Seriously, More Shopping...

I didn't think it was possible to shop too much.  Ok, I know Josh wouldn't agree with me there.  But seriously, the shopping in this mall was unbelievable.  I could have pitched a tent and moved in.  I was unstoppable and actually at one point did call Josh and told him I needed to be stopped.  And I'm not really looking forward to the moment he sees my credit card bill.  But I couldn't help myself. 

With no commitments until 6PM on Saturday night for a dinner Katie's family was hosting, I was free to do whatever during the day.  So of course, that meant shopping with my mom...one of my favorite things to do!!!  We hit the ground running and within 30 mins of entering the mall we already had several bags. 

Eventually we stopped for lunch at a great Asian/fusion place that reminded me a bit of CDLC here in Barcelona.  It was so nice just hanging out with her!  But like the day before, she had to head out early to prepare for the dinner that night so my dad came down from Hooters (again!) and grabbed my mom and my bags and they headed back to the hotel while I continued my rampage.
 

My shopping for the day...

However, I did have to stop at some point because I, too, had to get ready for the dinner.  Slightly lower key than the rehearsal dinner which I think is as it should be.  Once again, I couldn't get over how wonderful Katie's family was and how welcoming they made all of us feel.  I think Minnesota has to be the friendliest state in the Union for sure. 

My Aunt Joni, me and my mom

My mom, dad and I

My mom, Jay and me

With the big day coming up the next morning, we all retired early to our hotel rooms...

Besos,
Julie

Shopping, Shopping, Shopping!!!

The jetlag kicked in pretty quick on my end.  After over 14 hours of travel, I was damn tired.  And while I tried to resist, I was asleep by 8PM on my first night in Minnesota.  This was bad and I knew it because by 1:30AM, I was wide awake.  For the day.  Thankfully, my mom is an early riser and by 5:45 she had texted me to see if I was awake and did I want to hit the gym?

Hitting the gym before 6AM made me feel incredibly American.  And I have to say, it felt good.  I've mentioned this recently that my schedule has been so jammed packed with things going on that I feel "American" again rather than living a more tranquila Spanish life.  It has it's pros and cons like anything else.  But for this moment, with my mom, it was a good thing.  Unfortunately between jetlag and dehydration from flying, it wasn't my best workout, but to do it with my mom made it worthwhile regardless.  We were at breakfast by 7 and ready to hit the road by 8.

This being the US, stores open (get this) before 10AM...yes, they are open all the time.  I still can't get over that sometimes even though that's how it's been for all my life except the last 2 1/2 years.  I guess it shows how much I've adjusted to the Spanish way of doing things.  Unfortunately not all stores are open first thing and the mall didn't actually open til 10.  But that's ok because I needed to go to Target anyways and Target, as we know, opens at the crack of dawn.

Ah Target, sweet Target... I've missed you so!!  By 8AM my mom and I were in the parking lot ready to go.  Bonus was that I got to drive there.  I drove back in March so it hasn't been that long but still long enough that it felt good to be behind the wheel.  But I digress... Target... it was a Super Target too.  So I got all my grocery shopping in and managed to get some other things as well such as the new Super Mario sheets and blankets for Aidan's new room in our new apartment.  And medicine for the kids, toothpaste (I can find every brand BUT Aquafresh in BCN and I'm particular on my toothpaste - can't help it!), a few t-shirts and much more. 

Hmmm... good thing I purchased another bag!

After spending a small fortune at Target we stopped back at the hotel and made our way over to, you guessed it, the Mall of America.  Seriously could I do more shopping???  You bet.  I was made for this place :)  We only had a little over 2 hours because my mom, in typical Ellen fashion, needed 3 hours to prep for the rehearsal dinner that night.  I still think I may be adopted because I'm way low maintenance by comparison.  But that's who she is and I love her for it.  We still got a good amount done by noon. 

While my mom and I shopped, Jay was out with Katie and my dad was on his own. I have no problem saying he was at Hooters which made me laugh.  I could care less that he was there but apparently Jay was a bit more sensitive about it.  He and I texted on where to meet for lunch and I told him to meet us there.  He then texted me to say he was at another restaurant down the way.  I made him come get us and I could tell he was less than thrilled and he told us to meet him down at the other place.  Ah Jay... he is who he is and I'm not going to change him now.  But I wish he'd lighten up a bit. 

I took my dad and Jay for lunch at Tony Roma's.  I made the mistake of ordering a combo appetizer.  Normally you get a little bit of a few different things.  But not at Tony Roma's.  You get A LOT of a few different things, as in full sized appetizers.  It was there that I realized just how much my eating habits have changed because I felt so ill afterwards.  But it was nice to catch up with Jay and my dad a bit though I feel like it was more Jay and I talking than my dad - I'll have to make sure he and I catch up more when I'm home next month! 

