And then more snow!

March 8th, 2010

goofy guy, mar82010

bicings in the snow, mar82010 stuck in the snow, mar82010

view from our window, mar82010

No one believed the snow would stick, because it never does here, but it did, for several hours, right during Monday rush hour traffic. The city busses were stopped, the metros packed with lines snaking down the tunnels, and the downtown streets virtually empty of cars. People had hours of traffic out of the city and many train lines were late or canceled for the evening. Snowball fights on every corner, fierce umbrellas against the wind. And everywhere a feeling of amazement, to see so much snow, here, in this city by the sea where simply seeing a few flakes fall is an event.

snowy stairs, mar82010 snowy bench, mar82010

We went for a walk and got dinner out with friends visiting, and by the time we got home it had started to rain and melted most of the snow on the streets near our house. But the breathless expectation was still in the air. I think people will be talking about this for a while!

our street at night, mar82010

Snow in Barcelona!

March 8th, 2010

snowy monday, mar2010

This is the second time it snows here this winter, and the first snow we see (we were gone for the weekend when it snowed last month). Here I am on the way to the metro after a school visit this morning. After raining all night, and this morning, I came out of the school to find big flakes drifting down and melting as they hit the ground. Considering how warm it was Saturday it is amazing it’s cold enough to snow. It won’t stick, but it sure is pretty to see it falling!

Spring Tease

March 7th, 2010

spring view from montjuic, mar2010

biking in barcelona, mar2010 biking in barcelona, mar2010

Yesterday, a beautiful day. Blue sky, warm sun, spring flowers starting to bloom. We went for a run to Montjuic, our usual route, and then biked back. Glad we got out, because today the rain and dark stormclouds are back!

La Barceloneta in Winter

February 8th, 2010

Barceloneta in February, 2010

The first week here we rode bikes down to the beach, late one night, and ate takeout pizza on the sand. I’ve been back with visitors, but we hadn’t been back together since September. This Saturday we headed back, taking bikes from our apartment down to the far end of the Barceloneta beach. We wandered down a pier and sat for a while, watching tourists wander, small children play on their scooters, and bike tours cycle by. It was the warmest, sunniest day in weeks, and I even noticed a roller-blader with a tank top on. Tired from the week, we relaxed for a while with our eyes closed, laying back on a fish-shaped bench.

Pier on the Barceloneta, 2-6-10

After exploring the pier, we walked along the beach towards the port. The water was cold on our feet, but the sand felt good. It was nice to walk along the shoreline, dodging pebbles and watching birds. I even convinced Juanjo to take his shoes off too!

Feet in the Sea, 2-8-10 shoes off at the barceloneta, 2-6-10

Compost in Barcelona

February 7th, 2010

compost basket, feb 2010 compost basket, feb 2010

Yes compost. Yes Barcelona. In this 5th floor apartment, in the middle of the city, we are composting. I noticed the brown bins in the street a month or so ago, and then when Juanjo went to do some municipal paperwork he picked up the basket and the bags (which are made from potatoes, and biodegradable). He told me the woman began explaining how to compost, and he quickly reassured her that his wife knew what to do. For those of you who don’t know, I grew up composting. Long before people were talking about composting to save the environment, my parents were composting to use the soil for their garden. Since living in cities, I’ve had a guilty conscience about NOT composting. So it was very exciting the day Juanjo showed up with the pail and we started sending out food scraps back into usable earth, instead of landfills.

throwing out the compost, feb 2010

How about following the trend, San Francisco?

Do you compost? Would you like to? What stops you from starting?