KyotoAlioto

France and Arnaud, former colleagues of mine living in Paris and Cambridge, respectively, were in town for a going away party for Christoforos, a guy who knows more than you ever wanted to know about nucleosome-positioning and symmetry of DNA curvature, who is being called back to Greece to complete his military service requirement. The day after the party, we met again on Rambla de Catalunya for drinks (this time, the caffeinated variety) where they could get acquainted with Marina and we could catch up a little bit on each others' lives.

Posted by Tyler at 10:49 PM | Permalink

In Spain Carnaval, rather than Halloween, is the day that little kids get dressed up in costumes and take part in parades. We dressed Marina up in Japanese attire and accessorized her with Anpan-man. We went out to catch an early "rua" (carnaval parade) and a glass of wine in Gràcia before her bedtime.

Posted by Tyler at 10:38 PM | Permalink

Gina, Marina and I headed over to Ogo and Greta's piso to visit with Ogo's parents, who were in town to visit. We hadn't seen them since the summer before Marina was born. Marina showed off her Valentine's day outfit.

Posted by Tyler at 10:31 PM | Permalink

Laia is a gegantona (little giant) created in 1998 to depict Santa Eulàlia, a child martyr who stood up to the Roman Empire at the end of the fourth century. The winter "festa major" that Barcelona celebrates in her name is dedicated to the children of Barcelona and many activities are organized for them. Although not at all sure what all the fuss was about, Marina certainly enjoyed watching these super giant gegantons and gegants parade and dance throughout the old town.

Posted by Tyler at 11:53 PM | Permalink

A morning on the Barceloneta - breakfast at Buenas Migas and exploring on foot - followed by an afternoon nap and an afternoon pretending to make pasta. Sunday afternoon in the park downstairs (this was her first time on a playground) followed by a coffee at Starbucks. Why Starbucks? Because it's a nice clean smoke-free cafe where she can walk around freely and the staff there just adore her. She loved the balloon they gave her, but we were a little afraid she might pop it.

Posted by Tyler at 11:37 PM | Permalink

I arrived home early from work on Thursday expecting that Flavia had to leave early (thanks to a conspiracy against me) only to find my brother Ryan in our guest room. Thanks to the cancellation of a show in Paris, Ryan was able to take a detour south to Barcelona in the middle of his tour with Nous Non Plus. His visit was short and sweet, but we were able to pack in the Pinotxo, M. Viader, Cacao Sampaka, the Txakolin, the Sagrada Familia, and a home-cooked meal at our place. Oh and of course some quality time with Marina :)

Posted by Tyler at 03:42 PM | Permalink

It's teething time again, so it's back to putting anything and everything in her mouth. The top two teeth are erupting this time.

Posted by Tyler at 03:39 PM | Permalink