A wonderful visit with Uncle Josh and Aya

October 28: The longest stretch in between my postings yet, and this one will have to be less detailed for fear that I won’t actually sit down to write it otherwise… Plus, I caught Jonah’s cold so I don’t have as much time to write since I’m trying to nap when he does and go to sleep early.

Jeremy came home from his trip the Saturday before last. It was a very happy reunion for all of us. Jonah did his usual happy, excited, crazy running around the apartment shtick when I told him it was daddy at the door as Jeremy began to unlock it with his key. Then he spent the next thirty minutes or so showing off for Jeremy, moving through his toys and new little tricks (such as getting on and off his chair by himself and proudly sitting perched by the table).

That morning before Jeremy returned, Jonah and I spent enjoying the aquarium at Port Vell, about a 20 minute bus/walk combo from our apartment. I decided against the science museum for the morning because it was a bit of a schlep to get there, and I was too tired to make the haul without some extra help with Jonah. (Since we arrived in Barcelona, Jonah has taken to waking up between 5:30 and 6:00 am…ugh.) We got to L’aquarium a bit early (just before 9:30 am), so we stopped at the Starbucks in the nearby indoor mall for a much desired caramel macchiato. Yum. Among the first few to enter the aquarium, we had the place to ourselves for 45 minutes or so. We strolled along the series of small tanks before getting to the huge one that includes a tunnel you walk through surrounded by part of the tank. Jonah mostly was just happy to climb onto the ledges in front of the tanks and to walk along the railing by the large tank. He was intrigued by the sting ray that was sleeping on the bottom of the large tank right above where we were standing, asking, “Happin? Happin?” We spent some time relaxing on the amphitheater style seating in front of the large tank—mostly so Jonah could crawl up and down the steps. At one tank Jonah saw the fish swimming around and said, “Birdie! Birdie!” Makes sense, given what he’s seen in his life so far. We moved next to the kids play zone, and Jonah was in heaven with the fake submarine, little water features, and other neat exhibits.

The next day, with Jeremy back in town, we all went to the science museum (CosmoCaixa) in the suburbs of Barcelona. It was the perfect place for Jonah! He loved walking around the building, which was renovated in the last few years and has a fabulous open design. He liked looking at the exhibits related to rocks and watching the interactive exhibits such as the one explaining how a volcano works. He enjoyed the Amazon Rainforest exhibit with the huge catfish and other animals. There was one animal that looked like a giant hamster on steroids that he was particularly fascinated with. That evening we went down to the waterfront and enjoyed the music of our favorite local band—Made in Barcelona—who Jonah and I had previously seen on our last visit to the port. We enjoyed a nice dinner out in Barceloneta at an outdoor café before heading home to put Jonah to bed.

On Monday, Jonah and I spent the morning with Raquel and her kids, first at their fabulous apartment in the Gothic neighborhood and then at their nearby playground. It was quite cute to see Jonah interact with Samuel, Rebecca, and Maria. He’s still at an age where he doesn’t quite play with other kids but he did some. On the walk back to our apartment to meet Jeremy for lunch, we stopped inside a church, Eglésia de Sant Agusti—an Augustinian church dating back to 1728. I’d wanted to visit this one from the time we first passed it and on each (almost daily) walk past it since. Inside, Jonah was quite fascinated by the Jesus statue riding a donkey, so we sat and looked at him for a while. He also was very interested in the candles and incorporated “candle” into his ever-expanding vocabulary. When I tried to leave the church, Jonah was very upset. I think he’s perhaps picked up my fascination with old churches because he has since become quite irritated upon our trying to leave other churches we’ve visited. Jonah decided not to nap that day so we ventured into Eixample back to the playground we’d visited with Jeremy our first weekend in Barcelona. We met Jeremy at El Corte Ingles for a quick market run before heading home for dinner.

On Tuesday, Jonah and I headed back to the playground near Raquel’s house because it was on the way to La Ribera where we were going to check out a children’s store run by a British woman. At the playground, Jonah intentionally kicked a ball for the first time. He’d previously accidentally kicked a ball as he was running after it, but this time he meant to do it. We were both quite proud. From the playground, we headed to the children’s store hoping it might have a Halloween costume for Jonah. I didn’t find a costume; instead, I found a great t-shirt for Jonah with the slogan “Go Obama Go” written on it. Of course, I had to buy it. The owner of the store (Lulu) has a big truck in the store for kids to play with while their parents are shopping. Seeing how much Jonah loved this thing, she offered to let Jonah take it with him to the playground around the corner. The truck had a cord tied to the front of it, so he pulled it along behind him all the way back to her store when we were done playing in the little plaza. It was so cute.

In the afternoon Jeremy’s brother, Josh, and Josh’s girlfriend, Aya, came into town. Jonah chose not to take a nap that day either, and I think it was because he was excited for Josh and Aya to visit. We’d been talking up their visit for a few days. We met Josh and Aya at a beautiful square in the Raval with a nice playground in the center of it. We sat at a café enjoying coffee (for me) and milk (for Jonah) before spending time at the playground. We then walked through the narrow streets of the area to get to Las Ramblas. Jonah walked by himself, first holding Jeremy’s hand and then Josh’s hand. It was very cute, and he was very proud of himself—being able to walk on his own rather than sit in the stroller. We strolled through the Gothic neighborhood and La Ribera, returning to my favorite Barcelona church, Santa Maria del Mar. (This is where Jonah again became upset by our departure from a church.)

The next day we met Josh and Aya at Sagrada Familia, a church on which construction started in 1882 and continues to this day. Two years after construction began, the project came under the direction of Gaudí, who spent the rest of his life working on it, even living on the site. Much of the interior and some of the exterior have not been finished. Apparently, it’s scheduled to be completed at some point in the 2020s. It’s one of those must sees for tourists because of the scope of the undertaking, its size, and it being Gaudí’s final work in progress, although I was a bit underwhelmed by it. It rained on the day of our visit, so it wasn’t ideal weather for walking around the area. Nonetheless, we strolled down the pedestrian road headed toward the beautiful Hospital de la Santa Creu i de Sant Pau. We stopped at a café for a little nibble on our way to the hospital. Constructed starting in 1902 to replace the medieval hospital in the Raval neighborhood, the hospital complex is made up of dozens of buildings with turrets and towers adorned with bright ceramic tiles. It’s an absolutely gorgeous medical campus designed by Domènech i Montaner and his son, Pere. (On a subsequent walk through the Raval, we checked out the old hospital, which we happen to pass every time we walk through the old city toward Las Rablas and the Gothic neighborhood. It is now being used as a library, some type of school, and a café, among other things. The old hospital is quite beautiful in its own right, but one can see how the city quickly outgrew it and had a need for a bigger, more modern complex.)

That afternoon we met Josh and Aya at the MACBA (Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona), which we thought would be a good indoor destination in light of the rainy weather. Instead, it was a bit disappointing because only part of the permanent collection was open, the rest of the permanent collection and the temporary exhibits being changed that day for a big opening that night. Jonah was the most interested in the museum among us, fascinated by the art incorporating movie reels and slide projectors. He couldn’t quite make sense of the mechanical equipment and just wanted to stand and watch it all in action.

Thursday was another rainy day. Josh and Aya wanted the day to themselves, so Jeremy worked and Jonah and I headed to the mall down by the waterfront as an indoor refuge. Jonah and I enjoyed coffee, milk, and some pastries at a café before walking all over the mall. Jonah particularly liked the stores playing music so he could dance (which he did). He was pretty good about letting me look in a couple of stores and liked trying on the hats and gloves at H&M. He also wanted to go up and down the escalators and elevator, which we did multiple times. He was surprisingly understanding about my need to carry him on the escalator.

This is one of the many amazing things about Jonah—you can often reason with him. Often times he’ll try to do something that he shouldn’t do (such as getting on an escalator by himself), and if we stop him and explain why it is that things need to be a certain way (Jeremy or I needing to pick him up, in the escalator scenario) he seems to be content to go along. Of course, he has his moments when reason matters not a bit to him, but much more often than not it does. On Tuesday, for example, when we needed to leave the playground to head to the children’s store, I explained to him that we had to leave to go to the store to try to find him a costume and that we’d go to a playground after the store. He willingly went along despite his usual resistance to leaving playgrounds.

