Settling In.

Our street.

We have been living in Spain for 1 month now.  It actually seems much longer as we are getting into a groove.  We've found places to shop, open markets, got our internet set up, visited Movistar to get our iphone set up, the police for our NIE card, the hardware store, the electronics store, the climbing gym, the best place for bread and fresh eggs, the best beach to run the dogs and us, our favorite pintxos bar in Girona, IKEA (2 locations near Barcelona), a few great trails to walk the dogs, a good vet for the furry kids, a great climbing store, a mexican restaurant and a dentist.

I don't eat cow cheese....but I do eat sheep cheese!

We're hanging pictures on the walls and sorting through boxes, there are still a few in the garage we haven't unpacked, but we'll get on it soon.

We're really happy here.  The people are so friendly, the gas is cheaper, the food cheaper and the sun has been shining almost every day.  It's so nice to wake up to blue skies instead of mist, damp and clouds, which is what happened in France our last 2 weeks there.  But then there is the language.  I don't speak Spanish or Catalan.  I realized how good my French was when I moved here.  We are going to take lessons and will be heading over to the school to meet with them on Tuesday, we'll each take a test and see what class we should be in.  Everyone we meet here tells us "you must learn Catalan", that is because they are Catalan.  But I'm not sure that would be the best for us.  Spain is a big country and we'd like to go to different areas in Spain and if we only learn Catalan it limits us when we travel, if we learn Spanish first, we can communicate with anyone in Spain and then we can start to pick up Catalan words.

The beach...15 minutes from our house.

Tomorrow we are heading back down to Barcelona as I have another dentist appointment.  I wanted an english speaking dentist and found a really good one in Barcelona.  Husband and wife team.  Both educated in the states, husband is from Spain and wife from New York.  Modern and friendly and I can understand them.  I went last week because I have had a tooth that is very sensitive to hot and cold.  I had a little cavity and they filled in without any problem.  Tomorrow I'm going for a cleaning, as I haven't had my teeth cleaned in a long time.  Bruce is coming with me and after my cleaning we' are going to the Picasso museum and then have lunch.  Should be fun.

I'm excited to be here and to explore this beautiful area of Spain.  I love change and moving, learning new things, meeting new people, mixing life up.

Cool old place in Bascara.

Visiting the climbing gym in Girona.

I'm not the only one who loves the beach.

Our First Guests

Our good friends from France, Mike and Nicci came down to visit us and see our new place for a few days.  It's their first time down to this area, they have never been to Girona or Barcelona.  They stayed 4 days and we had a great time.

The first day was beautiful (well actually all the days were beautiful).  We took the dogs to the beach for a long run.  Mike and Nicci brought their dog Skipi, who gets along really well with all our dogs. It was so great to be running on the beach in December/January.

We then headed to the ruins of Empúries.  Empúries, formerly known by its Spanish name Ampurias, was a town on the Mediterranean coast of the Catalan comarca of Alt Empordà in Catalonia, Spain. It was founded in 575 BC by Greek colonists from Phocaea with the name of Ἐμπόριον (Emporion, meaning "trading place", cf. emporion). It was later occupied by the Romans (Latin: Emporiæ), but in the Early Middle Ages, when its exposed coastal position left it open to marauders, the town was abandoned.

It's hard to get excited about an excavated site, but the location was beautiful and we tried to imagine what the buildings looked like and how they lived their lives.

Then we came back and took a long siesta as we were going into Girona to celebrate New Years Eve. We had a great dinner of fresh llobado (a spanish white fish), grilled calamari, potatoes and asparagus.  We have decided to start eating more fish since moving here, it's so fresh.

Our night in Girona was so much fun.  We arrived about 10:30 and went to an Irish pub (there weren't many things open).  The pub was packed and really fun.  Then at 11:45 we headed over to the steps of the church to await the stroke of midnight.  Catalan tradition is that each time the bell rings you must eat a grape - 12 grapes total.  You have to finish the first grape before the 2nd bell rings and so on.  If you can do it, you get good luck all year.  We all did it!

Nicci and I

Heading up the steps

Mike and I - Happy New Year

A bit dark....but celebrating the New Year

  There were so many people there and a band with live music.  Everyone was singing and dancing.  We had a fantastic time.  Actually our best New Years ever...normally we stay home and are in bed before the clock strikes midnight.

Sunny but the winds!

