We are ready for April (Abril)!!
March has been rainy. Period. Cold, period. NOT sunny….no Bueno. I think the sun has popped out randomly here and there - but not a full sunny day in 2 weeks. Maybe two and a half (this week does NOT look any better). It does rain a bit - but a downpour has been rare so that is good (we hear downpours = floods in the streets!). Anyway life goes on and a little rain just gives us opportunities to do museums, climbing gyms, long lunches (indoor of course), padel and beers (indoor of course), playdates (fechas de juego) for kids (inside of course) and practicing with new dishes and ingredients in my kitchen (cocina)!
Quick Hits:
Ashley took Hayes in for just a consult for orthodontia - the appointment was 30€. It included a full appointment, consult by the physician, full set of xrays, and a full plan for braces if we want/need them (wait for 6-12 months at least they said). Ashley said they had the best technology and the best staff! I could imagine a full set of braces would be under 1,500€. (yes, it is just as good of care (or better) as in the United States). More on the healthcare system later!
When little kids take a shit they call it ‘cacka’ as in ‘I just took a cacka mommy’ or ‘mommy I gotta cacka’ I don't know why - but it’s Hayes and Ellory’s new favorite word. ‘Paolo has a cacka in his pants mommy’ was a common phrase during Samana Blanca (ski week) with Alex and Marta’s family.
The crosswalks are truly crosswalks. EVERY car stops for anyone in the crosswalk. It is a level of respect I wish America had. I walk with 100% confidence here that I or the kids are safe in a crosswalk anywhere anytime. I feel people never stop in the US unless it is a red light - regardless of a formal crosswalk or not.
My BBQ grill is here and installed! I have obtained an illegal butane tank for it (it’s a 2-3 week process to legally get a tank of gas for your grill) and should have it up and going this week. We need patio furniture and the patio should be all set! Let’s entertain!!!
Ashley took the kids to the children’s museum (museo) on a rainy day (I went and drank vermut with friends). It is free with corporate sponsorship (the biggest bank here) and adults are 6€ or so.
The government offers discounts for a family to have three kids or more (two is plenty for us!) and if you have three kids you get discounts on groceries, utilities, petro, etc. Incentives!!
Social Circles
We are integrating into social circles and making friends in our own ways (Jon and Ashley have different ways of course!). We had a couple over for a playdate with the kids (too early in the ‘who are you??’ to drop off kids I assume) and drank a few bottles of wine and got to know them well (they have lived in Baltimore, Mexico, Albania, and now Barcelona). Kids are so easy to get along with anyone! This connection came from me playing Padel with a guy that Ashley randomly had met his wife for coffee the day before! ‘nice to meet you Omar, your wife’s name is Grace? I think my wife and your wife had coffee yesterday?)…too funny.
I had it on my Q1 goal list to ‘meet a couple that doesn’t know anyone I know here and has nothing to do with the school’ and I’ve accomplished this goal! We met with Nick and Nu over wines a few weeks ago and again this last week for wine and dinner. They live close to us and are super fun. She is from Kuala Lumpur and he from the UK. They have lived in UK and Singapore and now Barcelona. Their kids go to a different school but they line up in age with Hayes and Ellory! I think it is awesome seeing them around Sarria - it gives me that sense of community I had back in Kansas City where you just knew people and they knew you….I have literally none of that here, but I have seen Nick or Nu on the street 3 times and it has been amazing (yes, these small things are awesome!).
I have added a Padel day so now at least TWO days of Padel a week (Tuesday and Thursday) which is fun. I am still one of the worst players but am seeking lessons and getting much better each time I play. The sport is so popular here that the first 3 places I have contacted do not have lessons availability - waitlist only!
The interesting conversations we have with these friends and social circles are amazing!
Travel!
We have booked trips to the Canary Islands (with kids) for Samana Santa (Holy week or as I call it Spring Break!!) and then have visitors (Ashley’s Mom and Bro) in April. I am heading back to the states to check in on a few things work and spend time in KC with my Dad and Jan (Jan is the rock of my company!!) and am really looking forward to this trip ‘home’. In May we are looking for a few short trips (maybe Portugal and/or Mallorca - one without the kids) and then my Dad and Vicki come at the end of May. June will be ‘busy’ wrapping up school for the kids and then getting them to summer camp the last week of June (Ash and I are likely to sneak to Paris for a few days). Then Mitch and Lindsey (and their kids!) will venture to Europe for the first time ever! When the kids get out of camp and we will all tour Barcelona and then fly with them to Italy where we will enjoy our friends in Lucca, Parma, and Varregio. We will get them to Cinque Terre, a few Tuscano vineyards, the ‘leaning tower’ in Pisa and even Venice before they fly back to Iowa. We may stay in Italy when Team McKenzie head back to the states and head north through the Italian Alps to Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, France, and then back home to Barcelona. August is undecided - but we know it will be slow around here and not much going on so we are likely to rent a place on the beach for a week or two or travel somewhere else….as always send suggestions (thanks to Ann D for the restaurant recco’s!).
