It’s real - we are here and we are not going back….at least for a while. We are finding a rhythm for sure as are the kids. The schedules are pretty smooth yet fluid and flexible to what we want, the vacations and trips are being planned, the house is coming together, the restaurants are being explored, the favorite local staple places are pretty locked in (sunny patio’s for afternoon wines, fresh fish, fresh bread, fresh crepes, wine shops, etc and of course…..the struggles continue but get better.
Quick Updates
Kids and school - they are doing great. We have had conferences with both their teachers and they are integrating well with friends, doing well in school, and are a pleasure to have in class. They both excel in unique areas, both have their specific struggles and challenges. Differences - 1) Lunches. They enjoy the school lunches most days - they have salad, fruit, a vegetable, water, and a grain each day. Most days they have a formal protein either animal or eggs (eggs are not breakfast food here - lunch or dinner!). Water is served - no juice and I don’t know if they have cow’s milk. They eat with real plates and proper silverware and have twice the amount of time they were given back in the US. 2) School year length. While they go to school through the end of June, there are many breaks (next week is Ski week - see below!) and spring break is 3 weeks after. There are many 3 and 4 day weekends where most families travel. Ashley and I are in the planning/negotiation phase through the summer right now…send us tips and ideas! 3). They have MORE PE class! and of course, difference # 4) they have Spanish class every day.
Ashley and I - Things are good. We are enjoying our Thursday date days/nights (we are spending Thursdays 2p-10p together with help around the house) and heading out most weekends without kids for at least a night - 8+ dates a month! The kids are pretty sufficient on their own around the house and with Hayes’ Apple Watch and a few cameras set up we feel comfortable leaving to head out for a wine that is close, a snack, or coffee a few additional nights a week. We still do not have a car - but I’m getting 20,000 steps daily minimum! We did get to one of the many famous landmarks in Barcelona this week - see if you can guess it in the photo below….
NIE’s…the appointment went well - just slow. We now need to go back to the police station in a month to get our formal cards….then we are done with the legal requirements! (for 10 months until a renewal…ugh). I had a request (thanks Zerxes) to write on the requirements for foreign visa’s and what we had do to to make it legal. I’ll write a blog on this in the next week or so (with Ashley’s help, she did 80% of the heavy lifting outside our Spanish attorney).
Spanish Language - it is coming along (very slowly)! I have no ego when going into a place and am fine butchering the shit out of what I want to say - most are helpful and able to teach a bit. Ashley is a bit more nervous to look like a moron (I’m use to looking like a moron) so she is studying hard but not trialing it as much as I am (yet). ¡Esta mierda de lenguaje es dura como el infierno!
Our Container….
So, the container was passed by customs without opening it. I am pretty sure we had over 500 illegal items on there (cases of wine and liquor, medicines (Benadryl, Zyrtec, supplements, protein powder, etc) but nothing we could really get in trouble more than a fine and taxes for….glad they passed it! We only had a few things that broke - an old vase and a small mirror - mad props to Brad Hammond and Vince Kessler as well as my Father for helping pack the container. We have it all unloaded and put away. It feels good to have the house coming together (we had another big furniture delivery as well). I now have proper pans and knives, better wine glasses, and a comfy large American-sized couch for my few minutes here and there of TV. The kids were able to see some of the toys they shipped, bean bags, Hayes brought his desk, etc and it’s been special watching them go through the toys and books they shipped. We also shipped some scooters they received for Christmas and our bikes as well - there are so many mountains and off-road trails within 20 minutes, plus of course, the walk/ride down in Barceloneta at the beach as well. (pics below - not of the beach just yet).
New Traditions!
We are starting traditions here - Ashley and I have Date-Day-and-Night every Thursday, the kids have Crepe Friday after school, and I have started Scooter Sunday with the kids. I run and they rock their scooters around our home in Sarria. Sunday morning the streets (calles) are completely dead…we have them to ourselves! (pics below). I am also doing Padel (a cross between pickleball and racketball) with a crew of guys on Thursdays and may incorporate another day of the week - I need lessons! 930-1130 play and mandatory beers until 1230, then mandatory lunch and beer/wine until 2p or so. We hope to add many traditions here yet keep many we had of course. Thanksgiving has always been my holiday to host and we are debating what we do this year….host here (would you come?) or go home for a week or two….of course the kids do not have a school holiday here!
Trips!
We are starting to plan trips - send any recommendations or knowledge our way!
