What's Been Happening These Last Few Months?

I have lapsed in writing on my blog site for the last few months.  I will provide some highlights of what I've been doing during this time.  I'll also refer to Chris' blog site for some details about our Paris trip.

May/June

Upon coming back from an amazing trip to Istanbul with Chris, the very next day I went with friends to the city of Girona, to see their annual Temps de Flors (literally Flower Time).  During that week, the city puts on a beautiful, creative and unique display of flowers and art that one can discover in the patios, corners, steps, and even streams and river throughout the center of the city.  It's an event that is becoming more and more popular with each passing year and is very close to Barcelona.

Another popular one day flower event in the beach town of Sitges is Corpus Christi.  Traditionally, this festival was the Catholic celebration of the Eucharist, which represents the body of Christ (the literal meaning Corpus Christi). It is generally celebrated 60 days after resurrection Sunday, but there

is a convoluted way to calculate it.  It is the Thursday after the 9th Sunday after the first full moon in Spring in the Northern Hemisphere.  Whew!!  I just let them tell me when it is.  In Barcelona it is celebrated over a few days with flowers and an egg that is dancing and held up by a fountain stream of water, representing the fertility, regeneration and vitality of life in Spring.

In Sitges you don't see the dancing egg, but for one day you see carefully laid flowers displayed on small streets in the center of town.  It is quite a sight to behold.  Due to the fragility of the flowers, it is held on just one day.  At the end of the day an outdoor Mass is said and the temporary fencing around the flowers is taken down for the people to walk on this very impermanent show of beauty.  The city workers clean up during the night and the next day there is little evidence of what was there the day before.

On the 23rd of June is the eve of Sant Joan (Saint John) festival, which in many Mediterranean towns, including Barcelona, is celebrated with fire.  In fact one of the designated places in Barcelona is on the corner next to my building.  It is quite a sight and the ferocity of the flames can bring a chill down my back in spite of the hot day and the even hotter radiance of heat from the fire.  I celebrated the evening with some friends and we had an outdoor picnic of sorts after the bonfire on the grounds of Montjuic, a very large hill near the center of the city.

I celebrated my birthday soon afterwards at my favorite wine bodega near my home.  I invited about 30 of my friends for a glass of wine and champagne (called cava here) and then had a large dinner group at a local restaurant.

But the highlight of June was flying to Kiev to be with Chris for a short four days.  We really didn't do anything special.  But it was perfect just spending time together in his apartment, going out to dinner, doing some window shopping, and basically sharing more of our lives together.

July

After a two week stay in the U.S., Chris came to Barcelona and the very next day we flew to Paris for 10 glorious days discovering this incredible city.  Chris really goes into some delightful details of our trip and what we got to see (http://travelguychris.blogspot.com/2016/07/summer-part-2-highlights-of-paris.html).  I'll just add a few things from my perspective.

This is my second time to Paris.  I was here three years ago. Since this was Chris' first time, we went

to some of the same places I had already visited, but it was very enjoyable to visit these sights again with the man I love.  I found that using Paris Pass was a great way to visit both well-known and some off-the-beaten-path tourist places.  We did a 6 day pass, which seemed expensive, but we got our money's worth with the number of museums and tourist spots we visited, the quick access, the unlimited use of metro and bus services, etc.  Having visited these places, I wouldn't use the Paris Pass again, but if it's your first time to Paris, I would highly recommend it.

I wish we knew French, but we don't.  However, my knowledge of Spanish and exposure to Catalan helped me to discern and understand some of what I read and heard in French.  It's a beautiful language and so pleasant to listen to, even if I couldn't understand much of what was being said.  Contrary to the stereotype of Parisians as being snobby and unhelpful, we found the people in Paris to be quite helpful and friendly.

I find Chris to be an excellent travel partner, always accommodating, positive, and adventurous. We

had a fantastic time exploring the streets of Paris together and we make a great team!

After Paris, we flew back to our home in Barcelona where we are spending relaxing days together and visiting with our many friends here.  Although he will be going back to Kiev on Aug 10, he will be back again for a few days in Sept 7 for a weekend in Sitges.  I look forward to the day when he will be staying here in Barcelona for good.