On Friday, we met up with Josh and Aya and took a train to Montserrat, a mountain on the side of which is nestled a 10th century Benedictine monastery. It’s 4o kilometers northwest of Barcelona, about an hour and a half journey by train and rack railway up the mountain. The buildings of the monastery are nice, but it’s the setting that makes the place so spectacular. The enormous, rugged rocks make the location a popular rock climbing haven. We walked around the monastery grounds, admired the Basilica, ate lunch at the cafeteria, and enjoyed the world-famous boys’ choir sing two songs as it does every day for visitors. We took the funicular up to the top of the mountain to the hermitage of Sant Joan from which we hiked for about an hour and a half. Jonah snoozed in the back carrier on Jeremy and seemed quite calm and relaxed after he woke up, not insisting on getting down constantly as is the norm. Exhausted, we headed back to Barcelona around 4 pm and arrived about two hours later. The three of us slept like logs that night.

On Saturday, we met Josh and Aya at La Pedrera, Gaudí’s famous apartment building on Passeig de Gracia in the Eixample. Constructed between 1905 and 1911 and inspired by the mountain of Montserrat, La Pedrera is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The building’s rippled façade with balconies of tangled metal dripping over it are matched in marvel by the design of the interior with its open, flowing layout along multiple courtyards. This is not a site to miss when visiting Barcelona. We got there early enough to miss the onslaught of tourist buses, which made the tour a little more intimate. From La Pedrera we headed back to the old town for a nice lunch out (something we never do with Jonah because lunch starts late here…around 1 pm or later, which is the time Jonah is usually heading off to his nap). Jonah took a late nap on Saturday, and Jeremy and I took him to the playground in our neighborhood for a while afterward before heading to the video store to pick up a movie for the night. That afternoon at the playground, Jonah figured out how to use a shovel for the first time. He’s been obsessed with shovels for months now but hadn’t quite figured out that they can be a good way of moving sand.

On Sunday morning, Jeremy, Jonah, and I went to the Picasso museum in La Ribera. It’s housed in a beautiful old mansion and does a wonderful job of laying out Picasso’s work in chronological order of its creation so you can see the progression of his art. Jonah was less interested in the museum than Jeremy and me, although he seemed to relax a bit in the back carrier when we started talking to him about some of the paintings on the wall. From the museum we headed to the playground near Raquel’s place in the Gothic neighborhood. It’s located right next to Barcelona’s city hall (Ajuntament) in Placa de Sant Jaume, so Jeremy and I took turns doing a quick self-guided tour of its truly stunning interior (only accessible on Sundays between 10 am and 2 pm so an easy one to miss). The marble halls, galleries, and staircases, together with the historical murals, make the building an art museum in its own right. This building is a rarely visited gem I imagine but so very worth the time.

After Jonah’s nap, we met up with Josh and Aya down at the waterfront, where we heard a little Made in Barcelona before walking through Barceloneta to the boardwalk by the beach. Jonah was antsy so we let him walk the boardwalk for a while until it became clear that we were never going to get down to the beach at his pace of stopping, sitting in the middle of the walkway, going back to push the swinging garbage can, three more paces forward and five paces back… We sat on the beach for about an hour while Jonah played in the sand with a little boy his same age. Jonah didn’t get the friendship off to a great start when he initially approached the boy and snatched the shovel right out of the boy’s hand, but all evened out with the two of them sharing their buckets and shovels, sifters, and assorted beach tools. (Jonah tends to be the aggressee rather than the aggressor, but I think he feels a bit more empowered when it’s a single innocent looking child sitting quietly.) Jonah came over to me and sat on my lap, having fun using his newfound shovel skills to dump sand on my legs and laughing every time he succeeded in building a new pile. It was very cute. The weather on Sunday was absolutely perfect so the beach was the best place to be. In the evening Josh and Aya came by to drop off a suitcase of stuff that they wanted to leave behind as they set off for Italy for the next five days, so we hung out with them for a bit.

On Monday morning it was back to work for Jeremy and adventures for Jonah and me. We went to the Gràcia suburb of Barcelona. It’s quite charming with beautiful building facades and several lovely squares. We strolled along a street (Rambla del Prat) that boasts the finest surviving collection of modernista townhouses in the area and walked past Gaudí’s first major private commission, Casa Vicens (1883-85), with its green and white tiles and flower motif. We came upon Placa del Diamant where we saw a playground, and Jonah immediately wanted out of his stroller. Aside from a tumble on the slide, Jonah enjoyed this play area, which was geared more toward his age group. From this placa we headed to Placa de la Virreina to sit at a café for coffee, milk, and a croissant. Jonah kept saying his string of “hi” to the guy at the neighboring table; thankfully at least this person responded. We continued our tour through the neighborhood, making our way down to Casa Fuster, designed by another famous architect in the early 20th century. Jonah got out of his stroller to play near a huge fountain before we headed back home for lunch. (We also made our way into a local church that happened to be open, and again Jonah was very unhappy to leave…).

Yesterday afternoon after Jonah’s three hour long nap (hooray!!), we headed over to El Corte Ingles for a final supermarket run during our Barcelona stay. On the bus ride back, Jonah asked for the seat belt next to where his stroller was parked. We gave it to him, and then he said, “O’er one” (that’s, “other one”) and pointed to the other seat belt next to it. He’s really mastered the concept of “this one” and “the other one”. Yesterday morning he moved the coffee table across the floor and then walked to the other side of the table and said, “O’er side.” At an art museum this morning, I was holding Jonah and looking at a sculpture. He apparently wanted to see the other side because he said, “O’er side.”

Another rainy day today so Jonah and I headed to an art museum in Montjuic focused solely on Joan Miró’s work. We found ourselves at the very spot from which we had to descend over 200 stairs to get home on our second day in Barcelona. We had already ascended and descended some 300 stairs to get there. This time, well equipped with a map of the bus system, we took a short bus ride to the museum and back from a stop quite close to our apartment and a stop right in front of the museum. Amazing what a map can do for you. Miró’s work is fabulous, and the museum does a nice job of presenting it. Jonah and I started at the museum café for, yes, you guessed it, coffee, milk, and a croissant (which Jonah calls “passi”). We didn’t spend much time looking at the art because Jonah was constantly on the go. One very huge sculpture captured him though. It looked like two brightly-painted creatures. (You can see the one he liked at http://fundaciomiro-bcn.org/coleccio_obra.php?obra=602&idioma=4. You probably need to paste it into your browser.) He just loved this one. Mostly though, Jonah was interested in walking up and down the ramps and taking the glass elevator up and down the three floors of the museum. After about an hour of walking around, we caught the bus home for a nice lunch with Jeremy.

On one of the days in the last week, Jonah expressed his first clear preference in terms of his attire. Jeremy started to put a pair of shoes on him, and Jonah got very agitated. He kept pointing over to the bed where another pair of shoes were sitting. Jeremy picked up the other shoes, and Jonah was thrilled. I suppose this is only just the beginning of our not picking the right outfit/shoes/something… ;) Jonah also has started dictating his bedtime routine timing to a certain extent. Jeremy usually gives him a bath (or a shower as is the case in our Barcelona apartment, which only has a stall shower), and I usually read him a story and give him his milk. After the story, I turn off the lights and we talk about our day. Then I put him in his crib and rub his back and talk to him a bit longer before leaving the room. Tonight, as we were going through a book, he said, "Lights off." And when I was rubbing his back, he took his hand and arched it around to touch my arm as if to tell me it was time for me to go. What a big boy he is!

Well, the next time I write will probably be from Athens, where we’re heading on Saturday. We’ll be there for five days (including election day…fingers crossed!!) before making our way to the little village of Lindos (population: 1,500) on the island of Rhodes. We’re looking forward to some small town serenity. I hope we feel that way after a couple of days without the hustle and bustle of a big city. At the very least, I’m looking forward to warmer temperatures. The highs are in the 50s and 60s this week with rain predicted for at least two days. The forecast in Athens and Lindos is sunny skies and 70 degree weather. Whoohoo!! Before we head to Greece, however, we'll be celebrating Halloween with the expat community here at a British-run fish and chips restaurant. Jonah is going to be Batboy. He's quite happy about his costume. Happy Halloween!

