Festa dels Cors de la Barceloneta

Wow! It's festival time again, and now it's right outside our door!

















For those who are keeping track, we live in the Barceloneta. It's a little neighborhood on a peninsula that sticks out from the old city and into the Mediterranean. It's kind of primitive down here, serving as a guarantee that when something is going on it's bound to be authentic. The Festa dels Cors de la Barceloneta started in 1916 and it is a very local affair. There weren't many tourists out, but plenty of drinking, dancing, and otherwise celebrating Catalans, young and old. Roaming bands and dance troupes snaked their way through the area, gleefully banging drums and shaking what their mommas gave them. I'm not sure what time we got to sleep, but it was late.

This picture is the test run on the Saturday before the Monday festival. I think it was just an excuse to test the beer taps.

Paris ~ Worth the hype!

Bonjour!

We returned from Paris yesterday, and while it was nice to be home, we were definitely dissappointed at having to leave. As soon as we arrived in the heart of the city it became immediately apparent why Paris is one of the most popular European destinations.


Where to begin? Well, just walking through the most beautiful city that we have ever visited ranked high on our list of things to do. We set out on the first day and we were amazed at how the wide boulevards consistently gave way to tall trees and open green spaces. Barcelona is great, but it's claustrophobic by comparison--although I still prefer "cozy".

First, we wandered along the Seine and found our way to the Place de la Concorde, went up the stylish Champs-Élysées, and ended at the Arc d'Triumph. Later in the day we saw Notre Dame and criss-crossed the Quartier Latin. Then, as though we were just getting started, we went to the late opening of the Louvre and gazed on her holiness, the Mona Lisa. We stumbled along the museum corridors on sore feet for a few more hours until we couldn't take any more. It was now time for dinner.

We had a young Beaujolais to accompany our steak and salmon, which had been preceded by French onion soup and a warm goat cheese salad. We finished it off with a carmelized pear tart that would have been lovely with a cafe au lait, but James was falling asleep and Maggie had been breaking in new sandals that afternoon--we were exhausted!

Jour deux: We started the day at a little bakery around the corner from the hotel. Their pastries were amazing and by the end of the trip we were starting to think that Alexandre Eiffel's creation seemed a little less emblematic for the Paris that we had experienced; it had ceded this distinction to the almond croissant.

We continued on to the Musée d'Orsay, a railway station built in 1900 that has been converted into one of the city's premiere museums, showcasing 19th and 20th century artwork. This was a highlight of our trip and was the most aesthetically pleasing museum enclosure that we have seen. It's collection was fascinating and bereft of the 15th century religious artwork that most visitors to European museums tire of quite quickly. You know...crucifiction, crucifiction with gold-leaf border, resurrection, resurrection with gold-leaf border, angry-looking Mary suckling the baby Jesus, euphoric Mary suckling the gold-leafed-haloed Jesus...you get the point.


Afterwards, we headed up to the Montmartre district for sweeping views of the city and a close up view of the Sacré-Cœur. Bon chance! There was a gastronomic festival going on and we got to sample regional delicacies like Bordeaux wine and cheese that could gag the most daring turophile and that I am sure would put hair on your feet--which is where the stuff comes from anyway.


Some time after this came the crêpes, the 11.60€ pair of coffees, and before we knew it we were back at the hotel and changing for an evening meal. This time we sat opposite the Notre Dame cathedral, drank black beer served slightly below room temperature, and relished the end of a whirlwind weekend adventure on the occasion of our five-year anniversary. It seems like longer, but Maggie insists it doesn't. We have finally learned to agree to disagree. Congratulations to us!

Καλημέρα, to all our friends and family! Part 3 (Athens) Scroll down to Part 1 to start

After returning from our cruise we had two more days in Athens before returing home. What can we say? It was great! We got in to everything free because it was Easter weekend, so that meant the Parthenon, the National Archaeological Museum, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian's Gate, etc. Want to see some of it? Come a little closer for a peek...

We found some nice little restaurants to indulge our lamb cravings, wandered outdoor markets, and never even got lost. Oh well, there's always next time.

All in all, a nice trip. We're grateful to be home safe, and our missing luggage was delived as we were finishing this final entry. Take care everyone, and we look forward to talking again soon!