Where East Meets West

In the short span of one month I returned to Kiev, Ukraine to spend time with Chris, enjoyed 10 days with Chris in Istanbul, Turkey, and did a day touring the Flower show in Girona, Catalunya, north of Barcelona.

Kiev

This was my second trip to this Eastern European country where Chris lives.  Spring weather made Kiev much more alive and enjoyable than the first time in the heat of August.  Also, Chris has gotten to know the city pretty well so we visited some areas and streets that were more attractive and pleasant.  My six days there were very relaxing, waking up late and leaving the apartment late morning, going to the shopping malls (a favorite pastime of Chris!), and enjoying some delicious meals in the city.  I also got my final tattoo there for a very good price,  It took two sessions and 7 hours.  But I am happy with the results.

But what I enjoyed most about my time there was the hours upon hours that Chris and I could talk and share our lives and our love.  It was just wonderful!

Istanbul

This is the city that spans two continents - Europe and Asia, and the most muslim country that I have every visited.  It was amazing the number of mosques that occupies the city.  At first I thought it seemed excessive, but then I remembered the city of Washington DC and the number of churches that there are, averaging one every couple of streets, and on 16th Street one or two on almost every block!

What would seem an oddity in DC or in Barcelona was the norm - the majority of women with their head covering (hijab) to varying degrees, men wearing either western clothes or muslim robes, and call to prayer five times a day from speaker systems attached to the towers of the mosques.  Having so many mosques close together made for a cacophony of calls that sometimes competed with each other.  The cityscape of mosque domes and towers created an exotic allure, at least for this westerner. Between that and the incredible harbor with three intersecting bodies of water (the Golden Horn estuary, the Bosphorus strait and the Marmara sea), makes Istanbul one of the most beautiful harbor cities in the world, rivaling Sydney, Australia.


Tourism apparently was down, according to one of our waiters, due to the bombings that occurred in Istanbul this year.  We also had some doubts about going, but we decided to go through with our plans and we glad we did.  As a result, we did not have to deal with huge crowds in all of the tourist places that we visited, which made our excursions very easy.  We also were very impressed with the public transportation system.  The trams and metro were very clean and modern.  The buses and ferries were quite good as well.

Having 10 days (8 full days) gave us plenty of time to see all the major sights and not be too rushed.  We felt very safe throughout our entire visit there.  We are considering returning to Istanbul for a 4-day weekend since it's very easy for Chris to find flights to Istanbul.

Girona

Although I didn't get home from Istanbul until 7;30 pm on Monday, May 9, I had indicated that I

Game of Thrones is filmed in Girona, thus this theme

wanted to go with a small group of friends to Girona to see their annual flower show the very next day.  It's an unusual show in that the flowers and other decorations are displayed throughout the historic part of the city.  There are displays in patios, in parks, on bridges, in waterways, in churches, on building steps, each one created either by private citizens, businesses or the city government.  Most of these flower displays are filled with creativity and are a delight for the eyes.  We escaped the rain most of the day but the drive back to Barcelona was brutal with heavy rains.  As usual, I had the pleasure of meeting some new friends on this trip.

My Hiatus (Month-long Meditation Retreat)

Before

My good friend Carol came to Barcelona for a two week visit.  It worked out that she could come
around the time that Chris and I would be going to Gran Canary for some R&R before I headed off to my retreat.  I got some alone time with Carol and we picked up just where we left off when she was here last September with her husband and friends.  It was great to catch up and and spend time together.

Chris got here a few days later and we got to spend the day and evening together before we flew off to the Canary Islands.  It was great to have some beach time, down time, and fun time together.
You would think that we couldn't go deeper in our relationship or that our love wouldn't intensify more, but my experience has been that it continues to grow.  And for that I am truly grateful.

During

At the end of my month retreat, I was very content and glad to have done it.  I certainly didn't feel that way in the beginning.  It was a shock to the system, going from a leisurely retired lifestyle in Barcelona to a rigorous and disciplined schedule of meditation and contemplative activities.  Plus I was taking on a new role as a meditation instructor, which gave me additional responsibilities in supporting the group as a whole (there were about 60 of us) and also working with a few participants individually.

