Our flat... our home away from home.

Just a quick note, I'm feeling a lot better since yesterday and thank you all who emailed me with their concerns.  I will be fine and it's going to take time to adjust but I will adjust.  I haven't been anywhere today beyond the grocery store but it's raining out (again) and I had my dryer installed today so I was homebound regardless. 

So now we are all moved in and I thought I would share some pics of our new flat with you.  Some of you probably saw the pics we posted back in November when we found this place but obviously we brought some furniture with us, added all our possessions and wham, it's our home away from home!!  Below please find some pics for your enjoyment :)

Our outdoor space as seen from the kitchen / living room areas.  Yes, it's all cement and stone but it's all ours in the center of the city.  Good luck finding that in Boston!

Let's start with the funniest of pictures for today.  Good to start with a laugh.  So sadly, I just noticed this in my kitchen the other day.  The landlord put it here.  But what is funnier still is that Cristy, my friend who was here when the movers arrive - well, she thought it was funny because she thought Josh brought it with his two bags of possessions in Dec because what landlord would leave a picture like this up???  The fact that Josh treasured this picture so much that he sacrified clothing and other worldly possessions to bring his 1950s picture of pot with him.  Sadly, he did not bring it - this was here when we got here.  But it made for a very funny story.

The other picture in our kitchen.  I hope you are reading the captions that are actually on the pictures.

1/2 of my kitchen.  There is a door to the patio on the left.  The tall cabinet looking thing is actually my dishwasher (took me at least 1/2 hr before I could work it).  The upper cabinet is the only cabinet for dishes and glasses.  The big drawer on the right is where my pots and pans live.

The other side of the kitchen.  Tiny washing machine (you've seen what I can fit in here), our fridge/freezer.  The cabinet above the washer is actually our hot water heater so unusable space.  The shelves on the left and the cabinet next to the washer are the only places for food other than the fridge.

Front view of kitchen when you walk in

My new dryer!!!  Just installed today and yes, it is outside (which is why there is a marble casing around it) - it was the only place it would fit.  We paid for it and told the landlord we would leave it here when we go in 2 years which made them happy so they arranged (and we paid for) installation.

Our living room / dining room.  This is the view when you first walk in.  There is a nice slider (no screens here) that opens on both sides.  Yes there is one couch for the 4 of us.

We have a nice 40" flat screen tv and yet my kitchen table chairs are $15 each and from IKEA.  Hmmmm... doesn't feel right to me.  Though I do enjoy the tv.

Our absolutely stuffed bookcases and tiny little kitchen table.  The table works for now - we figure in another month or two we'll be eating outside more often than not. 

Hallway to my office / playroom / eventual guest room (once we get a futon)

Another view of the office / playroom / guest room - futon to go where legos are currently living.  Will need new place for legos I guess.

Making use of space - this bookshelf is also a part of my desk.  Comes in handy for work and art supplies.

Yes, this is where I'm running my company from... and yet, I'm making it work.  It's cramped but everything I need is there.

Playspace part of the office.  Yes, we brought the storage unit from home.  It was the one piece of furniture I insisted on bringing.  And I'm glad we did!

These are the stairs that I fully anticipate will be the cause of at least one ER trip during the course of our stay here.  They are marble and slippery and have NO handrails.

Now we move upstairs.  Right when you get the to top of the stairs, there is a little alcove and that is where the kids clothes live and these 2 storage bins with clothes for the kids that wouldn't fit under their beds or in the closet.  Just as a side note, under all of our beds are completely filled with space bags of clothes, shoe organizers and empty duffle bags/suitcases.  There are NO physical closets in our flat - only 3 wardrobes - one for the kids, one for me and one for Josh.  That's it.

Aidan gets the top, Liam gets the bottom.  I cannot put one more thing on Liam's bar.  It's going to be tough when we hit that in between long sleeve/short sleeve season.

The boys' bedroom.  This is pretty much it.  There is a tiny alcove in here that has a dresser that they share.  At home their dressers are each completely full.  Again though, they've got under their beds completely stacked with space bags with the rest.

