Postcards from Portugal

There has been a call for photos, so I'm just going to jump right into them without any witty preambles and whatnots. But I don't have have or remember most of the names of things, so I'll add those in later. So, here ya go:

Katie, Sam and Ben on the main shopping drag, where our hotel is located.

The main (pedestrian) drag. Check out the sidewalks. They are like this all over the city. Incredible.

This is the #28 Streetcar (or Electrico) that runs all over the city and is very cool and awesome. When we took it we had the stroller and an old man made some guy move out of the way so Zach could put the stroller where he was standing. Things like this have happened several times. Lisbon's new slogan: "Your Business is our Business."

Church at the top of the hill. Lisboa is the "city of seven hills," but a more accurate description would be "a city of seven gazillion death defyingly steep mountains, with slippery cobblestones and narrow sidewalks where cars come down one way and try and kill you and dogs poop everywhere." I guess it isn't as catchy though.

Katie and the Boys in front of the entryway to the Castle, which we decided not to go to that day, and will go back to another day. More pictures then.

Well, that will have to do it for now, because the McDonald's where you get free internet is getting crowded and Zach is waiting for me outside. I'll put more up later. Be patient everyone! Awesomeness takes time!

Lisboa

We are now in Lisbon, Portugal and will be for the next two weeks. Zach is taking a crash course in Portugese. We got here yesterday morning and so far the city is awesome. And I just got mistaken for a Portugese person! Awesome. Anyway, I´m about to run out of minutes, so I´´ let you know all the nitty gritty as soon as I can!

Girona

Girona is the capital city of the area we live in and the name of the comarca. A comarca is comparable to a state, but it's not really the same. Anyway, it's a gorgeous city. Wonderful! It's this wonderful combination of the old and the new. There are great restaurants, beautiful old buildings, tiny little streets, little public gardens, playgrounds and more swallows than I have ever seen collectively in my whole life. I believe they are European swallows.

Girona Cathedral

At least once a week we end up in Girona. We go there for church. For the first month of Sundays that we were here we had to catch a bus at 8:15 am, which got us to Girona at about 9, and church doesn't start until 10:30. Then after church ended at 1:30 there wasn't another bus until 4:45. So, we wound up packing breakfast and lunch and just spending all day in Girona. And we did a lot of exploring. It was a whole lot of fun, but very exhausting as well. And hot. Girona is so, so hot. It is hotter than the coast, because you don't get those nice sea breezes inland. Anyway, now the bus leaves at 9:30 am and another leaves at 2:00 pm, so staying in Girona will now be optional, which is nice.

Katie in front of the river and the Girona's Church (that's not the cathedral, though they are right next to each other) There is a story that says that this church looked just like a church in France that was right across the Pyrenees, with two spires. So, when Napoleon tried to invade Spain, in his obnoxious and deadly attempt to conquer Europe, he shot one of the spires down with a cannon, so that it wouldn't be the same as the French one. I have no idea how accurate that is, but I really don't like Napoleon, so I'm guessing it's true. (Update: This story is not true. Oh well.)

Like many European cities, one of the most spectacular structures is a cathedral, and Girona is no exception. But, like most things that you want to take a great picture of in Europe, they are doing reconstructive work on it. I think this may be a conspiracy set up by the post card producers. Anyway, the Cathedral is set up on a hill, and it overlooks the whole city. It's pretty amazing really. Every time I see one of these great buildings I'm stroke with how futile it must have seemed when they were laying the first brick. And then, a couple hundred years later or so, it's done. And I get frustrated when the computer takes three whole minutes to do something. Stupid computer. We've been in the cathedral several times, because it is free on Sundays. Zach likes to look at their museum relicts, but I can only take so many pieces of the original cross and femurs of the baby Jesus, before my ice cream sandwich starts to resemble to martyred St. Sebastian, so I stick to the Cathedral itself. Virtually every cathedral has two things in common: it will be mind bogglingly cold inside, no matter what the weather is like, and there be a strong, almost overpowering, but still quite nice smell of incense. Always.

Now here are a bazillion more photos of Girona. I have another bazillion or two, but I don't know if you can handle that much gloriousness all at once. So here ya go, glory installment #1:

This is the plaque in front of a shrine on the path behind the cathedral. It says: On this spot, on the 4^th of February 1975, our Lord left the impression of his bleeding holy foot in the mud." That is all. And those are my feet at the bottom.

Zach, pushing the stroller up one of Girona's many, many hills. And that is the church at the top. Also, note the awesome stone work. Sweet stuff.