Picture descriptions: A very blurry shot of Jonah (didn't want to use flash and bother the fish) in the large tank tunnel at the aquarium; Jonah chows down on a huge hunk of bread (perhaps his favorite food along with yogurt) in Barceloneta; playground near Raquel's apartment; Jonah sports his Obama shirt at the Hospital de la Santa Creu i de Sant Pau; walking in the Raval neighbrohood with Josh and Aya; Sagrada Familia exterior; Sagrada Familia under construction with a view from the roof terrace; on the grounds of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i de Sant Pau; Montserrat with the monastery nestled on the moutainside; La Pedrera; Josh and Aya with Jonah walking the boardwalk at the waterfront; enjoying the beach; playground at Placa del Diamant in Gracia; Jonah as Batboy!!

Parks, parks, and more parks

October 17: Oy, today has been rocky. This morning at the park, Jonah fell three feet from a large play structure and smacked his face on the dirt. Thankfully, he broke his fall a bit with his hands, but that wasn’t much consolation for him. The poor guy has a large abrasion on his forehead and cheek. Battle wounds from the parks of Barcelona, I suppose. Then when we came home, there was steam spewing from the washing machine, which I had started on our way out the door. The machine was stuck mid-cycle, leaving our clothes to sit in hot water for hours and causing darker clothes to bleed onto lighter clothes. (Sorry, mom, but we’ll need you to bring even more items when you visit now.) And the stove top seems to be on the fritz, blinking an error sign and refusing to reset. So here are my preemptive responses to your questions: (1) Yes, I was carefully watching Jonah, but he quickly slithered backward off the other side of the structure before I could grab him. I’m quite prepared for this to happen multiple times in the future. (2) No, I didn’t feel the need to take him to a doctor or a hospital, having made such a trip with him before we left the states for our sabbatical. There was no swelling, I put ice on his head, and he’s acting normal, walking fine, showing no signs of head trauma. (3) No, he didn’t break any bones when he fell. (4) Yes, I’m quite sure. (5) Yes, I often start the laundry when I’m walking out the door, and I feel comfortable with such appliances being on because I don’t think they’ll start a fire. They obviously do other problematic things. In the future, I won’t start this particular machine when we’re not home. (6) Yes, I know you’re supposed to separate lights and darks, but it was a small load and we haven’t had the color bleeding problem before. It’s just because the clothes sat for two hours in the hot water all mushed together that this happened. (7) When Jeremy is out of town (which he is now), I do actually look at the stove and other appliances in the kitchen. I didn’t say I was going to use the stove; I just said it wasn’t working. The management company will need to fix the stove before Jeremy gets home tomorrow because he’ll need it to cook for us. Jonah and I are going out to dinner tonight, so we’re all set on food.

On Monday, Jonah and I went to a park in the Ribera neighborhood that was once a citadel, hence the name—Parc de la Ciutadella. It’s the largest open space in the city center and home to a lake, beautiful fountain, plant houses, two museums, the city zoo, and a great playground. We spent almost all of our time at the playground, where we met a lovely woman (Raquel) and her four kids (three her own, the fourth her brother’s daughter who she cares for during the day). Raquel and her family were living in San Francisco until just recently, when they moved to Barcelona (back home for Raquel). We had an instant connection and talked for the next hour plus…not about our kids, which was a nice change. Meeting other moms in the park usually leads to lengthy conversations about one’s kid(s). It was nice to have a conversation about the rest of life for a change. Raquel and I have since made plans to meet up next week.

But back to the park… This playground has a similar program to the London one o’clock centers. Every day from 11 am until 2 pm and again in the late afternoon to early evening, the parks department puts out tricycles, play kitchens, little slides, and other outdoor toys for kids to enjoy. There’s also an indoor area for play, although with Barcelona weather being what it is I imagine that’s used less frequently. Jonah spent about 45 minutes scooting along in little cars, climbing up and going down a toddler slide on his own, and playing in the kitchen (mostly trying to figure out if the water faucet would turn on and opening and closing the cabinet door). He loved it. We strolled around the park for a bit before heading back home to meet Jeremy for lunch. I can’t remember what we did after his nap, but it’s a safe bet that we went to the little park by our apartment.

On Tuesday, Jonah and I went to the beach near Poble Nou. I needed to get more diapers for Jonah at the organic store by the Poble Nou metro stop, so we made a morning of it out that way. Jonah loved, loved the beach as usual. He’s really a beach and boats guy. We bought him a little basketball on the way since he’d been attempting to take other kids’ balls at the park. He was thrilled and immediately learned to say “basketball”. He says it very slowly with each syllable pronounced quite clearly. It’s very cute. This morning he was running around the apartment looking for it, yelling, “Bas-et-ball! Bas-et-ball!” He played with his ball at the beach, throwing it around and pretending to fall over trying to get to it. He was so silly and kept making me laugh. He also loved finding shells and pushing them into the sand with his little index finger. After an hour or so at the beach, we headed home for lunch.

I took that afternoon to myself as Jonah napped and then played with Jeremy at the nearby playground. With Jeremy leaving the next day, I needed a bit of time sans Jonah. Of course, I immediately headed over to Dunkin Donuts for a coffee before walking into the Gothic neighborhood to stroll through the narrow streets and spend a bit more time admiring the architecture and taking the elevator to the roof of the cathedral, La Seu, for a view of the city (not actually an interesting view from there, it turns out). The interior of the church is stunning. The choir area is made from exquisitely carved wood. The organ was playing, so I sat for a while to enjoy the music. It was nice to have time just to walk down any random street without a destination and being able to head part way down a street and decide, no, I don’t want to go that way, I want to go this other way. No need to either have a conversation with Jeremy about it or make sure there weren’t any stairs or that I hadn’t kept Jonah cooped up in the stroller for too long. Just letting what was pleasing to the eye direct my journey was quite nice, relaxing, rejuvenating. I wandered the neighborhood until meeting up with Jeremy and Jonah at El Corte Ingles for a big grocery shopping trip to stock our fridge until Jeremy returned from his trip.

Jeremy left the next morning at 8 am for Princeton to give a couple of talks. Shortly after, Jonah and I left to discover a new park out in the suburbs called Parc del Laberint, an 18th century estate with lovely terraces, gardens, paths, and fountains. The former estate mansion is being restored, so we could only take a peak at it from behind a gate. The best part of the park is the maze of shrubs with a statue of Eros at the center. We took several wrong turns, and I kept saying, “Oh, no.” Eventually Jonah started saying it as well.

Before tackling the maze, we spent an hour at the playground, which had different types of features than the other parks we’ve visited. It had tires in which to sit and spin and half circles in which to wobble around. Like most playgrounds in Barcelona, it also had a café kiosk right next to the play area. This is a fabulous addition to playgrounds in my opinion, one designed to keep both parents and children happy. I decided we should try to sit at a table and enjoy a coffee and milk together. Jonah just recently started climbing up onto chairs, and he appears quite proud of the accomplishment and very much enjoys just sitting in the chair with no booster. So I ordered milk for him and a coffee for me. He sat long enough for me to enjoy my coffee and for him to finish his milk. Although I had ordered in Spanish, Jonah pointed at my cup and said, “Coffee.” He certainly knows his mama. (One strange thing I’ve noticed every time I order milk for Jonah is that they serve it with a packet of sugar. How crazy is that!!?? I guess that’s the only way to make some kids drink milk. Sounds disgusting.) The café also had a resident cat that Jonah tried to talk to. “Hi,” he said a few times to it, not realizing I suppose that animals can’t respond in the same way.

