Celebrating 65 with Flamenco!

Yesterday was Bucky's 65th birthday. He took the day off to relax and hang out reading his Leonard Cohen book in the place near our house. It was a good day! In the evening, we headed to a leisurely, Italian dinner at this cool little restaurant/wine bar/pizzeria called Giorgio. It was a wonderful meal and we still had the big event to enjoy! After dinner, we headed to the Palau de la Musica Catalan for a flamenco show!

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures or film any of the performance, but believe me when I say it was spectacular! The production we saw was Arte Flamenco and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to experience an exciting display of passion and culture. The performers, musicians and dancers included, really put their hearts on the stage. It was amazing and now, of course, I want to learn how to dance the flamenco!!!

Bucky and his cake!

At the Palau waiting for the event to begin.

The Palau is a spectacular building so it was almost as captivating as the flamenco!

Cool to see this dome at night!

Another dome shot.

Outside of the Palau. Wow!

Me and the birthday boy after the show.

Visitors

I love that Barcelona is such a destination location for so many of my friends! Just in the past couple of months, three friends have come with their significant others to visit this lovely city and Bucky and I have been able to spend time with them! Leanna and I used to work together at MSC many years ago. She and her husband were here for almost a week and did lots of cool things including spending an evening with us eating paella! It was lots of fun to catch up and hear all about their lives now. Lydia and her husband were here for a few days during a longer trip throughout Spain. Lydia and I worked together at Snagajob and she let me know they would be here so we coordinated dinner together. We took them to our favorite casual restaurant at the beach and shared tapas and rose! I loved hearing all about the gang at Snag and getting to know her husband, Baird. Most recently, my dear friend, Ashley, came to Barcelona with her new beau. They traveled through Italy and France and ended their trip here so we could spend some time together. Bucky and I were both working so we couldn't see them during the day, but we spent both nights they were here together, catching up and laughing lots! We could have spent lots more time together and hope for a longer visit next time!!!

With Leanna after paella!

With Lydia at our Barcelona version of Poe's. 

Ashley and me catching up and loving it!

This weekend's hike

Yesterday, Bucky, India and I went on another hike. Bucky downloaded a new app that shows us trails, their level of difficulty, the distance of the trail and the total time it should take to complete it and we chose one that started about 15 minutes by car from our apartment. The hike was moderate and said to take about two and a half hours. The app pinged along the way pointing out interesting things to note and also ponged at us when we got off trail (which was only a couple of times). The hike itself provided some pretty vistas, but the trail was unimpressive and a bit treacherous in places as we headed down some steep slopes that were challenging to navigate. As always, India led the way and constantly stopped to make sure we were catching up with her.

We took plenty of breaks and drank lots of water as it was a hotter day than we had expected and the hike offered little opportunity for shade. Next time, we are going to look for "forest hikes" so that we can be shaded by trees and not exposed to the brutal heat of the sun like we were yesterday. We also decided we need to get some walking sticks to help us as we descend steep ground! We saw lots of people out and about on the trail, including tons of people on mountain bikes. Bucky joked that that would be our next challenge, but there is no way in the world I would ride a bike on those trails. Walking is just fine with me!

India leading the way as we start out.

One of the sites the app pointed out - an old hospital where people with leprosy used to go.

View of Barcelona during the hike.

Cool cave along the way.

India resting! Obviously, Bucky and I are too!

Interesting art we saw!

This was a memorial to a man named Jordi. It looked like they had planted a tree there in his honor as well.

More resting - this time in the shade!

India and I are hiking along!

The entrance to the path.

Transitions

My first week of work was a success. I am a 3D Escalations Manager at HP which is located across the mountain from Barcelona in Sant Cugat del Valles. Bucky's office is close by so we are commuting together to work which is fun! I am currently in training, learning about the 3D printers we make. They are so cool! It is really cool to see them in action and tough to believe what a huge impact they have had and will have on the world. After working in software for so many years, it is exciting to work with something that I can actually see and feel!

Even though I am thrilled to have a job, it has been a challenge leaving India by herself each day. She has Bisoux, the cat, but I am sure she misses having her mom home all day. Luckily, I found a wonderful man to take her walking every day. His name is Richard and he is from Hungary. He has lived in Barcelona for a number of years and is a true dog lover. I found him via a Barcelona Dog page on Facebook and when I went to meet him the first time, I recognized him from being out and about walking with India which was nice! He comes midday and walks with India for an hour. He sends me pictures and videos every day. They were on their own for the first couple of days, but now he is adding friends to their walk which is nice! I am glad India is in good hands while I am at work!

India's first day with Richard.

India with her new friend Maggie.

She's making more friends each day! 

France again!

I am starting a full-time job (yeh!) so Bucky and I decided to get away for the weekend before reality hits. We decided to go back to France and opted for the quaint village of Laure-Minervois. It is a tiny little place set among the vineyards. The Airbnb we chose was spectacular and just what we needed. We recently decided that we are going to focus on hiking as an activity to do together and we found a great trail outside of Caunes-Minervois. It was a two and a half hour round trip hike to the Kings quarry in the hills outside of town. During our hike, we were joined by a few dogs from the hills who obviously frequent the trail as they were dressed with all sorts of tracking gear, including bells. They hung around for a while which India appreciated, but they shortly got bored of us and went off to explore.

Of course, we celebrated our hiking success with lovely lunch in the place and rose! On the way back to our village, we stopped at a spectacular vineyard, Chateau St. Jacques d'Albas, for some wine tasting! We had a lovely visit with the owner, Graham, and decided to buy a few cases to take home.  Graham wasn't sure about how to ring up our purchases so I offered to jump behind the desk to help. It was fun figuring it out together, but we still ended up having to have his son rescue us! That evening, Bucky and I drove to this isolated town, Minerve, that has existed since the 10th century. The drive was dicey (think narrow roads and deep ravines), but it was worth it. We wandered through the town, took pictures and were amazed at how isolated it remains.

On Sunday, we headed to Carcassonne for a vide grenier with was fun. We purchased a couple of treasures. We then found another vide grenier toward Narbonne and headed that way. En route, we found the lovely town of Ventenac-en-Minervois which is perched on the Canal du Midi. We struck out at the next vide grenier, but decided to head back to the Ventenac-en-Minervois for lunch along the canal. At the restaurant, there were two chickens roaming about that definitely kept India on her toes! We had a great time and plan to come back and spend a weekend there and find out if we enjoy canal life. Stay tuned, but for now, off to reality and my first day of work!

Staring our hike to the quarry.

The three dogs who joined us along the way.

Lots of nooks and crannies to walk through.

Stairs up to the old quarry. 

Bucky and India at a rest point.

Now it is time for India and me to rest!

Some of the equipment that was used at the quarry.

Quite a view!

There were numerous statues made from the pink marble from the quarry on the walk back into town.

Bucky's reward for the hike is rose of course.

Mine too!

India striking a pose!

Helping out at the Chateau!

India didn't like the open tread of the staircase in the Airbnb so Bucky had to carry her up and down.

The town of Minerve.

View from the walk into Minerve.

Bucky on a little street in Minerve.

Another view of Minerve.

And another!

Eating on our patio at the Airbnb.

Canal du Midi.

Final mealtime for the weekend!

Cheers to a wonderful weekend in the wine country.

Our lunch companions.

The chickens are RIGHT by her and she is doing a great job of resisting to pounce!

Selfie on the canal. We will be back!!