This week is ‘ski week’ (Semana Blanca) for the school - the school (yes K-12) shuts down so all can go skiing. They do have a few trips where they take your kids, but we missed the cut-off for Hayes (Ellory is not old enough) so we are in Puigcerda in the Spanish Pyrenees with the kids and friends this week. We will ski maybe 4 days - in Spain, France, and Andorra. We have a few dinners out with friends and plenty of relaxing time with the kids around the property.
We have a long weekend trip for Ellory’s birthday planned in March - NEXT WEEK already (back to Baqueria) and then Spring Break in April (Canary Islands). I’m heading back stateside to check on a few things work-wise and connect with a few close friends and my dad in late April - can’t wait! Ashley is heading to Paris and I am hopeful to do the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona (July) and La Tomatina in Bunol (August) with some of the guys here….we shall see! We are trying to make our way for weekend trips to Valencia, Costa Brava, Mallorca, and for a bit, longer trips to Greece, Italy, and maybe Morocco before the summer is over. We are considering a big road trip this summer through 5-6 counties as well (France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Coatia, ….there are too many options! We have a friend in Zurich we would like to see as well before the kids start school again in September. Many countries shut down here in August so it is also a great time to go home… but we are open to ideas or connections if you have them in Europe!
Continuing Struggles…
Our flat is getting there as I messaged earlier but I feel we are spending too much time on it - we had the option of renting a furnished place but the inventory was much less and we didn’t know we wanted the furniture (used) that someone else picked out. While we are not overly picky, we had all set up the way we wanted in our place in Kansas City - so to get here and accept what someone else did in a home is not what we wanted to do - but we also do not want to spend months and months and months working to get the house set, knowing our time here is likely (maybe?) limited to a handful of years. I guess we should have realized ‘starting nearly from scratch’ would be a challenge….
We are getting Spanish down very slowly but we still don’t understand signs in the stores, menus, etc. It is much more difficult than you think. Being on vacation for a week is one thing - being here for years is another. I can’t even tell in a store what a sale rack is - or what the return policy is - or literally if the store is open or not! How much is it? I don’t understand you….here is my card (tarjeta).
While I do love the different pace of life it can be frustrating when things take 3x as long as they should take (and you want it to be faster). Out for supplies? Bread store - fresh market - meat market - wine store - all walking with bags or a backpack. Glorious in so many ways, yet I just ant to be efficient and quick with my time….
No car. It is awesome to walk and think but challenging at the same time. It’s the first time since I was 14 years old I haven’t have a car - we are likely to rent one for long term sometime soon. We have just been renting one here and there but it’s quite costly and inconvenient to have to go get the car (even with new apps you don’t have to see anyone to get a key - Virtuo!). Now with the bikes and wanting to get out with them not to mention afternoon hikes, 3-day weekend trips, and just being able to buy 2 cases of wine or a piece of furniture for the house and put in the back of the car would be great. We are looking at a few that have 12-24-36 month rentals that cost about what a nice lease payment would be in the US. Parking - yeah that part of having a car here sucks…. :)
ps gas prices as of this message are about €1.86 per liter - or $8.15 per gallon. It’s been around this for decades.
The gym - the dumbells only go to 28KG! It’s probably a good thing….I should lay off the heavyweights! Taking a fitness ‘class’ in Spanish is interesting….just follow the others in class I guess! But I like lifting heavy sometimes and the dumbells don’t cut it.
Not hearing from our friends - yes it is a challenge/struggle. We do not hear from as many of you as we would like. Of note, iMessage is FREE (yes, with our Spanish numbers below) as is FaceTime - emails are FREE as well. We miss you all!
Coming weeks!
I’ll write in the coming weeks on my upcoming first haircut and the legal process we had to go through to get here. I’ll also write on the formal Calcotada (mountain onion feast) next Sunday with the kids and a big crew of friends. Ashley and I will continue to invite you to share Spain with us and I hope some will take us up on it (life is short, if not now, then when?). Ps round trip tickets from Chicago/KC were around 450$ off and on through May. I will capture and share a few special things of the amazing people I am meeting here (did I join a fraternity?) from all over the world and the opportunities that present themselves. I’ll share more culture and language, food and lifestyle (why does Euopeans drink more, eat more carbs, stay up late, and yet are healthier?). We will continue to write on the many many challenges and the wins - and hope to hear from you in some form or another!
What an adventure, let me know when you figure out how the Europeans can drink more, eat more, stay out later, and still live longer.
Hi Jon and Family. Thanks for the update. Really enjoy reading about your new life in Spain. Glad things are going pretty well for everyone.