With mere weeks left here in Barcelona, we are creating a bit of a "last call" checklist of people and places we need to see before we board the plane next month. We know we won't get to it all, and oddly enough I am OK with that...that little voice in my head always tells me this isn't
it for adventures abroad and the Williams family. But with my mother arriving two weeks ago for an impromptu "I-can't-stand-it-anymore-I-need-to-meet-my-newest-grandbaby" visit, we had that extra little push to get up and out of our little nook in Poblenou to see more of Spain this month.
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| Fresh off the plane, and glowing with happiness! First snuggles! |
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| Grammie snuggles |
This month has started out busy, to say the very least...we had the movers come yesterday to load up everything we want to ship back to the United States, which includes most of our furniture, clothes, dishes, etc. We are shipping everything we care to send home 6 weeks early to plan to have it arrive right around the time we do at the end of April at our new home, as the sailing time to cross the Atlantic and clear customs on both ends is around 4-5 weeks. This leaves us living pretty bare bones on this end up until we fly out next month, but we figured we would rather arrive at our destination with everything we need to set up shop, and get livin' right away...besides, roughing it here isn't anything new for us. The process was suprisingly smooth, actually...the moving company was phenomenal, super professional, and very fast. About 20 minutes before the movers came, Chris and I were sitting outside having coffee...came home, they arrived, and we sort of directed traffic from that point forward. That was it. Four hours later, they were gone. VERY thankful we were given a moving company, as it completely took a lot of the stress out of the entire process.
Yet, despite the ease of the actual packing and moving, this past week leading up to move day was busy continuing the relocation process...arranging rental cars, filling out customs and insurance forms, arranging moving times, separating "stay" and "go" piles...all nestled between the daily grind of breakfast toast, naps, and diapers. It's been a godsend to have my mother here this week, taking Jordi on long walks down on the beach boardwalk while the big kids were in school and I cleaned out, organized, and prepared.
We treated ourselves this weekend to a Saturday out without the big kids. Our babysitter came to take the kids to the park, while Chris, my mother, Jordi, and I all went to Camp Nou to tour the FC Barcelona (Football Club Barcelona) stadium -- the biggest stadium in Europe!
It was super cool to see it...well worth the visit. Despite the fact we weren't able to see an actual game while we were here, the stadium itself has a museum and self guided tour that was incredibly well laid out and very cool to see. The tour leads you through over a hundred years of history, metals, trophies, and memorabilia...then winds through the press room, visiting locker room, out into the stadium stands, down by the field, and had a fantastic media presentation of some of the best moments of
Barça history...and I won't lie, it actually brought tears to my eyes, despite the fact that I don't exactly follow the team all that closely.
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| This is REAL grass! It was impeccable. |
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| Love this pic :) |
The following day, Sunday, we were invited to go up to see some friends in their newly purchased home! Dario and Delphine are extremely proud new home owners to a gorgeous house up in the mountains, about 15 minutes outside of Barcelona. It was a town Chris and I have been eager to see since we got here, so it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon, celebrating with our friends and exploring the town. We took the local tram system, then the Renfe (commuter rail) to their house...a surprisingly quick and easy process...relatively speaking. With three little kids, nothing is
that quick and easy, but this came pretty close!
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| On the Renfe |
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| Cheers! Celebrating a beautiful new home! |
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| They love the view |
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| Surrounded by gorgeous protected forest in the back |
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| A view of the Mediterranean from their terrace! Jordi is impressed! |
After touring their new home, we all headed over to a wonderful little auberge-esque restaurant down the street for a Calçotada (description to follow). The setting was something out of a picture book... just stunning, surrounded by mountains and framed by ivy covered arches. The weather perfect, warm and breezy...the sun shinning, showing off the spectacular contrast between the orange stucco, green ivy, and blue sky.
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| Surprise! Mia is in the dog house. |
So. The end of winter marks Calçotada season. A Catalan tradition of grilling calçots (spring, or green, onions) outside in huge quantities on the bbq, peeling back the charred layer, then eating them (usually standing up) dipped in a red romesco sauce with a side of cava (sparkling wine) or red wine.
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| I borrowed this pic online, just to give a visual... |
Nothing fancy or mind blowing in terms of cuisine, but incredibly fun to eat outside, with the wine flowing and the sun shining down...a GREAT tradition.
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| The calçots are served! hot off the bbq in a clay tray |
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| Getting prepped! |
My favorite part of this meal might have been the porrón (or porró in Catalan)...a wine bottle/vase with a long tapered neck that everyone passes around the table to drink from...you hold it away from your mouth so no one's lips touch the glass, allowing everyone to share the same bottle. The boys had some impressive pours...I keep mine close :)
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| Add caption |
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| Peeling the outer layers off |
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| Dipping in romesco sauce |
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| Mia preferred the olives |
After the calçots, we all head indoors for the next course...a huge selection of grilled meats -- chicken, buttifarra (sausage) and rabbit (I think it was???). Additionally there were trays of white beans, roasted potatoes, and bread with olive oil and tomato. It was all delicious...and Jordi enjoyed spending time with his new Italian fan club :)
After dinner, we headed back outside to have coffee and let the kids run around...A four hour lunch that makes you wonder why you ever would want to spend a Sunday any other way...
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| Too much excitement |
Overall, this was one of my most favorite weekends living here in Spain...next up, a quick three day trip to Seville - a city located in southern Spain's Andalusian region. We leave on Thursday! Very excited to be exploring more of Spain before we leave, and also to take Jordi on his very first plane ride. The countdown continues, busy but good times!