Our room - this is pretty much it.  You'll see there are 2 wardrobes on the other side and you can see some of the clothes bags sticking out from underneath.  The beds here really don't go bigger than a double and yes, that is what we are sharing, a double.  The mattresses aren't good either so we actually shipped a double mattress that we placed on top of the mattress that was already here.  The bed is tall but probably much more comfy that way.

View of the other side of our room.  I think this room is almost half the size of our roon at home.  Josh's closet near the head of the bed, my slightly larger one by the foot of the bed.

Have you noticed we have no dresser?  We don't.  My clothes either fit in this wardrobe (which has two small drawers on the bottom) or they have to go in a storage bag under my bed.

Again, making use of space.  Being the infomercial queen that I am, we went from Space Bags to Wonder Hangers.  Notice that all my clothes go down 5 layers on each hanger.  Yup, all those hangers actually have 5 hangers on them.  That's a lot of clothes in that tiny space.  I'm hoping the hanger rod can take it.

Because I feel the need to share with you just how much I put in this little wardrobe, I wanted to show you how high I've stacked my pants and shorts under the layers of shirts.  There are 4 stacks of pants that go this high.  I think perhaps I brought too many clothes.

On that note my friends, the tour of our flat is complete.  Hope you enjoyed it and will come visit us!!

Julie

It's been a great two weeks in Spain, but I'm ready to come home now.... please????

You knew it was coming sometime... the meltdown.  It was bound to happen sooner or later.  But let's just note that it is not the reason why I haven't written in the last few days.  Honestly, it's been rather uneventful here.  Our movers came again at the end of the week with our last 500 lb air shipment so that meant another 2 days of unpacking.  But otherwise, all has been calm.  Saturday was spent doing the same walk I did with Brenda the other day but with Josh and the kids.  Of course we got down to the aquarium and it was closed at 11AM on a Sat - the hours in Barcelona are something to absolutely adjust to - it's most definitely an afternoon/nighttime city.  Speaking of which, I was just out looking / hoping for an open grocery store on a Sun evening at 5 (knowing siesta is usually 2:30-4:30), but knowing that NOTHING is open on Sun, I knew it would be a crapshoot.  The streets are eerily quiet.  That might be normal in say a suburb or something, but we're in the middle of a thriving city and nothing...the rare car, occassional person, but mostly silence.  And no, the grocery store was not open.  Sunday is truly a day for relaxation here in Spain and the Spaniards most definitely know how to relax.

So back to the meltdown.  It's really the perfect storm of events - something I knew would happen at some point but was hoping that it wouldn't.  I feel like this one wasn't too bad which means there's probably going to be another one at some point on the horizon that's worse.  Why the meltdown?  Well, it started last night.  Realistically I'm sure it started before that, but the trigger was last night.  Josh, while having a good time, like the good time guy he is... came home a little tipsy.  From what I understand, he was in very good company and honestly it's not the drinking that had me upset. 

But this is not my concern, what and how much he drank.  It's that now it's late when he finally got home and my mind starts to race.  Does he have alcohol poisoning?  Should I go down and check on him (he went to sleep in the living room since he snores when he drinks)?  What do I do here in an emergency???
What was racing thru my head during this debate is, what if something happens to one of us and we need to go to the hospital - during the day or night.  THIS is where my meltdown begins essentially.  I have virtually no support system here.  In the case of an emergency, I have one friend right now who lives a good 20 mins away.  This would not be an issue if my children were older, but what do I do in a real emergency?  I know I would call 061 (the spanish 911) for an ambulance and probably have to send Josh (or vice versa) without me and then catch up... but just thinking about the fear of the unknown was enough to send me into a downward spiral last night.  I NEED my support system.  I NEED my family and friends.  Yes, I will make friends here.  It is only week 2.  But I can tell you right now it won't be in my neighborhood (from what I can tell so far) and that makes a big difference as many of my readers are aware - at least when it comes to my kids.