After lunch we all headed back to the hotel to get ready for the rehearsal dinner.  Like our lunch the day before, it was being held at Napa Valley.  I have to give them credit for a fabulous dinner - it was classy, the food was delicious and I think everyone was happy.  It was the first time I met Katie's family and this won't be the last time I say it, they were wonderful.  I've never felt so welcomed and they were just the lovliest people.  It doesn't surprise me because Katie is a super nice, lovely person that I adore.  So it makes sense her family would be too.  But I didn't meet a single person that I didn't like.  I also got a chance to catch up with 2 of Jay's friends from our school days, Ryan and Mike.  It's weird seeing them as adults as I'll always think of them as my little brother's friends.  And Ryan just had a baby which kind of blows my mind because how can he possibly be old enough?  Though I guess him being 34 would do it!!

My mom, me and my Aunt Joni who flew in for the festivities

My brother Jay and I

My new skinny mom!  I, on the other hand, look huge at this angle...

With dinner done by 9:30, it was back to the hotel and yet another night of sleeplessness...it's getting old this jetlag thing.  Once again, I was up in the middle of the night for the day, at least this time it was 3:30AM!

Besos,
Julie

Beam Me Home...

We really need to work on advancements in "beaming" technology.  It just seems ridiculous to be at the airport 2 hours before a flight and then for it to take sooooo long to get to your destination.  Wouldn't it be easier to just beam us to our location of choice?  Thursday morning 4am came too early. I didn't go to bed til 12 and in typical Julie fashion when I have to get up at a different time than the usual, I'm eyeing the clock every 20 mins. So I was actually up before the alarm and in the shower before 4 and out the door by 4:30 for my long journey back to the US for Jay's wedding. 

It took a bit to find a cab that early but I was off and running to the airport quick enough.  The airport was pretty uneventful and I was happy that our flight departed for Paris early with maybe 30 people on the entire flight - no wonder all these airlines are going broke!!  I've never been on a plane that empty before!

I tried to sleep on the first leg and at least was able to close my eyes and rest but all I could think about was the end game - being back in the US and being with my family that I haven't seen in 11 months. For all my complaints about life at home - it's rapid paced lifestyle, unhealthy food, lack of what I perceive as tolerance, etc, it's still home and always will be.

We landed early in Paris as well.  And when heading to the gate to my flight to Minnesota, I was thrilled to hear all this English all around me!!  One of the things that I always find interesting and almost difficult in a way is getting used to speaking in English all the time. Now of course all my friends in BCN speak English but I still have to function in Spanish - shops, doctors, taxis, and more recently movers, realtors, and so many more. Think about all of your interactions on a daily basis, no matter how small or inconsequential they may seem. Now do it in a foreign language. It's not as easy as you think. Especially the small talk.

So to be back home and speaking English almost feels weird to me. To go into a restaurant and place and order in English and even ask for substitutions is a special treat. To go into a store and not have to look up a translation of what it is I'm hunting for so I can ask the shop keeper if they carry an item. To be walking in a mall, a store, a hotel and hear English all around me. It's just surreal.

It also makes me think about what will happen when we move back home in 3 years. Will we just default back to English for everything?  Will 5 1/2 years of Spanish go down the drain in a matter of months?  How will we keep the kids from losing their linguistic skills?  All things to think about for the future. But for now I'm just happy to be able to say what I'm thinking rather than having to translate before I speak.

So anyways, in Paris airport could barely contain my excitement over all the Americans going to Minneapolis. At the same time there were stereotypical tacky tourists that give Americans a bad name and they stood out like a sore thumb. I try to stay away from them. Heck I tried to stay away from them even before I moved to Europe. Regardless though, it still made me feel that much closer to home and the excitement was overwhelming.

But I needed that excitement to get me through the next 9 hours on the long haul flight from Paris to Minneapolis.  Thankfully the headwinds weren't bad and our 9 hours turned into 8 1/2 - hey I'll take what I can get.  And the bonus was that on a full flight I ended up with an empty row so I got to at least stretch out.  I still had enough time for 2 movies, some book reading and the new Cosmo (which happens to be the sex issue... at least it was educational and entertaining!) as well as a little nap in there.  The flight, like the first leg, was easy peasy - no turbulance thank goodness!!!

The lack of turbulance was important to me for another reason though.  My mom was flying in at the same time as me and has had a huge fear of flying.  She has not been on a plane since I was 12 (do the math, it's a long time) and I knew that this flight was an integral part of getting her (and my dad) one step closer to coming to visit us in Barcelona.  If this flight could be just the most perfect flight, I might be able to get her to fly again.  So I couldn't have been happier that the majority of the flight (descent was a little shaky) was perfect.

