Second

First came a bit of humor that actually made me smile.

I think this video is worth your time.

Then other European countries created their own videos.

The official site has videos from several continents now.

I have not seen them all yet, and many are unofficial, but there exist videos for

• Australia (at least two)
• Austria
• Azores
• Baden-Wüttemberg
• Bavaria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• China
• Cologne
• Croatia 
• Czech Republic
• Denmark 
• Europe
• Finland
• France
• Fryslân
• Germany
• Hogwarts
• Iceland
• Iran
• Italy
• Kosovo
• Lituania
• Lower Franconia
• Luxembourg
• Macedonia
• Mars
• Moldova
• Morroco
• Namibia
• Nigeria
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Ostfriesland
• Pakistan
• Portugal
• Russia
• Saarland
• Singapore
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Swabia
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Thüringen
• Trier

Three clips I liked

"Switzerland wins the Eurovision Song Contest every year."

"America First.  Lithuania Third."

Going home

A group of expat parents were getting together to set up a project for the younger kids at school and put out a request for help.  I could have stayed home and puttered around, but I have been trying to push myself a little bit, and I am so glad I did.

I took the train a few stops and one parent picked me up in her mid-sized SUV.  A car! I didn't even know I missed one.  I don't miss one when they need parking, but they are nice for getting from one place to another, especially uphill.  Plus, there was no worry about parking because we parked in her garage!

Part of Bellaterra, not far from David's workplace

It was not really like the part of Claremont where we live, but more like Claraboya, the homes in the hills.  It was still an odd sensation to look out the window and see someone else's backyard and not another apartment building.

We sat around the dining room table and assembled pieces of the project and chatted about the school, language acquisition, and the usual things.  It was so familiar, so soothing! The fact that everyone else there could speak at least three languages fluently was humbling, but otherwise it was so familiar.

Even though I am very happy where we live I admit to being a little jealous of the house, the car, and the neighborhood.

And even though I have never seriously wanted a La Creuset Dutch oven

I really liked the coffee set we used.

Now I have to decide how much to get involved.  I am considering running a used-book sale as a fundraiser.  It is a bit daunting, but it may happen.  I'll keep you posted.

Signs

After some time off we took another self-guided walking tour, this one along Carrer de Petritxol, know for its art, chocolate, and tiles.

The Tale of Mr. Stephen, manners in the 19th century and more.
Read more here(it will need to be translated).

The street is filled with tiles telling about the people who lived and worked there.

Literal translation, "Vehicles, moderate walking and short stops."

Respect and spread virtue in the street.

These two were closer to the cathedral.

And these were in the old Jewish Quarter.

If you come visit we'll take you here!

Another library

The Sant Cugat library will request any book in the system and have it sent to the library, but the cost is 1.50€.  For just under 4€ I can go to any library in Barcelona and back and get whichever books they have.  Exploring different libraries has been a pleasure and last week I tried a new one.

Biblioteca Sant Gervasi - Joan Maragall
I took this photo from the architects' site, where you can see several more.

The window at the entrance had all the iconic Barcelona buildings.

The library had a lot of nooks and crannies, making it hard to take pictures.  It also had a lot of visitors (patrons? customers?), which also made it hard to take pictures.

There was a nice local section, including a lot of works of Joan Maragall.
(note - Joan is the Catalan equivalent of Juan)

The English section was a little frustrating since the titles were covered with labels and the books were covered with plastic, meaning it was difficult to slide them out to read the title.  On the other hand, they had books in English, which is what I wanted.

I didn't see a librarian, but the desk looked inviting.

Books that need repair go here?

Between floors was a display area that seemed to be a play on the
often heard, "I can't remember the title but it had a green cover."

edit - This display may be related to the comment above, but as was pointed out in the comments this display is related to the advertising campaign for the color of the year.  Read more here. 

Above the library was open space.

If I weren't trying to explore a lot of libraries I would definitely return to this one.

More mail

Postmarked on 30 January 2017
(did you know the US Postal Service wrote the date that way?)
Arrived on 3 February 2017

Normally that would not be enough to warrant a blog post, but there is a twist.  My sister wrote four cards, two to the kids and two to the parents.  She mailed the two to the kids in one place and several hours later mailed the two to the parents.  On Friday one kid and one parent received a card!

Coupons

The grocery store across the street uses a club card (rewards system).  Sometimes people ahead of me have as many as five or six personal coupons along with a receipt.

Here are some that I have received.

detergent

movie coupon

"If we are not cheaper, we refund the difference."
This is my favorite!

Sometimes I get one for 0.28 €, sometime more than 1€, but to get one for 0.01€ seems ridiculous! It is part of their motto so they honor it, but printing it and having me use it must cost more than 0.01€.

New month

So it is time to share some pictures that didn't fit anywhere else.

Interesting building near us that I only recently noticed.

rare political commentary

window display that caught my eye

Fat horse that is by the same person who did the fat cat posted a while ago.