now I’m thinking I may have to work my way up to that since it’s also a 3 mile trek back uphill with said 30 lb child and trailer. I will keep you posted on that. So anyways, back to the flat to catch up on some work before heading out again.
Work you say? Yes, work. Don’t forget, I’m still working while we are here for 2 years. So any clients reading, don’t forget me!!! I expect to be fully up and running by Mon. Right now I’m just missing a printer but otherwise I’m a go!! Ah the beauty of internet!
Thankfully the first few days of the year are slow but I can see things picking up already (thank god given my disaster of a 2009). So after a quick check of email and processing of an order, we are out the door again. This time we’ve decided to visit Las Ramblas. The tourist area. We may be residents here now (ok Josh is, I still need to get my resident #).
This time we had to take the metro (otherwise known as the T in my world). The kids were very excited about riding the train. I actually think it may have been Liam’s first time on a train. He was a little apprehensive but then kept saying how much he liked the train (as he gripped on to my hand for dear life). When we got off at Passeig de Gracia, he told me he wanted to go again!
After taking a wrong turn out of the T, I mean Metro, stop – we turned around and headed towards where we think Las Ramblas looked like it would be. Good navigation huh? It worked at least! However on the way, it was a little chilly and while jonesing for something warm we pass one of many Starbucks in Barcelona. A little chocolate caliente will warm me right up. Around the same time Josh and I spot a Burger King (this is right around a meltdown that Aidan was having). So off I go to Starbucks for my expensive (3.50 euros = approx $5) small hot chocolate. Yum!!! I thought it would be easy – how hard is it to say chocolate caliente? But then she had to ask me questions. Shit!!! Ok… I think she just asked me the size. So I put my fingers together closely and say pequeno/ small. Then she asked something else and I finally figured out that she wanted to know if I wanted caramel and whipped cream – thankfully she also spoke some English. I really didn’t want the caramel but now I’m freaking out because I can’t order a stupid hot chocolate without messing up so I just say si, si!! Yes, yes, to both! I get my hot chocolate and run!
Josh and the boys are outside the BK and the kids are super excited. We are supposed to be in a culinary capital and we are going to Burger King. I don’t even take them to BK at home! But they’ve been good about the move and I suppose deserve some kind of treat from home. So in we go to BK. This one is on the stylish side, similar to articles I’ve read about new models of Burger King that have more of a retro look. Or it could just be Spain (I did see a girl in legwarmers on the metro – apparently I was stylish just 20 years too early) has a retro look and feel. Anyways, the menu was in both English and Spanish so we were all set. What was interesting to me beyond the English on the menu is that all the music playing in the background was also in English. They seem to like their Beyonce there because I heard at least 3 songs of hers in the short time I was in there. I’m not a big Beyonce fan but as my friend Stephie who is also living abroad pointed out – it doesn’t matter what song or artist it is and it could be someone you absolutely hate, but the fact that it is in English will make it the best moment of your day because it’s something that’s familiar in unfamiliar territory. She’s right. I embraced that Beyonce song!!!
From BK we headed out towards fountains that we saw that we guessed were the start to Las Ramblas. This was Placa de Catalunya. A very pretty little center area. A fountain and a little plaza. The plaza was filled with pigeons… lots of pigeons. Lots of pigeons that my children felt they had to chase. Tracie it was your worst nightmare!!!
We gave them a few minutes to chase the pigeons and then headed off towards the crowds. It being a chilly day, we were surprised at how many people were out and about on La Rambla just strolling around. Like the Passeig de Joan, La Rambla has a northbound and southbound side with traffic and a center that is for walking. There were little stands like pet stores (I found this very interesting that they had pet stores as a stand, like a newspaper stand), newspaper stands, etc. There was also lots of live art – the kind where the people are painted up and sit still as statues. The kids really liked that. We didn’t walk that far since this was our second adventure out today and we could sense the kids getting tired. We made it as far as Hotel 1898 where we have friends staying this summer – Lisa it looked nice to me from the outside!! And Lisa, while there is no Dunkin Donuts there, there is a StarBucks next door so at least you can get a coffee fix.
Whew – what a day! We headed back towards home. Our only big glitch of the day and I wouldn’t even call it big is that when we went to use Josh’s metro pass, he sent Aidan thru first and he didn’t make it thru fast enough – and so Aidan was stuck on one side of the doors and we were on the other. Then Josh’s pass wouldn’t work (they have clear glass doors instead of a turnstile like we have here – the doors separate when your pass goes thru and close behind you). We finally had to ask a metro worker to help. Apparently this is not an uncommon thing where the pass doesn’t work. I’m just glad it was Aidan on the other side and not Liam – I would have
However before we have a new beginning I must touch upon the fact that I was wrong to say the kids seem to be adjusting well to the time difference. I jinxed myself. They went to bed at a relatively normal time last night and yet around 11ish (this is after Aidan came downstairs 2x before that to say he couldn’t sleep), they were both up and having a par-tay in their room. The challenge of them sharing a room I guess – one wakes the other. Around 12:30 I felt safe to think they may sleep thru the night! WRONG!!! Night #1 Liam came into our room…Night #2 our guest was Aidan. Aidan who also kicks and thrashes in his sleep just like his brother. It was probably 2AM or later (Our clock is analog and doesn’t glow – nice purchase Josh) is my guess before I fell asleep. Thank goodness for those blackout shades though! While I heard Josh much earlier than when I got out of bed, trying to fix the boys’ heater which seems to be broken… think constant beeping is what Josh was getting it to do. Anyways, we got up around 10:30 (we’re fitting in with Spain and it’s only day 3!) and the sun was shining! It’s a new day!
It being sunny out and Josh’s last day before he goes back to work, we decided that we absolutely must leave the flat (I sound European already) today and go somewhere, anywhere. Armed with our winter jackets (yes, it was still chilly though not nearly as cold as home I’m sure), our new $200 stroller (reference back to trip to airport if you are questioning that purchase), a sippy cup and the dogs, and we are off!
Just a random side note here – as I type this Josh and I are IM’ing on Facebook to determine what the kids should have for dinner. This whole close the door for heat thing is going to improve our communication drastically I can see.
Our fruit stand by our flat
Anyways, so today is Three Kings Day. The biggest holiday there is (I believe) in Spain. EVERYTHING is closed except for restaurants. This was incredibly frustrating to Aidan. He wanted to go in and check out all the stores (he apparently takes after me with his desire to shop til he drops). The walk itself was relatively uneventful – it was a beautiful day. The dogs behaved very well – I say this because normally Jake barks at anything or anyone that walks by us on a walk. Not a peep! A good start to their time in Spain – I will walk them often if this is the behavior I can expect.
When Josh and I were here in Nov for our Discovery Trip we knew that the city is at the base of several mountains. The one that I know is Tibidabo. Aidan’s school is not far from there. As you can see there is a huge church on top of Tibidabo (I told Aidan it was a castle – but it got him excited so you’ll have to excuse this one lie).
Per my friend Wikipedia: Tibidabo. Located on the mountains of Barcelona (farther north from Gracia) and offers a spectacular view of the city (532 m high). This is a place where according some legends, the Devil tempted Jesus Christ offering him the whole in exchange for his worship. At the top there is an awesome church, which offers panoramic views of the city. The church is almost surrounded (bizarrely) by a big funfair. You will also find an observatory and an ascendable communications tower nearby. We have not made it up to Tibidabo yet but it’s on our plan.
Anyways, I’ve digressed. The reason I was mentioning Tibidabo is because when we went for our walk, we headed south, as in downhill. We live in Eixample which is in the center of the city. It is also uphill from most anything. I thought it was a gradual incline and for the most part it was but there were a few moments where my legs were crying “oy vey!”. Part of my original “plan” while living here is to bike at least once a week to Josh’s work – about a 3 mile trek with a trailer and 30 lbs child… towards the sea, aka downhill… Now I’m thinking I may have to work my way up to that since it’s also a 3 mile trek back uphill with said 30 lb child and trailer. I will keep you posted on that. So anyways, back to the flat to catch up on some work before heading out again.
Work you say? Yes, work. Don’t forget, I’m still working while we are here for 2 years. So any clients reading, don’t forget me!!! I expect to be fully up and running by Mon. Right now I’m just missing a printer but otherwise I’m a go!! Ah the beauty of internet!
Thankfully the first few days of the year are slow but I can see things picking up already (thank god given my disaster of a 2009). So after a quick check of email and processing of an order, we are out the door again. This time we’ve decided to visit Las Ramblas. The tourist area. We may be residents here now (ok Josh is, I still need to get my resident #).
This time we had to take the metro (otherwise known as the T in my world). The kids were very excited about riding the train. I actually think it may have been Liam’s first time on a train. He was a little apprehensive but then kept saying how much he liked the train (as he gripped on to my hand for dear life). When we got off at Passeig de Gracia, he told me he wanted to go again!
From BK we headed out towards fountains that we saw that we guessed were the start to Las Ramblas. This was Placa de Catalunya. A very pretty little center area. A fountain and a little plaza. The plaza was filled with pigeons… lots of pigeons. Lots of pigeons that my children felt they had to chase. Tracie it was your worst nightmare!!!
Whew – what a day! We headed back towards home. Our only big glitch of the day and I wouldn’t even call it big is that when we went to use Josh’s metro pass, he sent Aidan thru first and he didn’t make it thru fast enough – and so Aidan was stuck on one side of the doors and we were on the other. Then Josh’s pass wouldn’t work (they have clear glass doors instead of a turnstile like we have here – the doors separate when your pass goes thru and close behind you). We finally had to ask a metro worker to help. Apparently this is not an uncommon thing where the pass doesn’t work. I’m just glad it was Aidan on the other side and not Liam – I would have Aidan liked this statue - it had "boobies and a pirate ship"
been freaking out! At least I could see Aidan and talk to him – I just couldn’t get over there. We finally made it over to his side and had an uneventful trip back home. A great day with my fam!!
Above - pet store on La Rambla Lisa - this is your hotel
Tomorrow is Josh’s first day back to work and my first day alone with the kids in the city. I think it may rain again but if not, we’ll try to venture out and maybe find a playground or something. I’m not ready to bring them into a store by myself yet – I don’t think I can focus on saying “don’t touch that” “don’t do that” “leave that alone!” “You break it you buy it” and on looking at labels, paying for stuff, etc… give me a few days. I’ll tackle that with just Liam on Monday while Aidan’s at school!
