Excerpts from Barcelona - 15 - 16 - 17
A weekly glimpse into my Catalan adventures
The past few weeks have been very relaxed, honestly. Aside from the first half of it which was spent in Andorra (blog post to come on that, soon) I spent a greater portion of Week 15 recovering from a week of trail running and hiking in Andorra, at a higher altitude than I’m used to. Even 1,200 metres above sea level makes an easy run so much harder.
Week 16 was my last week of “freedom” in Barcelona. And with a friend from home visiting, I spent most of the week visiting coffee shops and talking specialty cafes. After a 12-day work streak, I spent a day in Sitges relaxing on the beach and exploring the quaint little town. By exploring, I mean walking around the town three times before deciding to settle at the beach. Walking the town each time only took about 15-20 minutes so there wasn’t a high step count on that day.
The most recent week, week 17, was HECTIC! School is officially out in Barcelona, so I have spent my Monday to Friday doing arts and crafts, giving mini ballet lessons, and creating spelling tests and lesson plans. I decided to give the week a theme - which my au pair kid loves - so we learned all about fairytales. Including, but not limited to, discovering what makes a story a fairytale, a daily reading of a new fairy tale (think Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and The Three Little Pigs) with reading comprehension, of course, and the final project of the week being to write and draw her own short fairy tale. I think she had a good week but I have been ready for bed every day by the time dinner comes around.
Highlights of the week (-month?)
Morreig
Morreig has been my favourite pastry experience in Barcelona, by far. I got the mascarpone espresso pastry and a cortado and wow. The coffee was just fine, I probably wouldn’t order it again, but the pastry was incredible. Espresso-flavoured, mascarpone cream between layers of flakey pastry dough and topped with a crunchy espresso crumble. They also serve ice cream, so I guess I’ll have to go back to try it!
A glimpse at next week…
Au pair duties mean that I can only really do things on weekends. Therefore, I’ve been thinking a lot about more day trips! Hopefully a weekend escape to Tarragona or Zaragoza for this upcoming weekend. Just under 2 hours away from Barcelona on the train, I think either of these options is great for a day of exploring and experiencing a new part of Catalonia and Spain.
Officially only one month left in Barcelona. I feel like I just wrote my “oh my goodness, it’s been one month I’m here!” It’s been strange experiencing Barcelona with a child for the past week but also quite cool. I got to experience a local swimming pool, have picnics in the park, and visit craft stores and school supply stores. I definitely feel like a “local” now.
I am grateful to get to live this city in many ways. As the solo traveler that joins run clubs by the beach, the runner that travels to Girona for a trail race, the au pair that does a daily commute on the train, and the host daughter that picks up last minute groceries at the supermarket.
I’m excited to see what the next month brings.