The journey to Spain –  as is always the case heading to Europe – felt like the worlds longest day.  Flights went smoothly, but none of of use got a ton of sleep.  Andrew and I hung tough and didn’t go to sleep once we settled into our digs, and instead stayed up until about 10pm…we got a good night’s sleep and really don’t seem to have any jet lag to speak of.  Little blessings.    The apartment we have rented is in the Eixample (eh-SHAMP-le) section of the city.  This area is considered to be one of the more upscale and well-located of the sections adjacent to the core of the city.  Location-wise – totally great.  we are three metro/subway stops from the Via Catalunya and Las Ramblas and a couple of blocks from Gran Via, a major thoroughfare where especially during the holidays there is a ton of street vendors and evening strollers.  The apartment building – as with many of the others in the area – is very old with some measure of refurbishing done inside. Andrew termed the one we stayed in as “primitive”…I’d call it simple.  Badly in need of a paint job and general aesthetic repair…nonetheless it was very clean, the appliances worked, it was warm at night (that’s good as it is cold here in the evenings), and we couldn’t beat the proximity to the city center.  Perfect for this trip.

The Eixample is a unique section of the city in that it was built literally in square blocks with a wide hexagonal intersection at each corner, ringed by cafes, little markets, etc.  versus the city center which is winding narrow streets in the original old tradition.  We did daily marketing at the local chain called Mercadano – it carries everything from fresh fish and vegetables to paper goods.  Took us a few visits to nail down where items were (not quite as organized as QFC) but Eitan especially had the system knocked.  He was regularly mistaken for a local and his Spanish got him by just fine.

The first full day here we visited the American School of Barcelona where we are seriously considering sending Eitan in the Fall.  It is located in Esplugues de Llobregat, a suburb of Barcelona about 15 minutes by car from center city.  It is a K – 12 program with an IB curriculum for 11th and 12th grade.  Eitan would enter the 10th grade and it seems that any discrepancy in course work from his home school could be worked through so he doesn’t have a requirements issue on return for his senior year.  We met with the Directpr and the Admissions Lead – both great guys and transplants from New York and Canada respectively – and I think they were as impressed with Eitan as we were with the school!  Eitan really took the lead in answering questions and was very articulate in describing his interests and competencies…kind of blew us away too.  The school facilities are very nice – not so different than basic schools in the States with what looks like a well-stocked library, ample science and technology equipment, a cafeteria where the meals seem home cooked rather than sterile mass production, and a vibrant sports program (YES!!!).  The artwork on the walls from the IB art students is incredible.  Eitan also got to meet the coach that has started and American football team (Coach Teo) and Eitan is encouraged to joint he team if he enrolls in the school. Score a point for the gipper. The other nice thing about the school is that it is a blend of local kids, kids from other countries, and a few from the US.   Not expat-insulated in the least…the tuition structure is such that it is affordable to a sizeable segment of the local population so the mix is good.  The ball is now in our court to complete application materials and there is a good chance that there will be room for Eitan in the Fall. We’ve been fortunate to have been connected with a great family that has a kid enrolled at the American School, and the Westons have been incredibly kind to us already.  Terri (Mom) and Hudson (son) picked Andrew, Ruth and Eitan up at the airport (I took a cab a few hours later on a separate flight), and Eitan and Hudson have already become buddies through Facebook and now in person.  The family is most recently from Texas – Terri is a house Mom and Dan works out of his home as a service representative for corporate jets.

The afternoon following our visit to the school Terri took us for a drive around the city and some of the local sites to get us oriented.  We had lunch in a small town called San Just not far from the school, and then took a bit of a driving tour of the center city.   Las Ramblas – wow!  We parked near the main square in the center of the city and did some meandering through Las Ramblas, Paseo de Catalunya and Paseo de Gracia.  This is the hearbeat of the shopping district and as we have spent a few days in and out of this section its apparent that this is the Spanish counterpart to, say, Times Square in NY, or the Champs Elysee in Paris, but very clean, safe and and very relaxed.  Day or night, people stroll these streets…and I mean stroll – no one seems in a hurry – shopping, eating, talking with family and friends, and this time of year shopping for the perfect holiday gifts.  Ruth discovered a great little crepe stand with yummy sugar crepes and Andrew and I have been trying out local to-go foods.  We have yet to have a true tapas meal but we have been scoping out the ones to try.    The one other unusual thing we saw is that there are small pet shops set up right on the street. You can buy a chickadee, a hamster, small animals and cages for them right on the street!  That right in front of your standard H & M and other chain department stores. It hit me the very first day that family is first here.  Any time of day or night we have seen fathers pushing strollers, grown daughters supporting an elderly parent or relative as they walk through a park,  grandmothers dotting on babies.  It’s just a general feeling of generational respect and caring I don’t recall seeing regularly in the States.  Also, young people – teens and 20-somethings don’t appear to be exclusionary in their attitudes in public places.  I can’t put my finger on it but it feels like an overall acceptance of differences in life experience…sort of “it is what it is”.