Monday Afternoon in Parc Guell

On Monday, we ventured out from Sitges to Barcelona to visit Parc Guell – home to many of Gaudi’s fabulous sculptures and beautiful gardens.

On the 45-minute train ride there, my daughters wanted to hear a story again. I just finished reading The Coldest Winter Ever, by Sister Souljah, so I recounted Winter’s story to them. At the end, Tatiana asked why my stories don’t have happy endings. Good point. Perhaps I need to populate my reading list with some happier stories. There are some books in the apartment we are renting, so I will have a look at those.

Getting to Parc Guell was pretty easy. We took the train to Passeig de Gracia. I wanted to see just a bit of this famous street, renowned for its expensive shops. In the two blocks that we walked from the train station to the bus stop, we passed a Gucci shop, a Chanel shop and a Bulgari store. Clearly, the street lived up to its reputation. I also thought to myself that Winter Santiaga, the main character in The Coldest Winter Ever would have liked that street. I wanted to walk a bit more, but the girls had begun to complain, so we hopped on the #24 bus, which takes you all the way to Parc Guell.

You can also get to Parc Guell via the metro, but the bus has two advantages: 1) You can see all sorts of cool things outside the windows and 2) The bus takes you to the top of the park, and you walk down to see everything, whereas the metro takes you to the bottom of the hill and you have to walk up.

Parc Guell is a large green expanse, with amazing architectural and design highlights. I enjoyed admiring the mosaics and gardens. It was a bit crowded, however, which took away some of the charm. If I go again, I would arrive earlier in the morning, when, presumably, there are fewer people.

These are a few of my favorite things (to eat and drink) in Sitges

I have to say that I love going food shopping in Spain. The cheese, wine, olives, chocolates and cavas are my favorites thus far. Of course, you can get most of these items in the United States. In Spain, however, they are ubiquitous and a bargain!

My favorite cheese so far is the goat cheese, not the chevre like the French eat, but an aged goat cheese that is firm, flavorful, and creamy. In Spanish it’s called queso de cabra semi-curado. I got 120 grams for 2 euros and enjoyed every bit of it.

Spanish red wines are fully of flavor and body. I personally like the Grenache. It is a bit spicy, full of fruit flavors and full-bodied. My husband prefers the Rioja, which is smoother and has more tannin. One Grenache I like quite a bit is the Etim. For Rioja, the Paulus is a good bargain wine. Marqués de Cáceres is another good one if you want to spend a bit more. I will have to continue to try more wines and see if I can find my favorite!

As for olives, the best thing to do is to buy a jar of the plain green olives with pits and season them yourself. I bought a large jar of very large green olives for 2 euros. Then, I broke open a few garlic cloves and put them in a large bowl. I covered the olives with olive oil and sprinkled basil in the bowl. I put in a couple of dried cayenne peppers for a bit of a kick. I muddled the garlic and peppers a bit before putting in the olives. Then, I mixed them up and let them marinate for a while. Yum!

I have to say that I love chocolate! And, here in Barcelona, delicious Swiss chocolate is widely available and fairly inexpensive. Yesterday, I stocked up on Toblerone, Lindt, and Milka, so that I can enjoy a square or so when I crave some chocolate.

Cava is Spanish sparkling wine. When chilled, it is delicious. I have tried a couple so far, and they both have been crisp and dry. Like the wines, I will have to continue to try different kinds until I find my favorite. Not a bad job, I’d say!

I foresee many an evening here in Sitges where I will snack on cheese and olives and red wine instead of eating dinner. Life is good.

Ups and Downs of Life in Sitges, Barcelona: Beautiful City, Bad Food, and a Lost Wallet

Yesterday started out just lovely. After getting my morning writing tasks done and having a delicious lunch, I headed down to Sitges with my daughter, Soraya.

We are living in Urbanizacion Vallpineda, a residential area about 2 kilometers from Sitges, and an easy walk downhill. Soraya was the only one who wanted to walk with me today, so my husband stayed at home with Raymi and Tatiana. My daughters are very pleased that our apartment complex has a swimming pool and several children who also live here. Although yesterday was Friday, the neighbor kids did not have school for some reason or another. So, Tatiana and Raymi stayed to play with them while Soraya and I headed out around 4pm towards Sitges.