Julie
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Day 2... unpacking and our first trip out!
So today is day 2 in Spain! I’m still alive and kicking and we had no major incidents to report since last night. I would like to put in a link from my new friend Cristy’s website that has a different perspective of our move yesterday: http://abroadabroadinspain.com/archives/date/2010/01.
In Spain they must like being close to each other unlike in the US. From what I understand, the average adult bed is a double. Yes, a double. Now Josh and I have a queen bed at home so it’s not huge but definitely bigger than here. So here we are, Josh, myself, Liam and Jake (who weighs a good 80 lbs). Not a fabulous night sleep. On a positive note, the children slept til almost noon today. A feat never even closely accomplished in the past (ave wake time is 6:30AM).
Speaking of the dogs, I apologize to those that were worried that I didn’t mention them last night. They apparently had a fabulous flight (for the cost it had best have been luxurious!). They ran into some slight complications at customs since their paperwork was lost. Glad we hired a service for all this because I can’t imagine having to deal with that yesterday. They arrived around 6ish all excited. Well, Jake was excited. Sailor was her usual freaked out self. She ran into the living room and other than going outside (the door being at the side of the living room), she has not left this room. She has not ventured upstairs, to the kitchen, office, anywhere. I expect her to pretty much stay in this area for her 2 years here other than when we go for walks. I do have to point out that one of them is not taking to well to new Spanish food and is extremely gassy. There are moments where you can hardly breathe. Sorry…had to be said! As I write this Josh and I are both holding our shirts to our noses so we don’t have to breathe in.
Side note… Josh just took Sailor out as I was typing. She was resisting the whole time having to go thru the door from the living room to the front of the apartment. You would think he was killing her – she sooo didn’t want to leave the comfort of the living room!
Today was mainly spent unpacking. Last night we were about 70% there, today about 90-95. Really just some clothes left. I really want to spend tomorrow exploring before Josh goes back to work on Thurs. Today we hit the grocery store and it was a very interesting experience – more on that in a moment as well. And tomorrow is Three Kings Day. As I mentioned last night, this is a big deal in Spain. It’s a very Catholic holiday and taken much more seriously than Christmas here. Apparently the adults get off very cheap in Spain when it comes to Christmas. Gifts are small and few – Three Kings is where it’s at. And even then, it’s more about candy than gifts. Last night while I was watching the parade, they were tossing candy from the floats. I hear there is a big parade tomorrow – I think we are going to try to catch that with the kids.
I did a little more research on Three Kings – thank you Wikipedia: In Spain there is a long tradition for having the children receive their Christmas presents by the three "Magos", (the figure of Santa Claus only appeared in recent years) during the night of January 5th (Biblical Magi Eve). Almost every Spanish city or town organize cabalgatas (rides according to google translate) in the evening, in which the kings and their servants parade and throw sweets to the children (and parents) in attendance. The cavalcade of the three kings in Alcoy claims to be the oldest in the world, having started in 1886. There is also a "Roscón" as explained below. In Spain in the Biblical Magi Eve is also represented the Mystery Play of the Three Magic Kings. I also had a friend fill me in a little bit on the traditions – Lorena I hope you don’t mind me copying and pasting here. “. You’re right – it’s a much bigger celebration in Spain than Xmas. It’s THE celebration for the holidays. There was never Santa Claus in Spain. Kids set out shoes instead of stockings and if they get coal in them, they were naughty. If they get candy in them, they were good. Milk is set out, but you need to put 3 glasses because there are 3 kings! You may see more about Christmas these days, due to US influence, but the tradition is really 3 Kings Day.” Josh said he also saw cakes similar to the funnel cakes of Mardi Gras (the ones with the little baby inside). It’s interesting to see traditions from a different perspective than the US.
Some things I’ve learned that are different than the US – and this is just from one day:
1. Most doors open in, not out… that’s going to take some getting used to.
2. In order for the heat to work effectively (also the AC) you need to close the doors to the individual rooms. For instance, the living room has a door and even though my office was just 4 feet away each room was completely closed off for heat. This is very weird for communicating when I’m used to an open floor plan. This is also going to take a bit of getting used to. Supposedly this is more efficient but I really don’t understand how – if you left all the doors open and left the heat running in each room, wouldn’t it all really just merge together in some way??? I don’t know…
3. Because I’m using a Spanish internet service, many of my websites come up in Spanish now. And so I need to find out on each website where the language preference is. It’s getting to be a bit of a pain in the ass.
4. Light bulbs are even different here. Not to mention the light switches and of course the plugs. We have adapters galore. I have yet to see a fire alarm in here – and this is a new build…hmmm…. Should I be concerned? Children are fascinated with light switches – more at their height. Liam just stands there turning them on/off, on/off, on/off. You can imagine how fun that is for us.
5. There are dumpsters on every street and they aren’t your traditional wide open ones. They have them for various forms of recycling as well as general garbage. There are NO alleys in Barcelona which is pretty nice – all the space is utilized - so these dumpsters are in spots where you may normally park a car – right out in the street. They aren’t the eyesore you would expect though (not that they are pretty). We have to walk down the street to our dumpster – there is no trash service here or any kind of trash chute. I think this might help in our going green campaign because it’s going to get old having to walk down the street to dump the trash.
6. Everything is in military time. So not only do I need to think about the words I say or listen to, but I also need to think about translating time. Even our cable box is in military time… for instance right now it is 22.35. After careful thought… 10:35PM.
7. Food – obviously different here. Things that I thought were simple as far as food goes, not so simple. Even the grapes – we got simple green grapes for the kids. Turns out they don’t have seedless grapes. At least at the fruit stand we went to. When was the last time you had a grape with a seed (or multiple seeds as was the case) in it? And ketchup? Josh and I spent a good 10 mins trying to figure out how to open the ketchup. Simple task? I think not! He finally had to take a knife to it and open it that way. I’m assuming that’s not the way it was supposed to be opened but nonetheless, we now have ketchup (which smells a lot like bbq sauce).
Speaking of food, as I’ve known from day one, it’s going to be an obstacle for me. I’m already (happily) down 2 lbs. I made a sandwich this afternoon and the bread here is significantly smaller in size (may not be a bad thing) and to me it’s texture is more dry, almost stale like. It took a lot to take that first bite of pbj – yes, that’s how picky I am. I’ll have to adjust or make toast more often! I made spaghetti tonight and used my prince pasta, the sauce we bought at the market and some hamburger (which by the way smelled different than the hamburg at home.
My final thought for tonight is regarding our venture out this afternoon. We went to the grocery store. Who knew what excitement lay ahead??? The grocery store here is not like those at home. First, significantly smaller. I think there were maybe 5 or 6 aisles. Many of the items I recognized, others not so much. A few things I’d like to point out:
1. You bring your “granny cart” with you. You have to pay to get plastic bags if you need them.
2. You leave the granny cart at the front of the store and grab a big blue rolling basket – think basket like in the US x 2 with wheels and an extendable handle. 3. Jamon, or ham, is HUGE in Spain. You see it EVERYWHERE. They even had jamon flavored Pringles!
4. There were many brands that we have in the US – Nestle, General Mills, Proctor and Gamble… some items had different names and even different mascots (like coco krispies – there was no snap, crackle, pop but a monkey on the box).
5. At the end of your shopping, you put your items on the belt like in the US, but there are 2 lanes at the end – one for you and one for the person before you who may still be bagging their items. Once the items are at the end they ask you if you have your own bags or not so they know if you are to be charged or not for them (this took a moment to interpret) and you go to the front of the store, grab your granny cart and fill it with the items. No plastic bags (going green again).
Some more photos from our trip to the grocery store. Maybe a trip to your store isn't as much of an adventure but I'm excited that we conquered something today!
We may have found peanut butter! Aidan's psyched at the Simpson's crackers!
Large stand of pig legs Urs, they are really good about gluten here!
Eggs are shelf stable... and so is the milk! This is the milk aisle..
This was an odd one. It's in the refridgerated section and looks like some kind of yogurt, you know because it says Dannon on it. But it has a picture of a candle and shows it being inserted into the jar??? The one on the right is also Dannon and I think it's chocolate pudding but it's in a glass jar, no candle image so I think this is edible.
Well, it’s pushing 12:30 now here so I’m heading to bed - images took a good hr to upload...grrr. Will let you know how it goes tomorrow on our first day venturing out as a family goes!!
Julie
Monday, January 4, 2010
Moving day... finally!!!
Today (Sunday) is the day…the big day. Moving day. The day we have been waiting months for. It’s here. It’s still a bit surreal and I think the chaos of the day is making it a little easier. We started the morning just finishing up our packing – more suitcases than we anticipated…really only one more. But Josh wasn’t thrilled by that. I think he forgets we have small children sometimes. But overall, a rather low key morning.
The afternoon brought more goodbyes. Like the ones before, they were filled with tears and hugs and promises to stay in touch. Do I really need to say more on this topic? Probably not – I cried as we pulled out of the driveway knowing it’s the last time we would see our house for a long long time. Aidan asked why I was crying. I just told him how much I would miss our home and our friends and that it’s ok to cry.
Once we were on our way, I felt a little better. Slightly carsick (I don’t do well in the backseat of the car) but better. That was, until we hit 93 in the Braintree area. I happened to mention something about Liam’s stroller and Josh said “I forgot it”. I will say, I probably did not handle that situation with much maturity and I may have called him an idiot which was probably not the most mature or appropriate thing to say in front of Aidan (Liam was fast asleep). Especially since I always tell Aidan what a bad word that is. Oh well… I still say, how could you forget the stroller!!!
So I asked the driver if he could please swing off 93 and head down Rte 3 because I knew there was a Babies R Us down there. I ran in like a woman gone mad and scrambled down to the stroller aisle. There was a sales person helping a very pregnant couple. In my mad woman craziness, I said “excuse me, I’m on my way to the airport to move overseas and my idiot husband forgot the stroller – can I borrow your sales guy for a moment PLEASE??”. I don’t think they knew how to handle me. So I asked the guy about the Maclaren stroller (that I just bought 2 months ago) and he was all out. The best I could do for one in stock since I didn’t exactly have time to do any stroller testing. He had one floor model on sale for $200. I’ll take it!!! It’s already assembled, red and black so masculine (there was a lime green that I just didn’t think was Liam’s color) and we are good to go. “thanks so much” I yell as I run to the front of the store to pay. I told the cashier about my plight as well and she wished me luck. I think that was the fastest Babies R Us / Toys R Us trip EVER.