Καλημέρα, to all our friends and family! Part 2

Day 5, Santorini (continued): As we were pulling in to the harbor at Santorini we started to realize that something was wrong. Another cruise ship that we had seen many times on our trip--it shared our itinerary--was sitting the in the bay and listing badly to starboard. This is what we could see:

At about this time we were told over the ship's intercom that there was a serious emergency with the Sea Diamond--the other ship--and that our disembarkation at Santorini would be delayed as we were to assist with the situation. As we watched, all of the passengers filled the upper decks, their orange life preservers lining the rails as local boats swarmed around the ship to see what they could do to help. The evacuation lasted hours, and at one point the ship had to be towed off the rocks as seen here:

We ended up spending the entire afternoon and early evening sitting in the harbor under orders from the port authority. We took on hundreds of people who filled empty cabins and who slept in our lounges that night. We were scheduled to return to Athens the next day so the effect on our trip was minimal, we just missed our final stop. Everyone on our ship just felt thankful that we were weren't on the other ship as it was a striking reminder of the risks we take on a daily basis. If we ever go on a cruise again we will take the evacuation drill on the first day very seriously.

Our final views of the ship were not very encouraging, and as it turned out the Sea Diamond sank early the next morning. While we were having our last breakfast on the boat we heard some of the rescued passengers talking about when they were going to be able to retrieve their things; within an hour they would have heard the everyhting was lost. Unfortunately, it looks as though two French tourists who have been missing for days may have been trapped somewhere on the ship, though they haven't confirmed anything yet. The explanation at this point seems to be that even with all the latest navegational systems on the ship, human error or inattention were still responsible for allowing the ship to scrape alongside a reef and open a gash that instantly flooded numerous decks and began the hours-long ordeal of its sinking.

Finally, here is a picture of beautiful Santorini that we would love to visit someday, if we ever again have the chance.

Καλημέρα, to all our friends and family! Part 1

Hello and welcome to the newest installment of Los Stuhan. The Greek word above is a typical greeting and is pronounced "kalimera" and it means "nice day." We have just arrived home from our fantastic Aegean vacation and the rest of our luggage will soon be delivered to our door--or so the airline has promised us. Still, at least it is not on the bottom of the ocean, but more on that later. We had a wonderful time in Greece and we'll have to go back someday, even if just to have a nice meal. Here's a summary of our time there:


Day 1, Athens: We arrived in the mid-afternoon and after checking in at our hotel we strolled the Plaka District, where shopping and restaurants galore await the swollen wallet of sun-burned tourists. We ate at a nice little taberna and it turns out the mousaka is actually fantastic, we just hadn't had a very good one back home. Afterwards, we had a strong Greek coffee and a glass of Ouzo over ice. We turned in fairly early as we had and early embarkation the next morning.


Day 2, Cruise from Athens to Mykonos: O.k., so the cruise ship was pretty basic, not the kind of thing that you see in those Royal Caribbean commercials. Still, the food was good and it was our transport from island to island. Mykonos was the postcard example of a Greek towns, shimmering white facades beneath the midday sun. Here's a model that let us take his picture:

Overall, a lovely town, if a bit touristy and expensive. Still, our meal was on the ship so the only thing we had to buy were our five euro coffees.

Day 3, Mykonos to Kusadasi, Turkey and Patmos, Greece: Mykonos was picturesque, but Turkey was beautiful and awe-inspiring. The port was about 20km from one of the best archeological sites in the world: the ancient city of Ephesus. Take a look at these photos:

According to our guide--whose English was disturbingly similar to that of Borat--only a quarter of the city has been laid bare by excavations. It's hard to imagine our children coming here in 50 years and seeing even more of it.

Day 4, Rhodes: We awoke in the Port of Rhodes, one of the largest Greek islands and in ancient times home to the Colossus which stood at the entrance to its harbor. The city was amazing and had a much older feel than some of the more spruced-up tourist towns. We went on a day trip to Lindos, another ancient city with a beautiful bay and sweeping views from its acropolis as seen below.