Right before we were about to head to the maze, Jonah discovered a play car (one of those machines in which you insert money to have it move like you’re driving it). I cannot emphasize enough how much Jonah loves these little cars, and he doesn’t even know that they can move!! We’ve never actually put money in one. But even without the movement of the thing, I’m pretty sure Jonah could stay in one of these cars for the better part of a day. He just loves turning the wheel and pressing the buttons. He wasn’t pleased about leaving the car at the park, but a new little ball from a vending machine made him happy enough to stay in the stroller when I put him in. (I’d been thinking he needed a ball he could actually palm…perhaps to help with his aim. Right now he releases the ball so it goes behind him rather than in front of him. It’s very cute but makes it a little hard to play ball with him.)

Jonah decided not to nap on Wednesday, I think because he was concerned that Jeremy was gone and probably wondered if I might slip away while he was sleeping. I imagine Jeremy’s going is a bit scary for him because he’s lost half of the only constants in his life right now. No nap, so off to the waterfront we went. We took the bus down to the main port by Barceloneta and walked along the path by the boats. We came upon a fabulous group of musicians performing. We sat and watched for over 30 minutes, and every time I even shifted Jonah’s stroller, he complained because he thought I was going to make him leave. The music was fabulous, so we bought their CD. We walked along the boardwalk before heading back to Avinguda del Paral·lel to make a quick stop at the supermarket and drop off a video. It was early to bed for Jonah that night.

Yesterday we took a day trip to Sitges, a lovely beach town about 35 kilometers south of Barcelona. It’s apparently the beach resort people from Barcelona go to because it has beautiful, clean beaches with little protected coves, one right after the other, making the water calm and easy to navigate for kids especially. We caught a 9:30 am train and arrived about 40 minutes later. We strolled through the town before getting to the beach, where Jonah became quite excited when he saw the sand and ocean. I let Jonah out of the stroller, and he walked along the sand (and fell several times) as I dragged the stroller down toward the water. He played in the sand for a while before hitting the water. I think now that he’s gone in the ocean there will be no staying on the sand to play with his bucket and shovel. He doesn’t recall our trip to Maui just before his first birthday. He loved the ocean then too, but he was a little bit more cautious with the water. Yesterday he wanted to run right in, but there was a little drop off that made this a little dangerous. He wasn’t thrilled about having to hold my hand, so we made a game of it as I swung him in the air and plopped him into the water and quickly pulled him out. The water was colder than I had expected, but he seemed okay with it. After getting drenched, he immediately proceeded to roll around in the sand, happily flopping himself on the leftover bits of a huge sand castle. Jeremy would not have loved this part. I thought it was quite cute, although I wondered how I was going to get him to leave the beach, walk with me while I dragged the stroller, and clean him off. After returning to and playing with his ball, bucket, and shovel, I managed to entice him with talk of a fountain where he could get in the water. Twenty minutes later he was rinsed off, dry, in clean clothes, and ready to head to lunch. These are the mommy moments when I'm quite pleased with myself.

We found a nice café with an ocean view, where Jonah stayed occupied with a children’s place mat and crayons. Mostly he wanted me to draw for him, but he did some coloring too. The waiter gave Jonah a toy truck, which he later snuggled with in his stroller while falling asleep. We took a long walk along the very nicely maintained boardwalk, and Jonah snoozed for about 40 minutes. Away from the main beaches, it was so quiet and peaceful. As Jonah slept, I enjoyed the sounds of the waves crashing. It was warm but not too warm. There were enough people out to keep it interesting but not too crowded. It was just perfect.

We took the 3:30 pm train back to Barcelona and headed straight for our neighborhood playground. We arrived at the playground just as the entire world seemed to be descending upon it. One minute no one is there (usually around 4 or 4:30 pm) and the next minute the place is flooding with people (usually around 5 pm). I met a British woman who has been living here for the past 14 years and has a one-year-old daughter. As fine as I feel not being connected to a social network here, it was nice to chat with her for a little while and interesting to hear about her life. Jonah warmed to her quickly, I think in part because there was finally another person talking to him in English. Plenty of people talk to him in Spanish, and he basically disregards them as though they just have bizarre noises coming out of their mouths. He should know the word “guapo” by now though because that’s usually one of the words people say to him (letting him know how handsome he is). I’ve accidentally started speaking to Jonah in Spanish on our walks a few times. Not that my Spanish is in good shape. I’m quite rusty, but I’m remembering more words and different aspects of the grammar with each passing day. I find myself thinking in Spanish sometimes, which reminds me of our time in Peru. When I first starting thinking in Spanish in Peru, I realized I was really starting to get it.

This morning Jonah and I checked out a new park, Parc de l’Espanya Industrial, which was built on the site of an old textile factory and is about a 35 minute walk from our apartment, just beyond the Placa d’Espanya. The park was nice enough—would have been much nicer had the lake been filled with water—but the playground was great and right next to a café kiosk. So first we played a bit on the bouncing truck and bicycle before sitting at a table with our milk and coffee. Then Jonah discovered the very large play structure, which I was initially a bit reluctant to let him go on. He’s usually pretty good about being careful not to get too close to a drop off, so I decided to let him play on it. When it was just the two of us there, he did fine. He definitely likes to test my comfort level though, carefully watching me as he steps a bit closer to the edge. I do a good job of hiding whatever anxiety I may have about it, so he usually carries on with something else. The unfortunate fall took place after another boy came to play on the structure. Jonah got very excited and was sticking his head out a big opening in the structure to look at the boy, and he very quickly moved himself backward and slipped right off. He fell feet first and ended up splayed on the ground. I obviously felt awful…

After the play structure incident, we watched a few guys play ping pong to help distract Jonah. Several parks here have permanent ping pong tables, and players need only bring their paddles and a ball. We then went to watch the kids on break from school playing on the basketball courts. Jonah immediately headed for the fountain, where there were about 10 elementary school girls playing. He was interested in the water; the girls were quite interested in him. They kept calling him “guapo” and fawning over him. It was very cute. They held the water faucet so Jonah could play in the water, and then a couple of girls starting washing his hands. Several of them gave him kisses. One girl even tried to pick him up. His reaction was pretty amusing. Given his love of water and fountains, he was more interested in the water and just sort of allowed all of the attention to be bestowed on him. He was smiling and happy, but I think it was mostly because they were indulging his water interest. A couple of girls wanted me to say the ABCs. They then sang back to me the ABC song. It was very cute. They must have just learned it.

From the park we took the bus home—“our bus” as Jonah calls it. Whenever we pass a bus, he says, “Our bus.” On Monday when we were waiting for a bus to take home from the park, a bus that wasn’t going our direction stopped to pick up passengers. Jonah couldn’t understand why we weren’t getting on, so I had to explain that we were waiting for our bus. Later that day he started calling every bus that passed us “our bus”. I started telling him that a bus that isn’t ours is “another bus”, so sometimes the scenario goes as so – Jonah: “Our bus.” Me: “That’s not our bus. That’s another bus.” Jonah: “Other bus.” Sometimes I’ll just say, “That’s not our bus. We’re not taking a bus right now.” And he’ll say, “Other bus.”

This afternoon it poured. I’m talking torrential down pour. Unfortunately, we had to skip the playground and stay inside from about 4 to 5 pm. Our apartment is fine enough, but it’s too small to keep Jonah from going a bit stir crazy after a few hours. So I dreaded the possibility that it might rain all night (and that I’d have to make dinner tonight…I did it the last two nights, and that felt like enough). Once it let up, we zoomed out of the house to a restaurant we’d gone to in the Gothic neighborhood earlier in our Barcelona stay. On our way there, I witnessed a drug deal going down right in front of us as we were strolling along the narrow streets of the neighborhood. Three teenagers were walking casually before a guy in his late-30s appeared out of nowhere and started walking with them. I saw the guy hand one of the kids something on the down low, while the other two kids were hanging back a bit trying to get money out of their wallet (which was then passed to the guy). I couldn’t believe it. The whole thing made me realize that my alternative career as an international spy probably wouldn’t work out that well for me given how ever so slightly paranoid I was seeing this deal go down and thinking that I might be targeted as a witness. I guess I’ll stick to the environment and law.

Tomorrow morning Jonah and I will head to the science museum before lunch and his nap. And Jeremy comes home in the late afternoon. Yippee!!