Now that we’ve started our journey with a tiny bump, we make it to the airport. Other than the very very long line to check in (we waited about ½ hr for checkin), I have to say I really saw no new airport regulations. Because we had carseats, a stroller and a diaper bag, we actually ended up with 9 bags for check in. Hmmm…. So much for one bag each and then one extra for the DS. I think we were at the check in for 15 mins just trying to get thru the check in. I forgot how much harder and time consuming it is to check in with children and all their gear. This is Liam’s first time flying so I guess I should have expected it. Oh and we were also trying to prevent them from killing each other as we waited for the check in guy to finish up already!
So now we are on to the security checkpoint. Again, not really seeing much difference from before and the line was MUCH shorter too. But that doesn’t really matter because I’d like to see you with a stroller, 2 children, 2 stuffed animals, a laptop bag, a pocketbook, 2 backpacks and Josh’s computer – take off everyone’s shoes and jackets, remove the laptops from their bags, keep the kids close because you don’t want them wandering in security and see how fast you move!!
We had less than an hour from there to get on our plane which was perfect – just enough time to grab a snack before our long flight to Dublin. We got on the plane without issue though Liam was most definitely not thrilled. So Josh and I took turns holding him until we had to take off. The look on his face was precious – so very serious! And he was gripping both armrests for dear life – something I would expect an adult to do, not a 2 ½ year old child. You couldn’t even talk to him, he was just that focused on what was going on. We were in center seats on an AirBus and it was dark out so he really couldn’t see what was going on.
I have to say though – the kids were beyond amazing! Kudos to both of them but I have to give special props to Liam who’s never flown before and whom I never thought in a million years could sit in a seat for 6 hrs straight (other than a diaper change). The crying from both was minimal on a 6 hr flight to Dublin – I’d say less than 10 mins each. Hell, I wanted to cry I was so bored to tears and uncomfortable!!
Our flight was late leaving Boston since we had to wait in line to be de-iced (that makes me feel good about flying in the cold weather). Speaking of not so great things about flying, damn if my kids didn’t reference dying in the air like 50 times each. Aidan was fascinated with the engines and kept asking me what happens if one doesn’t work? And two? And would we just land in the ocean? Yup…that’s it Aidan…we’d land in the ocean nicely. No need to freak him out. But it’s one of those things like, ok, is he getting some kind of weird vibe that I should know about? And Liam kept saying CRASH!! CRASH!! CRASH!! And die! I was like please don’t say those things… please!!
But as always, I’m digressing from my topic. So we were late leaving Boston and therefore late arriving to Dublin. Our original time between connections was one hour and 20 mins. We now had 20 mins to get off the plane, race across the airport, go thru customs, go thru security (again with the shoes, jackets, computers – fun times!). They claimed they were holding our flight for us and so we raced as fast as we could carrying Liam and all our gear. Oh did I mention I accidentally checked the $200 new stroller at the gate to go all the way thru to Barcelona??? Yeah, that was a good time. Josh had his backpack with his computer, carried 30 lbs Liam and I had 2 backpacks (the kids), my pocketbook which weighed about 20 lbs full of stuff to entertain the kids during the flight (did not need one single item by the way, rather annoying), and my computer bag which also probably weighed a good 20 lbs. We made it though! They actually held the plane for us. Actually they claimed they were holding it for a number of passengers that were coming from trans-Atlantic flights…but no matter, we made the connection!
We had a slight meltdown from Aidan during this flight. He was determined to believe we weren’t moving. He was just so exhausted he couldn’t understand why were on the plane that wasn’t moving and why can’t we just go home? Poor little guy! It’s hard to explain to a very tired little boy that the plane is actually moving around 600 mph and that we have travelled something like 3000 miles today. He slept 90% of the flight from Dublin to Barcelona (a 2 hr flight). I was exhausted by now and Josh, of course, was sleeping. I kept dozing off even though I knew I needed to keep an eye on Liam who was in an aisle seat. I figured he was so good on the first leg of the flight. I woke up a few times and realized that the little bugger undid his seatbelt and was playing the floor in front of his seat. Ooops!! At least he stayed by us. We won’t win parents of the year awards for that one.
Finally after a VERY long day in the air and a long day at home before that, we landed safely in Barcelona. Once again, we had a small issue upon landing. All of our luggage made it (thankfully) except we couldn’t find the stroller (oh yes, the new stroller) or one half of a booster seat. We stood in line to make a claim for about 15 mins before I spotted something red that looked like it could be one of those things – over on an empty baggage claim lane. One that was 3 or 4 baggage lanes over from where we were. Oh and when we arrived in Barcelona, ours was the only flight using that baggage claim area the entire time we were there so not sure how it was that those items ended up on the other one, but we avoided what probably was going to be another ½ hr in the claims line. Whew!! That stroller was almost our downfall!
I was disappointed to see it was very cloudy out given that there are only approximately 40 days of rain the whole year. I would have liked the kids first impressions to be that of a beautiful sunny day in our new city. Aidan did, however, point out the palm trees and he liked those right away. He also liked the tree lined streets. He did not seem to notice the language as of yet – the cabbie didn’t speak English and we speak broken, very broken, Spanish. I give it a few days and he’ll realize it. All he wanted to do was to get home (yes we have a home in Attleboro but we are determined to make this feel like home while we are away) and get to his legos that he hasn’t seen in 6 weeks. Simple pleasures!
We were very lucky to have Josh’s co-worker’s wife Cristy meet the movers today. They had wanted to arrive at 9 and we knew we weren’t getting here any earlier than 11:30. We were determined to get everything in today even if it’s not unpacked. We haven’t seen our stuff in a good 6 weeks and the best way to get settled is to jump right in. So thank you again Cristy! We both really appreciated your help.
When we arrived at the house I was astonished at all the boxes – you couldn’t even walk thru the house anywhere. Hmm… I may have packed too much stuff. And to think, I still have another 500 lbs coming. I’ll post the pictures of some of it tomorrow. I didn’t get any of the actual boxes blocking all the halls but Cristy said she did so I’ll get those. But I do have some of the stages of unpacking we did today. We were very lucky that the movers not only unpacked many things – mainly emptying the boxes in the appropriate room – but they also assembled all our IKEA furniture that we bought and shipped from the States. YES!!!! Divorce avoided!! That would have been a messy one. So we were able to get that much more done today because the movers took care of that. Thanks moving guys!!
Once we got semi-settled this afternoon, Josh suggested that Cristy and I go out for lunch. Thanks Joshy – awesome idea!! And it was! Cristy and I definitely have a lot in common and I think we’ll become good friends here. It’s a nice feeling to know that on my first day here I’ve met someone I’ve clicked with. She and her husband Shawn just moved here 2 weeks ago so they’re old pros now! And it showed – she did the ordering in the restaurant, interpreted the menu via IPhone app (I would have done the same thing), and got the check for us. In Spain, they don’t like you to hurry even though lunch tends to be a much quicker meal than dinner. For the most part, they just don’t believe you when you ask for the check. You have to ask several times. I also learned today that you never put money or a credit card on the table. It’s like bad ju ju or something – the Spainards just don’t like that so don’t do it. You either hand them the cash/card or you put it on their little check holder. But not on the table. Good thing to know since often when we are ready for the check we place our card on the table!! I avoided a near disaster there!! All I need to do is offend someone that works at my neighborhood Italian place on my first day in town.
So our meal was a very good one. For 9.95 Euros (about $15), we got bread (apparently not always included), a drink and a 3 course meal. We had the tortellini, a chicken dish and a dessert. Cristy’s looked like ricotta in the shape of a cheesecake. I didn’t even dare to try it after seeing her face. Mine was decent though by then after an appetizer of tortellini (enough that I could have had that for the meal) and chicken, I was about done! We chatted thru the entire meal and probably could have gone on all day but Josh called a few times and I didn’t get good reception in there and probably should get back to unpacking.
While spending time with Cristy I also learned that many places expect you to pay to use the bathroom. Often around 1 euro. Interesting. In Spain, or at least Barcelona, you RARELY tip someone. Waiters, cabbies (unless they unload luggage and then you tip them), hair salons, you name it… you don’t tip. So my guess is that they make their money elsewhere, like charging you to use the facilities. I guess not all places do this but a good majority do. Cristy told me that she went to Starbucks and they have a code to the bathroom on the receipt. And she went to another Starbucks and they had the same code – so it must be universal. Of course I’ve already forgotten the code she told me, but good to know that once I have a code, I can probably use it anywhere and won’t need to make a purchase to use the potty!!
It’s nearing 10PM here and I’ve been up for something like 36 hrs now so I’m going to wrap up our first day in Barcelona. This evening I heard the doorbell ring. I’m not sure how to use the buzzer but I went downstairs and it was the building cleaning lady. She spoke NO English at all…not even broken English. We introduced ourselves and were stuck. She said something to me that I could not interpret. I tried to tell her I’d love to hire her once every few weeks. No hablo ingles. Hmmm… So I said, un momento and rushed inside to get my cell phone. Google translate to the rescue! No luck. I had no internet access on my phone for some reason. Finally she said something that sounded like if I need her to clean… I hear necesito and something else. So I said, si, necesito!! We finally communicated for her to leave her phone number. What I will say to her when the time comes to call is way beyond me but I think that’s a project for next week.
On a final note, Josh went out to the store tonight after the kids went to bed and when he returned he told me that there was a parade going on at the end of our street! I heard noise out there but just chalked it up to city noise, never having lived in the city. Hope! A parade… for us???? Awwww… so sweet! No such luck! It was a parade to celebrate Three Kings Day which I believe is this Wed. I’ll look up info about it tomorrow but I’m too tired to do it tonight. Regardless, my understanding and I’ll double check this, is that Three Kings Day is actually more important to the children here than Christmas. Christmas here is not like Christmas in the US from what I’ve been told. It is much lower key when it comes to things like gift giving. The kids really don’t get much. But on Three Kings Day there are parades and candy is given out! Tonight they were throwing candy off floats like beads at Mardi Gras. It totally reminded me of a much smaller scale Mardi Gras. I think this was just a neighborhood parade as I believe there is a larger city wide one on Wed (Josh has yet another holiday from work). I’ll let you know what I find out about the holiday and if we make it to the parade with the kids.