I needed to get out of the house today to work off some of this frustration and worries and in addition to my less than one mile run (these hills are killer), I decided to head off on the metro to Passeig de Gracia on a hunt for this big grocery store I had seen, hoping for perhaps some more familiar brands.  Turns out that this store I was searching for was on La Rambla in the complete opposite direction that I had walked.  I didn't realize this til I made it all the way to Diagonal which is where I had to turn towards the road that I live off of.  But it was a good walk nonetheless and more than likely it was closed today anyways.  It was also a walk where I realized the other trigger that set me off today (aside from it being rainy which never ever helps one mentally).

The other trigger is my paralyzing fear of going into stores other than those of the grocery variety.  I don't know the protocol here and that quite honestly terrifies me like you would not even believe.  Sure, I've made HUGE progress when it comes to getting the lay of the land, finding my way around  but aside from the dry cleaner (who scares me), the grocery store, the Five and Dime, and the bakery, I have yet to go into a store on my own and manage to communicate my needs confidently, confident being the operative word, oh and in Spanish.  Mainly because I haven't gone into any stores. And even fewer restaurants and cafes.  The cafes look adorable - and they terrify me.  Why I just don't know.  Again it's that protocol thing.  I don't know the process of how things are done here.  Like that whole, don't put money on the table thing - it's offensive to the Spanish people.  What other things don't I know that is going to either offend someone or put me in a situation that I can't communicate my needs correctly?

In the midst of writing this, the dog just puked on our brand new rug.  It just gets better and better doesn't it?

Now I've got this paralyzing, yes paralyzing fear of the stores and shops... and that only frustrates me.  Because that is not who I am.  I am not one to run and hide because I'm scared.  I believe in baptism by fire.  A true believer - I have never not done something because I'm scared.  And it makes me angry that I'm letting Barcelona win.  Even the stupid oven is winning.  I just tried to heat taco shells and 3 mins in the oven and they are now burnt.  I can't even make goddamn tacos!!!  On a positive note, that funny smelling meat of last week, must not have been hamburger but another animal because this meat smells like hamburger.  Apparently I need to write down my grocery list in Spanish as well (using my friend google translate) because what appears to be something may in fact be something else.

Ok, so enough complaining for tonight.  Tomorrow is a new day and I'm determined to make it a better one.  I know I can't come home.  It doesn't mean I don't want to because believe me, I do.  But if I can't come home because I'm frustrated and angry then I have two choices - I can either let Spain win or I can kick Spain's ass and find a way to make this work.  I'm going to do my best to make it the latter.  On the agenda for this week (notice they are very simple tasks but will hopefully give me a bit of confidence):

* practice my spanish (need to desperately do) - Josh is out MW and F this week - Spanish class two nights and an employee only holiday party on Fri. I figure those are good nights to focus on my Spanish without disruption and without disturbing him (remember it's a small apartment!).
* get my dryer installed and heat fixed in the kids' room (supposedly they are coming tomorrow, fingers crossed)
* get back on track with work (I made some significant progress last week on this - feels good and normal!)
* girls night on Tues (no throwing up this week)
* new parent orientation at the school (hoping to meet some more people)
* Tackle the bus and/or the commuter rail
* If I find out the scoop with the NIE and kids, I will take care of that as well - I'm waiting to hear back from Vistaprint on if Aidan needs to be there for fingerprinting when I get my foreign ID # or not.  I have to pull him from school that morning if I do it, so that may have to be next week depending on when I hear on that.
* Go into a cafe on my own and order something (yes, sounds simple I know... you try it- in Spanish).

Here's to another 716 or so days left...

Julie

It's the little things in life that make it sweet...

Today started off a little bit rough after my toilet worshipping activities last night due to a smidgen too much wine (it was worth it though - had a great time).  I almost considered cancelling my plans with Brenda because I was hurting a bit.  Josh got Aidan off to school and I slowly, slowly pulled myself together.  We were expecting rain today but it turned out to be gorgeous and sunny.  I'm going to take a stab at it and say it was 50 today.  The best weather day we've had since we arrived.