I flew through customs and baggage claim to head out to the domestic baggage claim to meet my family.  I haven't seen my parents or brother since last June so I knew it would be emotional.  But my exhaustion suddenly took over my adreneline and even though it's not their fault that their flight got stuck waiting for a gate, I was definitely tapping my foot impatiently waiting waiting waiting.  That would be when jetlag/not enough sleep/feed me moodiness that struck.  I was able to keep it in check for the most part though, or at least I tried... if I didn't, I apologize.  Regardless, it was soooo good to see everyone and it was emotional teary hugs all around by the time they finally got to me.  Everyone looked fantastic, especially my mom who's lost some significant weight - she was as skinny as me!!!  My time away in Europe has definitely taught me to appreciate the time that I do have with my family since I don't get much of it any more.

We went to the car rental place and this is where the differences in Europe versus America started to show.  The car we had rented was too small for our baggage.  So the rental agency tried to upgrade us to a Suburban... you know, one of the biggest cars on the road...for a family of 4 with 4 suitcases total.  My dad was very close to going with it when Jay and I told him there was no need.  In the end we got the Explorer which was roomy and super nice...and still bigger than anything I've driven in the last few years even as a family of four. 

Our Ford Explorer...huge, typically American but comfy

As a comparison, this is what we drove in Switzerland/France/Germany this past December, still fit a family of 4 comfortably with luggage incuded.  Big difference!!

After finding our hotel we all had the hungry grumpies and so we went to grab lunch at Napa Valley Grille, also the home to the rehearsal dinner for the next night.  I immediately ordered an espresso martini both because it had been a long day and I felt the need for some caffine.  But really, I just wanted a drink.  I'm pretty much the only one in my family that drinks and somehow I feel that I need to defend that, not sure why, but I do. I'm by no means a heavy drinker and rarely drink at home with the exception of when we have company over or the occassional glass of wine when Josh makes us dinner.  Otherwise it's only when we go out and I do absolutely have a drink or two when we go out. 

It felt good to order from an American menu and it was even better since it was more of an upscale restaurant.  My crab cake, caesar salad and soup were fantastic and it felt so good to have some simple American goodness again :)  And yet keeping in check with myself to not overdo it given that it had been so long since I'd had food from home.  I'm pleased to say the whole time I was in MN, I was really good about my portion size (as we know, the US is famous for it's huge portions) and the types of food I was eating.  If anything, living in Europe has taught me healthier eating habits - I can still enjoy food but it doesn't have to be in huge portions. 

The restaurant was situated in the Mall of America.  Yup, pretty much the biggest mall in the world with over 400 stores.  After dinner we schmoozed around a little bit taking it all in.  The most impressive?  The amusement park situated right smack in the middle of the mall.  We're talking rollercoasters in the middle of the mall!  Also impressive?  The Lego store which I made sure to stop at for the boys - Liam is now the proud owner of a Ninjago alarm clock for his new room and a Ninjago costume while Aidan now has a new Lego Moleskine journal for all his stories and drawings.  And I think Aidan's future career has been set - I think he should be a designer/builder of these huge lego statues - amazing!!!

Me, mom and dad outside the Mall of America.  I think Jay was slightly mortified that I made him take this uber touristy picture of us :)

Ferris Wheel inside the Mall...

One of the rollercoasters in the mall

Some of the huge lego displays on top of the Lego store.  The transformer on the left is about 25 feet tall to give you some perspective.  The pictures don't do these justice.

Shopping day one - only 3 bags... but it's just the beginning :)

My family has never been known for being night owls.  So it was no surprise after a day of travel (I did want to slightly hurt them when they complained about the long day, but I let it go) that they were ready to head to their rooms at 6.  What?????  Who's going to entertain me?  And by entertain, I mean keep me company so that I don't fall asleep at 6:05?  Apparently no one.  And the jetlag claimed it's victim by 8PM no matter how much resistance I put up. 

Tomorrow, more shopping with mom and the rehearsal dinner... can't wait!!

Besos,

Julie

A Quick Jump Across the Pond

Tomorrow I hop on a plane at the crack of dawn...and by crack I mean it will still be dark out as my flight is at 6:50AM.  God help me when I land because I'm going to be a walking zombie.  But it will be worth it because tomorrow I will be heading to US soil for the first time in 11 months.

And not only am I heading to the States, but to my little brother's wedding.  However, it's just me going - the kids and Josh are staying here in Barcelona.  The wedding is being held in Minneapolis which is where my brother's fiancee is from - and so given my entire family is only heading out for 3 full days, I didn't think I could stomach two 13 hour flights with the kids on either end of such a short trip.  Not to mention it would have meant pulling them from school which I hesitate to do.  But it still won't be the same celebrating Jay and Katie's wedding without them.  Both kids called their Uncle Jay tonight though to wish him "happy wedding"... Aidan actually asked me if I could book a flight for him at the last minute - so cute but alas, a last minute flight to MN might set me back just a "little" bit...

However, it does mean some good, quality time with my parents and brother that I don't normally get when the kids are around.  I can't wait to just sit down and have a meal with them.  And shopping with my mom and of course, the wedding.  Sure it's going to be a whirlwind few days and the jetlag won't have even had time to sink in before it's time to head back to Barcelona.  But it's going to be worth it. 