But I see that it was all worth it.  I have deepened my meditation practice and have developed more skill in working with others who are on this path.  But actually being a good meditator is not the goal.  It is the means by which I can rediscover my basic and intrinsic goodness, develop confidence in it, and express it in words and action with intelligence and compassion, not only to benefit my own well being, but also for the well being of others.

And what an ideal place to make this discovery.  Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, in the beautiful rolling countryside of southwest France, we were nestled on the grounds of Dechen Choling Meditation Retreat Center, one of the land centers of Shambhala, an organization that is based on trust in human dignity and which offers a path of meditation practice and contemplative arts oriented towards modern life. We woke up early, did some sitting meditation and body movement before breakfast, returned for meditation afterwards which many times included outside meditation walks and experiencing the land waking up to the early Spring.  On some mornings or afternoons, we would listen to talks given by the retreat director on topics such as meditation, fear & fearlessness, the ego, working with emotions, doubt, waking up to the world, etc.  They were always timely and very motivational.

We all had our little work assignments that most of us did after lunch.  Then back to meditation

practice in the afternoons, dinner and a final shorter meditation session afterwards before some free time in the evening.  Many times I would take night walks in the cool, fresh air and appreciate this time in nature that I rarely ever have the opportunity to be in living in Barcelona except for times when I go on a hiking trip in the Catalan mountains with friends.

The participants and staff were from all over Europe.  There were Germans, French, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, British, Irish, Scottish, Austrian, Dutch and Belgian folks with age ranges from early twenties to late sixties. And besides myself, there was only one other American who came over from the States specifically to be in this retreat.  Most spoke English and the retreat was conducted in English with translation offered for those who spoke French.  There were some who were very new to Shambhala and meditation practice and others who have been with Shambhala for many years.  But more than the demographics, the people themselves were genuine and sincere and very interesting to get to know.

In our short stay there, we created a little society, experiencing some of the same issues and problems that we have in our everyday lives.  But in this environment, we had the time to look at those issues and the habitual patterns of reacting to them and by slowing down, we had the opportunity and skillful tools to work with them and ourselves to possibly make some better choices that we could carry back to our regular lives.  I feel that was the case for me.

After

Sunset, our cat, was thoroughly pampered by her Uncle Oscar in his home.  I arranged to pick her up and slowly reentered back to living in Barcelona and seeing friends after being away for a month.  I am now getting ready to take another trip this Friday to visit Chris in Kiev and help celebrate with him his birthday.  I am so much looking forward to that and to enjoy Kiev from Chris' perspective after him spending almost 9 months there since my first visit last August after Chris had just arrived himself.  I then come back to Barcelona for only a week before I fly to Istanbul to meet Chris again and spend 10 days there.

Leaving Barcelona (Briefly)

I thought this would get your attention.  Before I talk about my short term exodus from Barcelona, let me share with you what's been happening over the last few weeks.

Taxes and Declarations

It's tax season in the U.S.  And because I will be gone for around a month, I wanted to be sure that I had everything in order.  In the past I did my own taxes, but both last year and this year I am using an American accountant who specializes in clients who live overseas.  Tax year 2014 was very complicated with finishing work, retiring, selling my part of the house, moving to Barcelona, etc.   For 2015, it will be less complicated, but having begun receiving Social Security payments in 2015, along with my continued government pension, I wanted to be sure that it was handled properly.  I am still awaiting on my tax statements for my retirement and non-retirement investments, but I already sent off the rest of the documentation to my accountant, which she very much appreciated.


Although Spanish taxes are not due until June, there is an annual Declaración de Patrimonio (Wealth Report) that is due by the end of March for residents.  It only needs to be filed if  you have accumulated assets anywhere in the world that exceeds 50,000€ in at least one of three areas; bank or cash accounts, property (other than your primary home unless it was purchased for over 300k €), and investment accounts.  There are HUGE penalties if you do not declare your assets and are caught, enough to wipe out your entire assets.  These penalties are very controversial and my Spanish accountant told me last year that it is being challenged in Spanish court, but it will take many years to obtain a decision.  He also said that many people here, both citizens and foreign residents, have not filed, either intentionally or by ignorance.  But I did not want to risk my financial savings by following their example.  So last year I filed.  This report does not in itself require any taxes to be paid.  However, during the Spanish tax season, it does become incorporated into taxes owed to the Spanish state.  Let me explain further.