Ok, I’m beyond exhausted now… more tomorrow from Spain!!!
Julie
The afternoon brought more goodbyes. Like the ones before, they were filled with tears and hugs and promises to stay in touch. Do I really need to say more on this topic? Probably not – I cried as we pulled out of the driveway knowing it’s the last time we would see our house for a long long time. Aidan asked why I was crying. I just told him how much I would miss our home and our friends and that it’s ok to cry.
Once we were on our way, I felt a little better. Slightly carsick (I don’t do well in the backseat of the car) but better. That was, until we hit 93 in the Braintree area. I happened to mention something about Liam’s stroller and Josh said “I forgot it”. I will say, I probably did not handle that situation with much maturity and I may have called him an idiot which was probably not the most mature or appropriate thing to say in front of Aidan (Liam was fast asleep). Especially since I always tell Aidan what a bad word that is. Oh well… I still say, how could you forget the stroller!!!
So I asked the driver if he could please swing off 93 and head down Rte 3 because I knew there was a Babies R Us down there. I ran in like a woman gone mad and scrambled down to the stroller aisle. There was a sales person helping a very pregnant couple. In my mad woman craziness, I said “excuse me, I’m on my way to the airport to move overseas and my idiot husband forgot the stroller – can I borrow your sales guy for a moment PLEASE??”. I don’t think they knew how to handle me. So I asked the guy about the Maclaren stroller (that I just bought 2 months ago) and he was all out. The best I could do for one in stock since I didn’t exactly have time to do any stroller testing. He had one floor model on sale for $200. I’ll take it!!! It’s already assembled, red and black so masculine (there was a lime green that I just didn’t think was Liam’s color) and we are good to go. “thanks so much” I yell as I run to the front of the store to pay. I told the cashier about my plight as well and she wished me luck. I think that was the fastest Babies R Us / Toys R Us trip EVER.
Now that we’ve started our journey with a tiny bump, we make it to the airport. Other than the very very long line to check in (we waited about ½ hr for checkin), I have to say I really saw no new airport regulations. Because we had carseats, a stroller and a diaper bag, we actually ended up with 9 bags for check in. Hmmm…. So much for one bag each and then one extra for the DS. I think we were at the check in for 15 mins just trying to get thru the check in. I forgot how much harder and time consuming it is to check in with children and all their gear. This is Liam’s first time flying so I guess I should have expected it. Oh and we were also trying to prevent them from killing each other as we waited for the check in guy to finish up already!
So now we are on to the security checkpoint. Again, not really seeing much difference from before and the line was MUCH shorter too. But that doesn’t really matter because I’d like to see you with a stroller, 2 children, 2 stuffed animals, a laptop bag, a pocketbook, 2 backpacks and Josh’s computer – take off everyone’s shoes and jackets, remove the laptops from their bags, keep the kids close because you don’t want them wandering in security and see how fast you move!!
We had less than an hour from there to get on our plane which was perfect – just enough time to grab a snack before our long flight to Dublin. We got on the plane without issue though Liam was most definitely not thrilled. So Josh and I took turns holding him until we had to take off. The look on his face was precious – so very serious! And he was gripping both armrests for dear life – something I would expect an adult to do, not a 2 ½ year old child. You couldn’t even talk to him, he was just that focused on what was going on. We were in center seats on an AirBus and it was dark out so he really couldn’t see what was going on.
I have to say though – the kids were beyond amazing! Kudos to both of them but I have to give special props to Liam who’s never flown before and whom I never thought in a million years could sit in a seat for 6 hrs straight (other than a diaper change). The crying from both was minimal on a 6 hr flight to Dublin – I’d say less than 10 mins each. Hell, I wanted to cry I was so bored to tears and uncomfortable!!
Our flight was late leaving Boston since we had to wait in line to be de-iced (that makes me feel good about flying in the cold weather). Speaking of not so great things about flying, damn if my kids didn’t reference dying in the air like 50 times each. Aidan was fascinated with the engines and kept asking me what happens if one doesn’t work? And two? And would we just land in the ocean? Yup…that’s it Aidan…we’d land in the ocean nicely. No need to freak him out. But it’s one of those things like, ok, is he getting some kind of weird vibe that I should know about? And Liam kept saying CRASH!! CRASH!! CRASH!! And die! I was like please don’t say those things… please!!
But as always, I’m digressing from my topic. So we were late leaving Boston and therefore late arriving to Dublin. Our original time between connections was one hour and 20 mins. We now had 20 mins to get off the plane, race across the airport, go thru customs, go thru security (again with the shoes, jackets, computers – fun times!). They claimed they were holding our flight for us and so we raced as fast as we could carrying Liam and all our gear. Oh did I mention I accidentally checked the $200 new stroller at the gate to go all the way thru to Barcelona??? Yeah, that was a good time. Josh had his backpack with his computer, carried 30 lbs Liam and I had 2 backpacks (the kids), my pocketbook which weighed about 20 lbs full of stuff to entertain the kids during the flight (did not need one single item by the way, rather annoying), and my computer bag which also probably weighed a good 20 lbs. We made it though! They actually held the plane for us. Actually they claimed they were holding it for a number of passengers that were coming from trans-Atlantic flights…but no matter, we made the connection!
We had a slight meltdown from Aidan during this flight. He was determined to believe we weren’t moving. He was just so exhausted he couldn’t understand why were on the plane that wasn’t moving and why can’t we just go home? Poor little guy! It’s hard to explain to a very tired little boy that the plane is actually moving around 600 mph and that we have travelled something like 3000 miles today. He slept 90% of the flight from Dublin to Barcelona (a 2 hr flight). I was exhausted by now and Josh, of course, was sleeping. I kept dozing off even though I knew I needed to keep an eye on Liam who was in an aisle seat. I figured he was so good on the first leg of the flight. I woke up a few times and realized that the little bugger undid his seatbelt and was playing the floor in front of his seat. Ooops!! At least he stayed by us. We won’t win parents of the year awards for that one.
Finally after a VERY long day in the air and a long day at home before that, we landed safely in Barcelona. Once again, we had a small issue upon landing. All of our luggage made it (thankfully) except we couldn’t find the stroller (oh yes, the new stroller) or one half of a booster seat. We stood in line to make a claim for about 15 mins before I spotted something red that looked like it could be one of those things – over on an empty baggage claim lane. One that was 3 or 4 baggage lanes over from where we were. Oh and when we arrived in Barcelona, ours was the only flight using that baggage claim area the entire time we were there so not sure how it was that those items ended up on the other one, but we avoided what probably was going to be another ½ hr in the claims line. Whew!! That stroller was almost our downfall!
I was disappointed to see it was very cloudy out given that there are only approximately 40 days of rain the whole year. I would have liked the kids first impressions to be that of a beautiful sunny day in our new city. Aidan did, however, point out the palm trees and he liked those right away. He also liked the tree lined streets. He did not seem to notice the language as of yet – the cabbie didn’t speak English and we speak broken, very broken, Spanish. I give it a few days and he’ll realize it. All he wanted to do was to get home (yes we have a home in Attleboro but we are determined to make this feel like home while we are away) and get to his legos that he hasn’t seen in 6 weeks. Simple pleasures!
We were very lucky to have Josh’s co-worker’s wife Cristy meet the movers today. They had wanted to arrive at 9 and we knew we weren’t getting here any earlier than 11:30. We were determined to get everything in today even if it’s not unpacked. We haven’t seen our stuff in a good 6 weeks and the best way to get settled is to jump right in. So thank you again Cristy! We both really appreciated your help.
When we arrived at the house I was astonished at all the boxes – you couldn’t even walk thru the house anywhere. Hmm… I may have packed too much stuff. And to think, I still have another 500 lbs coming. I’ll post the pictures of some of it tomorrow. I didn’t get any of the actual boxes blocking all the halls but Cristy said she did so I’ll get those. But I do have some of the stages of unpacking we did today. We were very lucky that the movers not only unpacked many things – mainly emptying the boxes in the appropriate room – but they also assembled all our IKEA furniture that we bought and shipped from the States. YES!!!! Divorce avoided!! That would have been a messy one. So we were able to get that much more done today because the movers took care of that. Thanks moving guys!!
Once we got semi-settled this afternoon, Josh suggested that Cristy and I go out for lunch. Thanks Joshy – awesome idea!! And it was! Cristy and I definitely have a lot in common and I think we’ll become good friends here. It’s a nice feeling to know that on my first day here I’ve met someone I’ve clicked with. She and her husband Shawn just moved here 2 weeks ago so they’re old pros now! And it showed – she did the ordering in the restaurant, interpreted the menu via IPhone app (I would have done the same thing), and got the check for us. In Spain, they don’t like you to hurry even though lunch tends to be a much quicker meal than dinner. For the most part, they just don’t believe you when you ask for the check. You have to ask several times. I also learned today that you never put money or a credit card on the table. It’s like bad ju ju or something – the Spainards just don’t like that so don’t do it. You either hand them the cash/card or you put it on their little check holder. But not on the table. Good thing to know since often when we are ready for the check we place our card on the table!! I avoided a near disaster there!! All I need to do is offend someone that works at my neighborhood Italian place on my first day in town.
So our meal was a very good one. For 9.95 Euros (about $15), we got bread (apparently not always included), a drink and a 3 course meal. We had the tortellini, a chicken dish and a dessert. Cristy’s looked like ricotta in the shape of a cheesecake. I didn’t even dare to try it after seeing her face. Mine was decent though by then after an appetizer of tortellini (enough that I could have had that for the meal) and chicken, I was about done! We chatted thru the entire meal and probably could have gone on all day but Josh called a few times and I didn’t get good reception in there and probably should get back to unpacking.
While spending time with Cristy I also learned that many places expect you to pay to use the bathroom. Often around 1 euro. Interesting. In Spain, or at least Barcelona, you RARELY tip someone. Waiters, cabbies (unless they unload luggage and then you tip them), hair salons, you name it… you don’t tip. So my guess is that they make their money elsewhere, like charging you to use the facilities. I guess not all places do this but a good majority do. Cristy told me that she went to Starbucks and they have a code to the bathroom on the receipt. And she went to another Starbucks and they had the same code – so it must be universal. Of course I’ve already forgotten the code she told me, but good to know that once I have a code, I can probably use it anywhere and won’t need to make a purchase to use the potty!!