Picture descriptions: A common scene at many Barcelona parks - men playing bocchi ball - here with the Arc de Triomf in the background at the Parc de la Ciutadella; Jonah pretends to fall while catching the ball at Mar Bella beach by Poble Nou; choir area of La Seu cathedral; playground at Parc del Laberint; play car at Parc del Laberint playground; group of musicians (band name is Made in Barcelona) playing at Barcelona waterfront; Sitges beach; Sitges beach with cathedral in background and amazing Homer Simpson scene created in sand in foreground; Parc de l’Espanya Industrial playground.

Taking in the old town

October 12: It seems I’ll have to write more often while in Barcelona because I literally cannot remember what I did four days ago. Each day is packed with new places and new adventures that it’s hard to keep track of everything we’re doing without looking back at my pictures. It’s a good reflection of how I’m feeling here. By the end of our stay in London, I was starting to feel a bit lonely during the weekdays even when I attended classes for Jonah (and spoke to other moms) and spent time with the casual friends I made in our neighborhood. Maybe that’s because Jeremy was gone for such a long stretch, but I think that was only a small part of it. Barcelona just feels so alive. Even when I’ve not spoken with anyone beyond the exchange of a few words with a shopkeeper, I feel like I’ve taken in so much over the course of a day here—my surroundings, the culture, the language—that I don’t find the need or desire, for that matter, to meet people and find a community. Seems strange considering that I fancy myself a rather social person, but there are times when it’s not about people for me. Rare, but it happens.

So, four days ago…Wednesday…Jonah and I started with another trip to Dunkin Donuts before visiting sites in the Raval neighborhood in the old town. The guy at DD knows me now and asks as I walk in, “Café con leche?” Indeed, and a donut, please. We checked out the big market closest to La Rambla—Mercat de la Boqueria—where many locals go for their fruits, vegetables, meats, and cheeses but, it appears, more tourists go to have the market experience themselves. Compared to the market in our neighborhood, it’s much fancier.

We continued down La Rambla, and I finally took the time to look up and notice the very beautiful and interesting buildings and architecture above the ground level. Jeremy said it best the other day, “There’s so much to see at the street level that you forget to look up.” One building constructed in the 1890s on La Rambla used to house an umbrella shop when it was initially built, so there are lovely parasols adorning the exterior of the building and an interesting green dragon scaling the side. Next, we went to check out the Palau Güell, which was a townhouse designed by Gaudí in 1885 for a wealthy shipowner and the first modern building declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. You can only visit the basement and a small area on the ground floor because of extensive renovations currently underway. But it’s free, and the basement was a nice place for Jonah to walk around. (The relevance of it not costing anything being that if we only stayed for five minutes—the duration of our stay determined by the museum’s ability to keep Jonah entertained—it wouldn’t matter.) He really liked going up and down a little step and hiding behind the large pillars, so we stayed for almost an hour.

From there we went to check out the oldest church in Barcelona, Sant Pau del Camp. As the name suggests, the church was at one time in open fields beyond the city walls, which seems hard to imagine given how close it is to the heart of the old city. There’s a playground outside the grounds of the church, where we went our first day in Barcelona. Jonah played there for a bit, although he spent most of his time at the gate as per his usual MO. Then it was back to our apartment to meet Jeremy for lunch.

We have developed a sort of routine for our arrival home. I call up to Jeremy so he can come down and help me carry Jonah’s stroller up two flights of stairs. We leave the doors to our balcony open during the day, so Jeremy always hears me from the street below. On our third day here, Jonah started calling, “Daddy! Daddy!” as our apartment building came into view. That’s how it goes now each time we’re in front of our apartment. And Jonah definitely recognizes our neighborhood. As we crossed the street in front of our apartment the other day, Jonah said, “Home.” And again, tonight, as we rounded the corner to our street, “Home,” he said, “Home.” For now, it is indeed home.

On Wednesday afternoon, we went back to one of our afternoon play areas, where Jonah was confronted by a little girl who was quite bossy. There was Jonah, smiling and happy, closing and opening the gate to the playground, when this girl (maybe six years old) came over and told Jonah (in Spanish) to stop playing with the gate. Her mother told her to move along. Later, the little girl yelled to Jonah to get on the play structure with her. He looked at her somewhat bewildered and continued with his gate. Then she told him to get on one of the horses. He, of course, had no idea what she was saying. He kept peering through the slats of the gate at her and smiling. He couldn’t read her tone of voice, or maybe he did and his sweet nature made him try to befriend her anyway while merrily defying her. She finally decided if he wasn’t going to come to her, she would go to him. Jonah was collecting rocks and throwing them through a metal drain cover, so she started collecting them as well. Seeing that the girl could collect rocks faster than he could, Jonah started going over to her and putting his hand out for a rock. She’d tell him (in Spanish) that he could only have one. He’d take his rock and throw it in the drain. Then he’d go back to her with his precious smile and outstretched hand, and she’d give him another rock all the while insisting that he only could have one. Jonah already seems to be learning how to interact with the world in a way that gets him what he wants, or, really, maybe he just had no idea what she was saying. For all he knew, she was saying, “I’ll collect the rocks, and you can throw them down the drain.” He did have to chase after her a bit to get the rocks though, so that scenario seems a bit less likely…

The night before, we finally secured privileges to rent movies from the local video store, so Wednesday night we enjoyed another movie. I realize this sounds like an easy task to accomplish, but it took me about five days to find a place that rents movies in English. (The other movie places I found rent movies, not in Spanish, but in Hindi. Interestingly, there’s a huge Indian population just beyond our neighborhood on the way to La Rambla and about three video stores that only rent Indian movies.) Then I found a movie rental place on the street around which Barcelona’s nightlife used to be centered—Avinguda del Paral·lel—which is close to our apartment. But it closes during siesta, so my earlier attempts to go in were thwarted. Finally Jeremy went to rent a move there during its open hours and was told he needed a bill of some sort to prove residency. They agreed that the lease to our apartment was sufficient. When he ran back with our lease in hand, the guy said the store was closing so no go. The next day (Tuesday night) we went back, and after about a 20 minute conversation, a run to a local pharmacy to copy Jeremy’s driver’s license and our lease, and another 20 minute conversation with the store owner, we were given a rental card. We’ve seen a movie every night since then…

On Thursday, Jonah and I explored La Ribera neighborhood in the old town, home to the Picasso Museum and the most beautiful church I’ve seen in Barcelona. We made our Dunkin Donuts stop per our morning ritual, picked up a few bananas at the market, and cruised through the Gothic neighborhood before reaching Carrer de Montcada with its medieval mansions lining the street that leads to a little plaza and the church of Santa Maria del Mar, regarded as Barcelona’s most perfect expression of the Catalan-Gothic style. Before the Eixample was developed, Carrer de Montcada was home to Barcelona’s wealthiest. The gem of the day though was the church with its high ceilings, lovely stained glass windows, and beautiful stone work. I’ve seen many beautiful churches in my travels, but there was something about this one that really took my breath away. We found a nice little playground just beyond the church, where Jonah crawled back and forth through the tunnel of a play structure and threw his Frisbee and rocks down the slide. We also came across the sixth (or so) huge gun store we’ve seen in the old city. Called armerias, these stores stock shot guns from floor to ceiling, wall to wall and exhibit poster-sized pictures of scantily clad women with Uzis strapped to their chests. You can imagine how much I love these stores… Heading home for lunch, we strolled through the antiques market back in the Gothic neighborhood by the La Seu cathedral.

That afternoon we went in search of a little playground that our guidebook refers to as the best play area in Barcelona. Why it has received that designation I’m not sure. It was nice enough, but it wasn’t worthy of the “best of” award, particularly with the expectations this designation set and couldn’t meet. Jeremy met us there before we all trekked over to El Corte Ingles so I could show Jeremy their fabulous supermarket and we could buy organic milk. ;) It rained a bit in the afternoon, so before Jonah and I made our way to the playground we had stopped to take shelter under the awning at the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona. We found a little spot by the skateboarders, and Jonah was mesmerized by their tricks and kept asking me, “Happin? Happin? Happin?”

