Willow and Juanjo's SplashBlot

Since we started going out, Juanjo and I have always planned small surprise trips for each other. And the tradition continues during our year in Spain. This weekend, Juanjo planned a one-night trip to Zaragoza, to see the city and go to a couple concerts put on as part of the week long city festival for the saint “El Pilar”.

We walked and wandered, discovering hidden corners of the old city. We danced and jammed at the concert. We climbed one of the towers of the Pilar Basillica, where we saw sweeping panoramic views of the city. And we discovered some of the best ice cream we’ve had in a long time (really–you better visit us so you can try it, they have a place in Barcelona too).

And you know the really cool part? We took a real break from our work, and returned tired from all the walking, but motivated and ready to get things done. And we’ve both been working, last night and today, with new energy for our projects here.

A close friend of Juanjo’s from the Spanish crowd that met in California got married yesterday in the town where his wife grew up, a tiny place deep in Castilla in the heart of Spain. The whole group of old friends was there, two tables’ worth of us (and important people were missing, like Alberto!). The wedding was in the town church, and then the banquet was at a winery way in the countryside.

We had a lot of fun eating, dancing, talking, and laughing. And we loved the town where our hotel was, called Valdepeñas, it was a good place to get together and socialize between wedding events. No more weddings now until next summer (though hopefully we’ll see these friends before that!).

My last college girlfriend was married on a beach in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The setting was spectacular, the bride stunning, the food delicious, the dancing a ton of fun, and the couple wonderfully happy.

We also had a really wonderful time spending time as our college group of friends, two weekends in a row. All married now, it feels like a transition, a new chapter.

Parent night at school tonight, so I stayed home with the children. A juggle to get both to bed on my own, but they’re such good little guys that it wasn’t hard. Today we had rain all day long, and it’s still raining hard now as I lounge on the couch writing this. Tomorrow is my last day here, then Friday we leave for the second wedding in MA. Looking forward to the wedding and then going home to Juanjo in Barcelona!

Picking apples from a neighbor’s tree, walking to a pond, talking about raising children with one of my dearest oldest friends. Playing with the baby on the grass, giving him an apple to teeth on. Watching a 4-year old enjoy a late summer impromptu swim.

Videoconferencing with Juanjo, having it be all about the kids as the baby tried to eat the computer and the 4-year old listened with interest to our lock story (and saw the old lock). Missing my guy. Enjoying the complete absorption that children are, feeling far away from my Fulbright project. Enjoying sitting down just now and getting back into it, reading about language issues in Europe and newspaper articles on immigration. Looking forward to more walks, playing outside with a little boy, and seeing how much the leaves have changed tomorrow.