Out with the old

Each year I seem to blog less, but I will squeeze in one more post for 2015.

A couple of years ago I wrote about our calendars, which aren't so different this year.

We are letting go of our 2015 calendars...

AAPT (American Association of Physics Teachers)
photo contest - photos taken by students

University of Colorado Department of Physics

calendar I made from Danish scenes

scenes from Germany

The Onion, which was very disappointing.

I did like this one.

in R.'s room

in A.'s room (maybe the December photo was unappealing?)

...and welcoming these in 2016.

the next AAPT calendar

This was popular last year.

trying something new

I had a coupon for a free calendar (I had to pay for shipping)
so I made one for myself.

This is the calendar that we start in August, but we have migrated to an electronic calendar for most family activities.  It is easier, but I mourn the loss of the calendar as a family diary.

It's a Camp Thing

A sunny day at winter camp
(photo from Facebook)

There is nothing like picking up your kid after a camp session and hearing, "That was the best time ever!  Thanks for sending me!"

I wrote all about winter camp a couple years ago and nothing has changed and maybe that is one of the attractions.  A lot of the same counselors are there and happily greet A. upon arrival.  A lot of the same kids are there, too.

Another great thing, according A., is that at home you act a certain way to fit in with your friends, but at camp you can act any way and you are accepted.  He said all of the kids in his bunk got along and enjoyed hanging out.  Wow.

On the drive home he said it felt like he had just been dropped off in the morning and now it was the afternoon.  Time flies when you are having fun.

Dauntless

People gave me kudos for getting out on the ice, but the brave one was D.

R. was working on a college application and computer crashed.  After rebooting it shut down.  Again and again.  They searched online for do-it-yourself fixes.  They didn't fix it.  We joined the Christmas crowds and bought a new hard drive, which D. and R. installed.  Now that takes bravery.

Ta da!  Even better than new!

R. would like to remind each and everyone of you to back up your computer often.

Vacation in L.A.

After a long day in L.A. with A. and his friends we were headed to the train when we saw the downtown outdoor ice rink.  We wanted so much to go but decided to put it off for another day.  This week that other day arrived.

We paid for an hour of skating and it was crowded initially.

The weather warmed up and most people left the ice long before the hour was up.

A. has a lot of confidence and no fear of falling so he was able to gain some speed as time went on.  I had some confidence and a significant fear of falling (fear of injury, fear of not being able to get up), but was also able to improve over the course of time.  Our friends enjoyed it, too, so we decided we will try some more skating closer to home.

A few final photos

a crossing light near a school

We didn't bicycles in the number you see in Denmark,
but scooters and motorcycles seem to be everywhere.

negative number in the elevator 

the door of a closed cafe - Guadi's dragon seemed to be everywhere

Obligatory tourist photos

Plaça de Catalunya
We stayed two blocks from here for the first three nights.

Parc Güell 

Next to the sea at the end of La Rambla.

Looking out the window on our way down the stairs in
La Sagrada Família.  I hope they finish it in my lifetime.

During intermission at Palau de la Música  - what a ceiling!

On our last night we drank from Font de Canaletes (and had gelato).
Legend has it that this means we will return.

Not to be read while eating

We learned about two Catalonia Christmas traditions, both related to defecating.  I found a fantastic post describing both and I cannot write it any better, but the photos are mine.  Here is the link.

 Feeding the Poop Log: A Catalan Christmas Tradition

• by Ella Morton 
•  Dec. 24, 2013 

It's Christmas Eve, which means children across Spain's Catalan region are gathering in their homes for the traditional whacking of the festive shit log.
Tió de Nadal (Christmas log), a hollow log with stick legs, a smiley face, and a floppy red hat, is a yule branch with a scatological spin. (Its other name is Caga Tió, or "shit log," for reasons that will shortly become apparent.)

On December 8 each year — the Feast of the Immaculate Conception — families bring out the happy log. Every night until December 24, children are tasked with "feeding" the log by offering him nuts, dried fruit, and water. Kids must also cover Tió de Nadal with a blanket to ensure he stays warm and comfortable.