Safety
On the list of ‘future topics’ last time was about safety. Is Barcelona (or Europe) a safe place? We have had friends post ‘be safe’ and message me ‘traveling is dangerous so be careful.’ Even with the current war in Ukraine, Spain is still extremely safe. There is no violent crime here - nobody is ever stabbed or shot let alone killed. There are people who want to pick your pocket or steal your purse - it’s a big city with lots of tourists so they are opportunistic (no different than any other major metropolitan area). So don’t leave your purse on the table or your phone out - it is pretty easy to not be a ‘victim’. I would prefer a few pick-pockets in a city anytime to not knowing if the movie theater is going to be shot up by a psycho - or to hope my kids are safe at school, even with an armed guard - or the road rager that may have a gun and go ballistic - or if a robber in my house has a gun or knife. Nobody here has guns but the police, and I like that. Just my frame - I know many back home would prefer everyone to have a gun, which is just fine. The kids are perfectly safe by themselves, in school, walking across the street, and sleeping in our home. We let Hayes go out to get bread by himself and they both went this weekend on Saturday morning to get fresh-baked croissants while I stayed home and read a book. YES!!! I would not let them do this in any mid or major city in the USA at 9 and 7 years old.
The war in Ukraine has not impacted Spain in a negative way with regards to safety (gas prices yes! (I don't have a car!!)) but has allowed us many great opportunities to educate the kids on worldwide political decisions and the effects of those decisions. I think they feel it more here than they would in the states with the way the school is handling it (they have 60+ nationalities enrolled) and educating them at a young age.
Spain is very safe!!! ps. you should come to visit and see!
Kids!
All is good in the kid’s world. They are making more and more friends! Ellory had her 7th Birthday on the 10th and is having a formal party for her friend’s end of this month (chocolate-making class!). Hayes is ever-evolving in the kitchen (just like me!) with his new spice creation (‘The Best’ he tells me it’s called) and helping with many meals (he knows his goal is by 10 he needs to plan, shop, prep, cook and clean up after a meal for our family). He and I made Ellory’s birthday cake again (to Ashley’s disapproval I demand making the kids’ cakes at least every other year!). They are learning more Spanish than we think (Hayes shot a video for me in Spanish class for Fathers day (which was March 19th in Spain!). Every chance we get we teach them (or look it up). I forced Ellory to ask the waiter (mesero) for a fork in Spanish (¿Puedo tener un tenedor por favor?) when we were eating out the other night. Speaking of eating out yesterday (Saturday) I took them for proper sushi (no offense Kansas City or non-coastal cities) which they never had back home. Today on Sunday we went to get Dim Sum - they loved the different cuisines and flavors even though Ells has a hard time with chopsticks (her hands are small!). I can’t wait to get them to a proper noodle house, Indian restaurant, and Ethiopian food (I’ve heard there is good African food here).
Next blog I’ll post a few pics of our home, our neighborhood (pics have been terrible lately with the shit weather!) our favorite places to eat, etc. I’ll also write on the formal legal process we took to get here - it literally just ended this past Thursday when we went to get our NIE’s (formal national ID cards!). We are good until January 10th of 2023!! (yeah, then we do it again to renew the visa’s for another year)….
Interesting Barcelona facts:
Barcelona had no beaches until the 1992 Olympic games. It was known as the ‘City with it’s back to the beach’.
Barcelona is older than Rome (some say Hercules founded it 400 years before Rome)
Barcelona has two official languages. Spanish and Catlan.
Barcelona is the only city in the world to receive the Royal Gold Medal for architecture. It is supposed to go to individuals, but, Barca is special from this perspective!
There are over 20 Michelin restaurants in Barcelona. OH MY!!!!
There are 9 UNESCO World Heratage Sites here in Barcelona!