Garden Ruins behind the Cathedral. Notice how Zach is standing off in the shade? Have I mentioned that the sun here is incredibly strong? You do
not stay in the sun if you can avoid it. It's just too hot. And that's not just for sun wussy's like me, Zach, the Arizona Man, is sticking to that as well.

Girona Cathedral

This is not the one Napoleon supposedly shot down a spire from, but there is only one spire. I was a little confused at first two.

Katie and Sam after having climbed up all the steps. I don't know why Sam is making that face.

Sam walking down the steps. This only lasted a little while because he kept trying to run off.

Ben, Sam, Zach & Katie in Girona.

Oh, and see that red tractor that Ben is holding? It got run over by a car in Barcelona. I wish I were joking. Girona is so way more awesome than Barcelona. Hands down!

Spain Q&A

There have been some questions posed about our trip here. I intend to answer them to the best of my ability. Some of these questions have actually been asked and some I added because I feel they need to be asked. You will probably be able to tell the difference. So here goes.

Q: What are you doing in Spain, anyway?

A: Zach is studying Catalan, which is the language they speak here in Catalonia.

Q: I’ve never heard of Catalan before. Why is he studying it?

A: Because he is a working on studying all of the literature of the Iberian Peninsula. At some point he will probably speak Portugese, Basque, and Gallego. Well, maybe on Gallego. Also, there are 8 million Catalan speakers. But don’t worry, I had never heard of it before I met Zach, either.

Q: So, does everyone there speak Catalan?

A: Most everyone. A whole lot of the signs are in Catalan and most of the locals speak it, but they also speak Castilian/Spanish.

Q: Do you understand any of it?

A: No.

Q: Oh. Does that make it hard to learn Spanish with all the signs and everything in Catalan and everyone either speaking Catalan or a mix of Catalan and Spanish and you never knowing which they are speaking?

A: Yes.

Q: So how is your Spanish coming along?

A: Not great. I am a very lazy language learner, more content to smile and nod and say, “Si!” over and over than to sit down and learn lessons. I have acquired a series of words that I’ll string together for various scenarios in an idiotic fashion, but I’m pretty much lost most of the time. I’m trying to work on it, but my time seems to be taken up by things like making sure that the boys don’t jump off the balcony and checking to see if they have that awesome dress in my size.

An interesting note about Spain and Spaniards: in many foreign countries I have been to, the native population will quickly asses that I am not even remotely a native, and thus start speaking to me in whatever language they think I speak (it is usually English, but I have also had French and Italian spoken to me, go figure). But in Spain, even though I look about as Spanish as a Happy Meal, people will almost always come up and speak to me in Spanish. And not just one or two words but multiple, fast sentences. And I smile and nod. I think it has something to do with the boys, because usually that is what they are talking about. But even after I say something like, “mi espanol es no bueno,” which by itself should signal something, they will just repeat what they said before or say, “Oh, she doesn’t speak Spanish” and then keep talking to me in Spanish. It is both hilarious and slightly terrifying.

Q: Is it hot there?

A: Yes, very hot. And humid. I’ve never experienced anything like this sun. It is just so powerful. I’m sure there is some scientific explanation for why that is, but all I know is that it is hot. For example, when the sun is out, it can dry a pair of wet jeans in about an hour. Bone dry.

Q: Are you getting a tan?

A: Those of us with a strong Irish/Scottish/English heritage do not tan well. We freckle. It’s disgraceful, really. So, I am getting a little darker on my arms, and it looks okay from a distance, but up close, where I always am, it is just a bunch of tiny freckles that have connected together.

Q: Isn’t there a painting like that?
A: Yes, there is. I think it’s called Sunday Afternoon in the Park by and I don’t know who it’s by. And if Ferris Buller’s Day Off has taught me anything, it’s that this painting is located in an art gallery in Chicago. That movie also taught me that you cannot take off miles of a cars odometer by driving it in reverse and that if you are cool enough, you can interrupt a parade program with awesome results. Movies are wonderful.

Q: Okaaaaaaay…… On a different note, do the Spanish really take siestas?

A: Most definitely! Around 1pm to 4pm almost all the stores and businesses close for mediodia (mid-day). Then everyone goes out and gets a big lunch for a couple of hours (the restaurants close later to accommodate this) and then goes home and rests. Then everything opens back up and stays open till late in the evening. So, you rest and relax during the hottest part of the day, and then go back out again when it’s cooler.

Q: How do you like that?

A: It’s pretty neat in one way. We get to relax at home, when the boys let us. And you can get some really good meals and prices in restaurants at lunch time, because that is when the Spanish eat their big meal of the day. And I truly enjoy a good siesta. But, it can be really frustrating when I need to get something done in the four hour time span, and nothing is open! Especially the library, because that’s where the free internet is. I am used to being able to buy a television, a gallon of milk, or a package of diapers at any hour of the day or night if I am so inclined. So, this is the American coming out in me again.