Sitges has a large pedestrian-only area of the city full of shops, cafes, restaurants, and vendors. Soraya and I walked around looking at the shops and admiring the old stone streets and architecture. This maze of streets leads straight to the beach, and we walked along the beach right to the end. I was impressed with how long Soraya walked with me without complaining.

The beach at Sitges is quite nice, with a mild current and decent sand. It’s not the Caribbean with powder white sand and clear waters, but certainly nice enough. The beach does have stone jetties and you can see a large Cathedral at one end of the beach. Soraya and I had fun walking out onto the jetties and feeling the cool breeze.

After our long walk, Soraya and I headed back through the old city, looking for a place with good tapas. You’d be surprised, but our search for delicious tapas in Sitges has thus far been quite a disaster. I suppose it is time to pull out the guidebook. Yesterday, we tried a place that had a wide variety of small open-face sandwiches, each less impressive than the last. We also tried their fried calamari, which was mediocre. The one decent thing there was the wine at 1 euro 35 cents a glass, a decent Rioja called Paulus. The people at the next table had a plate of shrimp that looked good, but our food was okay at best.

Today, we bypassed a couple of places in the center because they were completely full. I thought it might be a good idea to try a place near the train station, thinking the food might be cheaper as it was not in the center. The food was quite unremarkable. Well, the patatas bravas were decent, but the bacalao en salsa was not. I actually can’t remember the name of either of these places. At any rate, I will be sure to check online reviews before venturing out again, as there must be plenty of good places to eat in Sitges. Our random selection of convenient restaurants does not seem to be the best way to find them. Based on TripAdvisor, La Salseta and El Fresco look promising.

As Soraya and I were eating, I saw the bus pull up. The bus only comes every 30 minutes, so I paid the bill and asked for a take away box. We rushed out of the restaurant and onto the bus. Somehow, between paying for the bus and getting off the bus, I lost my wallet. I am not sure how it happened. Soraya and I sat down in the front seats. I had a plastic bag with chocolates in my purse and took it out for us to try the Toblerone. I imagine that when I did that, my wallet fell out of my bag and onto the seat or the floor. All I know is that when I got home, I looked into my bag and my wallet wasn’t there. It is actually a small clutch which contained my iPhone and my wallet with my driver’s license, both debit cards and a credit card. I freaked out when I realized it was gone. I told my husband, and then ran out of the house back to the bus stop. Of course the bus was long gone.

The next bus that came along was the last bus. I told the driver what happened, and he suggested we ride back downtown to the end of the line to find the other bus. It seems there are only two buses on this line. We made it downtown and the other bus and driver were there. He let me look on the bus, but, no wallet. I guess some lucky passenger found it and chose not to turn it in.

I walked back up the hill home and began the very long process of finding all of the international numbers to call and cancel my cards. It took three hours! But, at the end of it, Citibank and Bank of America agreed to send me new debit cards. Thus, if we are lucky and the people who work at the bank are able to understand the address, which is in Catalan, we will have new cards next week! Capital One said they don’t send credit cards overseas. That is unfortunate, because they are the only credit card company that does not charge a 3 percent surcharge on international purchases.

I am really kicking myself right now for going outside with both of my debit cards when I needed neither of them. I usually am good about leaving those at home! I did need both of them on Wednesday when I had to take lots of euros out of the bank to pay for the apartment. But, I really should have put them away.

I am also disappointed because I lost my driver’s license. My husband seems to have forgotten his at home, so that puts a big damper on our plans to rent a car.

I have sent several Skype messages to my iPhone in the hopes that the person who found it will connect to the Internet and see them. Aside from the unlikely event that tactic will work, I am trying to let bygones be bygones and forget about it. It is bad enough to have lost 80 euros in cash, my iPhone, my cards, and my driver’s license. I don’t have to also lose out on the joy of life! So, I am trying really hard to forget about it and keep moving forward.