It’s nearing 10PM here and I’ve been up for something like 36 hrs now so I’m going to wrap up our first day in Barcelona. This evening I heard the doorbell ring. I’m not sure how to use the buzzer but I went downstairs and it was the building cleaning lady. She spoke NO English at all…not even broken English. We introduced ourselves and were stuck. She said something to me that I could not interpret. I tried to tell her I’d love to hire her once every few weeks. No hablo ingles. Hmmm… So I said, un momento and rushed inside to get my cell phone. Google translate to the rescue! No luck. I had no internet access on my phone for some reason. Finally she said something that sounded like if I need her to clean… I hear necesito and something else. So I said, si, necesito!! We finally communicated for her to leave her phone number. What I will say to her when the time comes to call is way beyond me but I think that’s a project for next week.
On a final note, Josh went out to the store tonight after the kids went to bed and when he returned he told me that there was a parade going on at the end of our street! I heard noise out there but just chalked it up to city noise, never having lived in the city. Hope! A parade… for us???? Awwww… so sweet! No such luck! It was a parade to celebrate Three Kings Day which I believe is this Wed. I’ll look up info about it tomorrow but I’m too tired to do it tonight. Regardless, my understanding and I’ll double check this, is that Three Kings Day is actually more important to the children here than Christmas. Christmas here is not like Christmas in the US from what I’ve been told. It is much lower key when it comes to things like gift giving. The kids really don’t get much. But on Three Kings Day there are parades and candy is given out! Tonight they were throwing candy off floats like beads at Mardi Gras. It totally reminded me of a much smaller scale Mardi Gras. I think this was just a neighborhood parade as I believe there is a larger city wide one on Wed (Josh has yet another holiday from work). I’ll let you know what I find out about the holiday and if we make it to the parade with the kids.
Ok, I’m beyond exhausted now… more tomorrow from Spain!!!
Julie
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Less than 24 hours and counting...
Tomorrow is the big day... M day... Moving Day. I can't believe it's actually here. It's all rather surreal still. I'm still thinking of it as a long vacation. Really, I wouldn't see any of you til at least March anyways since it's the time of year to just hunker down and hibernate. Who wants to go out in the cold anyways, right? So you can pretend we're still here til March... I'm going to do the same. It will just be warmer where I'm going - like 60 when I last checked. I know, no sympathy there when we are on what, storm #5 of the season and it's only Jan 2?? I have to say, won't miss that!!
My parents came by today and Josh's sister, Becky - both emotional goodbyes. It was a fun afternoon with VERY hyper kids (thanks Mom and Dad for all the chocolate!) but it was a happy afternoon. Til we said goodbye. It took everything in me to not cry and while I got teary, I did well. Because it's a long vacation, remember?? Skype, facebook, the blog and our vonage phone will keep us close. We aren't going to a third world country - we'll have all the same ammenities (though slightly different I'm sure) over there that we do here. I just keep telling myself that. Honestly I'm more sad that the kids won't see everyone - it's easy for myself and Josh to stay in touch - but much harder for the kids, even with Skype. It will be an adjustment for all, but we'll make it work - we have to!
Of course as I write this, the full force of what's going on is hitting me. We are leaving tomorrow. Excitement, terror, sadness...all rolled into one. I've said it before and so I'm sorry for saying it again - Josh always says I'm repetitive, I guess he's right. I guess it's just because it's true. I'm in an emotional rollercoaster and can't find a way to get off this ride. This is not a lifetime away - it's 2 years. It will fly, yet part of me hopes it will go slow enough so we can appreciate all there is to offer to us while living abroad. If we are going to do this, let's do it right! My friend Gena just emailed me and said she admired what we are doing, another has said we have a lot of guts - I just have to say to them and everyone else, how could we not do this? Josh and I have never lived outside of MA. How could we not seize this opportunity to live somewhere "exotic" for 2 years of our lives and truly experience somewhere else. I think as sad as we are to leave, we would have regretted not taking this opportunity.
I have to digress for a moment... mainly because I just heard this informercial. I used to work in informercials so I have a thing for them and I NEVER buy anything infomercial related for the most part. But I must note, in preparation for our move, a few months ago I went on an infomercial buying frenzy! Space bags like you have never seen - I must have a gazillion! Ok, not that many, but A LOT! And I bought Wonder Hangers - a lot of those too. And there is an under the bed shoe storage system that I got several of. All talk about for downsizing so perfect for us! Will let you know how the wonder hanger and shoe storage go. The space bags are ingenious and I love them...though sometimes they reinflate which is kind of annoying. But overall, they work great and I highly recommend them!
Back to tomorrow. The game plan is to get up, get the last bit of laundry in, finish packing, and just wait. Wait wait wait. Say some more goodbyes. They are going to get more and more emotional as the time to leave comes. The house gets emptier each day as we pack more stuff into our basement (god we had a lot of stuff...too much stuff!). The suitcases are 95% packed already. All we need to do is put our sheets / blankets in storage in the basement, finish packing our last bits of stuff like the dvds, wii, toothbrushes, etc and then a quick vacuum, neaten up stuff and we're off!!
Aidan told me tonight he doesn't want to go. He wants to know when we decided this. I told him this summer when we told him! I told him that he probably should have told us before the night before that he didn't want to go... not that he had a choice but he doesn't need to know that. I told him that we are a family and we will get thru all the changes in front of us as a family and that he is not alone and is not taking on these new adventures and challenges alone - we will be there with him. He'll be fine and he will adjust. Liam just thinks we're going on a plane tomorrow and that's it, of course he thought Josh was on a plane all 3 weeks he was gone in December (that's a very long plane ride!). I think he will adjust very easily... for him I think it will remind him of the cape house - we go for a bit, we come home. He will just think of it as a vacation home. I hope he has memories of here when we come back since he's so young now.
I'm hoping for a good night sleep tonight... probably wishful thinking! Will write more tomorrow!
Julie
My parents came by today and Josh's sister, Becky - both emotional goodbyes. It was a fun afternoon with VERY hyper kids (thanks Mom and Dad for all the chocolate!) but it was a happy afternoon. Til we said goodbye. It took everything in me to not cry and while I got teary, I did well. Because it's a long vacation, remember?? Skype, facebook, the blog and our vonage phone will keep us close. We aren't going to a third world country - we'll have all the same ammenities (though slightly different I'm sure) over there that we do here. I just keep telling myself that. Honestly I'm more sad that the kids won't see everyone - it's easy for myself and Josh to stay in touch - but much harder for the kids, even with Skype. It will be an adjustment for all, but we'll make it work - we have to!
Of course as I write this, the full force of what's going on is hitting me. We are leaving tomorrow. Excitement, terror, sadness...all rolled into one. I've said it before and so I'm sorry for saying it again - Josh always says I'm repetitive, I guess he's right. I guess it's just because it's true. I'm in an emotional rollercoaster and can't find a way to get off this ride. This is not a lifetime away - it's 2 years. It will fly, yet part of me hopes it will go slow enough so we can appreciate all there is to offer to us while living abroad. If we are going to do this, let's do it right! My friend Gena just emailed me and said she admired what we are doing, another has said we have a lot of guts - I just have to say to them and everyone else, how could we not do this? Josh and I have never lived outside of MA. How could we not seize this opportunity to live somewhere "exotic" for 2 years of our lives and truly experience somewhere else. I think as sad as we are to leave, we would have regretted not taking this opportunity.
I have to digress for a moment... mainly because I just heard this informercial. I used to work in informercials so I have a thing for them and I NEVER buy anything infomercial related for the most part. But I must note, in preparation for our move, a few months ago I went on an infomercial buying frenzy! Space bags like you have never seen - I must have a gazillion! Ok, not that many, but A LOT! And I bought Wonder Hangers - a lot of those too. And there is an under the bed shoe storage system that I got several of. All talk about for downsizing so perfect for us! Will let you know how the wonder hanger and shoe storage go. The space bags are ingenious and I love them...though sometimes they reinflate which is kind of annoying. But overall, they work great and I highly recommend them!
Back to tomorrow. The game plan is to get up, get the last bit of laundry in, finish packing, and just wait. Wait wait wait. Say some more goodbyes. They are going to get more and more emotional as the time to leave comes. The house gets emptier each day as we pack more stuff into our basement (god we had a lot of stuff...too much stuff!). The suitcases are 95% packed already. All we need to do is put our sheets / blankets in storage in the basement, finish packing our last bits of stuff like the dvds, wii, toothbrushes, etc and then a quick vacuum, neaten up stuff and we're off!!
Aidan told me tonight he doesn't want to go. He wants to know when we decided this. I told him this summer when we told him! I told him that he probably should have told us before the night before that he didn't want to go... not that he had a choice but he doesn't need to know that. I told him that we are a family and we will get thru all the changes in front of us as a family and that he is not alone and is not taking on these new adventures and challenges alone - we will be there with him. He'll be fine and he will adjust. Liam just thinks we're going on a plane tomorrow and that's it, of course he thought Josh was on a plane all 3 weeks he was gone in December (that's a very long plane ride!). I think he will adjust very easily... for him I think it will remind him of the cape house - we go for a bit, we come home. He will just think of it as a vacation home. I hope he has memories of here when we come back since he's so young now.
I'm hoping for a good night sleep tonight... probably wishful thinking! Will write more tomorrow!
Julie
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
The Final Countdown...
The movers came on Monday morning - like before, I had everything in a pile in the garage. Out of sight, out of mind, not to mention, easier than telling the movers, take this, but don't take this! Per Vistaprint, we had an approval of 500 pounds for air shipment which by the look of it to me, was around that ballpark. You know, because I could tell just by looking at it. So the movers arrived around 9:30ish and the first words out of the movers mouth was "we're here for the 250 lb air shipment." So I of course say, "I'm sorry, you mean you are here for the 500 lb air shipment, right?" "No, 250" he says. So now I'm FREAKING out... I KNOW it's 500 lbs. And I know I have it written down somewhere. This is NOT a good start to my last week here. Fortunately I don't delete any emails and within minutes I found my email in my moving details / barcelona folder in my inbox. I printed it out and handed it to him while he was on the phone with his boss. Thankfully it was resolved in minutes...whew!!! The movers managed to compress 500 lbs (it actually came out to 495 so I guess I really did have a pretty good eye there!) of stuff into 3 large boxes. The only other freak out moment was when they weighed the first box and it came out to 210 lbs and I knew there were 2 equally large boxes left to be weighed. It all worked out though and the last of our stuff is now on it's way to Barcelona. I heard from the movers today and because of weather and backup from the holidays, the boxes haven't actually gotten on a plane yet but they will ay time now - we expect it to be there within a few days of our arrival which is fine.
