A Few of My Favorite Things

Now that we've been back a while, I can admit to being completely nostalgic for a few things from our previous life, right? Here goes, in no particular order:

Carrer de Lleo, Our Street

I always loved walking home, seeing all the same people going about the same business on our block. It's just not the same kind of community in a car-culture. I wonder if the neighbors miss me as much as I miss them?

Never Knowing What You're Going to Get

When we first arrived in Spain, I was longing for familiar foods like burritos, but I quickly became a fan of trying dishes I previously never considered food items, such as Rabo de Toro (Bull's Tail):

Weekdays Between 6pm and 9pm

This is when the neighbors come out on the plazas to have a beer or a chat or a kiddie game of street ball. The whole world slows down, lets the day go and actually enjoys time outside with friends. It's a beautiful thing.

Totally Un-P.C. and Sometimes Just Wrong

I once wrote about how the Spanish can seem offensive when viewed through an uber-politically correct American lens, but sometimes their awkward humor is just down right funny. I loved seeing odd uses of the American language, such as the following name for a clothing store. Do you think Granny realizes what she's posing under?

Celebrating Barsa

Clearly, if you read this blog, you know we are devout Barsa fans. Watching every game at BJ's 100 Club with all of these crazy fans was definitely the highlight of every week. We still stream the games live from our laptops, but jumping up and down by one's lonesome just ain't the same.

Sunday Paella

Is there anything on earth more tasty-looking? I don't think so.

For my birthday is this weekend and I'm making myself a big pot of paella to help cure my Spanish-homesickness. The Sunday Paella tradition lives on...!!!

 Note: This list does NOT include any of our dear friends we miss terribly. Come visit!

Back in the Bay

After barely escaping an all-out brawl with two thugs and the pilot on my return flight, we finally made it back to where we started. I would say "back home" but we're couch-surfing (thanks everyone!) and don't know yet where we'll land.

First stop in San Francisco: El Metate for tomatillo sauce, black beans and enchiladas. Mexican food never did taste so good!

Next stop: our lovely storage closet:

How in the world did we go from carrying everything we need in these two backpacks to an entire room full of junk?!

Ted couldn't find the charger to his beard trimmer in all that mess, so he went around like this goofball for a while:

But the real question we're asking ourselves is, did we ever leave? Everything here seems just as we left it, minus a few new babies and talking toddlers. A year goes by so fast! Did we just dream up that Catalan adventure?