On Friday, Jonah and I skipped our Dunkin Donuts trip to head in the other direction toward Poble Espanyol, a traffic-free Spanish village in Montjuic created for Barcelona’s 1929 International Exhibition. It’s a pretty spot, well kept, and, most notably for the parent of a child who likes to pick up random little bits from the ground, clean. It made for a nice place for Jonah to play without his being tempted to pick up cigarette butts, which litter most of the playgrounds here.

On our way home from Montjuic, we stumbled upon a fabulous playground right around the corner from our apartment. It’s enclosed by tall buildings and has two entrances with large, solid gates from which you can’t actually see the playground unless you walk down the long corridors. One of the best things about it is that, because it’s closed at night (closing around 7 pm each night), it doesn’t become the late-night smokers hangout. So, while there are cigarette butts to be found, there aren’t nearly as many as we find at most playgrounds. We went there in the afternoon, and Jonah loved, loved, loved it. He enjoyed watching the older kids doing acrobatics in the sand area, and he, of course, loved opening and closing the gates to the enclosed part of the playground—not just one gate but two. Jeremy met us there, and we strolled over to the Gothic neighborhood to enjoy a leisurely dinner on a beautiful plaza, Placa Reial. Then it was off to get gelato on our walk home.

Yesterday we went to Parc Güell in the northern suburbs of Barcelona, about a 40 minute bus ride from our apartment. A project of Gaudí’s from 1900 to 1914, Parc Güell was commissioned as a private housing estate of sixty homes. In the end, only two houses were built, and the area was opened to the public in 1922. The park combines lovely wooded areas for walking with funky, stone columns and beautiful ceramic and glass mosaics throughout, including on a winding bench along the edge of the terrace overlooking a beautiful view of the city. The park is a wonderful spot but quickly overrun by tourists, so we made our getaway around 11:30 am.

After Jonah’s nap, we went to our newly-discovered, fabulous playground before grabbing dinner on Avinguda del Paral·lel. From dinner, we headed to Montjuic to watch the fountain and light show put to classical music at Font Mágica. Our guidebook describes the show as a bit kitschy, but we actually found it to be quite cool. Jonah, however, got very freaked out by the fountain initially. I was off taking pictures of the fountain with the gorgeous Palau Nacional, also built for the 1929 International Exhibition and now housing the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, as the backdrop. Apparently, as soon as the fountains started shooting up water some fifty feet in the air, Jonah started whimpering and saying, “Mama, mama.” Safely in Jeremy’s arms when I returned, Jonah quickly got past his initial fear. After the show, he went up to the fountain, which was still running, to enjoy the spray from the water.

Today we took a day trip to Girona, an ancient walled city that stands on a fortress-like hill about 110 kilometers north of Barcelona. The forecast predicted rain, but we decided to forge ahead anyway. We caught the 9:25 am train and arrived in Girona around 10:50. Divided by a river (Riu Onyar), Girona is a beautiful medieval city with large portions of the original wall still intact. In fact, you can walk along the wall’s catwalk to get nice views of the new part of town on one side of the river and old city on the other side. We spent all of our time in the old city, visiting the old Jewish quarter, the Museu d’Història dels Jueus (Jewish museum), and the gorgeous cathedral, and strolling through the rest of the old city to appreciate the beautiful stone buildings and architecture. The streets of old town Girona are narrow and many have dozens and dozens of steps. So we spent a great deal of our time carrying Jonah’s stroller around town.

Girona’s Jewish quarter dates from around the 9th century and is regarded as the best preserved in western Europe. Known as the Call, the Jewish quarter was home to around 300 Jews who formed an independent town within Girona complete with their own governing bodies and protected by the king in return for payment. But like most (every?) place the Jews lived in the 11th through 15th centuries, the members of the community suffered persecution, and the Call effectively became a ghetto with Jews restricted to living in the quarter and required to wear identifying clothing when wandering outside its boundaries. We’re talking about a very tiny area. Jews who lived outside the Call had 10 days to move within it. The Jewish museum is beautifully done, has a remarkable amount of information and artifacts from the area’s Jewish history (including parts of old cemetery headstones from the 12th and 14th centuries), and is housed in a building at the location of one of the ancient synagogues. We spent some time in the museum’s lovely courtyard before enjoying a lunch at an outdoor café on a tree-lined pedestrian thoroughfare.

Girona’s cathedral reminded me quite a bit of the church of Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona with its very high ceilings, beautiful stained-glass windows, and striking old, stone interior. Like the Santa Maria, its interior is breathtaking. Jonah particularly enjoyed squawking in the church and hearing the sound of his echoing voice.

After wandering through the old part of town, we decided to find a playground for Jonah before catching the 4:25 pm train back to Barcelona. We found a great little park by the river, where Jonah enjoyed running around, playing in a little house, and going down the slide. At one point, another little boy fell down. Jonah went over to him and patted him, as if to let him know he’d be okay. A bit later, a little girl fell off the slide and was crying in the arms of her dad. Jonah just stood and stared at her, quite concerned about whether she was okay. It’s amazing that this little guy can be so compassionate at eighteen months! (Another quick bit on Jonah… He came up with his first four word sentence the other day—“I love you, mulk (that’s milk)”. And tonight he said to the baby on the package of diapers, “I love you, baby.”)

We also met a professional American cyclist, Freddie Rodriguez, who was at the park with his son and cousins. (I just looked him up on Wikipedia. He has an impressive cycling record.) About 30 professional U.S. cyclists live in Girona because apparently it’s a nice place to bike. That didn’t seem like a sufficient explanation to me, considering how many lovely places there must be in the world to cycle. So he basically explained that after a couple guys from the American professional cycling community moved there, they were followed by many others because it was a nice place to raise a family and because the first few guys had already established connections with doctors, lawyers, etc., making it easier to set up their lives. The cycling world is so different from my own, but it was interesting to talk to Freddie and learn about his life. He happened to be a really nice guy. Jeremy and I both thought about asking him about the doping scandals in his sport but decided against that…

We had a fabulous day and were quite happy to have ventured out of Barcelona. It did end up drizzling a bit, but it was still quite warm and not wet enough to stop our meandering through the beautiful little streets of Girona. The forecast calls for some rain tomorrow with temperatures near 75 degrees and sunny skies the rest of the week with 80 degrees on the horizon. Yippee! Jeremy is off to Princeton from Wednesday through Saturday to give a couple of talks, and I think Jonah and I will make another day trip, this one to the coastal beach town of Sitges.

Off to watch our movie!

Picture descriptions: Mercat de la Boqueria; building on La Rambla constructed to house an umbrella store in the 1890s; typical old town street (this one near the La Boqueria); old mansions in La Ribera neighborhood; blurry image of the interior of the church of Santa Maria del Mar; Poble Espanyol; Poble Espanyol; our neighborhood playground; Placa Reial; Parc Güell; Palau Nacional; Jonah enjoying his new toy and the Font Mágica; courtyard of the Jewish museum in Girona; Girona street on which one of the ancient synagogues was located; remains of the wall surrounding Girona; typical street in old part of Girona

Hola desde Barcelona!

October 2: Day two in Spain and already I have a sense of our neighborhood, visited a few nice (but small, nothing like London) playgrounds, and am feeling settled in our apartment. We arrived yesterday after almost missing our flight because the airline had not properly added Jonah to our ticket (costing us some $400). We bade London farewell on a cold and rainy day, which made Barcelona’s 72 degrees all the more glorious. It’s nice to be back in a country where I know which way to look when crossing the street, since they drive on the right hand side of the road here. The challenge now, of course, is the language barrier with Catalan being the primary language but Spanish being the one I find myself stumbling through, usually understood well enough.
We are renting a fairly cute two bedroom apartment in the most exciting area of Barcelona, about a ten minute walk from La Rambla (the main pedestrian drag with restaurants, cafés, and shops) and close to a huge park called Mountjuic (meaning “Jewish mountain”, taking its name from the Jewish community that settled on the park’s slopes centuries ago), which boasts many gardens and museums and was the site of most 1992 Olympic events. The downsides: our walls could use painting, the kitchen could use more cooking implements (for Jeremy, of course), and random chachkas and papers in drawers and around the house could go. But, other than that, this place is ideal.