This will be my first trip home where I'm not actually going home.  And while it's going to be a crazy few days, I'm curious to see how I feel being back on US soil but not being pulled in a million different directions trying to visit friends and family, fit in doctors appointments and of course, do our American shopping too.  Though I will be doing some American shopping, after all Mall of America is within spitting distance from our hotel... I might have a slight addiction to their website as I constantly cruise it for what shops I want to go to!!!! 

As much as I know the food at home isn't as healthy or preservative free as the food here is, I can't wait to sink my teeth into a good American steak.  Or a salad with all the fixings including, get this, dressing!! 

Of course I'm also excited to see Jay and Katie walking down the aisle and finally tying the knot - it's about time!!  They've been together since I was pregnant with Aidan so that's a pretty long time!  And I'm so glad that I get to be there to help them celebrate this day! 

I've still got packing to do and work to do before I can actually turn in but for some reason felt I needed to put up an entry about going home before I actually get there.  Maybe to reflect back on later.  The last few trips home I've been excited and yet ambivilent because I haven't known what to expect from our friends and knowing that I would be balancing a full schedule.  This time, I'm just excited because for the most part, I have very little on my plate for the next few days other than quality time with my family.  I hate the idea of being so far away from the kids (Josh and I can talk on the phone but the kids really won't) but I know they'll have a great time with Josh and somehow daddy makes everything look easy and I'll come back to a clean house, clean kids and even the homework will be done. 

I have no doubt I'll be posting from the US as I embark on my solo adventures across the pond!!

Besos,
Julie

Moving Updates (with pictures!!)

So my last post regarding our move had us finally being accepted by our new landlord.  We're still dealing with her through each of our realtors which is kind of a pain and yet really good.  We'll have the honor of dealing with Carme soon enough...

In the meantime things are starting to happen and happen fast.  It's been a weird few weeks where I'm feeling "American" again with so much on my plate that what would have felt like no big deal in the States is suddenly feeling way overwhelming.  Between both kids birthdays, this move and my leaving for the States this week, not to mention trying to fit in work... it's just a lot at once.  But like anything else, I'll deal with it and make it happen. 

I spoke to movers on May 7th and they came to do an estimate on the 8th.  Of course Josh contacted HR at work and they have a preferred mover so I called them as well and they came out yesterday and will have our estimate in the next day or two. 

Speaking of the list of things to do... it's growing.  Thankfully I have our realtor, Mele, who helped us with our move to Barcelona back in 2009.  She's been an amazing liasion as well as a wealth of information when it comes to referrals and the process of setting up things like our aval account or timing of our closing date with the new landlord.  Not to mention she'll help us to transfer our utilities.  When you think about dealing with utilities, especially at home, Comcast... it's not a pretty picture.  So take that same customer service and do it in Spanish... yeah if that doesn't do you in, I don't know what will.  Thank god Mele will help us with that piece.  And you know me, I'm not usually one to give in just because I have to do something in Spanish...but Telefonica is one I will gladly hand over!!

Yesterday a friend of mine and I met with the electrician/painter/handyman to discuss changing out light fixtures and updating the paint in some of the rooms.  The great news is that he can do it all in a matter of days.  And the playroom, guest room and the kids rooms all need to be painted.  The lighting hasn't been updated since the 80s.  Is the name "octopus" and "light" really intriguing for you?  If so, check out the picture below - thankfully the light was removed while we were there and we'll replace it with something a little more aesthetically pleasing...oh and the landlord loves this light and thinks it's magnificent...

The "octopus" light was removed yesterday...whew!

While we were in the apartment taking measurements, we took some pictures as well that I have for you.  Keep in mind these are all the "before" pics - I'll post new ones once we are moved in, have our own furniture and personal touches. 

View of the back of the apartment (left) and the front (garage is being repainted by the owner for us)

Entryway.. lots of mirrors and marble, pretty nice

Neither Cristy nor I got much of a shot of the guest room which is also on the first main floor, but I assure you, it's there.  This is the "library" which will actually be the playroom.  The glass doors on these built ins are coming off (I can see the kids putting holes in the glass otherwise).  Room is going to be painted a light yellow since there are no windows for natural light.

The other side of the playrom - yes, it's huge.  We'll paint the bricks outside the window blue to make like the sky ;) 

Hallway on the first floor between the playroom and guest room - there is a full bath in the guest room.  Tacky stuff on the table will be removed... lights aren't my fave but they are doable.

Heading on up to the 2nd floor we have the kitchen - all new appliances are on their way...

Another view of the kitchen

Next to the kitchen is the living room - this is obviously the far side of the living room since it has the doors.  We'll be replacing the coffee table and the tv/tv stand in here and adding a couch!

Balcony off the kitchen

Ohhh another funky light... also now gone.  This in the living room as well...

Removing the ugly light from above the table - we will be holding on to the dining table.  Again, coffee table and ugly side table and accessories will be gone.  

