Bidding Farewell to The Summer

After months of moving around, relaxing and swimming in the blue sea, I have finally have had to pack up my bikinis, store my sunscreen (yes I wear sunscreen) and start taking life seriously again. I had the luxury of going to Calella de Palafrugell one last time to say goodbye to the summer decently and to enjoy a few more precious hours in the sun. Just the week before, the weather had dropped a few degrees and the rain joined us, but someone upstairs was watching out for me because Sunday the sun came out and I got to swim one last time in the now icy waters of the Costa Brava.
Julia and I got to enjoy a day of sunshine and Claras which was absolutely wonderful and I ran out and into the water like a Baywatch episode, thrilled to get in a
a last good swim. As I sat on the beach and thought
back to the last few months, I realized that I had one of the best summers yet without having to move around to much, by simply enjoying the small pleasures in life and getting to treat friends to spectacular towns and getting treated spectacularly.
Now I'm just looking to see how on earth I can have a small beach home too.

That's a little too difficult to fathom at the moment, so instead I want to show you the last few clippings of this summer that I didn't get to share before and to help me bid the hot sticky days away and welcome the coolness of Autumn, the bold oranges, plum and brown colors that have replaced the light white linens of August.Like those who know me well, understand that summer is my time, that I love the beach and sun and there is nothing better than gathering some of your best and favorite friends to help you welcome a time when there is always an hour or two or three to drink a cold beer on a cool terrace or to dress all in white and have the Summer Bubble Feast! A sit down dinner I invited 15 friends to in which it was mandatory to dress in white and bring some kind of bubbly. Apparently Albert got his colors mixed up but we forgave him for that. As an added treat, I had these little Spanish birds make personalized ice cream sundaes with toppings and all, something most of them had never done in their lives. It was a blast watching them go crazy.There is nothing more fulfilling then filling their bellies with good food all dressed in white in the middle of my living room. And so you ask, "Heidi, what is summer like in Barcelona?" Well...let me show you. Summer in Barcelona is:



Outdoor movies in the middle of Montjuic's castle with picnic, wine, friends and all...
Outdoor German opera in the Pedrables monastery at almost the top of Barcelona in a precious garden with one of your good friends who has decided to surprise you. Cold beers on the beach after a long day at the beach with the girls as Jazz dances out of the speakers, children laugh and couples dance to the music...And there's more...keep reading on to the next entry...hurry!

More Summer Fun Continued...

Barcelona is a place full of surprises and art where you might least expect it, like mirrors and hanging seashells on the beach. But along with it's new modern art, you can find tradition, centuries old, at every turn of the corner and daily calendar, especially in the summer, where each town has its very own Festa Major along with its castles, giants and breathtaking fireworks. Like in Tarragona, where I got to see my very first human castle! Yes, you read correctly, they are known as Castells and they derived in Catalunya and each town has its team and it is nerve-wrecking and breathtaking as you watch them build a tower of humans sometimes up to nine levels high with a 7 year old to crown it off:



















With the castles, there is always a firework show, which I got to see personally from Idoia's parent's beach front balcony, fire runners known as Corre Focs, who run through the middle of giant crowds with exploding firecrackers, taunting and frightening the people to join them...
You also have the giants or Gigants, enormous puppet like characters that represent famous people from the town, giant horses that run up into the crowd...Yes, I know, none of this really makes any sense and not many could explain to me the why of my questions and it is dangerous, but hey that's what being in a new culture is all about now isn't it? Putting yourself in the hands of danger in order to bring you the Catalonian information at the tips of your fingers. Someday you'll thank me for all of this, but I guarantee you will not see me climbing one of those human castles...unlesss...After all of these cultural experiences, I always seem to find myself in some plaza or terrace, surrounded by amazing people, getting the latest gossip and reflecting on a day full of adventure and life lessons...and that is summer in Barcelona. Now I turn the page of the calendar, take out my grey wool tights which I've missed so, my boots and prepare to welcome Autumn, filling my time with trips to museums, indoor concerts, and warm coffee drinks. Waiting to see who will visit next.