Post Holiday Slumber

As the house sits silently and Molly and Oriol take their afternoon nap, I'm taking advantage to post a few pictures of the last year and simply reflect. Most of you ended the celebrations almost a week ago. Here, we finally put a close on gift giving and food gobbling yesterday, giving me time to think back on the year and all the wonderful things that happened. As I cleaned house today and saw how the fog licked the coast from my balcony, I was able to put my thoughts into a wonderful little set of pictures that I thought would help both you and me get a taste of 2010.

The year started with a very cold but delightful trip to Florence with Oriol, where we spent a little over a weekend stumbling across enchanting tiny streets, overwhelming pieces of art that eventually made me break out in tears over lunch and eating the wonderful warm cuisine of Tuscany that includes enormous steaks, beans and sultry red sauces.

If you have never been to Florence, please at some point in your life, make it out there. I absolutely loved how small and comforting the city was and if there is any drop of artist/creator in you, this city will make you weak in the knees, I promise! Not to mention the excellent wine and cappuccinos...

The Second great event of the year was the unexpected snow storm in Barcelona! Being from California, anything that ever has to do with snow is absolutely unimaginable for me and the fact that I live in a city in which time to time the probability of snow exists, nearly knocked my legwarmers off. My classes were canceled for the day and I got to live one of my dreams, to witness snow on the beach! The city around me was falling apart, trains and buses stopped, the streets were a barricade of cars and snow and for some lucky reason that day, I wore my lovely rain boots and had no problem getting around. It was as if I had been born a snow bunny! I ran to Oriol's to save Molly from the rooftop and we played all afternoon. Luckily, my experience wasn't as unfortunate as the rest of the people and in all honesty, it only lasted a day, so it wasn't like really living in the snow. But Better!After the snow and Spring taking it's toll on the city, I got a very special visit from my mom and Betty. They were able to spend a week with me revisiting Barcelona and this time enjoying the outer parts of the city since they had already seen the touristy things the last time they came. We got the opportunity to go to Vacarisses and introduce them to Oriol's parents and the mysterious mountain Montserrat that is just a few minutes away.

We also had a few days of holidays on the Costa Brava up north and watched as the Spring showers nurtured the plants and strolled around the ghost town. These quaint little fishermen towns are usually overpopulated in the summer, but in May, there is almost no one around and we had the paths to ourselves and hours of catching up and coffee drinking. It was such a treat to have these two lovely women by my side and a little piece of home.
Soon after they left, Oriol and I made yet another visit to London. We've found that if you go in early June, the city almost always welcomes you with sun and warm weather. We spent a few days with his cousin, walking the London streets photographing and taking long breaks in the pubs. My favorite thing to do.

And then we welcomed summer with a trip to Menorca, my very absolute favorite Balearic Island to celebrate summer soltice with horses, breathtaking beaches and this time a family trip. To change things up, Oriol and I decided to bring Molly and his parents along and rent a little house outside of Ciutadella. Ciutadella is a little town next to the port which celebrates Sant Joan with horses, cavaliers and gin slushies for 3 full days. The festival is world known and is one of the most spectacular sights. Not to mention that after 3 full days of partying and dancing in the streets, you get to recover on quiet little cove beaches with turquoise waters. This is the place I long to someday make my humble abode. Can you imagine me, on a little island, to visit?
The experience was absolutely lovely and being with the family made it only more special. I have made a subtle promise to go every June until I finally have my little wooden house off the road.
Sometime between my mom's visit and Menorca, Oriol and I made the big choice to share living quarters. We were both very accostumed to living on our own and talked over the big move several times, finally deciding that it would only be a wonderful adventure and in fact it has been. Molly has officially moved indoors, our cooking experiences have been delightful and we have learned how to share our time and space together, making this whole Barcelona life so much more real.
And of course, to not overwhelm him with my royal roomate"ness", I decided to take a whole month of August off and make a visit back home! The idea was to spend 8 full days in Los Scandolous and I couldn't have chosen better. I had 8 full days to catch up with everyone, to see how much the family has grown and meet the newest additions. To have lunch with Marcia, Lisa, Julia (who will be getting married this year) and spend lots of time with my mom.

After LA, I got a few days in San Francisco, where miracoulsly the sun came out and it was like a real summer in SF. Although it was a brief stay, I had just enough hours to meet those I missed and to photograph the city as a tourist. To eat at my favorite restaurants and have Happy Hour at the newest bars.


And then last but not least, I made my way over to Washington DC to visit my sister at heart, Miss Alex and to reunite with my long lost cousin Ixi. We hadn't seen each other in over 15years!! She has moved to DC from Guatemala City, is fully installed and happily married. The best part of it was that she and Alex have become amazing friends and I got to see the little circle of life they have all formed together. I actually loved the city and perhaps because two of my favorite people are there, but I loved the musuems, the streets, the good restaurants and CUPCAKES!!! But most of all, girl time...






After coming back from the States, Molly got terribly ill and we were at the point of losing her. It is the first time that I have ever felt so terribly sad about a pet, perhaps because she has formed such a tightly knit part of our everyday life. Molly has become my company, reasons for countless occasions to laugh and to go out for long walks with Oriol. Luckily, after months of medicating, coming close to losing her once again and surviving countless "accidents" at home, she is back to normal and eating anything she can get her snout on.

All in all, the 2010 was made up of exploring, reading tons ( a post to come on the fantastic books I've read this year), finding all those hidden little treasures that cities have to offer and most importantly, COOKING! I have spent many evenings cooking and dreaming of a bigger kitchen and dining room to fill with people and wine...speaking of, I must run off to help finish making a homemade smoked ham and spinach quiche with cheddar cheese...anyone want to come over?

Welcome to 2011

"The Mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one." Wilhelm Stekel

And with that said, I welcome in the New Year and all that being a mature woman/man entitles. 2010 had its questionable moments, both good and bad. Clearly, not enough to complain over and more than enough to be grateful for and so I dive head first into a new decade, choosing my causes cautiously, standing by them and not forgetting to define my world and more importantly my character and its actions by the beliefs that surround me and the people that influence me.

I am walking into the 5th year of living in Barcelona, continuously learning and trying to be aware of all those little lessons that surface daily as I applaud you from a distance when I receive letters and emails informing me that you are getting married, having a baby, graduating from school, coming to visit, surviving the crisis, creatively even if it's barely, publishing,finding a dream job that you've been searching for and on and on...

My New Year was spent simply this year, perhaps in order to remember how to simplify life and that sometimes, just being surrounded by those you treasure is more than enough and that wearing a sequence mask, putting on old hits and dancing in the living room is much more "enchanting" than stressing out over where you are at precisely 12am on the 31st, it's where you have been and where you are going that matters more.

And so for this year, I wish you health and I hope that in the humdrum of it all you find your own cause and continue to fight for the causes you've been working so hard for. Happy Year my friends and don't forget to dream! Life is Precious