April 17, 2008. It’s raining, something new here. I was a short discussion with a woman in the building a few days ago and she commented that the weather was very unusual this winter — not much sun, not much rain, just sort of gloomy. Another reason why I’m reminded of Europe, I suppose. Anyway, water is a huge problem here (not enough — they’ll have to start to take water-saving measures and are considering how to get a pipeline built in time). Anne took some street scenes and photos of the dog with playmates.
April 18, 2008. It’s raining (again). This reminds me of Aspen when they say that the snow is not sufficient and suddenly they have the biggest year of snow ever. Anyway, everyone has complained about not enough rain, and voila, rain.
In other news, we were awakened last night after mid-night by Joshua who informed us that David was throwing up. Throwing up, he was. The definition of “Projectile vomiting” is: “Expulsionof the contents of the stomach with great force.” Well, that fits. There was vomit everywhere (after a nice meal of Iberic ham and red peppers, it was very red). It smelled very pungent too. Many stuffed animals were grievously injured as a result. Anne (mainly Anne) and I cleaned up but it was EVERYWHERE. And there was a lot. Anywho, David’s home today and is feeling better. Anne is reading Treasure Island to him and Rocket, who are listening attentively.
April 19, 2008. I went out today on the bike since it was a comfortable day, more or less, into Parc de Collserola, which is Barcelona’s “lungs”. It’s pretty amazing that when you get only a few miles from Barcelona, you’re in Spanish Appalachia (albeit with what are probably pricer hovels). Anyway, I rode around for three hours on little trafficked roads trying to find some new paths, which is hard without a map.
April 20, 2008. David and Joshua’s school have a “green week” which means they 1) get sick from the food served (see last week) or (2) they are going to practice recycling, learn about climate change and all that. We assumed it was the latter. This was confirmed by emails from the school, which asked us to send the kids there with recycling stuff including glass (!) and shoes and cloth (?). In any case, we prepared three bags of stuff, which seemed like a lot to David. He asked if we’d drive him to school, which Anne agreed to until she reflected on the meaning of being “green” so he’ll take the bus.
April 21, 2008. I rode my bike on a big circle around Colserolla Park and found industrial zones and some not-so-beautiful areas exist out there. In any case, I did get a three-hour ride in with some hills and nice views, otherwise. It seems like a small city, sort of, but when you are up in the Park, you can see the whole thing and it’s impressive. Among other monuments, the one that seems to stand out is the Turo Agbar, or Agbar tower, which is “bullet” shaped. There is a similar “bullet” shaped tower in London, not far from the London Eye.
April 22, 2008. I replanned our May 1 break to drive to France and visit a friend from Washington, D.C. who is a retired French spy/university professor. I’ll get you details as they become available.
April 23, 2008. Today was Sant Jordi day here in Barcelona. It’s celebrated throughout Cataluna, actually. It’s basically the Saint Valentine’s Day (which strangely is celebrated thoughout Spain, but not in Cataluna). In this version, Men give women one red rose (or more) and women give men books. There are keosks everywhere selling both all over town on every corner, it seems. Here are some photos.
BFIS, the kids’ school, puts on an annual show for this with a bit of a Catalan feel to it. Everyone wears white (all the children) and each grade comes up with a different dance. It was fun, with about 200 people and kids all outside in their small space watching the dances which included one number on roller-blades and one with a sumo wrestler. I just laughed and laughed. Photos here.