So Brenda is a friend I made here before I arrived.  She's the wife of one of Josh's co-workers and an absolute sweetheart.  I had emailed and spoken with her many times during the moving process and she was reassuring and helpful - had lots of great tidbits and helped me to set some expectations here.  I met her in person for the first time when we came in November for our discovery trip.  But today was the first time I've seen her since I arrived (she lives outside the city though comes in several times a week). 

We decided to meet in Placa de Catalunya near Passeig de Gracia.  So I took Liam on the metro by myself.  Not a huge accomplishment as I've certainly taken the metro several times in the last week or so.  But still felt good to do it with just me and Liam, on our own.  Brenda is the primo tourist guide - she was awesome.  We started off walking thru the shops by Placa de Catalunya - which turns out you can walk thru the alleys towards the Born district - I had no idea.  I am finally getting oriented as far as where everything is laid out here - today made a huge difference with that.  While walking thru the small streets, Brenda showed me the one bagel store in Barcelona that she's aware of - YES BAGELS!!!!  I'm soooo excited.  So I did not hesitate to pay 7.60 € for my 6 bagels and one Yoo-Hoo type of chocolate drink for Liam.  Yes, approximately $12.00 for 6 bagels and a chocolate milk.  But it was worth it.  Both Josh and I had bagels for dinner tonight.  I have a feeling this will be a weekly stop.  Perhaps I have reduced my spending without a Target, Toys R Us or Baby Gap, but I will be buying my 7.60 € bagels damn it!! 

So walking thru the Born district, which I mentioned the other day is filled with very very small streets, I was absolutely taken in with the architecture.  Now, I had heard there were amazing things to see here but what I had seen was really limited up until now and there are just some beautiful areas of this city that are waiting to be explored.  I took a bunch of pictures that you'll see below. The detail and intricateness of these buildings was something to behold.

Very old door - this thing has to weigh a ton!

From Born we hopped on the metro one stop to Barceloneta - along the water.  It was walking distance from where we were but Liam wanted to take the choo choo again.  So at the end of the Barceloneta stop is actually right by the end of La Rambla - the famous tourist area (and big pickpocket area).  Here in Barceloneta you see some amazing old buildings - as well as some new.  Art is very important in this city and it's obvious every where you look.  Even the buoys are art sculptures!  As we walk towards the water, we see a circus (it looks like a permanent fixutre - I'll have to look more into that) and the aquarium just ahead.  The aquarium just like the one in Boston, also has an Imax theater.  But unlike in Boston, what surrounds this one are boardwalks and grass.  And also a mall that is attached to it (but you can't access from the aquarium) with several restaurants.  Brenda and I stopped at one called Tapa Tapa (tapas if you weren't sure what was on the menu by the name!).  It was good and they had a menu in English, Spanish, Catalan and another 2 languages I can't remember at the moment and the waiter spoke English.  Good to know where they speak English.  Though it doesn't help me in my spanish lessons, does it???  So anyways, we had some tapas and head out again.

circus                                                               Artsy buoy in harbor

The griffins on this building have to do with the royal crest        I believe this is Montserrat (one of the      

                                                                                               mountains surrounding Barcelona)

  (guys selling fake purses, etc on the bridge)                

                                                                                Port Authority of Barcelona (nice huh?)

Tribute to Christopher Columbus

This time we decided to head down La Rambla.  Again, some beautiful buildings and some street performers.  I mentioned La Rambla the other day so I won't really go into much detail here.  Lisa, I did find the Dunkin Donuts though!  And I also found La Boquaria!  I've been dying to go to this open market which is the largest in the city and it was all I dreamed it would be.  We didn't stay long and I'm sure Brenda was done playing tourist guide with me - but I will most definitely go back and soon.  Perhaps Josh and I will take the kids this weekend. 

 
        Lisa, it's Dunkin!

This is called the umbrella house - see the umbrellas?  There is more to the story but I need to look it up - it's now a bank but what a unique, beautiful building. 

