El apartamento

Tabitha's jardín de hierba

Max en la sofá

We are settled into our new apartment.   We have spent a lot of time getting the final odds and ends to make it feel like home. Tabitha has started an herb garden on our beautiful patio and Max enjoys laying on his new couch.  What most of you probably care about is that we finally got a futon for visitors!  To get the futon, we had to brave Ikea in Spain. This was probably one of the hardest things we have done yet.  Ikea was a crazy labyrinth filled with people.  It took us at least 60 minutes to wind our way through the people filled store just to find the futon section!  I can't say we will ever try to venture back to this (or any) Ikea in the future.

Since getting the futon was such an ordeal, we expect MANY visitors to come to Barcelona to justify our Ikea visit.  Therefore, you had better start planning your Barcelona trips.  Please sent e-mail to tabberda (at) gmail (dot) com to get added to the Barcelona calendar to reserve your vacation time!  Max wants to see you too!  (The cost of staying at casa Taborlitha is dinner)

La cocina.
(Jeanette, check out our canisters!)

Dormitorio

Dormitorio para los visitantes

Suiza es hermoso

I went to beautiful Switzerland for a conference on "Body Representation."  I promise that this was work related.  The conference was held on monte veritá--the mountain of truth, located near the Italian border.  The first settlers came to monte veritá in 1904 in search of an "alternative lifestyle," practicing healthy eating (vegetarianism) and nudism.  Today, the location hosts international seminars and conferences, like the one I attended.

I also spent one night in Milano before heading back to Barcelona.  The (fourth?) largest cathedral in the world, the Duomo is located in Milano.  Although the inside doesn't compare to other cathedrals, the outside is truly spectacular.  Unfortunately,  the Duomo is a tourist trap and the street vendors there were  extremely pushy.  They will actually force bracelets onto people's wrists and THEN ask for money.  I was so startled by one of the vendors as he pushed bird seed into my face that I almost hit him!

I still need to go back to Milano to see DaVinci's The Last Supper, but the next time I go to Italy I will be bringing Dave!

Our temporary apartment

We took some time off from the "webpage" because of the move to the new apartment, lack of Internet at the new apartment, and Tabitha traveling to Switzerland.  So, we have a bit of catching up to do.

A little reminiscing about our previous apartment.  We were very glad to have a roof over our heads, a kitchen, and to live in such a "happening" area of the city.  However, we would like to share some of its more charming features.  A picture is worth a thousand words...

Flaming box of death (gas water heater)

We never figured out how to control the
water temperature.
The same setting could be scalding hot,
freezing cold, or just right.

Shower faucets?
Why were they near the ceiling and above the sink?

Bathroom light.
(notice that it is in the family room)

Estamos en nuestra hogar!

It has been a while since our last update.  Tabitha was in Switzerland for a week at a conference, abandoning Dave and Max to move in all by themselves.  The past week has seen us exploring our new neighborhood, which means walking a lot up and down hills, searching through various stores to find things we need for the house.

Dealing with the language barrier has been a challenge, but luckily there are some very nice people we work with that are willing to help out when necessary. 

It has been over two months since we have had a home to call our own (although we have had some very nice living arrangements in the mean time, due to some wonderful people!), but we are settled in nicely now, and Max has a nice big porch to relax on.  We will be updating as soon as we get Tabitha's computer on the Internet (darn Macs) with some pictures from Tabitha's trip to Switzerland, and some from our new home.

Hasta pronto!