Barcelona Is Beautiful

The view out of our apartment window in Barcelona.

We have arrived in Barcelona safe and sound. Our flight was non-eventful, Joe and I slept almost the entire time, and we arrived an hour earlier than expected. Our host, Artur, picked us up from the airport and delivered us to our apartment which is called 'Gaudi's Nest'.

As you can see from the photo, our apartment faces Gaudi's 'Sagrada Familia'. It is an unbelievable view!

We are just heading out for dinner. I hope we're not too early! It is only 9:00pm. After all, this is Spain and no one eats until at least 10 o'clock.

Europe, Here I Come!

Courtyard in Provence

We are leaving Squamish in about 4 hours. Our flight to Barcelona leaves Vancouver at 6:00pm tonight. I cannot tell you how excited I am to be travelling for the entire summer. Seein' some new sights, visiting new places. I plan to be posting lots of photos and updating this blog on a regular basis.

Smurfs

The Olympic volunteers are being called 'Smurfs' due to their bright turquoise blue uniforms. Each uniform consists of 2 long sleeved t-shirts, one pair of ski pants, a fleece vest, and a parka. Squamish is crawling with Smurfs right now. I'd love to have even one piece of that uniform.

"Val-unteer"

Our Olympic volunteer Valerie updates her blog for the folks back home.

We welcomed our first Olympic volunteer on Saturday. Valerie the 'Val-unteer' arrived from Olympia, Washington. She is working at the help desk centre at Creekside in Whistler during her stay. We have discovered we have many mutual loves. Food, wine and travel being the top three.

We are looking forward to the arrival of my cousin Eric tomorrow. He's flying in from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He'll be volunteering in the Athlete's Village in Whistler for the next couple of weeks.

The official Olympic Games haven't started yet, but they have certainly begun at our house!

The Olympic Torch!

My Olympic mittens, worn for the first time.

The torch bearer running by my school, as the torch heads up to Whistler.

The Olympic excitement is mounting! Yesterday, my school's population was out in full force on the sidewalk cheering on the torch bearer who ran by our school.

We are halfway through Squamish Elementary's own Olympics. One more day of competitions, followed by our closing ceremonies on Friday. And then the real Olympics begin! Whew...I hope I have enough energy to sustain my current level of excitement.

Olympic Fever

Our little town of Squamish (pop 15,000) turned out in force last night to welcome the 2010 Olympic flame. The weather held off, Olympic mittens were worn, flags were waved and the torch came in. Dancers danced, singers sang and fireworks lit the night sky. I don't think Squamish has ever had such a big party thrown in its honour.

Things I Carry Around In My Bag

I am not, by definition, a purse carrier. The reason is: I usually leave it behind. In restaurants, on buses, at friends' places, in unlocked cars. As a result of this absent-mindedness, I began the practice of popping my wallet in my pocket. But that became problematic when I wanted to carry a cheque book as well. Or my camera. And then there are keys to think about. All those things tend to make pockets bulge. Which can be so unsightly.

Before Joe whisked me off to Paris last summer, I bought a bag. A big, bright, pink and orange, woven Liz Claiborne bag. I love it. It carries all and sundry. Have I mentioned I love it?

This is what rattled out onto the kitchen floor when I upturned it this evening:

1. A ziplock bag of prescription strength Advil. Because I never know when a headache will hit. And I want to be prepared to kill it.

2. Unopened pay slips. My school board could be ripping me off to no end and I would be none the wiser. I rarely open these things.

3. A small pad of lined paper. Because I never know when I will be called upon to take minutes. I just noticed I do not have a pen in my bag.

4. Plastic spoons. My students often forget to bring a spoon in their lunch kit and need spoons to eat their yogurt, or pudding, or soup. So I supply them.

5. A purple comb. What the heck? I don't even brush my hair, never mind comb it.

6. A toothbrush. Because dental hygiene is crucial.

7. My wallet. I love this old leather thing.

8. A grapefruit. I was wondering what was making my bag so heavy!

9. Three chequebooks. Why three you may ask? Who knows!

10. A plastic cockroach. Leftover from my class's Hallowe'en party in October. I bought a bag of them to put into my students' party drinks and I guess one of them migrated into my bag.

11. A CD of educational material. I've never listened to it.

12. A screw driver. Because I often find myself needing to drive a screw into or out of a wall either at school or work.

13. Two desk leg ends. We are always looking for these things at school. I don't know why they are in my bag though. I should put them in my desk.

14. Three lip balms. Which is really crazy as I rarely suffer from chapped lips. But if my lips ever start to dry up, I will have a good stock to choose from.