La Boqueria

By now Liam has fallen asleep in the stroller and Brenda has to head back home to get the kids from school.  So I need to decide, do I chance waking Liam (which will happen) to take the metro home or do I see how far it is to walk?  Brenda and I whip out a map and while she thinks it's far, I know how far I walked the other day and this is nothing by comparison.  So I head up Passeig de Gracia until I hit Diagonal - we live north of Diagonal.  This is how they describe where people live in the city - Diagonal is actually on a diagonal and cuts the city in half - a debate on whether it is north / south or east / west... but mainly it is do you live on the mountain side or the sea side.  We live on the mountain side.  So when you give a cab directions, they may ask which side of Diagonal (I forget specifically what this is called).  Travessera de Gracia (the street we live off of) is just north of Diagonal.  Well wouldn't you know... I found it!!!!  And I actually made it home.  It was about a half hour walk but it could have been a 2 second walk for all I cared - I found my way amd I made it home.  And I know I could do it again.  What a huge wonderful feeling that was.  I don't think I would feel this way if I were finding my way around Kansas City, but here, where I struggle to communicate, the fact that I can find my way around this city and be successful at it made it one of the best moments I have had here so far.  And it makes me excited to know what the future holds as I hopefully am able to improve my communications and explore more of this beautiful city.  It's the little things that make a big difference and today proved that more than anything.  I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings...

Julie

Aidan's first day on the bus... and I'm now 2-3 in my quest.

Tuesday was Aidan’s first day on the bus… Other than today when we all went to see him off, Josh will be taking Aidan to the bus stop on his way to the metro station.  I'm glad that I was there this morning though.  He almost went to the American School as the bus stop for that school is on the other side of the same intersection. Debora, our bus contact at BFIS told us that Aidan's bus would be a white bus with stripes, the chaperone's name was Chiqui and that there was only one other student at the bus stop. Josh asked one of the parents if it was for BFIS and he said yes apparently (perhaps didn’t understand English as well as his child)… then the bus showed up and it was short and grey and the chaparone’s name was Maria which didn’t make sense based on what Debora told me, not to mention there were about 8 kids, but I was trusting that Josh had asked the parent before I got there. I asked another woman, “and this is for BFIS right”. She said, “no!, the American School”. Mind you, Aidan was on the bus and they were closing the door. Thankfully this woman got Aidan off the bus for me! And his bus was waiting across the street. Barely made it!! But we did make it and now we know exactly where his bus stops and what it looks like. Whew – what a morning and it’s only 8AM! An adventure a moment it feels like!

The good news is on the way to the bus stop this AM we found La Tintorería (or the dry cleaner). So armed with a load of stinky shirts, I headed out this morning to get them cleaned. I had left my cell phone home because I needed a pin # to get in to it and Josh hadn’t IM’d me back…who knew what pain that would cause! I managed to tell her I wanted them cleaned – but then she asked for my telephone #. I don’t know it off the top of my head and said, esta en mi casa (it’s at home…at least I think that’s what it means, it sounds right to me). Apparently this was a BIG issue because she called a guy from out back and asked him (in spanish) how to handle this problem. He punched a few things on the computer and that was it. Then she asked me to pay (this took a moment for me to figure out what she wanted, then she pointed to the credit card machine). Ok, so apparently you prepay for these kinds of things here. 44 € (notice I finally found the euro sign) later, I’m all set. Finally something accomplished!!!!

During the day today I heard the doorbell and went to the door thinking perhaps they might be coming to fix our heat or install our dryer. I had heard clanging outside. It turns out that it was a truck filled with orange propane type tanks. Apparently they go door to door to sell them in the city. He said something to me that I didn’t understand and then pointed to them. I said “no gracias” – to my knowledge we don’t need any propane. It’s interesting that they just go up and down the streets with them – they bang on the rail of the truck with something metal so you know they are coming.

So on yet another positive note – I also found ice cube trays today. Again, it’s the little things in life. Aidan decided after school to wander into another 5 n dime type place (there are a lot of them around here) and lo and behold – ice cube trays!! Success!!! 2 items in one day! I may be ready to tackle the bus or my NIE (foreign social security number) sometime in the next millennium… seriously though at this rate, my confidence is building and perhaps sometime in the next week I’ll think of tackling those things!