On Christmas Eve, it is time for the little shit log to shine. Children gather around the red-hatted branch and beat him with sticks while singing the traditional Tió de Nadal song:

Shit nougats,
Hazelnuts and mató cheese,
If you don't shit well,
I'll hit you with a stick,
Shit log!

Then comes the miracle: the kids look under Tió de Nadal's blanket and discover that the dear log has pooped out a pile of candies and presents. (The end of the defecation session is signaled by the presence of a stinky herring.) When everyone has collected their gifts from Tió de Nadal, the family burns him for warmth.

The poop log is not Catalonia's only defecation-based festive tradition. Take a close look at any nativity scene in the area and you'll spot Caganer, a porcelain man copping a squat in the presence of Mary, Joseph, and the Three Wise Men. Caganer is not meant to be sacreligious — his fertilization of the holy ground heralds a prosperous harvest in the new year. 

Look carefully and you can see that in addition to buying a farmer caganer
you can also buy a Messi, Bob Marley, or Putin caganer.

Easy on the eyes

I like the little tidbits of art around town.

parking garage

train stop

train stop at Bellaterra

the floor at the train stop

inside an arch at the train stop

I took lots of pictures of buildings.

If you look carefully or click to enlarge you can see the Estelada, an unofficial Catalonia flag, hanging from many windows.  It is usually flown by people who support independence.

Food habits

In the kids' classrooms in Denmark there were refrigerators for storing lunches.  When we visited a school in Barcelona and asked about buying versus bring a lunch we were told that they weren't set up for kids to bring lunches because they had no microwaves.  Another school proudly showed me their row of microwaves.  

One school showed on their schedule that the kids had two hours for lunch.  That gives people time to go home and have a hot lunch (and a siesta?).  But what about working parents?  It seems that many of them also have a break and many places close in the early afternoon.  I had heard stories like this but had no idea it still happened.

Here is an outdoor eating area at what we hope will be D.'s institute.
Three microwaves, but still a line.

I had also heard about people eating late.  I knew it must be true when D.'s former student suggested getting together for dinner at 8:30 p.m.  Good thing we got there then since it filled up later!  On another evening at another restaurant we arrived after 9 p.m. and even though our reservation wasn't in the books (don't try to book online) we were able to get a table.

We were glad to eat here.  It is surrounded by ancient Roman walls and the kitchen runs from where I am standing to the stainless steel wall just past where the man on the left is standing.
We would not have found this place without a recommendation and barely found it with one.

I was amazed how many restaurants there are in town and how they all seemed to be filled.  Seems like a nice lifestyle, at least for a week.

Food

I don't like to take pictures of my meals, but there are still plenty of opportunities for food photos.  Here are a few, not in any special order.

I am not so fond of marzipan, but I do like to look at the creative ways people use it.

I love lemon gelato, but the Kinder flavor and Ferarro Rocher flavors caught my eye.

We lots of dried beans for sale and cooked beans in jars,
but in the market someone was selling cooked beans.

Such cute animals, but this was not a pet store.

There was amazing variety at this store.
I had so much fun looking and ended up buying a single serving of yogurt.
The person who worked there did not speak English but still was able to explain the difference between the full-fat and fat-free versions.

And for those of you who prefer meat over dairy.

I know the local TJoe's has chopped vegetables for stir fries and such,
but this struck me a little different.

We found some vegetarian-friendly restaurants, had a few casual meals, and generally enjoyed not making meals for a week.

We're Back!

We started at the Bellaterra station and headed
to the end of the line at Placa de la Catalunya.

From there we caught the Aerobus to the airport.

Can you guess where we had a stopover?

Now can you guess?

One more hint.

Switzerland!

I was tempted by the Swatches.
If you click for a larger image you'll see the details of a new style.

There were lots of little things I liked about the flight.
There were cute pretzels.

There was real flatware!

And there was real chocolate.

The flight home seemed as long as the entire trip, but it gave D. time to grade.  We watched two movies together, Bridge of Spies and Minions, and enjoyed both.

It was raining when we got home, which was not great for the person who picked us up, but it was nice for the garden and rain barrel.

The kids did fine without us, maybe even more than fine.  They were sad to see end of rides to school and white bagels.

More blogs to follow!