Summer Vibes

We’ve been living in Girona for three weeks now, and the neighborhoods are beginning to feel familiar. A mental map of the city’s streets is slowly unfurling and the traffic circles feel less intimidating. 

So far, we’ve visited four beaches along Costa Brava, discovered a waterfall along a river, and become regulars at our local museum.

Platja de Garbet

We found this beach thanks to a recommendation from Ryan’s coworker, Ramon. We first stopped at the original location, but parking was nearly impossible, especially with two tired, car-cranky kids, so we continued to the next beach. It had an easily accessible parking lot and was only a short walk from the shore.

At first, the kids were disappointed by the lack of fine sand, but they quickly changed their minds. They spent the day combing through the rocks and sea glass in search of treasures. We’ve officially started a new collection!

Calella de Palafrugell

Next, we asked the internet which other beaches might be hiding troves of sea glass. It sent us to Calella de Palafrugell. We didn’t find any sea glass, but we did discover tide pools slick with seaweed and rocky outcrops rising from the sea foam. Anders climbed every rock he could get to. Sonya followed him, which meant I did too!

After a long day at the beach, we found the most magnificent lemon slushies!

Santa Cristina d'Aro

Ramon and his family joined us here for a day of building sandcastles. The water was unusually rough, and everyone got a little battered playing in the waves—which is to say, we had a really good time! We also dug one heck of a hole, complete with protective walls and a moat.

After a morning at the beach, we joined Ramon and his family for el menú, the traditional two-course lunch. There, we met Roger the Baker, who generously gave us the recipe for every dish he served.

Platja de Sant Pol

This is our closest beach, and we’ve already visited twice. The first time, Anders nearly lost his mind with excitement when he saw that we could rent a paddle boat with a slide attached. Our very first dip in the Mediterranean was straight off the end of that slide. The water was salty, warm, and wonderful.

On our second visit, Ryan rode the 40 kilometers from Girona and met us on the boardwalk. The cycling here is exceptional.

Espai Protegit del Brugent

To the north-east of the city, we explored one of the many hikable pools along the Brugent river. Highlights include:

• Lots of fishies! We didn't catch any, even though we waited for the fish to swim into our hands for somewhere around 45 minutes. Sonya is a patient being.

• Flinging seaweed with sticks

• Water-sliding down slippery rocks

• Water bugs

• Water snake!!

• When we arrived, we had it to ourselves for about 20 minutes. Peace.

  
  

Around Town

We’ve become regulars at our neighborhood museum, CaixaForum. All of the workshops are in Catalan, and they are incredibly creative. The guides know us well by now and are patient with our developing language skills. An hour at the museum completely melts my mind.

On our walk to the pool, we explored the market in Parc de la Devesa.

Meanwhile, our neighborhood is transforming into the set of Disney’s live-action Tangled. It has been so much fun to watch the scenery come together around us.

Our car is parked nearly a mile from our apartment in the free parking area at Devesa, so we are definitely getting our steps in.

We’re also settling into our very cool home. I think we’ve decided to stay here for the duration. Come visit—we have a guest room!

It has been hot. Most days have been in the 90s, and a few have climbed into the triple digits. Add a little (and sometimes a lot) of humidity, and it has been seriously steamy.

We decorated a Christmas tree so the Tooth Fairy would be able to find us.

The kids have also spent some time at their future school through its summer camp program. It has been good for Anders. He has made friends, become familiar with the space, and started picking up little bits of Catalan. He often comes home with new words.

Camp proved too challenging for Sonya. She started growling at passersby. She used to do something similar when she was little. She also began taking her discomfort out on Anders, which was a very loud and clear sign that the experience had become too much.

She is home with me for the rest of the summer, and we’ll tackle school together this fall. At least she had a week and a half at camp to become familiar with the environment and meet a few classmates. She is back to being happy Sonya again, dancing around as we wander through the city.

Hope all is well with all of you!

Adeu! (AH-DE-OO)

Jackie