I went out with Cristy tonight to a tapas place - called Tapas 24.  It's off Passeig de Gracia which is a very nice area.  We ended up dining for 4 hours.  We went thru 2 bottles of Spanish wine (I don't care what Josh has said, spanish wine does in fact give you a hangover, I can promise you).  We had amazing conversation and didn't realize how fast the 4 hours went by.  It was interesting because in Barcelona, restaurants are very focused on the customers that are currently seated versus those who are waiting.  Instead of taking a new table and hurrying us out after we paid our check (a whopping 40 euros for the 2 of us), the waiter instead brought us a plate of olives (unfortunately neither of us particularly care for that)...then he convinced us that we should have more wine...and then another dessert.  So instead of taking on a new table, he continued to cater to us.  It was a really great experience to see this first hand as I had heard about that from Josh from his stay in December.

However, all great nights must come to an end and without looking at our phones / clocks, we decided to head out.  We got into the metro station and all the gates were open.  Free??????  Hmmm... I look at my clock - 12:02.  Shit!!  The metro stops running at 12!  We race down opposite sides of the metro and Cristy barely makes hers.  I'm crossing my fingers that there is still one more for me left because there are about 6 other people waiting.  Worst case I take a cab but I'm already here, I'm buzzed and I just want to get home.  Finally about 2 mins later a train arrived - whew!!  I made it back and walked the couple of blocks back to our apartment.  I thought I'd be anxious walking by myself so late at night here but I actually felt quite safe.  Someone told me recently that other than pickpocketing, they had heard that the most violent crimes were if someone were held up with a butter knife.  It's just not a violent area.  That's not to say I won't be aware, but I won't be scared either.

Side note - I didn't publish or finish writing this entry til Wed - I'd like to point out that apparently I drank way too much red wine last night and spent a chunk of the night making friends with our new toilet. 

Julie

How do we determine success or failure?

I originally started off my blog entry today rattling on about some more stuff that we’ve been doing. Little adventures here and there. Because I’ve been defining my adventures on the small things I’ve been doing. The little hurdles I’ve been trying to jump. Some have been successful and some have not, or have they? The smallest of things have been what I define as a success. But today has made me question success versus failure. In this country that I am trying to survive in, what makes me successful? I’m starting to feel it’s the small things – those little achievements each day. Finding my way around, communicating, trying to make a home away from home. But most of all, taking control of what I perceive as a difficult situation, facing the unknown and pushing myself to do my best because really that's all I can ask of myself and I need to remember that.


Today I was determined to accomplish 3 things while Aidan was at school (in addition to getting him to school). Very simple things. I wanted to buy an ice tray (we have no ice machine in our fridge and I’m drinking luke warm tap water), to buy a night light, and to find a dry cleaner (we need desperately). I spent 2 hours this morning wandering the streets for these things. One could say I failed at my goals since I accomplished none of these things. However, I don’t see it that way now that I’m looking back. Sure, I didn’t get any of those things done, but I did find my way around the neighborhood, got some Looney Toon Pens for Aidan, and got some bread at the panadería (bakery). SUCCESS (sort of).

One of the things I have been stressing about has been how to get Aidan to and from school today. Now we’ve scheduled him to take the school bus (this is a fee service so you have to arrange it ahead of time) but the school had suggested to us back in November that we take him to school during the first week. Having spent 2 days here in Nov and really not having an idea of where everything is, I said, sure why not. But now that we are here, I’ve been looking at the maps and honestly, they are intimidating. I feel I can compare Barcelona’s layout more to Boston than to NY. This city is in no way on a grid – it’s an old old city that has many winding roads and pretty much every street is a one way street (more one ways than in Boston!!!). My options for this morning – take 2 buses and then walk, take the metro to the bus and then walk, walk the whole way (looks to be approx 3 miles using google maps) or take a cab. Now while it might technically be 3 miles– sure it looks like it will be quick but you know it can be a good hour of travel when you get down to it.

