One Hundred and One Ways to Wear a Hat from China That Only Cost Cyrus $2 and Was Handcrafted with a Suit to Match

The one and only hat first seen on the sands of Sant Pol

Later that evening the hat was seen worn by the very stylish Susanna

and the famous Sant Polian Nuria whose head seemed unable to handle...they say the hat was

much bigger than her crown and it was an unsightly pair.

Later that evening the hat was spotted on some very famous faces,

the one and only Tony, the lovely Julia (semi-owner since her boyfriend is the proprieter),

and the discreet Marta.

Of course, things didn't start getting serious until the hat made its way to none other

than Xavi and Heidi.

The night finally came to an end for the hat when it was returned to its rightful owner and the sun came up.

the end..

Keegen and the Big St. J Day

As I sit trying to place my words to express the joy I felt when Keegen came up the escalators a month ago, I look across to the balcony directly in front of us and I see what I am assuming is a daughter and father chatting in the cool summer night on their balcony, smoking a cigarette and looking out. I miss my daddy. I miss sitting with him just like that talking, catching up and having a moment. Now they sit and eat dinner together and I wonder if they've seen me, my desire to share that precise moment with my own daddy. The envy.

But at the same time, I know my day will come when my own dad will be sitting with me, sharing this new life I've created, challenging my thoughts and dreams, telling me his own dreams and challenges. There is something absolutely incredible when those that you love most come and share a moment of your new life with you. One of those people that has managed to find me continously, who has made the effort to see me and my surroundings is Keegen. When I saw her come up the escalators, my eyes swelled up with tears and I knew I was looking at someone who will forever be part of my life, a friendship that will always go to any length to find each other and to share.

Although it was already a month ago since she came, I still have her beautiful face engraved in my memory and I start smiling as I think about the whirlwind weekend we had together. That very day, I showed her my neighborhood and told her to prepare herself to see my very favorite town, none other than Sant Pol del Mar on a very big day, Sant Joan, or summer solstice and it's festivities. If you recall, last summer this time I was in Tunisia celebrating with the French and so I got to see Sant Joan for the first time. We took the train down to Sant Pol and met up with the famous Susannas and their boys, Pitu and Nuria the royal family of Sant Pol and some of their friends. Nuria set the table up for 15 people and we ate and drank like Kings and Queens as the fireworks went off in the distance.

Not only did we celebrate Sant Joan but we also celebrated Xavi's (center) big birthday. Double the fun peeps (by the way, Pitu, the King of Sant Pol, is the funny-face making guy to the left). After dinner we headed to the beach to dance our booties off til the sun came up. I loved seeing Keegen's face as Achy Breaky Heart in Spanish came on and everyone started line dancing...

Of course, when you are dancing you cannot let the drink down, no no no not in the heat or your beer will get hot and so you dance with beer in hand. Exhibit A: Picture to the right, Jordi and I doing the two-step with a "cold" Voll-Damm in hand.

The night when on and on, with tons of laughter, lots of bad live music and Sant Pol at it's very best, the only way to invite summer and the beginning of something new with one of your very best friends standing right next to you.

As the sun starting coming up and our bellies started grumbling, we made our way to the bakery bought ourselves some freshly baked croissants and bid each other goodnight. Jordi, Keegen, Joanna and I made our way back to the beach, at this point the sun was up and ready and we fell asleep, decked out and ready in our bikinis and swim shorts so we could wake up and jump right into the water. There is nothing like the sensation of falling asleep on an empty beach only to wake up at 11am surrounded by families have a normal day and your back nice and toasty from the morning sun after a long long night. You only live once and so you dance until you can't and then you jump into the sea to clean off all of last year and start a new.

A Quick Note on Belongings and Where You Belong

I have so many other events to share with you that have already happened, but this past weekend something much more important happened that allowed me to reflect a little and to put things in order. So the fun stuff will come later.