Yesterday we lost power.  It was about 5:30 pm and everything went black.  Right now our house is on the same electricity as the castle.  Yes, the castle.  We are part of a 1,000 year old castle, we are only connected by a small terrace, other than that we are separate.  But we are still on their electricity until our new meter box comes, which should be next week.  Because of that we have to be careful not to load it too much.  I forgot yesterday and had the dryer on and then I turned on the electric oven to start dinner. That's all it took.  Our landlords who live in the castle are so lovely, they tried to get it working, but couldn't. The electrician couldn't come until today, so we decided to jump in the car and go into Girona to our favorite pintxos restaurant.  We came home to a very dark house.

This morning still no power and it was starting to get a bit cold.  Our landlords told us the electrician couldn't come until 4:00 pm.  We wanted to go climbing, but it has been very windy the last 2 days, so not ideal for climbing outside.  So, we jumped in the car and went into Girona to pick up our NIE card, which is basically our residency card and then we headed to the inside climbing gym just outside of Girona.  For 5,00 euros we could climb from 11-5 pm.  What a deal.  We spent about 3 hours there, climbing and getting a great workout.

We came back around 4:00 and still no electrician.  But at 4:30 as we were sitting in the house with coats and hats on, the electricity came back on.  YAY.  The house doesn't take long to heat up, so we'll be good in a few hours.  I just need to remember that if I'm going to use the dryer, nothing else can be running.  Once we get our meter, everything will be fine.

Little things like this can either be a huge hassle or a "oh well".  We choose "oh well", such is life. It's not a big deal.  You've got to learn to just let things roll off and not stress.

A visit to El Lleó marketplace in Girona.

"El Lleó marketplace is the city's centre of distribution for fresh quality produce. It houses a total of 60 stalls selling diverse products: meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, groceries… The market is a vital destination for many of the city's chefs who shop there for their restaurants, and is a daily meeting point for the citizens of Girona."

That's what we read online.  So we decided to give it a go.  It was pretty cool and so much to offer.  We decided to get some cheese (sheep) and also some calamari and chicken. The fish monger was really nice and we picked up some amazing, fresh calamari.  We both love calamari but we have never cooked it at home.  Time to try.  The chicken stand was crowded and I don't read catalan, but I figured it out. Ordered some chicken legs and drumsticks. They were sold out of a lot of stuff, I guess we got there a bit late (at 11:00 am). I was looking for fresh eggs, it seems that the supermarkets only sell eggs from the factory farms, which seem to be all over Spain.  I have no desire to eat those eggs and want ones that are organic and free-range, and by free-range I mean really free-range.  I couldn't find any, maybe I was there too late, or maybe it's not the place to find them.  My search continues.

We cooked up our calamari and it was fantastic.  Could be a once a week meal for us.  We are pretty boring with our food. Some type of protein (chicken, pork, fish) and veggies or a salad.  But this night we mixed it up and actually had some rice and lentils. It was a nice change and so easy, fast, fresh and inexpensive.

I'm getting to know the area, but I'm sure there are better places to get certain things.  I just need to ask around and get the inside scoop on where to shop.

Big Changes....they are a coming.

We've been here in France for 5 years and we love it.  But, both of us have been thinking, is this it? Luckily we have always been on the same page when it comes to our lives.  It would be so hard if I wanted to go back to the states and Bruce wanted to stay here.  We love Spain, have been many times and continue to visit.  We love  San Sebastian and Bilbao (The Basque Country), but we also love Catalunya.

Our landlords want to sell the house we are in.  We could buy it if we wanted, but it makes us a bit nervous.  What if this area of France isn't it.  What if we bought and then in 5 years we wanted to sell and try something else.  Houses in this area don't sell super fast.  We don't want to be stuck with a 7 bedroom farmhouse in rural France.  We were talking to our landlord the other day and he mentioned that they really want to market the selling of the house, there are things they want to do to the house and then they want to find a buyer.  Because of that, we got to thinking about moving.  If the house sold we'd have to move, but would we stay here or try something else.  After many discussions, we decided that we aren't going to wait for the house to sell and then make a decision....we are making it now.  So, we have decided to move to Spain.  Catalunya to be exact.  Why Catalunya you ask?

Well, we love the area.  The rock-climbing is world class, the Mediterranean is beautiful, the people are so friendly, Girona is a fun,  lively city, Barcelona is cool and the food is amazing.  So, we took a trip down to check out areas.  We stayed in Girona and spent a few days looking around.  We have decided to focus on the area just north of Girona.  That makes climbing only 20-30 minutes away, the beaches of Costa Brava 20 minutes away, Girona 20 minutes away and Barcelona less than an hour away (faster if you take the train from Girona).  We'll be heading back down to look at some houses, stay tuned.

Bruce took this shot and I just love it "open your eyes"