Q: What is your internet situation?

A: Not great. We don’t have any internet in the house. We go down to the public library where we can connect to their free internet, but there are no outlets available, so we can only stay down there as long as the battery lasts. We usually write all our emails in advance and then just send/receive them all through the Outlook email program. Then we look up all the sites that we want to see, leave them up, and then read them when we get home.

Q: Wow.

A: Ya, it has been hard. I feel kinda like a heroin addict going through withdrawal (Not that I have any experience with that at all. No really). I’m used to being in constant contact with everyone. And being able to have masses and masses of information available on demand. So, it is difficult. For instance, I just read the book Twilight a couple of weeks ago (twice actually, how awful is that?) Now I want to find out all about the series and this movie they are putting out (Dec 12^th – I hope they don’t ruin it, that would be a shame) and I want to find out more, but I am hindered by this internet situation. It’s frustrating. But I think I’ll manage. Hopefully.

Q: Is that why you have been slacking on posting new blog entries?

A: Yes it is, and I’m really sorry. I’ll try to do better.

Q: Okay, one more question. What is the hardest thing about being away from American and what is the easiest?

A: Although that is technically two questions, I will still answer. The hardest thing, besides the internet, is the language barrier. There is this idea that everyone outside of America speaks English and an English speaker can go anywhere in the world and be able to speak English, and that’s really not the case. Although many people speak varying levels of English. But, it’s not really the same. And, I think most of us take for granted how easily we can communicate in our native language with other native speakers. Or at least I do. I miss being able to chat with people. Or ask questions and feel confident that I will understand the answer. That’s hard.

The easiest thing, or things rather, is that I am here with my hubby and kiddos, so I’m not missing them, the food is pretty darn fabulous (why, oh why don’t we have all these pastries in America, people?! We have got to get working on this!), and the ocean. The ocean is so, so gorgeous here. Glorious, really. The water is the perfect temperature; refreshing, but not freezing. I haven’t posted pictures yet, but I will soon.

So, there you go. I hope that answers some of your questions and some questions that you didn’t know you had. Feel free to send me more. Unless I get my hands on the Twilight sequels in English, then just give me a few days.

Ben and Sam's Band

Here is a video that I made of the boys. I hope you enjoy it!

American Toddlers in Spain

The boys are now officially two. I'm pretty sure that I hadn't mentioned that, but they did have their birthday and they are now two. And I mean, they are really, really two. For instance, in the last couple of weeks both boys have decided that, though they have a pretty impressive little vocabulary and can string words together into sentences now, they should communicate by screaming. Not a yell, or a shout, but a screeching, wailing scream. Like two little screaming banshees. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder if the origin of that legend was not just a frustrated toddler screaming across the Irish moors. It is so possible. Any way, they scream when they are upset or trying to get our attention, or just bored. They've had a couple of screaming matches with each other. They think it is absolutely hilarious and the most fun thing ever. Ever.

They've also taken to saying "no" to just about anything and everything. Except chocolate, juice, Cars and the Wiggles. I'll say something like, "okay, it's time stop this" and they'll say, "No stop this!" It can be extremely frustrating.

But other than that, and the fact that we are still working on ways to get them to sleep at normal times without cribs, they are doing pretty well. We get stopped constantly by people here. Constantly. And every time I walk down the street people look at us. I know some of you may be thinking that I'm being paranoid or something, what with my aversion to certain shades of lime-light, but I'm not. People are actually stopping and pointing at us. And saying "gemelos." That's twins in Spanish and I've definitely learned that word by now. Though not much else. I should clarify that everyone is very friendly. We are just an oddity. Especially when you throw in the Bob stroller, which is bigger than some cars around here. Seriously. But people will stop us and ask us questions and try to make the boys laugh and wave and tickle them. People really love kids here, which is nice and refreshing.

Oh, and while I am discussing the stroller, I should update and say that, we can get around pretty well. Platja d'Aro is newer, so there are more sidewalk ramps and the like. But, we've been blocked several times by cars parking in front of them, and people piling boxes on the sidewalk, and all the tables and chairs in front of restaurants. But that's only occasionally. It's usually pretty easy and, as I've said, people have been very helpful. Our biggest problem is grocery stores. Most are miniscule, which is impacted even more by the floor displays and boxes left in the aisles. And all of them, every single one I have been to, have these one way gates that you go through when you come in and can't get back out of. Instead, you have to go through the checkout. Now, if you didn't have a wide stroller, you can just slip through an unused checkout or something, but I usually have to go around and manually open it from the entry and slide the boys through. It's a little crazy. Actually, the last couple times we've gotten groceries we've gone to a place that has wider aisles and a gate I can just push the boys through, even though some of their stuff is a little more expensive. Could I be any more American? Paying more for something just because it is more convenient. It's really awful.