The rest of our goods that shipped in November is in storage in Barcelona right now. It made it there before Josh left but did not make it thru customs before he came home. So we've scheduled it to be delivered the morning we arrive; yes we are gluttons for punishment but we might as well get it all overwith in one day...not to mention, all our bedding is on that boat!!! Josh only went with a set of sheets for everyone (no blankets) and just a pillow for himself. So we need that stuff! The movers packed us up in under 3 hours when they came to our house in November, but they insisted on being at our flat by 9AM the morning we arrive. We won't even make it into the airport until just after 10 and probably the flat by 11:30 by our estimate. Thankfully one of Josh's co-worker's wife offered to meet the movers for us - thanks so much Cristy!!
So now the majority of everything has shipped and all we have left is what will go in our suitcases. Not very much. Our house is looking pretty empty right now - just some furniture really. Everything is in the basement in storage or in/on the way to Barcelona. I'm quite honestly rather sick of this transitional phase. It's not that I'm so anxious to leave everyone or my home, but I'm sick of living half in this house and half our stuff there - I just want to get started on this new phase of our lives and start making a home for my family. So I'm actually excited about Sun so we can start on this new phase and just move on from being in limbo.
We fly out this Sun evening. On Christmas Day, there was a thwarted terrorist attack on a Northwest airlines plane that was flying into the US. Thank god it was stopped! But I need to get off the internet because I'm constantly reading these articles about more potential attacks and this whole cell in Yemen stuff. It's nerve wracking. Not to mention even stricter airline regulations which were already a bit on the strict side. I appreciate the desire for the airlines and the government to protect us but there is such a thing as going to an extreme. But you know what? I've never had to protect and airplane and it's passengers before so what do I know? I'll follow the regulations and that's fine but I heard about security patting down small kids and I'm sorry, but I draw the line there - no one is patting down my kids! Can I do anything about it, my guess is no. I'm not crazy about that helpless feeling.
Regardless of fears, we're off on Sunday and there's no looking back. This is it!!! All this preparation for the last several months is coming to fruition. We are really and truly moving to Spain!! How is this possible? It's hard to believe it's finally become a reality! I have to say, I'm starting to get excited! I know I'll cry when I leave the house but what's ahead is truly exciting.
We've said goodbye to some more great friends, but it's not goodbye as one said... it's just see you later! Don't forget that! This isn't forever - it's 2 years. And it will fly by for us all! You'll come to us, we'll come to you, you know how it goes! More to come in the next few days I'm sure!
Julie
The rest of our goods that shipped in November is in storage in Barcelona right now. It made it there before Josh left but did not make it thru customs before he came home. So we've scheduled it to be delivered the morning we arrive; yes we are gluttons for punishment but we might as well get it all overwith in one day...not to mention, all our bedding is on that boat!!! Josh only went with a set of sheets for everyone (no blankets) and just a pillow for himself. So we need that stuff! The movers packed us up in under 3 hours when they came to our house in November, but they insisted on being at our flat by 9AM the morning we arrive. We won't even make it into the airport until just after 10 and probably the flat by 11:30 by our estimate. Thankfully one of Josh's co-worker's wife offered to meet the movers for us - thanks so much Cristy!!
So now the majority of everything has shipped and all we have left is what will go in our suitcases. Not very much. Our house is looking pretty empty right now - just some furniture really. Everything is in the basement in storage or in/on the way to Barcelona. I'm quite honestly rather sick of this transitional phase. It's not that I'm so anxious to leave everyone or my home, but I'm sick of living half in this house and half our stuff there - I just want to get started on this new phase of our lives and start making a home for my family. So I'm actually excited about Sun so we can start on this new phase and just move on from being in limbo.
We fly out this Sun evening. On Christmas Day, there was a thwarted terrorist attack on a Northwest airlines plane that was flying into the US. Thank god it was stopped! But I need to get off the internet because I'm constantly reading these articles about more potential attacks and this whole cell in Yemen stuff. It's nerve wracking. Not to mention even stricter airline regulations which were already a bit on the strict side. I appreciate the desire for the airlines and the government to protect us but there is such a thing as going to an extreme. But you know what? I've never had to protect and airplane and it's passengers before so what do I know? I'll follow the regulations and that's fine but I heard about security patting down small kids and I'm sorry, but I draw the line there - no one is patting down my kids! Can I do anything about it, my guess is no. I'm not crazy about that helpless feeling.
Regardless of fears, we're off on Sunday and there's no looking back. This is it!!! All this preparation for the last several months is coming to fruition. We are really and truly moving to Spain!! How is this possible? It's hard to believe it's finally become a reality! I have to say, I'm starting to get excited! I know I'll cry when I leave the house but what's ahead is truly exciting.
We've said goodbye to some more great friends, but it's not goodbye as one said... it's just see you later! Don't forget that! This isn't forever - it's 2 years. And it will fly by for us all! You'll come to us, we'll come to you, you know how it goes! More to come in the next few days I'm sure!
Julie
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The goodbyes begin...
Two days ago was Christmas. One of my favorite times of year. To me there is no holiday more steeped in tradition than Christmas. I could do without the cold weather but I also look forward to a white Christmas each year (or the hope of one). I think the traditions are some of the things we will miss the most about being home, especially this time of year. We do a lot as a family and as a neighborhood.
My family doesn't really celebrate Christmas as we were raised more Jewish than Catholic (though we didn't attend Temple or Church) but they still let me embrace this holiday without guilt :) and I appreciate that. Because to me, personally, this holiday isn't about Christ or anything religious, but it's always been about family, friends, and a time to reflect on the past year. So we don't celebrate Christmas on Christmas with my family, we usually do it whenever our schedules permit sometime between Thanksgiving and New Years. It's become a tradition itself that we just celebrate it sometme in there. We do the stereotypical chinese food to celebrate our Christmaka. Because we were still a few weeks away from our departure date, I did pretty good with my goodbyes after we opened gifts - mainly because I knew I had at least one more time to see my family before I leave. Today I saw my brother and his girlfriend when we went to drop off the kids so we can go out with friends tonight. I'm going to miss them so much and hope they will come and visit. Jay actually may need to come for work in January (he works with Josh for those that don't know) which would be great. I know that when I see my family for the last time (for a while), it's going to be heart wrenching... and I'm sure I'll have an update on that when it happens.
My dad comes over on Christmas morning to help the kids unwrap their gifts. Another tradition that I look forward to. My mom always works on Christmas and my brother doesn't really celebrate it but it's my dad's holiday having been brought up in a Lutheran home. So we do our best to include him with our celebration. It's also nice to have someone help us with those damn little ties on the boxes ;). Just kidding Dad - we love having you over!!
After we open gifts here, we head down to the Cape to Josh's family. We have traditions there as well - potato pancakes (yum!), open gifts, a nice roast for dinner and then a challenging game of trivial pursuit. The game is usually more between Aunt Ellen and Josh's dad because really, they are the ones with the most random knowledge of stuff. But we all try to participate. But as the night drew to a close, I could feel a lump in my throat starting. This was it. Josh's parents were leaving for vacation this week and this is the last time we are going to see them. With tears in my eyes, I told Aidan to make sure he hugged his Granny and Papa extra tight because it's going to be a long time before he sees them again. I could feel the tears start streaming down my cheek - Josh's parents spend a lot of time with the kids and as much as they have supported us in this new adventure, I'm sure they are sad to see us (ok, more the kids than us) go. We know they will visit but this was our first goodbye of what we know will be many in the coming week. If I'm already teary on the first one, how am I going to be on the last one? Josh may need to drag me on to that plane at this rate.
Your family will always be your family and we love them dearly so please family, don't take this next part to mean that you don't mean the world to us, because you do. We wouldn't be who we are today without you. Your love and support has made us into the people we are today, about to embark on this worldly adventure. We love you so much!!!
We celebrate Christmas as a neighborhood too - we have luminaries every year that all of our friends participate in. It's so beautiful seeing the streets in our neighborhood lit up for the holiday. 
And also seeing everyone come together to do a project like this. We make cookies with all the kids together to leave for Santa. We have chinese food on Christmas eve and the kids do a gift exchange. This neighborhood is also my family. My family that I will miss just as much as my blood family. They have become the people I call night or day if I have a sick child or need a ride somewhere or just want to chat. They are the people that I call when I have something funny to say or a sad story to share. They are the friends that in the summertime we will hang out with til the sun goes down as the kids play in the yards and the street. That we have bonfires with. That we do cookouts with. That we have girls / boys weekends with a few times a year.
They are the parents of our childrens' best friends. When I get a chance to go out, often times it's with my girls... and Josh has boys night every Thursday night in Dave's garage - I know he's going to miss that. And I know the kids will miss their friends. But I know that all of you will Skype with us too, right???
Last night we went out with these friends and we said many goodbyes. I had my tissues on me but surprisingly didn't need them because it was all about celebrating - celebrating our friendship and this adventure Josh and I are about to embark on. We had so much fun, my body hurts this morning. These are the most wonderful friends that Josh and I could have. I didn't get a chance to do a toast last night so I want to let them know some things - You were our friends when we first moved here - when it was just Josh and I...no dogs, no kids, no marriage for that matter! You were our friends when we got engaged, when we got Jake, when we got married, got Sailor and then when the kids arrived. You were the friends that I was pregnant with (both times). You've been the friends that I call when I need a quick favor, or someone to hang out with, or even just to say hi. Good news or bad news... you are who I call. You have been my support system for the last however many years. And without you, I'm scared. I know you will stand by me and be there to support me, but you won't be THERE but yet you will be here in my heart and in my thoughts, every day. I am so lucky to have friends like you and knowing I have friends like you to come back to makes this process just a little bit easier. Thank you for being you and for being my friend.
Now I must finish my packing, the movers come tomorrow to take our final shipment. My parents are on their way to pick up the kids and spend some time with them. Today may be our final goodbye with them as well - I will most definitely need tissues for that...
Til then...