Adelante!

P.S.: Sorry this post has no photos. I took some cool pictures with my iPhone before I lost it….

We finally made it to Sitges … and are celebrating with Cava!

On Wednesday morning, Nando, our three daughters, and I took a train from Sant Adria de Besos to Sitges. Actually, two trains. Fortunately, Junior and I had taken our two large suitcases the previous day to Sitges, meaning that, with a little help from the girls, we did not have very much to carry. Still, Tatiana, Soraya and Raymi made sure to complain at least a few times during the six-block walk from the center of Sant Adria de Besos until the train station.

Once we got to the train station, and everyone calmed down, I began to tell the girls a story, which they love for me to do. I recently read the novel, The Help, and decided I would recount the story from that novel where a maid put her feces into her employer’s mother’s chocolate pie. I thought the girls would get a kick out of the gross factor there. They did. And, once we got on the train, I recounted them every other bit of the story I could remember. By the time we got to the Sants station, where we needed to transfer, I had told them most of the memorable parts of the book.

At Sants, we transferred to another train that would take us straight to Sitges. On the way there, they forced a few more pieces of the story out of me, and I told them the part about where Celia Foote went to the Society Benefit in her hoochie-mama dress. One more reason to read more novels: It gives me material to recount to my daughters during long train rides.


When we finally arrived at our apartment, the girls couldn’t have been happier with it. It really is a nice place, with hardwood floors, and is tastefully decorated. It also has a lovely wooden porch that looks out onto the garden and swimming pool. I am sitting there now, with a baguette, some cava, and Spanish cheese, as I write this blog entry.

I was pleased the girls were so happy with the apartment, as that should make everything easier. It is not exactly in Sitges, but in a sort of suburb on the outskirts of the city. It is a 2km walk downhill to Sitges, and definitely a 2km bus ride back up the steep hill. Luckily, there is a bus that takes us straight into town. Also, just in case, there is a small store a few minutes walk away where I was able to get my cava, cheese and baguette.

One thing I love about Spain so far is that Spanish products that are practically considered gourmet are so cheap here! Obvious, I know, but still! I got a nice bottle of high quality olive oil for about $3.50, a great bottle of cava for $7.00, and some decent olives for $1.00. And, that was at the corner store. Can’t wait until I go to the real store!

And, of course, I can’t wait until I get to explore Sitges tomorrow. Today, I decided to stay in and get everything packed away and set up.

The joys of being plugged in....

I finally found an adapter! My laptop had completely run out of battery, as had my iphone. Without these two devices, I felt quite out of touch. Thus, an adapter was high on my priority list today.

My nephew was sure I could find one at the variety store across the street owned by Chinese immigrants. I looked and looked, but there were none. The storeowner had no idea what I was talking about nor where I could find one, so I asked another customer. She told me I needed to go to a real hardware store, and that there was one just a few blocks away. I ventured down the block and made it to the hardware store. The person who attended told me that he only had adapters for when you when want to go from Spain to another country, but not vice versa. He recommended I try El Campo - a large Target-like store just across the street.

El Campo, it turns out, has a little bit of everything, from groceries, to furniture, to power adapters. In El Campo, I looked up and down the wide aisles before I finally found a universal power adapter, a pretty neat gadget that lives up to its name - universal. You can use it to change U.S.-style plugs to European or UK style-plugs and vice-versa.

The only worker in the store who actually was able to help me find an adapter turned out to be an African immigrant, who took an adapter with him to London when he traveled there. The adapter cost 11 euros, and he told me I probably could get a simpler one elsewhere for cheaper. I considered it an 11 euros well-spent.

With my adapter, I just needed one more thing: a cell phone. I bought a vodaphone for 19 euros, that came with 12 euros worth of pre-paid time. Not a bad deal.

With an adapter and a cell phone, I am plugged in!

Getting settled in Sant Adria de Besos: Our First Day in Barcelona

I arrived in Barcelona on Monday night, and my husband´s family came to pick us up from the airport. Of course, a full carload of relatives came. When we deplaned, my niece, two of my nephews, my sister-in-law, and my brother-in-law were waiting for us in the lobby.

