Lungalfungalosis house Flu season

Over the past 8 weeks our everyone in our family has caught one sickness after another, it started with just before Christmas I got what we like to call lungalfungalosis (it is not a scientific name, I am not sure that is how you would spell it if it was) it is an awful cough were there is so much mucus stuck in you body that when you cough all you spit up is snot. Your throat hurts and it is just terrible.

But this is just the beginning, the next week Mia got a fever and had new teeth coming here. Bonnie was not here she was on a work trip and Mia was going crazy without here mommy.

While Bonnie was on here trip she got also terrible cough and fever. Also in that time my dad got mild food poisoning. When bonnie was gone I was recovering. One day I went to school I was sick all over again. By the time Bonnie got back from her trip we were all sick nobody could do anything.

Slowly bonnie got better first then me my dad and finally poor Mia who just always just catches whatever we have. Again and again we have had repeated colds, coughs, food poisoning, ect. I think we have had all of the types of common basic sicknesses. This week I got mild food poisoning I don't we're from but it hurt, I am glad it is just mild.

I have also come to realize that Spanish medicine is not what we call medicine in America. Spain is not the best place for medicine.

American medicine is syrup has every drug and chemical and is flavored with all kinds of artificial flavors and crazy stuff and might actually taste ok or you have the tablets that one swallow and your finish. You’re cured for about 2-8 hours. No, no, no not in Spain the medicine is very gross it tastes worse then what you would expect. The ibuprofen for kids is called Dasly this very gross orange syrup with a horrible taste. When mia was sick she had to take it and would just spit out I was always like oh come on it can't be that bad until I had to have it myself then I realized how bad it is. Also most of the medicines pharmacies give you with no prescription are homeopathic so they don't always work.
Of course just as everyone really got super sick we ran out of that great American stuff.
by the way we used a lot of hand sanitizer!
I can't wait not to be sick again. Summer please come!

Escalator pile up drama - potential disaster averted

I always wondered why no strollers were allowed on escalators.  How about the emergency shut off button?  I always wondered why you would ever need that...  DID wonder anyway. Yesterday we avoided a mini disaster... I hate to admit it but the scariness of it was really exciting.  It went something like this:

After school rush of kids and adults all getting on the Metro -- tons of people on the escalator heading down to the underground rail line.  In front of me was a grandma and her two kids, Sim and Mia in her stroller.  Behind me a line full of people all waiting to get off the escalator.

Suddenly.. one of the lil ones in front of us spills a slew of items onto the escalator and just looks at it.. grandma thinks about it and decides to pick them up but she made her mistake by turning her back on the escalator so she can no longer see how fast the stairs flatten to the ground.

I think to myself  oh dear god hurry... and how the f*ck do you say turn around in Catalan? You can see disaster coming quickly and sure enough the stairs hit the ground and she tumbles.. then her kids tumble and Simi reaches out to help the grandma by protecting her head and she is still struggling.  The problem now is here I come with the stroller in front of me which I am about to steam roll 3 people with and possibly Simi too.. things are still on the ground.. people have piled up at the bottom. I can't walk backwards up the moving stairs because theres nothing but people and doing nothing means trucking over some children... I decide maybe I can get a few more seconds if I lift Mia up in the stroller and I can squeeze through the now 4 people blocking the escalator.. So I lift my now 25+ pounds of Mia, 12 lb stroller and 10lb+ of school books up in the air.. but DAMN not high enough because I had no idea I was dealing with 50 lbs at this point so the woman behind quickly helps..    Mia is up for a second saving a stroller to the face but STILL people were in the way and you just KNOW at this point it's my child or yours thats going to get hurt ..however if I DON'T take a step forward soon I will fall on them with Mia in the stroller smashing to the ground... a second later I took what I thought was the safest step and bumped into one of the girls and quickly everyone scurries out of the way at the last possible second with only minor banging into each other.  Finally traffic cleared...a mass of us took a deep sigh of relief.. but I do think grandma hurt herself a bit.

Yea... I'll be sticking to the elevator when I have the stroller from now on.

