Time to relax & have some fun -- June 16th -- 22nd

It is our second week in Barcelona and it is time to start the process of branching out and exploring the City. We are making the transition to more of a Spanish lifestyle -- meaning that we keep motivated, but are more likely to let things be -- trying not to let time control our lives.  "Let it be" seems to be the key phrase we are using.

Also, it is a late night City.  It is heading towards summer and getting a lot warmer.  It seems that no one eats dinner until at least 10:00 pm.  With the world cup also in full gear, we find ourselves staying up rather late -- and of course trying to sleep in the next day to catch up.

This week, we were thrilled to have our first guest from the States arrive -- Jena flew in on June 16th and spent the week as Avery's room-mate -- they got along famously.

Welcome Jena to Barcelona!

The girls -- having some laughs

We continued to learn the game of bridge and of course, the beach lifestyle seems to be fitting us well.

Ashler "made" a new friend at the beach #twinning

In general, we definitely do not feel like we are in a foreign country -- instead, it is like we are visiting a different neighborhood of our home country.  This city is so welcoming and energetic.  It is almost like the urban centers around the world are becoming more similar -- we should appreciate their similarities -- but also appreciate the uniqueness that our own smaller communities offer.

Gaudi is everywhere!! Casa Batilo

We are picking up Spanish, but as much as we want to speak and learn Spanish, everyone here wants to show off their English.  We have been often asked by our Stateside friends if we are getting along without speaking the language.  The easy answer -- no worries!

Likewise, we have been so fortunate to have our local hosts guide us towards some real gems of the City -- Nikoleta and Andries with Just Landed BCN have been fabulous to us.  They helped us get settled into the City and really listened to our needs.  We met for a nice cocktail one evening at the Arena Shopping area.  How nice as they answered our "tourist" questions, but also helped us understand a bit of the culture of the City -- where do the locals go and what is on their minds.  We are slowly beginning to understand why so many people come to Barcelona to visit, but never leave.

Every park has some type of unique art -- this one built into the sidewalk

We discussed many topics and then from memory they sent us a lengthy email with follow-up explanations and links to the items we discussed -- even a link to stream world cup soccer from our flat.  They have supplemented our trip so well. 

We also attended an event sponsored by an expatriate group in Barcelona -- a chance to meet more people from around the world that have chosen Barcelona as their home away from home.

Our night at the Internations event -- we met some wonderfully interesting people

Another day, we took a trip up the Mount Juic and rode the cable cars to the top -- what a view!

View from the cable car

From Montjuic Castle

Wow! Another amazing fountain and park

Great view of the Port

Later that day, the girls did some shopping.  We ended the day with a visit to an amazing rooftop restaurant and then checked out the nightlife on the beach.

BFF's at the beach with some yummy mojitos.

Enjoying our rooftop view of the City -- XO

The next day, we ventured to Sitges -- an amazing seaside village just a train-ride from Barcelona.  We had stayed in Sitges during our previous visit to Spain and it was great to see the familiar sites.  Ashler was just a baby during our first visit, so his return was a bit more memorable.

Doing some train spotting -- Public Transportation rules -- only 30 minutes to ......

Famous Church in Sitges

This amazing locale in Sitges

Seriously.......

Every meal should start with dessert!

The fam!

No trip to Barcelona is complete without seeing the magic fountain.... Font Mafica de Montjuic

Ashler dancing with his Mother:)

In all, we were really able to release (decompress) during week 2 and expand the scope of our adventure.  

In general, it is surprising how much planning and energy it takes to keep ourselves from falling into a rut -- it is so easy to spend our time on electronics or other mindless ventures.  When we are home working 8 plus hours a day, we barely have time to get ourselves fed, let alone think about exploring our minds and interests.  What are the implications of not having balance between work and home life? Certainly our time together as a family suffers when we do not have life balance.  We bottle up so much inside that we don't even know is there.  Then, we are too busy to unpack it and instead it explodes out in unforeseen and unexpected circumstances.

Well, we are trying to learn how to release it gradually on this trip -- after all, that is the idea -- practicing how to retire.  How appropriate that the Spanish word for retirement is "jubilacion."  We should celebrate what we have and learn to appreciate it -- not pack it all inside only to be released in bursts.

Whew, that is a lot of thinking for a Spanish afternoon --time to get busy planning the next adventure -- or on second thought, time for another nap:)