Moving up to the third floor we have Liam's room which is tiny but he loves all the built ins.  He's getting a Lego Ninjago room so he's pretty excited.  We'll paint it light green and sticker accordingly :) 

Our room with (OMG) closets!  Though I've realized that my closet here is actually bigger but I have more storage space in the new place and the kids won't notice if I take one of their closets (they each have 3)... right? 

Ugly makeup mirror type space that the landlord won't remove so we'll have to store it in the garage. 

View of our bed... which will not have these mattresses.  And the fabric panel is being replaced since that one is stained... wall color staying...We also have a balcony!

Aidan's room - removing the lower shelf and the oddly placed light.  We're painting the room light blue and putting up Super Mario stickers!

Aidan gets his own balcony!!  Lucky kid!!

View of the other side of Aidan's room

Hallway going up again!

Stairs going up to the rooftop!  With skylights!

Rooftop... yeah, we'll be able to have parties now!

View from the roof down to our patio - ours is the one on the right

Before you get up to the rooftop you see this weird/awkward space... not really sure of the purpose of the ladder either as at 5'4" I can reach the top shelf just fine without it!

Another view of the roof top - tons of space! 

We're also setting up our banking stuff for the aval (the reserve I told you about in my last post).  It's a process where we have to actually set up a new bank account and the bank needs to see a copy of the contract (which we don't have yet).  There is a fee for the account, of course, that we also have to build in along with our realtor fees which here are 10% of the annual rent plus 18% VAT (that's the tax here) - not sure how that compares to the fees in the States but it's not pretty!! 

Our hopeful close date is either May 24th or 25th depending on when we can get the aval done and what the schedule is for our new landlord, though we won't be able to move in until after the 1st which is fine by us.  The owner may still be doing work on the house and we will be able to start our work at the same time.  Our electrician / painter said he believes he can get everything done by June 1 so I think we are targeting June 4th or 5th for our moving date.  I leave for the States tomorrow (Thursday), return on Tuesday, sign on Thursday or Friday and then move just a little over a week later - it's insanity!!! 

The kids are getting excited about the move finally.  My friend Cristy sent me an idea about a Super Mario room that I showed to Aidan and he is now finally on board. I also can't wait for this as it's going to be amazingly cool.   Liam is a go with the flow kind of kid and has been totally on board with this move from day 1.  Liam is going for Lego Ninjago which will be cool but I have to say, I think the Mario is going to win this battle.  There will definitely be pictures to come on those when they are done.

In the meantime, as we work with getting contracts started, I'm sitting here trying to figure out next steps on my list.  When we moved here I know the movers would do all the work but I couldn't sit still that long and so I had moved everything into our garage in order to keep things simple and easy when they came - I wouldn't have to be right up their asses about what was moving and what wasn't.  You take what's in the garage plus the toy storage in the living room and that's it.  It won't be that simple here since we have no garage (but soon will!!) and we are essentially taking just about everything with us. 

But that being said, I went down to Servei Estacio (like a smaller version of Home Depot) with my little granny cart last week to pick up some boxes.  I know I didn't need to do this but like I said, I need to feel like things are happening on the home front too - crazy I know.  But it did actually make me feel a little better to pack up a box or two over the last week. 

Hauling my granny cart that I rigged with a bungee cord thru the metro station - not a pretty sight and I probably would have been better off with a cab but damn if I wasn't going to do it the hard way!!!

We still need to do things like order a couch, get new beds/mattresses and a few other small things.  Those will happen as we get closer to the move in date since in the event that we order them from IKEA (sadly very likely) they will be delivered the same day or the next day.  But we will still need to do a decent sized IKEA run for general accessory items that we may not already have here - I can't wait (insert a LOT of sarcasm here) for that trip with Josh and if I'm lucky, with the kids too...

That's it for now on the move - I'm sure there will be more as we get closer including more pictures but in the meantime, we've got just over 2 weeks and counting!

Besos,

Julie

Marcus' on the Move

Now that I've finally gotten to post about our extended stay in Barcelona, I can tell you all about the new adventures we've been up to.  Yup, we're moving.  Though not home...not yet.  I actually wrote this post on May 2nd but since we hadn't been able to officially share that we were staying here longer, I've had to delay that post as well as this one.  So after deciding to stay here for an additional 3 years, we realized that the time had come to start looking for a bigger space for our family.  We love our apartment and for the most part, it's been perfect for us.  Only about 1200 square feet with a 600 square foot patio, we have a decent footprint in the city - especially with the outdoor space.  So for the last few months we had been looking casually, you know, while watching tv and just playing on the ipad, we'd take a look and see what the real estate market of Barcelona had in store for us.