Would you like some SUGAR with that? Azúcar por favor

It seems as if every single beverage here is served with a side of sugar.  Just in case you need a little bit more sweetness to your fresh squeezed juice..add some azúcar.  Don't forget to throw in the "thhhh" sound  and not the "s" sound when you say it because this is Spain people. ;)


Served with sugar:
-Orange Juice (fresh or not)
-fresh squeezed carrot juice
-Yogurt (sweetened or natural)
-Milk that was requested for my 1 year old daughter. Served with sugar every time!


With that said - you never see a container of sugar just out and available for use.  Not in any of the local cafe's, bars or restaurants.  Except for Starbucks.. I think they have sugar laying out there. Hmmm..

Christmas Fair

Today I dropped by the Christmas Fair by the Cathedral. My friend Lina mentioned it as the place to go if I wanted to see Catalonia Christmas trees and decorations.

She specifically mentioned el Caganer, which are basically little pooping figurines. From what I've read having one of these is supposed to bring prosperity in the new year.

I had to see for myself and boy it was more interesting than I imagined. You had a pooping Flamenco dancer, Hello Kitty, Darth Vader and even a Jesus squatting and wishing prosperity to you.

Of course I just had to buy one.

The Pooping Log aka "Tio de Nadal"

Here in Cataluña and also in Valencia, Spain, they have normal Christmas but they have added a tradition that I find so funny! It is called Tio de Nadal, (in English "christmas log"). It's nickname is Caga Tio! This tradition involves a smiling log that on Christmas day, children order it to poop and they sing a little song.

Then children in Cataluña tap this log and apparently it poops candy but this doesn’t just happen over night. The family cares for the log by putting a blanket over it and feeding it food each nite! All over Cataluña you can buy one or the whole family of pooping logs! This tradition is celebrated by almost everyone in Cataluña and Valencia A This really makes things alot more exciting for everyone! These are the little things about Spain that I love!

Flamenco classes - update

It's my second week at a new school. The first one didn't have mirrors. If you have two left feet and two left hands, the absence of mirrors can only make it worse.

The new school is great. The class is smaller and more casual and the instructor is a better teacher. Although I love it, I still find flamenco quite difficult. Hoping it clicks real soon.

Spain's #1 necessity!

When you go to a restaurant and look at the menu this is normally what you see Pasta con Jamon,Boccadillo de Jamon, Pizza con Jamon basically jamon,jamon,jamon!
What is jamon you ask? It is pig otherwise known as pork. Here in Spain jamon is part of there life style, I understand that people like it but you don't need it in every meal! If you tell people in Spain you do not eat pork they will think you are crazy, and then offer you bacon.

They love pork so much that there are whole stores that are all pork and nothing else.
The thing that is the most disturbing to me is whole ham legs curing themselves by hanging from a ceiling as they mold, smoke themselves and sweat, there is even a little plastic cup to catch the sweat as it drips down from the ham leg I find this quite gross. It also reeks and smells terrible when ever you walk past a pork shop you can smell it even though your not in the shop. I wouldn't mind these ham legs if they weren't in every bar, restaurant, and peoples homes! I just don't find them so appealing or yummy.

Around the Christmas time here when you go to a grocery store there are whole holiday displays of ham legs apparently here in Spain ham legs make great gifts considering pretty much everyone loves ham!

What I really think is interesting is ham can range from sliced ham that costs about 5 euros to whole ham legs that cost 150 euros,I do not know why people spend so much money on ham?

Spanish people think ham is necessity of life!

Mint & Lime Pasta -- oh yes!

Bar Lobo located just off Las Ramblas, is my new favorite cafe. It has a rustic feel and an open kitchen smack front and center of the cafe. There you can see just how fresh the food being prepared is. Perfect for foodies and/or germiphobes.

The pan con tomate is the best I have had to date. For lunch, I love to get the Mint, Lime & Fresh Mozzarella Pasta. It's light yet packed with a fresh and clean flavor. Who would have thought you could marry mojitos and pasta?

Highly recommended!

Rob & Jane Come to Barcelona

Friends from San Francisco came for a visit in September.  We were thrilled to have them, especially since it was during a transitional time for us.  Here are some of the pictures they shared with us.