Julie
My family doesn't really celebrate Christmas as we were raised more Jewish than Catholic (though we didn't attend Temple or Church) but they still let me embrace this holiday without guilt :) and I appreciate that. Because to me, personally, this holiday isn't about Christ or anything religious, but it's always been about family, friends, and a time to reflect on the past year. So we don't celebrate Christmas on Christmas with my family, we usually do it whenever our schedules permit sometime between Thanksgiving and New Years. It's become a tradition itself that we just celebrate it sometme in there. We do the stereotypical chinese food to celebrate our Christmaka. Because we were still a few weeks away from our departure date, I did pretty good with my goodbyes after we opened gifts - mainly because I knew I had at least one more time to see my family before I leave. Today I saw my brother and his girlfriend when we went to drop off the kids so we can go out with friends tonight. I'm going to miss them so much and hope they will come and visit. Jay actually may need to come for work in January (he works with Josh for those that don't know) which would be great. I know that when I see my family for the last time (for a while), it's going to be heart wrenching... and I'm sure I'll have an update on that when it happens.
My dad comes over on Christmas morning to help the kids unwrap their gifts. Another tradition that I look forward to. My mom always works on Christmas and my brother doesn't really celebrate it but it's my dad's holiday having been brought up in a Lutheran home. So we do our best to include him with our celebration. It's also nice to have someone help us with those damn little ties on the boxes ;). Just kidding Dad - we love having you over!!
After we open gifts here, we head down to the Cape to Josh's family. We have traditions there as well - potato pancakes (yum!), open gifts, a nice roast for dinner and then a challenging game of trivial pursuit. The game is usually more between Aunt Ellen and Josh's dad because really, they are the ones with the most random knowledge of stuff. But we all try to participate. But as the night drew to a close, I could feel a lump in my throat starting. This was it. Josh's parents were leaving for vacation this week and this is the last time we are going to see them. With tears in my eyes, I told Aidan to make sure he hugged his Granny and Papa extra tight because it's going to be a long time before he sees them again. I could feel the tears start streaming down my cheek - Josh's parents spend a lot of time with the kids and as much as they have supported us in this new adventure, I'm sure they are sad to see us (ok, more the kids than us) go. We know they will visit but this was our first goodbye of what we know will be many in the coming week. If I'm already teary on the first one, how am I going to be on the last one? Josh may need to drag me on to that plane at this rate.
Your family will always be your family and we love them dearly so please family, don't take this next part to mean that you don't mean the world to us, because you do. We wouldn't be who we are today without you. Your love and support has made us into the people we are today, about to embark on this worldly adventure. We love you so much!!!
And also seeing everyone come together to do a project like this. We make cookies with all the kids together to leave for Santa. We have chinese food on Christmas eve and the kids do a gift exchange. This neighborhood is also my family. My family that I will miss just as much as my blood family. They have become the people I call night or day if I have a sick child or need a ride somewhere or just want to chat. They are the people that I call when I have something funny to say or a sad story to share. They are the friends that in the summertime we will hang out with til the sun goes down as the kids play in the yards and the street. That we have bonfires with. That we do cookouts with. That we have girls / boys weekends with a few times a year.
Last night we went out with these friends and we said many goodbyes. I had my tissues on me but surprisingly didn't need them because it was all about celebrating - celebrating our friendship and this adventure Josh and I are about to embark on. We had so much fun, my body hurts this morning. These are the most wonderful friends that Josh and I could have. I didn't get a chance to do a toast last night so I want to let them know some things - You were our friends when we first moved here - when it was just Josh and I...no dogs, no kids, no marriage for that matter! You were our friends when we got engaged, when we got Jake, when we got married, got Sailor and then when the kids arrived. You were the friends that I was pregnant with (both times). You've been the friends that I call when I need a quick favor, or someone to hang out with, or even just to say hi. Good news or bad news... you are who I call. You have been my support system for the last however many years. And without you, I'm scared. I know you will stand by me and be there to support me, but you won't be THERE but yet you will be here in my heart and in my thoughts, every day. I am so lucky to have friends like you and knowing I have friends like you to come back to makes this process just a little bit easier. Thank you for being you and for being my friend.
Now I must finish my packing, the movers come tomorrow to take our final shipment. My parents are on their way to pick up the kids and spend some time with them. Today may be our final goodbye with them as well - I will most definitely need tissues for that...
Til then...
Julie
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Work hard, play hard, getting stuff done
I have been at work for two weeks. How different is Barcelona from Lexington? There is defiantly more of an office buzz or energy you might say. It reminds me of the startup days in lex - which is a good thing. I have been lucky enough to participate in growing the company from 16 employees to a little under 2000. The Lexington office is probably in the mid 400s but the BCN office seems alive with much fewer employees. It could be the environment as there is definitely the work hard play hard mentality - again back to the start up days. It's hard to leave work at night - much more than I thought it would be. Lex gets online about right after lunch here 2 or 3. From that point on the emails and meeting madness starts. By the time 6 or 7 comes around I am wondering where the day went and when I will get some time to work on some non transactional items - usually in the morning in BCN. The transition was pretty easy as I was mid was through a project when I left with the team divided between lex and BCN. It's a challenge managing remotely but totally doable if you have a clue. I am starting to get better traction on some other work items but that will come shortly into the new year - when everyone gets back to the office. It also seems a lot of the work I put into a project to determine how my department could scale globally got a good response - a fun side project. It will be fun and challenging realizing that vision. Enough about work what about play....
Casinos are really different here and small. I went to go play some black jack before a dinner but I forgot my passport and I refused to pay an entry fee to lose money. I learned you needed to get coupons for the casino to skip the entry fee so I went back. The top half which was really really small was free and only had a few machine games like slots and the like. The tables were down stairs so that is where I went -with coupon in hand. There were maybe 4 or so black jack tables and under 10 poker tables from what I could tell. There were a few other tables but overall very small. I had 200 Euros and headed off to black jack. I quickly noticed most folks at the table or casino for that matter had no clue how to play. I saw several people go through somewhere between 500 -1000 Euros in 15 minutes at a 10 euro black jack table. They would bet 50 and lose, bet 250 and lose and kept at it until their money was gone. One of these people was a totally hot prostitute (I think ) that sat beside me for the first hour. She either chose to ignore me or spoke no English - she knew a lot of the dealers and help. Later I watched her go through another 600 Euro or so. My first 120 or so lasted a little over an hour, not bad. I also learned drinks are not free as my one jack and coke cost me 14 Euros- highway robbery. I took a break and walked around. I learned the drinks from the free section up stair were about half the price - why rob your best customers? After a break and reassessing the crews at the table I sat down and got up about 200 Euros after another few hours. I took my starting pot put it in my jacket with another 50 or so Euros and played the night out with the remaining money until I only had a small amount at the table. I got up and left up for the night which included paying for some very expensive jack and cokes but it was a good night - Wednesday night poker.
Have I mentioned the seafood here is fabulous! I have now been to a few places where you pick out the raw ingredients like at a fish market and then they take it back to cook it. I have even found a place for lunch that does this with an all you can eat buffet. You pick the seafood and veggies and pile it high then put it in line to get cooked. Then you head over to the sushi section for your apps while it cooks. If you are lucky you can finish the sushi before the rest of the meal is cooked so you don't have too many plates of food at the table. I have been averaging about one meal a day given the portions and generally cheap pricing.
The cheapest lunch has been Chinese so far at 6.5 Euros for three courses. There is usually a fixed lunch menu with an assortment of apps, main course and dessert to choose from for one price at most places. I usually know the main ingredient in any dish such as meat or chicken but I really have no clue about anything else on the dish when I look at the menu - still working on my Spanish. Sometimes even if you know your Spanish you still might not have a clue on what exactly will show up for you to eat. The Chinese food restaurant had several chicken or steak entries with deliciousness listed as part of the dish. You have no clue nor does anyone with what deliciousness will come with your dish. In this case it was various vegetables though that might change tomorrow. This will drive Julie nuts....picky eater.
We went to Alcampo in the Diagonal Mar mall to get Yankee swap gifts for the office. Alcampo is best described as a somewhat rundown super wall mart. If wall mart could get a location in BCN they would clean up. I first noticed this would be different when I saw lockers for personal items right outside the store - hmmm what's that for. Then I saw people enclosing their bags or other like items into another plastic bad and then heat sealing it. For some reason women did not have to heat seal purses into another plastic bags but any other bag, backpack, etc needed to be heat sealed. Obviously, if you did not want to heat seal your items you could rent a locker. Please note the pure electronic stores here do not have this security - they have much smaller and costly goods but a somewhat rundown super wall mart did. I knew we were in trouble at this point as one of guys had a big bag with a big box that would not fit in a locker or the heat sealed plastic bag. As he tried to make his items fit in the heat sealed plastic bags security started watching us. After few minutes of attempting this security came over. They were nice and agreed to put his box in their little area. The conversation took a bit longer then I expected but he knew Spanish well - not sure how I would've faired. So now we were ready to enter the store and go through the electric screening. Of course the alarms go off, we turn around and meet our security friends again. We walk through one at a time until the person setting it off was identified. The hand held wand came out and his jeans were the culprit. Security started to drag him off somewhere - luckily the one guy that really knew Spanish stepped in. Security was trying to bring him to a room where he could take off his jeans to find the offending tag. He did not want to go but this confused security - does this happen all the time. He wanted to stay outside the store and wait for us to get the items we needed -again confusion with the guards. Finally, they just escorted us through the electronic screening and waved us on. None of us quite knew what when down but we were finally in the store.