Even though we are traveling relatively lightly, there was no way that all five us of plus all five of them plus our luggage was going to fit into my nephew´s car. So, we split up and I rode home with my niece and nephew and the luggage, and the rest of the family took the train back to my sister-in-law´s place in Sant Adria de Besos, a northern suburb of Barcelona.

Upon arriving in Barcelona, there were two things I needed: cash and an adaptor. I tried getting cash at the airport ATM to no avail. I have two debit cards: Citibank and Bank of America. I wanted to use my Citibank card because my BofA account charges $5 for non-BofA ATMs. With no luck with the Citibank card at the airport, I decided to try and get cash near my nephew´s house. I tried a few banks, but, apparently the ATMs couldn´t access my Citibank savings account, and I ended up having to use my BofA card. There are no charges with that card at Deutsche Bank, but the Deustche Banks are all in the center of Barcelona. The good news is that I finally got my hands on some euros. It was too late to get the adaptor, so we went back home after getting the cash.

The rest of our family ended up taking about two hours to get home from the airport, meaning that they weren´t home until 10pm. This, of course, is a normal time for supper in Spain, so we got some pizza and red wine and ate and chat together before we all crashed around midnight.

I woke up right at 9am this morning, so hopefully this time zone change will be no problem. When I woke up, my sister-in-law and niece had already left for the day, leaving just me and my three daughters in her house. My husband went to sleep at his brother´s house so they could hang out until later and catch up. It´s been ten years since they saw one another. We saw my husband´s sister and her children in Peru in 2007, but his brother was already living in Spain at that time.

My sister-in-law left me a note with the keys, so I ventured outside in search of some breakfast items and the adaptor. I need an adaptor to plug in my computer, as the outlets here are completely different and the plug simply does not fit. In Spain, like in many parts of Europe and Latin America, instead of having Walmarts and Targets that have everything, there are small specialty stores. In search of an adaptor, I went to a bookstore, a paint store, a drugstore, a toystore, and a supermarket. No luck. I then went to an outdoor market and asked in one of the stands, but they only sold hardware for computers. I guess I will have to wait to get an adaptor.

As I was trying to obtain an adaptor, I realized I don´t exactly know how to say: "Do you have an adaptor that allows me to plug in a three-pronged plug into a two-pronged outlet". I think the word I am missing here is "pronged." So, I said: "Do you have an adaptor that allows me to plug a thing with three thingys into an outlet with two thingys?" Some people understood me better than others. This reminded me of many previous trips abroad looking for various household items. It´s not until you get to the hardware store that you realize you have no idea how to say "faucet" or "stopper" or "nuts and bolts." Anyway, no adaptor means I am typing this on my nephew´s computer.

I did have good luck with getting breakfast items though. The first thing I needed was a coffee. I found a corner cafe run by Chinese immigrants. I wasn´t too sure about getting a coffee from a Chinese coffee shop, but I decided to see how it was. I ordered a cafe con leche, and it was delicious. From there, I made it to a small supermarket and got yogurt, fresh cheese, baguettes, and a pint of strawberries for breakfast.

Sant Adria de Besos is an immigrant neighborhood, full of immigrants from Pakistan, South America, Africa, and China. For this reason, the coffee shop was owned by Chinese immigrants, and it is next to a kebab restaurant and a market with Pakistanis selling shoes and clothes. I have yet to explore it much, but I am sure I will have the opportunity.

This afternoon, however, hopefully, we will be moving into our apartment in Sitges. I have reserved a place, and if all turns out well, we will move in this afternoon!

How to Travel Abroad for a Long Trip with the Family: Seven Steps to Be Ready

The idea of traveling abroad for over a month with your entire family can be overwhelming. However, if you have a large family and are going to spend a significant amount of cash on airline tickets, it often can be well worth the time and money to stay abroad for longer than a month.

I have packed up myself, my husband, and my three kids for extended trips abroad on at least a half a dozen occasions. In this post, I explain how we do it.