We waited for over an hour on a little street in Gracia for an outdoor table to open up.  Luckily cacaolatlover snagged the first one that opened up for us.

After a great lunch, we headed over to the Boqueria Market where we slurped down fresh fruit smoothies.   My personal favorite was Strawberry Coconut.

Flamenco Dance Class

I started taking a Flamenco dance class a couple of weeks ago. Since my first class it has become quite an obsession. My only regret was not starting classes back in 2008 when I first thought of doing this.

Taken directly from wikipedia - "Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part.^[1]
The cante (singing), toque (guitar playing), dance and palmas (handclaps) are the principal facets of flamenco."

My interest in Flamenco dancing is much more shallow than its rich history. I always loved how beautiful and strong the female dancers looked. Powerful yet feminine. Also the fact that so many dancers wore the color red. It's been years since my last dance class and I feel like dancing is a great way to exercise as well as meet some other women and learn a bit about Spain.

My first class was inspiring as well as completely surreal. There I was in a class of all these long haired beautiful women and some of them appeared to be in full Flamenco wear with frilly tops and flowers in their hair, which made me wonder if I was in the beginner class. The class was held in this old school ballroom with strong wooden floors that make an amazing sound when we all stomp on it with our shoes. There were elements of Spanish and Flamenco culture all around the ballroom complete with a large bullhead. (is it real? I dunno.)

Since I speak very little Spanish, it was a bit difficult. The most stressing was hearing "muy muy importante" after a long 10 minute intro. Umm yea.. didn't get what was so important, but I sure wish I did. I felt like I was doing well in the class until all of a sudden I didn't. The end of the class was quite a nightmare with opposite hands and feet but I am ok with that because I cannot wait until my next class!

Here's some Flamenco:

and some street performers:

Barcelona Patatas Bravas review #2 !!!

Today we had Patatas Bravas at a restaurant named Mi Gracia they were delicious they were a special kind of patatas bravas recipe,altohugh they were not original patatas bravas and it was just a recipe created by Mi Gracia,they were very good.They were a variation of patatas bravas.

They were crunchy patato cubes with pesto on top they were very very good. I rate them a 8.They were new and good!!!! My taste buds definietely enjoyed thesse ones! Thumbs up!!!!!!!!

Cheers to Mi Gracia

Barcelona Patatas Bravas review #1 !!!

I am starting this new thing were I eat patatas bravas all over Barcelona and I will write a review each time on the blog!! If you curious what patatas bravas are they are fried chunks of potatoes covered with spicy creamy sauce. And I will rate them one to ten. One being the worst and ten being heavanly.


Today we eat at ATN restaurant and there patatas bravas were quite good. I rate these patatas bravas a 7! Although they weren't traditional patatas bravas they were good!! Instead of creamy spicy sauce they had tomato sauce on them but they were still good.

The lazy box!!!

See here in Spain at all the metro stations there is an elevator which we call the lazy box.

Especially at the station Joanic is the worst because you will see people who are young skinny, perfectly able and totally fit get in the elevator. Really when the people should not take the elevator unless you are disable have a wheelchair,shopping trolley,luggage or a stroller. Of course that rule doesn't apply here in Spain.Whats even more funny is the fact that they wait for it not like it's already there and they can just jump in.They actually wait for it.And they make people who need to go in the elevator wait until the next turn because of their pure laziness. They not only take it up they take it down it's like how lazy can you possibly be? Can you get any more lazy?

Barcelona Metro

The Barcelona metro rules! It is the cleanest, easiest and most efficient subway system I have ever been on. So far I've never waited more than 5 minutes. The Routes are clearly marked and its easy to determine quickly which direction you are going.

MIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mia has the best and the worst times in BCN. She has missed squezze foods,and all her little organic baby snacks but she has adapted really well so fast. Mia has joined in all the fun of course getting here wasn't so fun but all the rest has been the superfun.Mia is a REAL trooper.We all love Mia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cacaolat and the Chocolate Obsession in Spain

This is a chocolate obsessed nation.  No complaints here ;).  Anyone that knows me knows I have a chocolate problem however, I crave less sugar and more cocoa.  In other words Nestle, Hersheys and all that cheap stuff generally sucks.