Got up at 6:30 as planned. Quick shower because don’t want to use all the hot water. Woke Aidan at 7 – he complained it was still night time and I had to explain that it doesn’t get light out here til after 8AM. We left around 7:50 hoping to grab a cab to school which we did. Aidan loved taking the cab, not to mention being car seat free. We got to school and there was a small group of people waiting in the main lobby area for Jane, the school assistant director. She took all of us to the appropriate classrooms. Aidan’s teachers Angie and Valerie both appear to be American. Angie definitely is, Valerie I didn’t really speak to so not 100% sure. This is where Aidan became ambivalent. The students had made him a huge welcome sign before school ended for the holidays. It was incredibly nice and a really nice way to start at his new school. Fortunately there were no other kids in his class when we got there and they slowly started to filter in – there were 2 by the time I left him. This is good for Aidan because he doesn’t do well in a crowd but will warm up with kids one by one. I worked out with the bus coordinator that he’ll get picked up by the bus tomorrow and dropped off by the bus tomorrow. So I only need to get there this afternoon to pick him up. I think once I get a lay of the land I’ll be able to pick him up more often but I just have no clue how to get there on my own which is rather frustrating.

I’m also on a mission to try to get to Aidan in the afternoon using public transit (or any way not to use a cab). I am not going to tackle the bus YET but I am going to do my best to find the equivalent of the commuter rail which should take me closer than I am now. At least then I won’t need to cab it the entire way (round trip this morning was about 22 euro or $35 or so - do I really want to spend that again this afternoon just on cabs?). But then I decided to check google maps just to see how far it would really be if I tried to walk. Basically like walking from Back Bay to Newton Corner I would say. I figured that the public transit might not be the most direct way and what better way to show avoidance at something I’m uncomfortable doing myself (why I just don’t know – I ride the T at home) than by avoiding it. And I didn’t want to spend more on a cab. So I print out my google directions and map and head out the door. It says it’s 5k (about 3miles) and should take about an hour. I’m a speed walker so I’m hoping for 45 mins. I’ve got about an hr and 15 mins to get there so I’ve got to keep my pace going. My trusty map with me, I set off down Travessera de Gracia towards Benjamin Franklin International School (BFIS). I made it what I think is about ½ way before I got lost. It does state on google maps that the walking maps are still in beta version. I wonder if I can get my GPS to do walking directions???? So I give it and cab it – I wasn’t too far away… success or failure??? I’d say half and half. I have to say success because I TRIED. I did my best.

I got to Aidan’s school and chatted it up with a couple I had met this morning. They are living here for a year with their kids and not working. Nice life… I have a feeling they aren’t the only ones at this school to do so but I won’t judge – so far everyone has been very nice and welcoming. I was a little early (thanks for the cab) so I saw that his class was going out into the playground. I saw Aidan briefly and he had a HUGE smile on his face. Ok, this is a total SUCCESS.

Aidan's school - this is the elementary building...                This is the view of the side of his building             

                                                                              Liam had to wear his backpack too...

I decide that we are going to walk at least a little way from the school before we pick up a cab. On the way, Aidan decides he needs to pee (of course… because he didn’t go all day at school). We’re in a very classy area, upper class area, of Barcelona. We find one random tree on a busy road and away he goes. I suppose I should be thankful he’s a boy. We head down towards Bonanova. We were outside a café and one of the parents that I saw quickly by Aidan’s class approached me. I had met her husband this AM and their daughter Isa is in Aidan’s class. Adorable girl who speaks impeccable English (she and her family are from Spain). I’m chatting with the mom (Kiki) and talking about a playdate for the kids. She seriously just pulled me in like I was an old friend. What a great feeling that was! Then Liam told her that he pooped. Thanks Liam. So what does Kiki do? She takes charge! She says let’s go in that café, I’ll sit with the other kids and you can change Liam. Just so absolutely sweet! She buys Aidan a hot chocolate and the kids hang out for a few. Then she and I talk about our move to Barcelona and adjusting and the school. It was like I knew her forever. Just a sweet person and hopefully a future friend. She had to leave since it was nearing 5 at this point (school ended at 3:45) and Isa had music lessons. So I told Aidan, let’s just walk a little further and then we’ll get a cab.