But the stroller proves effective once again here, because we have to walk to the store and back, so we load all our groceries onto it. It's pretty sweet, actually. Of course, we are probably destroying the shocks, but I don't really know anything about that and ignorance is bliss.

Ben, Sam, Barcelona

We've now been down to Barcelona roughly three times for various reasons. It's a beautiful city. Full of all kinds of quirky and charming buildings and people. But, I'm saddened to report, that it is a little bit sticky. Yes, we were robbed. I was tempted to not even tell anyone about it, for fear that it would turn people off to Spain and its many wonders, but I can't hide from the truth, as much as I would sometimes like to. My Mom and sister, Carina came in for a visit with her two kiddos and while we were getting to our bus stop and wrangling suitcases, children, and strollers, Carina's bag was stolen. It had all their passports, money, and credit cards and all kinds of other things that were necessary to make life while traveling with children easier. That created a bit of a mess for the rest of the trip, because we had to get their passports replaced and work out going to the consulate and everything. Then when they were heading home and we were bringing them to the airport, Zach's wallet was stolen. We think it was stolen by a weirdo lady on the bus, who got off right behind Zach while he was distracted with getting the luggage. There was some money and some credit cards, and some other wallet stuff, but nothing irreplaceable. Luckily, there have been no additional problems with the stolen items, nothing was charged or anything, but it still really, really sucks.

Ben in front of the Christopher Columbus statue at the end of Las Ramblas

Zach prayed that we would be able to forgive the people who stole our stuff, and I prayed that they would fall and hit their heads. I wish I were kidding, but I truly did.

Anyway, despite that tiny, virtually insignificant nuisance of being robbed twice, Barcelona really is a beautiful city. I would just suggest never, ever taking public transit, if you can avoid it at all. Or at least not when you are distracted by bags and children and such. Because, they don't really have elevators to the metros and you have to carry all stroller and the like down the steps. Though, I will say that the people here are very helpful, offering to help carry the stroller for us, and they love children. Love them! With all four of the kids it was about all we could do to walk down the street. People love kids here. It's a nice change, really. Barcelona is a great city for people and beautiful things, just keep your wallet on a chain or something. But enough of that. So, let's all take our experiences and learn from them. Yes, Barcelona is a walking city. Most everything is close, so it makes more sense to walk the city and enjoy the sights and sounds of bustling Barcelona.

A picture of me taking a picture of Mom and Sam on the Pedestrian Bridge in Barcelona, that probably has a name, but I don't know it.

The best day to go would be a Thursday, because that is the traditional paella day. Paella is a traditional Spanish dish that I think originated in Valencia, which is a little further south from Barcelona. They usually throw in all kinds of crazy seafood and veggies into it. And saffron, which is where it gets the yellow color. All the cafes where the locals go to eat lunch will be serving it as part of their daily menu on Thursdays, and you'll be able to get good, non-touristy paella for less and it will probably be more authentic. Though, authenticity is kinda a strange thing to pinpoint. We had turkey paella made by some very lovely Chinese people that was fabulous. Zach, Carina and Mom had a seafood paella in Platja d'Aro made by Spaniards, that was only okay. So, what makes something authentic? Being made by the right people or tasting good? Is one more authentic or is this another evolution of culture? I'll let you all simmer on that for a moment.

Zach, in front of La Sagrada Familia. We didn't pay to get in. We'll pay when they finish.

Okay, moments up. We managed to take something of a Gaudi tour, seeing La Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera, and another that I've totally forgotten the name of. La Sagrada Familia (The Sacred Family) is amazing, like no building I have ever seen. It is a work in progress and is towered over by a massive crane, or five, at all times. They say the projected completion date is something like 2035. We'll see. We tried to take photos of the other side, but huge tourist busses kept getting in the way. It'll be interesting to see if it manages to ever become more of a place of worship than a tourist site.

La Sagrada Familia

We're planning on going down a few more times. It is a little pricey to get all of us down there, so we aren't doing it every weekend or anything. But we still need to see Mont Juic, the aquarium, Barri Gotic, and a few other things. Oh, and I need to shop more. So, ya, we're going back. I'll let you know how it turns out. And I'll stick a couple of mousetraps in our pockets. Just in case.