April 10, 2008. Thursday is Paella day, so we (Dan and Amy, Anne and me) went out seeking the magic stew. We found some, that was good. The Irish realtor who appeared to speak very good Spanish came by today to take photos of this place for their website; I tried to enlighten her as to the issues that are serious but she was uninterested at best. I assume this way she feels she can puff and just say she didn’t know about the problems.
April 11, 2008. Well hello. Today we had “Western Night” at the kids school. This is the second school fund-raising event at the school and, oh, I forgot to tell me that Barcelona is in dire need of rain/water. Guess what — it rained. This sort of ruined the event since most people prefer for their food to dry. As a result, it was more or less rained out, but we endured and had a good time.
April 12, 2008. I’ve decided it’s time to write a book. “Don’t be afraid of Success!” It’s not been written yet, and God knows, it’s needed. How many of you have friends and family who are fearful about their “near” success and then, at the last minute, blow it by losing their focus.
Chapters will include: Are you successful? How to stay on the “success” road. How to market your business without losing control over it. How to analyse and solve problems. The book will have a price of $29.95 and include lots of charts and graphs, all in color. But, I think I’m afraid to write it.
April 13, 2008. We went to the Costa Brava, or wild coast, today. It’s about an hour drive from Barcelona (now that we spend less time getting lost). We’ve never had the chance to really see what is so beautiful about the place, but I did today (by bringing my bike and taking a ride). The kids got beach time, I rode for about 1.5 hours from Tossa de Mar up into the mountains. Coves with clear blue-green water, cliffs and rocks, islands, all the usual stuff. Tossa de Mar is very nice and worth a visit. I ran into about 200 people over my ride on bikes put on by bike tour companies, mainly Germans. One 60 year old German told me he was the oldest in the group. He seemed pretty strong.
April 14, 2008. Monday, the day awoke with a glissening sun, gently playing with the shadows. The slow blowing of wind into the window and the blinds noisily moving back and forth made for a soul inspiring wake-up call. Ah, to be alive, to brush one’s teeth, to shave, seems mundane but how often have we missed the opportunity to fully enjoy these everyday tasks. Often, I say.
April 15, 2008. I have an intercambio (trade English and Spanish lessons) organized with Christina who was introduced to me by John, the guy who helps us find our apartment. I have missed our appointments three times now, today I missed one by misscheduling it. She must think I’m a total space cadet, which I seem to be when it comes to meeting her on time and at the right place.
April 16, 2008. Anne and I decided we wanted to see one of the art museums on our multi-purchase cards that allow us to see seven museums for 20 Euros. Off we went, walking down town to see the place and when we arrived — it was closed — until after summer for reconstruction. Seems we lost out on that one. We had the chance to go to Casa Bartllo, which is also part of the deal, but since Joshua would want to go (it’s the famous house with eggs on the roof), we held off. Here are some photos from when Annette was here and we visited it.