This past weekend I decided to spend two full days of sun, sand, surf all in the company of some good friends. On Saturday I woke up early and made my way to Sant Pol del Mar, my favorite little town. That place has enough magic to make me forget the bad, find my inner silence and to walk away with a smile on my face and golden skin. That night I decided to keep it easy and stay at home, making dinner with my friend Courtney and having a girls night. The next morning we woke up to another sunny day and headed right back to the beach. We ended the day, five beautiful girls with golden skin, in a chringuito listening to jazz and drinking cold beers as the sun set. After a long day, I opted to jump out of the metro and ride my bike home in the warm summer night. As I was exiting Sants Station, I saw and heard a girl screaming for help, jumping hyserically and sobbing, in English. I made my way to her and quickly realized that someone had just stolen her bag. I asked two guys next to me to get the police and I tried my best calming her down as a panic attack started swelling over her. "You don't understand," she sobbed, "I've been here since January, I'm leaving tomorrow morning and he has taken everything...everything." I held her tight and told her to relax, we'd do what we could to get her some help, hopefully her purse and if not that the quickest way out of Spain.

After half an hour of talking to useless police officers who weren't willing to take her to the station, the two guys and I decided to put some money together and get a cab and take her ourselves to the station, making sure to not leave her alone.

After seeing the extremely long lines at the taxi stops one of the guys decided to stop another police officer and insist on helping her out. Meanwhile, I continued talking to her, telling her it was okay, everything she had in that purse was replaceable, the important thing was her safety and sanity at this point. She started sobbing again and told me she had her security blanket from before she was born in her purse and she had never been left without it. I fell silent, sometimes we carry things inside that are not replaceable I thought, that only mean something to us that belong in our core of our being. But if living abroad has taught me anything, it is to learn to let go. There are things you lose on the way to where you go. You learn to not depend so much on what you've been holding on to all your life, you learn to loosen your grip on things and to be willing to lose and find magical things, people, events and memories. You learn to fall in love and to let go when it no longer is yours. You get used to having someone around until their destiny takes them somewhere else and you have to learn how to be without them. Then someone else comes along, not to replace, but to teach you something new.

Nothing in this life is free, nothing is forever and the trick is to not hold on to everything you have, making false promises, but learning how to let go with an understanding that will only grant you strength. It's one of the hardest lessons. But you learn. She learned. I doubt she will ever leave herself vulnerable or unattended again.

After another twenty minutes of talking to the police, they finally agreed to take her and one of the guys squeezed some money into her hands. She hugged us and thanked us mercifully for helping her. Perhaps she did lose her security blanket, but she didn't lose securtiy on this earth, she was guarded by two strangers for an hour while she went through one of the scariest moments of her life, I'm sure. That feeling of nakedness when your stuff gets swiped was replaced by two smiling strangers who stopped to help someone in need. And as I rode my bike home, much later than I wanted, I thought to myself...I'm glad I belong on this earth, where beauty and human kindness out weighs the ugly and greedy.

Another Night in Tarragona, Joanna and kisses

About a month ago I decided to make my monthly escape to Tarragona for some rest and relaxation which is what Tarragona is always capable of granting me. The night after Idoia's inauguration we kept it calm, got dolled up and went out for dinner. Like Ada, Idoia's little treasure said, "Som les mes guapes de Tarragona." I tant! It was nice to dress up for no particular reason, other than it was a warm Saturday night, we wanted ice cream and an easy night out. After dropping Ada off at her granparents we went for a drink with the boys...We can't be too relaxed either and then we called it a night...nothing like a night out in the town...Then a week later I welcomed Joanna's visit all the way from San Francisco. We filled our weekend schedule with Sitges, coffee breaks, dinners, my favorite plaza- Plaza Neri, kisses on the street named Carrer de Petons (kisses...it's the smallest street and it's so cute) and a secret Reggae party at the top of Parc Guell with the most incredible view of Barcelona.

What more can a girl ask for? Summer is here and the freedom one feels on the skin is exciting. There is more to come though...next blog, Keegen's visit, Sant Joan in Sant Pol, and La Costa Brava. So much to say so little time to write...this is what happens when suddenly you turn catalan... a hundred and one traditions to follow and keep up with. Phew!