We are indeed living in the heart of the city with loud cars, trucks, motorcycles, and pedestrians making their way by our second-story window at what seems like all hours of the night. I’ve forgotten about that part of living in a city—the noise, constant activity, bright lights shining through the windows. Last night at 11 pm, the city trash collector picked up the garbage just below our window. At 8 pm, there are a ton of children still at the local playgrounds, even more so than at the times Jonah and I find ourselves there around 10:30 am and 4:30 pm. Shops really do close down from about 2 to 5 pm, which basically works out fine because of Jonah’s afternoon naps. Based on who I’ve seen pushing around strollers during the day, many children appear to be cared for by grandparents and fathers here, much more so than in the states I would imagine. One dad even had to deal with his little girl who wet her pants and all that went into changing her out of her clothes, drying her off, and getting her in a new outfit. Hallelujah, he’s experiencing the challenges of a typical stay-at-home mom!

Yesterday we got to our apartment at about 2:30 pm and tried to put Jonah down for a nap. That never seems to work the first day at a new place. So we went out for a stroll around the neighborhood with our grumpy little man. We found a little play area on the way, where Jonah wanted to spend most of his time opening and closing the gate. We ate dinner at a café on La Rambla from which we could people watch and take in our new surroundings. We did a quick run to the supermarket, and I quickly realized that this would not likely be a month of organic products. I’m still in search though…

This morning Jonah and I went to explore another part of our neighborhood and a park that our guidebook refers to as having the best playground in Barcelona, Parc de Joan Miró. Having just come from London, home to the most fabulous parks, I was sadly disappointed. At about 11:15, the small play area was overrun by obnoxious teenagers—about 30 of them—who were snotty to the grounds keeper when told to get off the play structure, completely ignored a nanny who scolded them for coming into one of the very few areas designed for those under five, and were smoking (the latter of which angered me the most and almost made me speak my mind to one of them, which ultimately seemed pointless). From there, we went to the huge vegetable and fruit market, Mercat de Sant Antoni, where locals go to buy their produce and more. Located in a beautiful, old building, the market dates back to 1876. Most days it also has exterior, covered stalls selling clothes, shoes, and drapes. On the weekends, the outside stalls are occupied by vendors of old books, albums (yes, LPs!), and DVDs.

After Jonah’s nap we took a little stroll around the area and ended our outing with an hour visit to a little park on a pedestrian street called Avenguda de Mistral, which has several enclosed play areas dotting the five-block avenue. Jonah learned how to get himself on and off a bouncing horse, which pleased him quite a bit. We met Jeremy by the Mercat de Sant Antoni around 5:45 pm so we could walk around the old town and enjoy another dinner out.

October 7: What amazing weather we have here in Barcelona! Warm weather and blue skies, you can’t beat that. I’m starting to get used to the loud street below, but earplugs are still a must for sleeping at night. The old city (where our apartment is located and where we spend most of our time) has the smells of a developing country with the diesel and other exhaust from cars and mopeds (the latter of which everyone seems to own despite the fabulous bike lines the main streets have, protecting bicyclists from cars with large bumps that would surely ruin any car tire that hit them), urine from dogs (which are also a dime a dozen and mostly of the quite small variety), and strong food aromas. This isn’t meant to be a negative. I actually quite like this aspect of our neighborhood, particularly since we’re only here for a month and I’m doing my best not to think about Jonah’s increased air pollution exposure (which, incidentally, was as bad in London because of all the cars on the road). The countryside in Greece will give Jonah’s nasal passages and lungs a break from the fine particulate matter…

On Friday I decided to explore Montjuic with Jonah because of its close proximity to our apartment. It seemed like a natural place to find play areas for Jonah. What I found instead were nearly 500 stairs I had to either climb or descend to get to some of the gardens and to explore only a small part of the beautiful park, never once coming across a playground. Montjuic has lovely, terraced gardens, which are not ideal for walking around without a stroller. And, of course, the map doesn’t tell you the best path to take to avoid stairs and access ramps and/or roads. My first mistake led to my ascent of 69 stairs with Jonah bumping along in the stroller, only to realize that I couldn’t access the park from that road. So I made my way down 55 stairs on another street, thinking I was safely clear of the stairs. Let’s just say 350 stairs later (68 stairs up, 20 stairs down, 68 stairs up and a steep ramp, and 194 stairs down) made for one heck of a morning workout for me. Jonah enjoyed walking in the gardens; I never did find a play area. On our way to Montjuic I realized that life doesn’t seem to begin here until well after 10 am, as few shops were open as we walked through the Poble Sec neighborhood to the park. It’s quite nice actually how serene it is during our first hour of the day out and about, especially considering the sometimes overwhelming juxtaposition of the post-8 pm vibrance of the city.

Jonah took a long nap on Friday, so we only made it to the same play area on Avenguda de Mistral before coming home to meet Jeremy for an early dinner and a walk around the neighborhood. We strolled along La Rambla and the surrounding quaint, picturesque streets while enjoying gelato from one of the many gelato shops in the area.

On Saturday, we all ascended Montjuic, but we did it via a funicular, bus, and cable car this time. Much easier indeed. We went to the top to visit the fort/castle, which has sweeping views of the port and city below. On the clear, beautiful day we had it was just stunning. We spent quite a bit of time sitting inside the courtyard, where Jeremy snoozed on a bench, Jonah played, and I took pictures of both. It felt like we were a world away from everyone and everything, so quiet, so calm.
















After Jonah’s nap, we headed into the Barri Gòtic (the Gothic neighborhood), the funkiest part of the old city. The area has narrow pedestrian walkways and an eclectic collection of shops and cafés. It also is home to the main cathedral, La Seu. We strolled along the beautiful walkways, visited the cathedral and the medieval Jewish quarter, and found ourselves in the middle of a clown act for children in the location (Placa del Rei) where Isabella and Ferdinand received Christopher Columbus on his return from his significant 1492 voyage. Jonah was quite interested in trying to figure out what the clown was doing. He didn’t find the clown funny. He just kept asking in rapid succession, “Happin? Happin? Happin?” It’s not easy to explain to an 18-month old why a clown is taking off his jacket and putting it back on inside out over and over again for a laugh. We took a quick run through the Museu d’Historia de la Ciutat, with its underground archeological remains of the Roman city of Barcino. Over 43,000 square feet have been excavated, with the remains dating from the first century BCE to the sixth century CE. Some of the remains have been extraordinarily preserved, including mosaic flooring, a wine making and storage processing area, and laundry facilities. We enjoyed a lovely dinner out in the neighborhood before getting gelato and heading back to our apartment.

On Sunday, we walked to the Eixample, an area developed in the 19th century north of the old town that required tearing down the medieval walls that originally enclosed the old part of Barcelona. The area boasts many of Antoni Gaudí’s buildings with their funky, art nouveau appearance influenced by Moorish and Gothic styles. When the area was developed, the more affluent folks in Barcelona moved there. The Eixample remains a more upscale area, the difference in its riches being most apparent in the cleanliness and fresh look of the city streets and building exteriors, lack of urine on the sidewalks, newer and better maintained children’s play areas, and overall more manicured look. Comparatively, our neighborhood (and the old city generally) pushes one’s comfort zone more. There’s more grit and trash, but it also has more character and local life (the latter of which is particularly true off La Rambla closer to our apartment). We’re perfectly located for our one month stay. A shorter one would call for staying in Barri Gòtic and a longer one would pull me to the comforts of the Eixample.

After Jonah’s nap, we took the bus down to the beach, where we walked through Barceloneta and the Olympic port before landing on Nova Icária beach. Jonah played in the sand with his bucket, sifter, and shovels before we hit one of the local seafood restaurants for dinner. Twice as expensive as the places we’d gone the previous dinners out, the food was disappointing. That’s what we get for eating in a tourist area… We headed back to our apartment through the Olympic village and caught a bus that took us around the south eastern part of the old city, which we haven’t yet explored. We grabbed gelato on La Rambla, and Jonah had his first “official” helping of ice cream (from my cone, demanding more after he crinkled his nose because of the cold and then rapidly licked his lips to enjoy the flavor). My mom’s spoonfuls of ice cream to Jonah on the down low months ago count as Jonah’s “unofficial” introduction.

