NOT TO BRAG, BUT FOR TODAY'S TOPIC: WEATHER
/It would be an understatement to say that we've appreciated Barcelona's weather. With Boston ice still thawing in our blood, we've been truly madly deeply in love with the bright blue Mediterranean sky and the Catalan version of "winter." It's been amusing to see a people-totally-unaccustomed-to-actual-harsh-weather's version of harsh weather; as soon as the temperature dips below 60, everyone busts out their mega-puffer jackets and schools stop having outdoor recess. (Boston: delay the puffer as long as possible or you'll have nothing left in your winter artillery bank, and you're only skipping outdoor recess if there's a windchill warning and your fingertips are on the line.) It's not to say it's not cold here — there was a stretch of jackets-required 50-degree days — but it was short-lived and manageable in a way that we're totally not used to.
Since weather is all relative, we've exploited the fact that many Spaniards are still hibernating and taken the opportunity to play on still-deserted beaches in Barcelona and beyond. Our recent favorite was Begur in Costa Brava — the beautiful rocky, hilly, beachy area north of Barcelona — where we spent a weekend with our friends from the US, Noah and Kate and their world-traveling 8-month-old; it's less than a 2-hour drive from Barcelona and a little piece of heaven on earth.
