Or “un bon dia” in Catalonian. Sometimes Catalonian is a step away from Spanish, but honestly (as a mediocre Spanish speaker) most of the time they seem vast oceans apart. However, the combination of my so-so Spanish, my better French, Google Translate, and the abilities of others, makes every situation navigable. Most of the time it’s assumed I’m French since I’m clearly not Spanish or Catalonian. So today was “une bonne journee”. Started with a great bike ride. Followed by multiple trips to playgrounds (yes, there are several in town) and the pump track. Enjoyed sitting outside, sipping drinks, staring at mountains. I think we ended up at the grocery store twice. There are in fact about 5 (tiny) grocery stores in this tiny town, maybe more. I’m convinced it’s so everyone lives within a <3 minute walking distance to buy food. I’m obsessed with this walkable life.
A highlight of the day was getting my wild mane tamed. I love getting my haircut in faraway places. Makes you feel local for a hot minute. Plus you never really know how it will end. Cheap thrills. Gave me flashbacks to the finest bob of my life, in Sydney Australia. My Bellver hairdo is top shelf. She took one look at me and pulled out thinning shears. I knew instantly she was super pro.
Family dinners feel 10x easier here. Most of the time we eat at home, at 9pm as though we’re local or something. Justin has a strong inner Catalonian. Tonight Will chose a restaurant for us. What a pick!! Views of the mountains. Super tasty food. Kind hosts, patient waiter, slow everything. It was very quiet. Most tourists are long gone. I keep using the word “slow” but that doesn’t completely do justice to the experience and culture. That is just a comparison to our rushed, efficiency-obsessed, economics-obsessed, frenetic way of living in much of North America. I think it comes down to a question of values which then translates to how life is lived. An early impression of Catalonia is that family is deeply valued, across generations, and sharing food and time with others is central to living. No doubt there are great things about both ways of living. For me, for now, this is soul food after decades of rushing.
The next morning I took the kids to the local ski hill, La Molina, for zip lines and ropes courses. Didn’t sign anything. No helmets. And a lot more responsibility to navigate the courses than in Park City. And consequentionally less risks just to create thrills. Kids loved it. So did I.
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