However, I am fascinated by the abundance of chocolate here.  There are products chocolified here that I have never seen before.  It's almost as if it's edible, add chocolate to it.  In fact there are plenty of choices for chocolate formula and chocolate babyfood-- that's right for infants!

Check out the shapshot of a common Spanish supermarket below.  This was taken at Dia, but it really can be of any supermarket here like Condes, Coprabo or Bonpreu. Even some of the "healthy" markets have sections that look like this.

All calories aside, I have learned why one of their most popular chocolate treats "Cacaolat", is as popular as it is.  This is hard to say since I was born and raised in NY for 16 years, but this blows Yoohoo out of the water.  Cacaolat is no chocolate joke.  There is a deep rich chocolate flavor and almost tastes more like a traditional chocolate milk rather than chocolate water.  On a hot day pour one over some ice and add a cafe solo for a simple and quick DIY Spanish mocha.  Deelish. 

This is La Sagrada Familia.  I am lucky enough to walk by it often.  It's stunning and I'm completely mesmerized when the bells chime.

First Night in Our Aparment

We've had an exhausting couple of days.  Between the jetlag, heat and moving on the other side of the world with a baby, I was ready to hibernate the rest of the summer.  The first night in town we stayed at AC Hotel on a great deal.  It was a perfect clean stylish little place to grumpily crash out at with a huge pristine white pressed bed -- which delivered the best nap of my life.

Today was very eventful.  Here's the recap:

• This morning we moved into our apartment.  The rental ad said the unit was "5th floor with no lift" but in reality they should have called it what it was and that is the 7th floor.  Apparently the 1st floor really doesn't start until the 3rd floor.  You get the picture here.. (update: we actually moved outta this place after 2 days.. roaches.. ew!  Our new place has an elevator!)
• Federal Cafe- found this adorable cafe in the hood.  Had a delicious cage free egg bake with spinach and mushrooms. 
• Gym - the whole family joined a local gym and went swimming.

I've also noticed some interesting details about doing business here.  At this point it's not clear if this is a Barcelona or a Spain thing.

• Bank Draft - Seems to be the standard form of payment for rent, gyms and about everything that has a recurring bill.  Not a debit or credit card. It seems businesses want a direct wire bank draft.  Convenient for everyone except the sender.
• Capitalization fees - If you decide to join a gym, send a kid to school, start up some yoga classes or even purchase insurance there is a capital contribution fee for anyone doing business with a company for the first time.  These fees are a one time fee and in addition to regular monthly or other revolving fees.  For the gym it was about 50 euro, for preschool it varies from 200-300 euro and for private schools I've seen anywhere from 1500-3000 euros.  Insurance I was quoted was about 50 euro

The other detail our whole family noticed is the chocolate and Nesquick obsession.  It's EVERYWHERE!  Even Hello Kitty Nesquick cereal and crunchy chocolate doodles (think cheetos!).

Planning for Barcelona!

Our destination will be Barcelona! The other schools applied (and accepted- ahem!) were located in Madrid, Grenoble and Malmo.  Even though the schools all had interesting programs - they just didn't sound as enjoyable and diverse as Barcelona.

Since so much time has passed I went back to my original checklist to see how I'm doing.

1.  Packing up and minimizing all the crap you accumulate over the years is actually quite difficult. Although I did get a fair amount of things tossed away, donated and and/or sold there's still much to do.  My main problem is paper!  There's a lot of sorting, shredding and filing in my future.

2.  Visa's - Holy crap!  I had no idea how tedious each step can be. Our appointment at the embassy is early June however there are a couple more things we are waiting on. Emma's passport is now officially 3 weeks late and the agency hustled me for an additional expedite fee, which doesn't actually guarantee it will be expedited.  For whatever reason, when ever I call for an update they keep asking if we are going to China!? 

Another item is the FBI clearance letter with apostille.  Of course the letter and the apostille can't be done at the same time or place.  The clearance letter is returned to you by mail and then you mail off the apostille request to another agency.  The whole time you are waiting and everyone is taking much longer then they said they would.  I'm just hoping we get these items back before our appointment.

3. Learning Spanish --it's going well.  I have another class today!