My daughters at the park during our trip to Guatemala

At the moment, we are about to embark on a 7-week stay in Barcelona. Thus, it’s a good time for me to provide some tips on how one goes about this.

Step 1: Passport and visa check.

At least three months before you leave, pull out everyone’s passports and make sure they are not about to expire. Do some online searching to make sure no one needs a visa. This simple step could potentially save you a lot of trouble and frustration later.

Step 2: Buy the airline tickets.

Because I have to purchase five tickets for my family, I always want to ensure I get the best deal possible. At the same time, I know that I can easily spend hours and hours online trying to get a good deal. To strike a balance, I keep an eye on the price of the tickets for about a month. That allows me to have an idea as to how much I should spend and what a good deal would be. Then, I dedicate one afternoon to researching all of the online options and purchasing the tickets. Two tips for getting cheaper tickets: 1) If you don’t live in a major city, it can often be cheaper to purchase one ticket to a major city and another from that city to your overseas destination. If you do this, it is advisable to have a very long layover or to purchase your overseas tickets for the next day. This year, we are flying to Washington, DC on Friday, and out to Barcelona on Sunday. 2) The more flexible you are with the dates, the better chance you have of getting a bargain.

Step 3: Look for housing.

If you are traveling abroad and plan to stay in one place for more than a week, you often can find furnished apartments to rent. Furnished apartments usually cost the same or less than hotels, and have the dual advantages of being larger than a hotel room and the possibility for doing your own food preparation. A little online searching – via craigslist.com – for example, can often lead to many possibilities. With Google maps and forums such as the Lonely Planet thorntree and tripadvisor.com, you can get a pretty good idea about the area before you choose a place to stay.

Step 4: Pack lightly.

For our family of five, we can fit all we need into two large suitcases and three smaller carry-on rollies. Packing lightly makes traveling much easier. If you arrive in a city with six or ten suitcases, you need all kinds of special transportation just to get you and your bags where you need to go. If you travel with just a few suitcases, getting around and getting settled is much easier.

Here is what we pack:

• One suitcase full of my and my husband’s clothes and shoes: For myself, I pack no more than 30 items of clothing – including dresses, slacks, shorts, and shirts. That is more than enough to have plenty of variety at least for one season. My husband fills the remainder of the suitcase with his clothes. I usually pack a couple of towels and maybe a sheet, depending on where we are going.
• One suitcase full of the kids’ clothes. For the kids, I pack seven to ten outfits each. That will last them at least a week before it’s time to do laundry. We minimalize the number of toiletries we pack, as you usually can get what you need wherever you go, and split the toiletries between our and the kids’ suitcases.
• One carry-on rollie with my books and computer. This is my work suitcase, and I fit in there whatever I need to get work done: my laptop, kindle, digital recorder, books, papers, flash drives, and writing utensils.
• One carry-on rollie with the kids’ toys and electronic distractors. I finally relented and let the kids get Nintendo DS’s when I realized that they are a great, compact way to keep the children entertained while we are traveling. My 10-year olds also got iPod touches for Christmas, and these are also great and compact for traveling. We also pack a portable DVD player, blank papers, crayons, markers, and books to keep the kids entertained.
• One carry-on rollie with my husband’s jewelry-making supplies and books. My husband is a musician and a jeweler, so he packs up his rollie with whatever he needs to keep himself occupied while we are abroad.
• Then, each of us gets one backpack into which we put whatever we want. I pack reading materials for the plane. My kids pack their favorite toys. My husband packs snacks and his instruments.

Step 5: Get everything ready well in advance.

It alleviates a lot of last-minute stress if you can be packed and ready to go the night before you leave, or several hours before you go. After you pack, you can relax and have lunch or dinner out. Leaving everything to the last minute is guaranteed to produce lots of stress.

Step 6: Gather the troops and head to the airport.

Double check that you have the passports, tickets, cash and credit cards. With those things in order, everything else will be fine.

Step 7: Bon Voyage.

You are ready, and have what you need. Enjoy the great time with your family.