Day 5, Heraklion (Crete), and Santorini (almost): Crete wasn't really all that interesting, the highlight was a cafe with fresh-baked spanakopita that was a welcome early afternoon snack. We visited the Palace of Knossos, which is a huge Minoan complex from around 1700 B.C. It would have been more interesting if the British archeologist that uncovered it hadn't used concrete and paint to reconstruct it the way he thought it was supposed to look--this was in the early 20th century. Anyway, it was a short stop and we were on our way to Santorini.

Goodby Winter...

...Hello Spring!

As we bid farwell to what turned out to be a lovely, but rather short lived, winter we would like to reflect a little and say thank you to all of our visitors who helped to make it such a memorable season.

Thank you to Mom and Dad (Bernie and Pat) for coming and enjoying the beginning of the year with us. Additionally, thanks for helping us be tourists in our own town, we got to see a lot of things we might never have seen if not for your visit. I guess we "returned the favor" in a sense ; ). We hope that this was only the first of many such adventures that you make.

Thanks again to Mom and Dad (Leanne and Frank) for making sure we had company for what would have otherwise been some pretty lonely holidays...and for being the catalyst for our trip to Italy!

Thank you Dad (Sean) for kicking of our visitor season in style! We got to see some sites, eat some great food, and get dressed up and go to a real palace ball...what a life ; )!

I guess that we can't expect any more visitors, at least not in Barcelona, since we will be heading back state-side come June. We are grateful to all of you guys for making the time and effort to get here and for coping with the terrible exhange (OUCH!). It was worth it though ; )! We look forward to seeing all of our friends and family soon. We love you!

Besos -- James and Maggie

P.S. Check back for sure after the first week of April -- we gaurantee a fantastic posting all about our Spring Break trip to Greece ; )!

Italy, anyone?

O.k., so it probably goes without saying that we recommend Italy to anyone who gets the chance to visit. In fact, as I sit here thinking about it, I'm really not sure why we aren't moving to Rome to teach there next year...

So, we made a quick stop in Rome before heading to Florence to join Frank and Leanne for New Year's. The city was incredible and the food was great! We did a quick tour and saw the major sites in the Forum area, including the Colosseum above. We walked across the grassy field where the Circus Maximus once stood, and we saw St. Peter's as the sun went down. Not bad, considered we only went there because our stopover in Milan ended up taking 20 hours and we just had to find a way out of there!

Next, we jumped on a train and went to Florence.

We had a great time in Tuscany and even had time for a day trip to Siena. Both cities were lovely, with exquisite cathedrals that cause a sharp intake of breath followed by the unbidden "where the hell did they get the money to build all this?" Still, one look at it all and you have no trouble believing everything that you read in school about the Italian Renaissance and its incredible achievements. Some of it was like looking at the pyramids, seriously.

Well, it's been hard trying to find time to do this update and the little that we have is about used up. We just wanted to say hi to everybody and give a quick note about what we've been up to. If it's cold where you are we can report that it is now (finally) getting cold again here. Last weekend we were walking down the beach in T-shirts, and today I'm not sure if I want to walk down the beach, period.

Abrazos,

Los Stuhan

Overdue Catalan Holiday Update!

Hey everybody, howdy-hi! That's what I imagine the Catalan Caga Tio talks like (Mr. Hanky). The picture shows a bunch of the little log-men with smiley faces, hats, and wooden dowel legs. This is an integral part of the Catalan Holidays, and his name is Caga Tio (crapping uncle).

Caga Tio is put out several weeks before Christmas. The traditions vary, but many families have the kids leave food out for Caga Tio every night before going to bed. In the morning, the children discover that only crumbs, banana peel, ect. remain. The Caga Tio begins to "fatten up."

On Christmas morning (or Eve) the children will come down and find a nice warm blanket covering Caga Tio's backside. They sing songs to him and tap him with sticks to encourage him to "crap" presents and sweets. The parents reach under the blanket and remove the goodies that the kids have coaxed out of poor old Caga Tio. This tradition is very popular here. In fact, in many town squares there will be a giant Caga Tio and kids wait in line to hit him with a stick to get sweets. I've never seen a line of kids quite this long waiting to sit on Santa's lap at the mall, maybe we should introduce the sticks to our tradition, just to help Santa remember.