Fast forward another 2+ hrs later and we are home. I kept pushing Aidan off again and again and again. I was determined that we could do this. The poor kid walked a good 3 miles or more this afternoon and other than one small breakdown, he was awesome. And we almost made it the entire way… as a matter of fact we probably made it about 85% of the way – we were finally on Travessera de Gracia which is the street that intersects ours (it’s a VERY long street but I knew where we were at least). After all that walking and constant guessing and just trying to get my bearings to figure out which direction we should be heading in and wow, we made it. Ok, sort of. Because when we got by the big open market (see Saturday’s post for images), I told Aidan we could go to the video game store that had Mario figures there. I could have sworn it was at the back of the market. I must have taken a wrong turn behind the market because before I knew it, I had no idea where we were. Over 2 hours of walking… I was so close I could practically smell home. And then LOST. I don’t ever admit when I’m lost, never ever ever. Because I don’t get lost. I explore. But tonight, after walking for over 2 hours (not to mention the hour before I picked him up and the 2 hrs this AM), I was too tired to fight it any more – too tired to look at the map AGAIN. Failure??? Not sure. I grabbed a cab reluctantly and he took us maybe 4 blocks. As soon as I recognized where we were, I said, Aqui, aqui! Here, here! I had him let us off 4 blocks from our flat just so I could finish what I started. Psychotic? Perhaps? Abusive to the kids for making them walk again… maybe a little, but the exercise is good for them!!! So what would you say, success or failure???

So at around 7:30, we walked in our front door. The kids had not eaten save for a small chocolate soccer ball that we got along the way. Normally they go to bed around 7:30 so that obviously didn’t happen. I think we will all sleep well tonight! Tomorrow is a new day and girls night – I can’t wait!!

Julie

Lazy Sunday...

Went to Milk today - it's a cute place owned by an Irish couple that's supposed to have an amazing American breakfast. Nice little restaurant – about 15 tables. Very cozy. Waited at the bar for a table – we were next in line and 20 mins went by with no one getting up (very Spanish of them) – finally asked if we could all sit at the bar. Apparently ok for kids to sit at the bar. Smoking is also ok (gross). Brunch was good overall – Josh liked his salmon and eggs benedict, though I found my blueberry pancakes a little rubbery and tasteless. However they made up for it with the banana and nutella crepe.

Took a little schmooze thru Born district which is the area Milk is in. A lot of little alleys with cobblestone walks. Pretty during the day but while there are lights I’d be a little apprehensive at night. Apparently it is one of the older areas of the city.

Got my printer hooked up – will be a great thing to start work again!

Aidan starts school tomorrow. I started having nightmares about it last night. He’s been attending school in some way shape or form since he was in daycare at 10 months old. So I don’t know why I’m so apprehensive. Oh I know! Because I don’t know how to get there using public transit! I will likely take him by cab in the AM just to expedite things – don’t want to be late on his first day. And we have arranged for bus service for him (we had to negotiate the drop off because apparently the other child at this stop doesn’t need an afternoon drop off – but ok, you made the morning stop for this kid so can’t you make an afternoon stop in the same place for Aidan???). However, the bus service won’t necessarily start right away for him. That’s what I need to find out tomorrow. I’m also nervous because none of us (other than Josh) has been up before 8 yet for some reason. Very unlike us. But Aidan and I need to be out the door early tomorrow – like 7:50 (still late for us normally but early for Spain).

At bedtime Aidan expressed his first ambivalence towards school. He has obviously been paying more attention to the people around us than we thought. He was very concerned that he couldn’t speak the language at school and how would he communicate. I assured him that they speak English at his school and while he will take a class in Spanish each day, his day would mostly comprise of learning in English. This is also the first time he has told us how much he misses his friends at home. I think that now that it’s been a week, the reality of the duration of our stay is starting to set in with Aidan. While he certainly does not get 2 years and how long that is, he’s now understanding that this is a long term deal. I told him that we can write home to his friends this week. It will give me a new goal – finding the post office!!!

More coming soon on Aidan's first day...

Julie