We decided to go see Avatar on opening weekend and then head out for paella. There is an original version ( VO ) theater so we could see it in English. Luckily, one of the guys ordered online and noticed limited seating was left. I jumped on and was surprised you needed to pick your seat - cool and a nice surprise. I arrived about 15 minutes early and then got the calls that everyone was getting there at 8 - right when it started. It took me a little bit to find the theater in the mall - different mall then before. Malls have odd layouts over here with no rhyme or reason. It's hard to find the mall maps, usually the maps are just limited to the floor you are on and they lack a you are here marking. I found the theater after 5 minutes and luckily there was an Irish bar right there - 10 minutes to wait. I grab my tickets and then a Guinness. I could buy 3 Guinness for the price of my one jack and coke at the casino, they were still a little pricy. Everyone arrives 5 minutes after the movie is suppose to start and we should still be fine but upon entering we realized the movie started 5 minutes ago and they don't do previews - lesson learned. It took a little while to get use to the 3D. Not sure why as I had no problem with other 3D movies but settled on the fact the Spanish subtitles projecting out at you in 3D was probably the cause. The movie was in English but apparently that means you get Spanish subtitles throughout. The movie was great and like all movies these days the good guy lived instead of dying. Why do you always need the happy ending....We head off for paella in the marina after the movie and got there about 11 PM. The place and the marina in general was hoping even though it was close to freezing - on our walk back to the metro after dinner the fountains were frozen. We sat down and on the other side of us through a pair of blinds that acted as a wall was a futball team doing awards. They even had a mega phone - please note this place is pretty decent and pricy for paella. It was noisy but fun - even got some second hand smoke from the hash the futball team was smoking - yes in the restaurant. The place was pretty rockin and included a bachelorette party kickin back the tequila, a group with santa gear on, etc. Did I mention there were also kids in there, perhaps as young as 3 up to 12 - some things are just so different over here. This was my second time to this place, very different on the weekend then the weekday. One of the best apps I have had over here that we got is fried green peppers with smoked sea salt. I could eat those all day. At the end of the meal two free bottles of hard booze was dropped off at the table. The labels and what was inside clearly did not match up. One bottle had clear liquor and the other bottle chocolate. Neither was good but the clear one was horrible - you have to at least try it. On the way back to the metro we walked past the night clubs in the marina and they were hopping. We found the one that tried to recruit us in the restaurant. They were guys that came in dressed as doctors with no top under their doctor gear trying to give us passes and candy - something else was probably in the candy. We saw the bachelorette being wheeled into the night club on a gurney. About half the nightclubs had women in scantily clad clothing on stage or some cage like contraption. We all agreed the summer must be nuts down in the marina. We had a great time that night even through it was low key.
When I have not been out playing or working at the office I have managed to get the house pretty much set up for when the family arrives. Checkmarks: phone, cells, cable, internet, house is generally livable, grandma cart to put groceries in that you tote around, etc. The guy that came to install the phone/cable/internet package was not the brightest bulb even though he only spoke Spanish and I did not understand anything he was saying. It took him almost 3 hours to get everything set up with about a dozen calls back to the main office for assistance. I have yet to successfully get voicemail set up on any phone as it's all in Spanish - simple things can just be hard.
I found a big farmers market in the area that has pretty much everything you would expect to find from an episode of Bizarre foods. I think I will try pigeon soon, you can even buy live ones to bring home to execute yourself - have to make sure it's fresh. Some of the seafood was alive and half the meats I could not indentify on first glance. I caught a glimpse of some octopi trying to escape the counter. Just about every native fowl was available and hanging from the ceiling. It was interesting and I found some great exotic food.
Casinos are really different here and small. I went to go play some black jack before a dinner but I forgot my passport and I refused to pay an entry fee to lose money. I learned you needed to get coupons for the casino to skip the entry fee so I went back. The top half which was really really small was free and only had a few machine games like slots and the like. The tables were down stairs so that is where I went -with coupon in hand. There were maybe 4 or so black jack tables and under 10 poker tables from what I could tell. There were a few other tables but overall very small. I had 200 Euros and headed off to black jack. I quickly noticed most folks at the table or casino for that matter had no clue how to play. I saw several people go through somewhere between 500 -1000 Euros in 15 minutes at a 10 euro black jack table. They would bet 50 and lose, bet 250 and lose and kept at it until their money was gone. One of these people was a totally hot prostitute (I think ) that sat beside me for the first hour. She either chose to ignore me or spoke no English - she knew a lot of the dealers and help. Later I watched her go through another 600 Euro or so. My first 120 or so lasted a little over an hour, not bad. I also learned drinks are not free as my one jack and coke cost me 14 Euros- highway robbery. I took a break and walked around. I learned the drinks from the free section up stair were about half the price - why rob your best customers? After a break and reassessing the crews at the table I sat down and got up about 200 Euros after another few hours. I took my starting pot put it in my jacket with another 50 or so Euros and played the night out with the remaining money until I only had a small amount at the table. I got up and left up for the night which included paying for some very expensive jack and cokes but it was a good night - Wednesday night poker.
Have I mentioned the seafood here is fabulous! I have now been to a few places where you pick out the raw ingredients like at a fish market and then they take it back to cook it. I have even found a place for lunch that does this with an all you can eat buffet. You pick the seafood and veggies and pile it high then put it in line to get cooked. Then you head over to the sushi section for your apps while it cooks. If you are lucky you can finish the sushi before the rest of the meal is cooked so you don't have too many plates of food at the table. I have been averaging about one meal a day given the portions and generally cheap pricing.
The cheapest lunch has been Chinese so far at 6.5 Euros for three courses. There is usually a fixed lunch menu with an assortment of apps, main course and dessert to choose from for one price at most places. I usually know the main ingredient in any dish such as meat or chicken but I really have no clue about anything else on the dish when I look at the menu - still working on my Spanish. Sometimes even if you know your Spanish you still might not have a clue on what exactly will show up for you to eat. The Chinese food restaurant had several chicken or steak entries with deliciousness listed as part of the dish. You have no clue nor does anyone with what deliciousness will come with your dish. In this case it was various vegetables though that might change tomorrow. This will drive Julie nuts....picky eater.
We went to Alcampo in the Diagonal Mar mall to get Yankee swap gifts for the office. Alcampo is best described as a somewhat rundown super wall mart. If wall mart could get a location in BCN they would clean up. I first noticed this would be different when I saw lockers for personal items right outside the store - hmmm what's that for. Then I saw people enclosing their bags or other like items into another plastic bad and then heat sealing it. For some reason women did not have to heat seal purses into another plastic bags but any other bag, backpack, etc needed to be heat sealed. Obviously, if you did not want to heat seal your items you could rent a locker. Please note the pure electronic stores here do not have this security - they have much smaller and costly goods but a somewhat rundown super wall mart did. I knew we were in trouble at this point as one of guys had a big bag with a big box that would not fit in a locker or the heat sealed plastic bag. As he tried to make his items fit in the heat sealed plastic bags security started watching us. After few minutes of attempting this security came over. They were nice and agreed to put his box in their little area. The conversation took a bit longer then I expected but he knew Spanish well - not sure how I would've faired. So now we were ready to enter the store and go through the electric screening. Of course the alarms go off, we turn around and meet our security friends again. We walk through one at a time until the person setting it off was identified. The hand held wand came out and his jeans were the culprit. Security started to drag him off somewhere - luckily the one guy that really knew Spanish stepped in. Security was trying to bring him to a room where he could take off his jeans to find the offending tag. He did not want to go but this confused security - does this happen all the time. He wanted to stay outside the store and wait for us to get the items we needed -again confusion with the guards. Finally, they just escorted us through the electronic screening and waved us on. None of us quite knew what when down but we were finally in the store.
We decided to go see Avatar on opening weekend and then head out for paella. There is an original version ( VO ) theater so we could see it in English. Luckily, one of the guys ordered online and noticed limited seating was left. I jumped on and was surprised you needed to pick your seat - cool and a nice surprise. I arrived about 15 minutes early and then got the calls that everyone was getting there at 8 - right when it started. It took me a little bit to find the theater in the mall - different mall then before. Malls have odd layouts over here with no rhyme or reason. It's hard to find the mall maps, usually the maps are just limited to the floor you are on and they lack a you are here marking. I found the theater after 5 minutes and luckily there was an Irish bar right there - 10 minutes to wait. I grab my tickets and then a Guinness. I could buy 3 Guinness for the price of my one jack and coke at the casino, they were still a little pricy. Everyone arrives 5 minutes after the movie is suppose to start and we should still be fine but upon entering we realized the movie started 5 minutes ago and they don't do previews - lesson learned. It took a little while to get use to the 3D. Not sure why as I had no problem with other 3D movies but settled on the fact the Spanish subtitles projecting out at you in 3D was probably the cause. The movie was in English but apparently that means you get Spanish subtitles throughout. The movie was great and like all movies these days the good guy lived instead of dying. Why do you always need the happy ending....We head off for paella in the marina after the movie and got there about 11 PM. The place and the marina in general was hoping even though it was close to freezing - on our walk back to the metro after dinner the fountains were frozen. We sat down and on the other side of us through a pair of blinds that acted as a wall was a futball team doing awards. They even had a mega phone - please note this place is pretty decent and pricy for paella. It was noisy but fun - even got some second hand smoke from the hash the futball team was smoking - yes in the restaurant. The place was pretty rockin and included a bachelorette party kickin back the tequila, a group with santa gear on, etc. Did I mention there were also kids in there, perhaps as young as 3 up to 12 - some things are just so different over here. This was my second time to this place, very different on the weekend then the weekday. One of the best apps I have had over here that we got is fried green peppers with smoked sea salt. I could eat those all day. At the end of the meal two free bottles of hard booze was dropped off at the table. The labels and what was inside clearly did not match up. One bottle had clear liquor and the other bottle chocolate. Neither was good but the clear one was horrible - you have to at least try it. On the way back to the metro we walked past the night clubs in the marina and they were hopping. We found the one that tried to recruit us in the restaurant. They were guys that came in dressed as doctors with no top under their doctor gear trying to give us passes and candy - something else was probably in the candy. We saw the bachelorette being wheeled into the night club on a gurney. About half the nightclubs had women in scantily clad clothing on stage or some cage like contraption. We all agreed the summer must be nuts down in the marina. We had a great time that night even through it was low key.
When I have not been out playing or working at the office I have managed to get the house pretty much set up for when the family arrives. Checkmarks: phone, cells, cable, internet, house is generally livable, grandma cart to put groceries in that you tote around, etc. The guy that came to install the phone/cable/internet package was not the brightest bulb even though he only spoke Spanish and I did not understand anything he was saying. It took him almost 3 hours to get everything set up with about a dozen calls back to the main office for assistance. I have yet to successfully get voicemail set up on any phone as it's all in Spanish - simple things can just be hard.
I found a big farmers market in the area that has pretty much everything you would expect to find from an episode of Bizarre foods. I think I will try pigeon soon, you can even buy live ones to bring home to execute yourself - have to make sure it's fresh. Some of the seafood was alive and half the meats I could not indentify on first glance. I caught a glimpse of some octopi trying to escape the counter. Just about every native fowl was available and hanging from the ceiling. It was interesting and I found some great exotic food.
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