Only unlike the last time we moved (which was when we moved here from the US), my criteria has changed.  When we moved here from the US, I was less concerned with location (after all I wasn't really that familiar with the layout of the city then) but more so with the following:  washer, dryer, air conditioning, dishwasher and not a 3rd floor walkup.  Simple right?  Well, even a lot of that was a challenge.  But in the end, we ended up in the neighborhood of Gracia which is smack in the middle - less than 10 minutes from Placa Catalunya (which is the actual city center) and halfway between Josh's office and the kids' school.  It's a really family friendly neighborhood and so close to everything.  We have amazing landlords which we know we are lucky to have (and now sad to say goodbye to), a new apartment that was only 2 or 3 years old when we moved in and of course, key for the boys, outdoor space (for pics, see my entry from when we first moved here - http://megustatuzapatos.blogspot.com.es/2010/01/our-flat-our-home-away-from-home.html).

So my new criteria read like this:  Must be within a 10 minute walk of where we are now (not limiting myself there at all, am I????), must have similar outdoor space to what we have now (Aidan plays tennis against the back wall almost daily, must be able to continue to do so) which means living on the baixos (bottom floor), AC, dishwasher, washer, dryer and CLOSETS (we literally have none here, no exaggeration).  And so after months of casual looking, we happened upon an apartment that we felt met our criteria, or at least the majority of it.

This new place is well, let's say, slightly older and aesthetically looks it's age.  The layout isn't spectacular, but it will work for us.  It needs some modernizing and perhaps a little TLC.  But looking at the listing online we were intrigued enough to inquire about setting up a time to visit it.  That was on April 11th.  And it's only been this first week of May that we are finally at the point where we are going to move to the contract phase, ah the Spanish real estate system at it's best.

The apartment itself is a townhouse.  It's 4 floors and 200 square meters which is about 2100 square feet.  There is a 2 car garage for the car(s) we don't yet own because we don't have a Spanish license (yet) and a patio that while dated, is larger than the one we currently have.  There are 4 bedrooms, a library (future playroom), 5 balconies and a rooftop patio that's all ours.  Oh and tons and tons of CLOSETS!  So while it's a bit dated and has a weird layout, we felt we could get by that because it fits all of our other criteria meaning space and location.  It's the exact same distance to our current metro stop but in a different direction so we can still shop at the same stores (key for me), same bus stop for the kids, same commute for everyone.  And it's more into the heart of Gracia than we are now which is a bonus. 

I went to see the apartment without Josh and the kids and while I wasn't jumping up and down excited, I saw a lot of potential and felt it was worthy for Josh to come and see it.  The downside is that the realtor didn't speak any English and my Spanish could only cover so many (though more than I expected) questions.  I told him I'd like my husband to see the place because I was interested enough.  I followed up with an email with some questions as well as information I wanted to confirm since I wasn't 100% sure I understood.  I felt that his response was a bit run-around as he told me he'd already answered the questions and we could review again the next day with Josh.  Ahem, what didn't you get about the line in the email that said, my Spanish isn't fluent and therefore I feel I need to confirm these details in writing to make sure I understand???

Anyways, Josh, the kids and I went to go see it the next night.  Aidan was beyond upset at the idea of moving - he's a creature of habit (like his mother) and thinks we've got tons of space here (ah to see thru the eyes of a child) and so why should we need to move?  Josh, also, saw the potential and so we decided to move forward and to now involve our own realtor.  We tried to explain to Aidan that nothing was for sure, but regardless, that night he put some pieces of paper in a hat - ones with the word STAY and ones with the word MOVE.  Interestingly enough, 8 pieces of paper had the word STAY and only one had MOVE.  Hmmmm...which do you think won?  I told him the next time, he has to play fair and not load the hat with his personal choice!  But kudos for using his head on this one.

So after contacting our realtor and telling her we were ready to move forward on a property, we started the negotiation process.  The process that has lasted more than 2 weeks.  The house has appliances that are older than me - they need to be replaced.  And she balked at replacing them all.  I also don't think it's been painted since the 80s and it shows.  There are just general updates that need to be done.  The owner came down from Girona (a little over an hour outside of Barcelona) to meet with me which I took as a good sign of her interest (at this time we were competing with college students who were willing to take the house as is).  We walked thru the house room by room with what our requests were and what we were willing to take on ourselves with her permission (changing out lights to more modern ones or brighter ones).  She was pretty resistant and I have to say, defensive. 

The owner we could tell, was less than thrilled at our requests.  And yet over the last 2 weeks we've continued back and forth.  A big negotiation point for us was the aval or reserve.  In Spain, you don't give just a first, last and security deposit.  Many owners require an additional bank account that is set up that has anywhere from one to normally 6 months of rent.  This account is to only be accessed if you stop paying rent for several consecutive months or if you incur significant damage to the property.  When we moved to BCN we were able to get out of the aval by showing our landlord Josh's W-2 and his contract for work here.  And so we paid only the intial 3 months (which are not actually first, last and security here but more like financing - down payment and then a 2 month security that will be returned to us upon inspection of the apartment when we leave). 

