Practice Retirement (jubilacion practica): A Midwestern Family in Barcelona: We arrived in Barcelona: transition from Tourist to Local -- June 8th-15th

We arrived in Barcelona on June 8th -- after an uneventful flight from Brussels. We left Liege at 5:30 am, so it was an early departure -- it was sad to say goodbye to Julie and her family, but we hope to keep in touch and see them again soon.

Ashler and Julie in Brussels

Avery and Julie studying English on the train to Brussels

We decided to just take a taxi from the Barcelona airport as we had all of our luggage and had not yet figured out the public transportation -- it was probably a little over 40 euros for the trip. NOTE: we have since learned that the train to the airport is fairly easy to navigate and certainly much cheaper.

The cab driver was not super friendly, but every once in a while he would "grunt" and point at some landmark -- the old bull fighting arena; an old church and then La Rambla -- the Barcelona tourist mecca. Our flat is located on Port Vell and we could tell we were getting close as we headed towards the Mediterranean Sea. We arrived at our flat near the port and a stone's throw from the Columbus statue that looks over the port and marks the beginning of La Rambla -- a pedestrian friendly open market area that goes for blocks -- more about that later.

We ran into our friend Mr. Quixote the first day there!

Our friends from Just Landed! BCN met us at the flat and helped us finish our negotiations and get our bearings. We did a little exploring of the neighborhood the first night, but after a long day of travel, we were ready for a quiet night.

The rest of the week, we tried to find a new routine -- get our bearings; figure out the public transportation (amazing); figure out where to buy local goods and produce (fresh markets everywhere) and start regular pilgrimages to the beaches of Barcelona. We had fun starting each day with a walk or run in a new direction and get a feel for the neighborhood.

We tried to make the transition from being a tourist -- meaning not taking photos of the historical sites, but trying to find our way around the City. After the first week, a few words to describe Barcelona: the City that feels; vibrant; youthful; lot's of texture; city with Character; and welcoming to all cultures. It is hard not to be overwhelmed with excitement to enjoy this City.

Each of us seem to be gravitating towards different areas we want to explore -- for example, Ashler read the book "Card Turner" by Louis Sachar (you may have noticed him reading this book in our last blog-post). The book was about a high school student who learned to play bridge when he was caring for his uncle. The book explains a lot about how the game works and as a result Ashler decided that we all need to learn how to play. Well, at least three nights a week, we are playing bridge at the Benda flat in Barcelona.

Avery -- she wants to live at the beach and gets us there as much as possible -- who can argue with a daily swim in the beautiful Mediterranean Sea:)

Ashler chill'n at the Beach

Avery and Heather in the Sea

Matt and Heather -- we just want to start the process of recuperating our mind and spirit and open our minds to other ideas on how to live our lives. We ended the week on Father's day -- went to church at an amazing Cathedral and enjoyed a picnic in the park with the family. Timing was perfect as a storm moved in and we found a movie theater to watch the original (english) version of Maleficent. Nice touch to a great week. We are hoping to continue to make the transition from a crazy tourist to more of a local -- at least temporarily.