On Monday it was back to work for Jeremy and back to the beach for Jonah and me on a day with amazing blue skies and warm weather. We took the metro (subway) to the Poble Nou neighborhood (after first heading four stops in the wrong direction following our train transfer…whoops), a largely 19th century industrial area that now has some of the trendiest clubs and shops in Barcelona. Right out of the metro stop I found my organic mecca, a store with chlorine-free diapers and wipes, organic food for Jonah, and synthetic-free personal care products. Hooray! After stocking up on supplies, we walked along the traffic-free, tree-lined, main drag to the beach through Poble Nou. We spent an hour playing in the sand before checking out the 19th century Cementiri de Poble Nou (yes, another cemetery). I think I may be getting over my cemetery interest, save for the Jewish and/or old ones. After Jonah’s nap, we all met up with Macartan’s parents, who happened to be in town visiting another of their sons here on business, for coffee in the plaza off the La Seu cathedral in Barri Gòtic. It was lovely to see them again and to talk politics, both American and international. (Incidentally, while there are a ton of kids in Barcelona, and our guidebook claims the city is child friendly, not a single restaurant or café we have frequented has had a high chair. Thankfully, we always bring our portable chair everywhere we go (it deflates and folds up quite compact, fitting snug under the stroller), so it has worked out fine. It’s just strange…)

This morning Jonah and I started with a trip to the Dunkin Donuts (yes!) that we found on La Rambla the previous day. Sadly, they don’t stock hazelnut coffee, but I did enjoy a donut and a wonderfully weak cup of coffee nonetheless. Then off to the Placa de Catalunya, which anchors the top of La Rambla, and across the street from where El Corte Ingles sits. El Corte Ingles is a real supermarket. What we’ve seen and shopped in so far don’t count. They’ve not had enough food and other items. El Corte Ingles is nine floors of groceries, clothing, hardware supplies, housewares, you name it. Jonah played in the plaza for a while as we waited for the store to open. Once in, my most important find there—cold milk! We’ve been drinking milk that you buy unrefrigerated in a box. I’m pretty sure it’s because it’s not pasteurized. You have to refrigerate it when you open it. I’m thrown by the whole thing. Anyway, not only is this milk I found cold but it’s, yep, organic! So, I may be making a twice weekly trip there (likely by bus because of the distance) to get our milk. Starting to feel a little like we’re living in a modern day “Little House on the Prairie” episode, purchasing our fruits and vegetables over yonder and our milk across town, hauling our wood in from the street (not really but you get the idea…not the creature comforts of the Eixample). But it’s all part of the adventure. One of the things I have most enjoyed in Barcelona has been the process and journey involved in figuring out how and where to obtain items for our flat or local services. Whether it’s been my search for organic food, a seamstress to replace the zipper on a pair of Jonah’s pants, plug adaptors for a baby monitor we bought in Ireland, or a video store (still working on this one), I’ve strolled down many interesting, colorful streets and stumbled upon countless plazas teeming with people enjoying the weather and a cup of coffee. It has allowed me to watch the local residents go about their daily lives, away from the throngs of tourists.

The second big find at El Corte Ingles—a sponge. Seems crazy, I know. But after looking in multiple stores, I had not yet found a sponge that actually absorbs water. I won’t attempt to compare it to the sponges we know, love, and apparently take for granted in the states. So here’s a picture. On the left is the pointless sponge; on the right is the newly purchased, much beloved sponge. With small things like this to keep me happy, who needs that hazelnut Dunkin Donuts coffee!?!? (I do, actually, so feel free to ship me a cup or twenty-seven.)

Back on the subject of hot drinks… The other day I was completely ridiculed for ordering a hot chocolate and requesting more milk. The cup I was given had what looked like thick, chocolate syrup in it. It was hot, yes, but I wasn’t looking for a cup of hot chocolate goo. I was looking for a milky beverage that tastes like chocolate without clogging your throat because of its viscous consistency. After looking in the cup, I asked for more milk. The older gentleman who made it for me shouted out to the woman at the cash register and said something back to me that I couldn’t quite understand. So I asked again for more milk. He muttered some things under his breathe, poured a little milk in, and when I asked for even more (than the three drops he had added), he said, “Que mal!” (“How bad!”) Don’t think I’ll be going back there or ordering a hot chocolate quite frankly. One humiliating hot drink experience is plenty for one month. My cute baby didn’t even buy me any points with the guy apparently.

While they don’t have the hot chocolate thing right, they do have the coffee experience right. For the local cafés, there really isn’t a “to go” option here (although you can find some places that do it). Instead, there’s a coffee bar where you order your cup of coffee, sit for 10 minutes to drink it, and head out on your way. It must be a part of what I’ll coin the “siesta” culture here—laid back people, no one rushing to get anywhere, and no Blackberrys. Anyway, the whole coffee bar scene is certainly better for the environment, since it obviates the need for disposable cups. Here, here to that.

From the supermarket/department store wonderland, we strolled into the Barri Gòtic to check out the old synagogue, which had been closed over the weekend. Antiga Sinagoga dates back to the 3rd century CE, surviving until 1391 when the Jewish quarter was taken over and Jews were forced to convert, flee, or face execution. Some of the original wall from the synagogue remains but most other Jewish buildings in the quarter were destroyed. The synagogue serves mostly as a museum now, although the guy who gave me a brief overview told me that it’s occasionally used as a place of worship. Last month a couple got married there. Apparently, there are now four synagogues in Barcelona but no active ones in the old city. Our sabbatical really has brought home for me—more so than any film or other trip I’ve taken before—that Jews really are a diaspora people. First in London, I read a book and talked to friends about the treatment of Jews in London and their expulsion by King Edward I. And now in Barcelona, we see the remnants of the Jewish quarter from the medieval times and hear about the 500 families in the city who were either killed, converted, or fled. I know nothing about Greece’s Jewish experience, so it’ll be interesting to learn about it. And then, it’ll be quite a contrast to spend December in Israel, which was established because of all of this.

From the synagogue, we went to a nice playground on the way home, one we had not yet stopped to enjoy. Jonah particularly liked watching his rocks go down the slide and then following them down himself. He’s quite a rock collector. Jonah also tried snuggling up to and kissing a little girl who joined him on the play structure. Rebuffed, he went back to his slide and climbing up and down the stairs before we strolled home to meet Jeremy for lunch. That’s one of the many nice parts of sabbatical, enjoying lunch as a family.

Jonah is growing up so quickly; let me share some recent updates on him. He understands and can express the concept of being hurt. He got his finger stuck in a slat of a frisbee, and he called out from his stroller, “Hur (hurt), stu (stuck).” While sad, it was also really quite cute. He also understands the concept of being tired. The first time he expressed this was in London when we were strolling back to our flat before lunch, and he said, “Ti-reh (tired)”. He did look quite sleepy. He used the word here as well and followed it up by plopping on the floor and putting his head down. Jonah is also quite active in pretend play. In London it was pretending the table was his boat and making us all oatmeal. Here it’s pretending the cabinet is his car, opening the door, and sitting on the edge. The other day he said, “Open car,” and he opened the door and sat down. Then, “Bye bye.” A minute later, “Out car,” and he stood up and got out of the cabinet. The other week he said to Jeremy, “Kno kno (knock, knock), ooo dare (who’s there)” We’re quite enjoying watching him develop and become a little boy.

Picture descriptions: The building on the left is our apartment building, where the yellow sign is attached to the balcony (which is our living room balcony, to the left is our bedroom balcony); Enjoying dinner on La Rambla; The first horse Jonah climbed and jumped off himself; Jonah makes a call on his cell phone from the courtyard of the castle/fort; Clown performance in Placa del Rei; Jonah bewildered by the clown; Jonah enjoys one of the manicured and trash-free playgrounds in the Eixample; Jeremy does as well; Jonah watches a couple of guys work on the wood walkway out to the water at Bogatell beach; Jonah and me at Placa de Catalunya; Sponge comparison; Jonah enjoys the play structure at Jardins Dr. Fleming located by the old hospital; Jonah shows off his five teeth.