Our First Few Weeks

These past few weeks have flown by as we've been settling into our new life in Barcelona. I'd say it's been a relatively smooth transition thanks to the relocation services provided by Kevin's employer, though there is still a lot to get used to. We're staying in an area called Vila de Gràcia in a beautiful apartment, and I've shared some details below. 

The Apartment 

Currently, we have temporary accommodation arranged for sixty days as we search for our permanent residence. After pretty much living out of suitcases and boxes for the past two months, unpacking our things into this apartment was almost cathartic. Having any amount of space to ourselves feels nice, but we've also gone from an apartment size of 733 square feet (in Madison) to 1022 square feet - so massive! The space itself feels like a high-end hotel, and while it doesn't necessarily have quintessential Spanish charm, it has many modern amenities that I'm afraid I'm getting too attached to... two bathrooms, a washer AND drier, a large, open-concept kitchen with high end appliances and cookware, a cleaning service, and incredible views of the city and the Mediterranean Sea. Truly living our best life here. 

We get to leave the windows open all day long!

Bigger than our kitchen in Madison :')

The Neighborhood 

Our current apartment is located in a part of town called Vila de Gràcia. We had several options to choose from for our temporary accommodation, but we chose this location because we heard good things and my friend thought it'd be a good fit. Our field consultant told us that Gràcia used to be a village outside of the city of Barcelona, but as Barcelona grew, Gràcia became a part of Barcelona. Because it used to be a village, this part of the city still has narrow streets, numerous plazas (plaças in Catalan), and that "small town" feel. There are fantastic coffee shops, restaurants, bars, bakeries, and little shops everywhere you look and the history of the village is preserved in the beautiful architecture and some of the best festivals in town. 

Carrer d'Astúries on a Saturday morning

Our favorite local coffee shop so far, Sitio

We wanted the location of this temporary apartment to be in an area we would consider living in long term. After getting some time to experience our day-to-day life here, my preliminary opinions are: 

1) It's too far from Kevin's office (by public transport or bike)

2) It's too far from the beach (to play volleyball, of course)

3) I love living in this neighborhood

In a few weeks time, we've already experienced pieces of Spanish culture... eating dinner at 9 or 10 pm, hearing families gather for a large meal on Sundays, seeing people have beer at a cafe at 9 am or have tapas and Vermouth at noon. And as different as it is from home, I've had fun learning and adjusting to new norms. I'm excited to see what these next few weeks hold!

Kevin and I with our first visitor, Greg. Hanging out/playing volleyball with him (on Day 2!) definitely made it feel more like home.

Un Abrazo,

Allison