This owner has been a stickler on the aval.  She originally asked for 3 months (which would have meant us putting down 5 months of rent in total) and we got her down to 2.  We agreed to the 2 if she would replace one more appliance which she is sort of doing (she agreed to the stove top but not the actual oven????).  Anyways, the process itself has been painstakingly slow.  With 2 days of holidays this week, we knew we wouldn't hear until at least Wednesday as we didn't know for sure if it was ours or not since even though we were in the negotiation process, the landlord never actually had said she accepted us as future tenants and as far as we've been concerned, we've still been in competition with those college students.

On Liam's birthday, May 2nd, we got an email from our realtor who told us that the other side had sent us their bank info to send in a deposit and to please send our photo IDs as they will be needed for the contract.  So I took this to mean, we've got the apartment!  It took the owner 2 days to get back to us that she had in fact received the money and so now we move on to the contract phase.  I've spoken to an electrician/painter/handyman who I'll meet with next week to discuss the costs associated with doing the upgrades we need to do.  We need to get quotes on movers and actually pick a date that we will move.  Our hope is that we will do the signing on May 25th which is after I get back from my whirlwind trip to the States for my brother's wedding.  The next few weeks are going to be crazy as we tell our current landlords we are leaving, start packing up, purchasing some furniture (we need beds and a couch), and doing upgrades in the new place before we move.  But we are incredibly excited about this new chapter in our lives and can't wait to finally have space for guests (hint, hint!)!  I will post some pics once we sign the contract!

Besos,
Julie

Tres Años Más

I've made some changes to my blog lately - nothing major but you might have noticed a few details.  The first is that I renamed it "Me Gustan Tus Zapatos" instead of "Me Gusta Tu Zapatos".  The former is the correct way to write "I like your shoes" and so I figure after almost 2 1/2 years, I probably should show that I've learned at least a little something in my time here :)
The other change I made is also on the subtle side.  The subtitle to our blog has read "This blog is all about our adventures as we head to Barcelona, Spain for the next two and a half years".  Well that's changed to, and for the second time since I started this blog.  I never thought I'd update that subtitle once, much less twice!  The new heading is "This blog is all about our adventures as we head to Barcelona, Spain for the next five and a half years."  Yes, you read that right... we've extended...again.

Never in a million years would I have thought when we embarked on this adventure that we would extend not just once but twice.  The first time was last year when we changed our contract from ending in December 2011 to June 2013.  With Josh needing to give a year's notice to work as to when he is returning to the States, we knew this winter that we needed to make a decision on our future here since that year was creeping up quickly!  Hence the update to our byline, you probably know what's happened - so now we'll be here thru June 2015!

We actually made the decision several months ago but for various reasons, we've had to wait to announce it publicly.  The majority of our friends here already knew that we were staying or were at least thinking about it, and we've recently told some of our friends at home but not everyone knew and so I apologize if I'm blindsiding you with this new info.  But those of you who have been supportive of us since the day we found out we were moving here are most likely our going to understand why we've made this decision.  Our families have been incredibly supportive of this decision to stay, especially given that it means an additional 2 years that Aidan and Liam will be away from them.  When the boys return they will be 11 and 8 which blows my mind since they were 5 and 2 when we arrived in Jan 2010! 

So what was the process around us making these decisions about extending? 

As we all know, I didn't think I was going to make it thru the first few months much less the first two years.  Those first months were miserable and I'll admit, I cried... a lot.  I missed home (still do), my family, my friends, my routine and the general easiness of my life by comparison to my life here.  Around month three there was a bit of an intervention by some friends and things started to look up... and they've continued to do so and I will admit, I really love our lives here.  That's not to say that it's not a complicated life in some ways because let's face it, I live in a country where I can't speak the language fluently, but in others, it's a much easier, laid back lifestyle.  And that's the part I am embracing.  I still very much miss the "easiness" of life at home but in the scheme of what will hopefully be a long life, 3 more years is not going to change what or where home is. 

But regardless of my rough start, the first year flew by.  Much faster than I ever anticipated.  I'm not sure if it was because we packed in so much travel in that year that there was always something coming up to look forward to, or if the process of adjusting just made it go by quickly or if time just really does fly that fast.  So when we had to make a decision before Jan 2011 on whether we were staying or not which was barely at year 1, I definitely had a little bit of ambivilence about it but at the same time felt that after how quickly year one was going, I didn't think I'd be ready to go back in just 12 more months as weird as that felt and Josh wasn't ready to give up on his work here.  And so we had decided on our first extention.  We made it a year and a half so that the kids would be able to finish out their school years rather than leaving halfway thru as we had intially done when we moved to Barcelona.  So our end date would be June/July 2013 instead of December 2011. 

