Sitges, Spain

We visited Sitges, Spain this weekend.  It is a beautiful beach town about a 40 minute drive south of Barcelona.  Chris (the German) from the lab invited us to go with him.  The day was absolutely beautiful and it was so nice to get out of the city.  Dave finally got to eat his first delicious paella! The paella served on campus is not delicious.  

Delicious paella

We have parrots!

Dave and Chris.
Notice that Dave is wearing shorts
and Chris is in a scarf and coat.

Sail boats and a sun set

Surfers about to hit the waves

Sitges

Poble Espanyol

Today we went to Poble Espanyol...

a Spanish village built in 1929, reproducing parts of towns
from all over Spain.

The village is filled with quaint streets and...

beautiful Spanish architecture.

There were numerous art exhibits including a Picasso room
(of course, no pictures were allowed inside the museum)

There were many small shops that sold Spanish crafts made by
artisans in the stores.  There were glass blowers, weavers,
and metal workers.  Instead of buying Spanish souvenirs,
we had delicious hot chocolate.  It was really REALLY delicious.

Of course Cervantes, author of Don Quixote,
was there...

and Dave got to reenact a scene from Blazing Saddles.

However, the most exciting part of the day
(according to Tabitha) was what we saw
on the way to Poble Espanyol.

A day in the life

We live in a hilly part of Barcelona...

near Dante Alighieri Street.

There are many stairs and...

escalators on the streets! (there are two escalators in this picture)

We can see our work (look for the tall clock tower and church)
from Dante Alighieri. 

(Almost) Everyday we buy fresh bread...

and fresh fruits and vegetables.

We can buy dried meats, or...

fresh meat and...

fish. (Check out the knife that the fishmonger is holding).

On nice days we drink coffee outside...

and watch kids ride the carousel-like thing.

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!