Took the kids hot water canyoneering in France last week. There were several other young kids. We did multiple rappels (from 7 to 30m in length) and several rappel-assisted slides down waterfalls. It was hard!! Kids had to dig deep, confront fear, work through it. Adults too!! Very cool. We bathed in hot springs along the way. At every opportunity we played. Imagine sliding upside down, on your back, head first, into a giant pool. Again and again and again. Kids know a playground when they see one. Especially a small gang of 8-9 year olds. I’m sure the age cutoff in the US would have been 14. I have noticed this several times now, i.e. on these guided or DIY roped activities there is a level of trust here that is greater than in the US. It’s easy to chalk it up to the US being highly litigious but I think that’s just part of it. In one telling cultural moment, the guide gently pushed my hand away from helping Hazel and said “she’ll figure it out”. He was right. In ‘The Anxious Generation’ Jonathan Haidt talks about the collapse of play-based childhood over the past few decades, and the collapse of parenting-by-others in your kids’ orbit, among many other shifts affecting this generation. He does footnote his conclusions to say the one exception to these collapses is canyoneering trips in France. Just kidding ;)
We spent this past weekend in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia. Two days is about our max tolerance for big cities :) We have become total country mice. I was going to say we had complicated feelings about Barcelona, but I think it just feels complicated to admit we didn’t love it. There is no doubt so much beauty. Art. Whimsy. Character. Charm. Old neighborhoods full of twists and turns and stone. Our airbnb was right downtown. It felt hip and artsy and full of stuff much cooler than I will ever own. Barcelona is on the shores of the Mediterranean. It just hosted America’s Cup. I’m so glad we went. So is Justin. Less so the kids. BUT if you’ve read those articles about tourism run rampant in Europe, and in Barcelona in particular, well - yes. Even on a cool rainy weekend in late October. It’s in pockets for sure, but they are dizzying and disorienting indeed. Like the Louvre but worse. You’re left feeling something is being stolen from the locals and the city’s beauty and charm is being drowned. Laws are being passed to shift the tides. These photos capture the beauty not the insanity.
In Barcelona the kids and I went to a Husky Cafe while Justin raced his bike. We drank tea, Fanta, and hung out with very cuddly husky dogs. We loved it. The cafe was run by a sweet Russian lady from Siberia. Perks of big cities.
On the way home we did a misty hike in the stunning Montserrat region. Justin noticed the flora was almost identical to Los Trancos!! Mediterranean zone!!
As we drove north we looked forward to the mountains, peace and fresh air of Cerdanya. Arriving home we could see that Fall had inched forward. Snow is dusting the high peaks now. It is a little dizzying to know we leave here in just over three weeks. Hard goodbyes usually mean you’ve lived and loved!! Here we are in Barcelona:
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