Like the first year, this past year flew by so quickly and as we knew we were coming up on another deadline where we'd have to decide, are we staying or are we going?  Once again, I felt like everything was creeping up too quickly.  I've created a life for myself here.  Yes, I have a life at home and it was incredibly hard to leave, beyond the point of heartbreaking for me... but am I ready to pick up and leave again and leave this new life and my new friends and go through that pain all over again?  I don't know that I can emotionally handle that yet.  I know it means going back to what I know and to the friends and family I have missed all this time... but to pick up and leave this new life just didn't feel right yet either.  That being said, I have a few very close friends that I've made here that are leaving this year and that's not going to change - knowing this made the decision on my end a little harder because it took me some time to build this small circle of friends I have here and now two integral parts of that circle are leaving.  I have new friends thru Josh's work that have just arrived, some new parents at the school that I've started to get a little closer with and local friends who have proven to me that I can have friends here beyond my ex-pat groups. 

It's not just about me though, we also have to take into account Josh's job.  He LOVES his job here.  When we finally sat down to discuss our plans, I asked him what his ideal timeframe would be.  He immediately said, "at least 2 years more than what we have planned".  He's not ready to leave what he's built here and he wants to see everything thru.  He has always liked his job at Vistaprint - never once have I heard him complain about a thing... but there is no doubt he loves what he is doing here and that to me is a big difference.  And so how can I not support him in his career?  I do think he was a bit shocked when I said right away, "ok"... and I don't blame him.  He's been here first hand to witness all my crazyiness (I don't think he'll ever forget the Ina Garten chicken sandwich night) when we first got here and the few sporadic episodes that were bound to happen since (thankfully there haven't been a ton of those once I got my shit together). 

And of course we had to think of the kids.  I'm sure from Aidan's point of view we were doing completely the opposite.  He's not 100% on board with this yet.  But he's coming around.  Not only do we love this lifestyle for them and the opportunity to expose them to a ridiculous amount of culture, but we get better quality time with them.  And we are so happy with their school that we just aren't ready to pull them yet and send them back to public school in the States.  I'm not saying there is anything wrong with public school (Josh and I are both products of the public school system and I like to think we turned out pretty good) but this school offers so much to the boys - a network of friends from all over the world, teachers who are also from various parts of the globe, what I believe is a more well rounded education than they might (and I say might because I don't know this for sure since we haven't been in the school system in the US) have had at home and learning support for Aidan which we will need for the foreseeable future.  Aidan has finally built some solid relationships here and seems to be working thru his guilt about leaving his friends at home (I can empathize on this one as it took me quite some time and I still have moments of guilt) and that it's ok to have friends both here and there.  However, he also understands the life of an ex-pat well enough to know that his friends here may also leave at some point and this is a concern to him. 

Liam is on board with staying, but then he doesn't really get the concept of time at this point and for him...this is home.  He's been here just about 1/2 of his life and it's the only half that he remembers.  Aidan on the other hand knows what it means to live at home and while he doesn't miss it everyday (at least he doesn't vocalize it), if I told him we were going home tomorrow, he'd have his bags packed and waiting by the door in moments.  He defines his time here by what grade he will be in when he leaves - initially he was staying halfway thru second grade (which has now come and gone), then the end of third grade.  Now it will be until the end of 5th grade.  He's cool with 4th but not completely sold on 5th.  I feel like by the time we even get to 4th, he'll be so integrated into the system and with his friends here it may be harder to get him to leave than we think.

Beyond that, we still have a lot to see here.  We have been travelling like crazy for the last 2 1/2 years - a trip at least every 6 weeks if not more frequently.  The cost of travel is so much more reasonable than in the US and for what would be one decent trip at home, we can do 3 or 4 trips here (if not more).  We are currently planning out the rest of our year and it looks like once again, we are likely travelling every month... spoiled yes... are we ready to give that up?  No way...

What it really comes down to is quality of life.  Nothing is going to be perfect for us - we are torn in both directions, home or Barcelona.  Both have aspects that enhance and also reduce our quality of life.  We miss home, family and friends.  They are a big part of our lives and that won't change and so far, we've found that with our true friends, we've found support in the decisions we've made over the last few years and with technology, we really aren't that far away and are able to stay in pretty constant touch.  Sure we only get to see them once a year (unless you come visit - hint hint!) in person, but we pick right up where we left off.  If we had moved to another state for work, it would have been the same situation - we are just 4000 miles further away.  But the quality of our lives here is something that is hard to give up.  The pace of life is slower, más tranquila, we get time together as a family that we weren't getting at home and we have exposed ourselves and our children to a life that most people won't ever get to experience. 

And so with that, we are feeling pretty good about our decision to extend another 2 years on top of our current contract which means basically 3 more years from this June/July.  We know there are going to be bumps along the way and that we are going to have people coming and going out of our lives (who may leave here physically but will stay a part of our lives forever), that nothing in life is perfect or always easy but then, nothing at home is always perfect or easy either, life as we know is a constant transition.  We know that 3 years is more than we have already finished up til this point, essentially we are not even halfway thru our time here and yes, it's a bit daunting.  But I think we are prepared to face that time head on, take full advantage of it in everyway and life this life to it's fullest. 

Besos,
Julie