When you file your taxes in June, you may also need to file your Wealth Tax report if your accumulated world-wide wealth is over a certain threshold.  That threshold in Spain is different depending on the region (called Autonomous Community), like Catalunya, in which you reside.  So, last year I had to pay around 700€ for just that part of my Spanish taxes.  What I found difficult to accept at first is that one has to pay tax on the same wealth over the set threshold each and every year.   In the U.S., that is inconceivable.  Once you paid tax on a set amount of money that was earned in a given year, it is never taxed again.  This Wealth Tax in Spain is not unique.  Many other countries also have a wealth tax, including France, Norway, India, Italy and Switzerland.  I just look at this tax as the small price that I pay to live in this beautiful city and country.

First Hike After Surgery

Last Sunday I decided to go on my first hike after my knee surgery.  It was probably somewhat precipitous in hindsight.  The distance was short, only 7 kilometers.  But what I didn't know was that there was a steep descent at the beginning of the hike, which put a lot of pressure on both knees.  We went to a beautiful pueblo called Rupit, and nearby was a waterfall and magnificent cliffs.  I enjoyed it, but I've been paying for it this week, slowly getting my knee back to where it was before the hike.


Leaving for France for a Month

Chris arrives on Feb 27 and the next day we will be going to Gran Canaria for 5 days.   This is one of 7 main islands that are called ¨Las Canarias¨.  They are part of Spain but sit on the Atlantic off the coast of Morocco.  So it's the perfect destination in the winter if you want some warmth, sunshine and beach.  I know that Chris is in need of a break from the Ukrainian winter and of course it will be wonderful to be with each other again.

The day after we get back to Barcelona I will be taking the train to the Shambhala Meditation Retreat, Dechen Choling, which is located in France for a month-long retreat, called a Dathun in Tibetan.  I've been there twice before.  It's a beautiful rural center, a serene, idyllic and bucolic setting.  I will be there to assist the program.  I am very much looking forward to it.  Sunset, our cat, will be taken care of by my friend Oscar in his home and another friend will be stopping by the house often to be sure that everything is okay.

My next blog article will be in early April.

Maintaining the House and Body in BCN

All homeowners know about home maintenance and the eventual replacement of small and large appliances.  Well, this one struck early and the heat pump that heated and cooled the house gave up the ghost.

Before going on, let me give you some background information about heating and cooling in

Typical Heating/cooling units in Barcelona

Barcelona.  Barcelona has a mild climate, especially during the winter (they hardly ever have snow and most evenings during the winter are well above freezing).  That fact has hit home for me just recently hearing about the winter snowstorm in Washington DC and the very cold and snowy weather that Chris is enduring in Kiev.  Summers are a different story and although tempuratures rarely go higher than 28º C(or 86ºF), the humidity is so high (higher than DC) that it feels like 100ªF at times.  Living on the top level of my building, it's especially important to have good air conditioning.  Now, most homes do not have heat pumps with a central forced air heating/air conditioning system.  Some, like my friend Jordi, have no heating or air conditioning system in their homes.  Others have radiators or individual units to heat the home during the winter. During the summer, some have a wall unit that will cool one part of the house.

But what is also interesting to note is that the expectations of staying comfortable indoors for Catalans & Spaniards are different than for most Americans.  Possibly due to the relatively cheap energy in the U.S. (compared to Europe), we have been spoiled in having our heating/cooling system on most of the time, except on those spectacular days during the Spring and Fall when the weather is perfectly comfortable (California is a different story - for example, my brother lives in San Luis Obispo and does not need cooling system and rarely turns on his heat because of the ideal weather there).  The opposite is true in Barcelona.  Unless it is absolutely unbearable, most Barcelonians will not put their heat on and only when they can't sleep at night will they have their air conditioning on during the summer.  In winter they are satified with wearing triple layers of clothing inside to stay warm and during the summer they endure the heat and humidity much more so than Americans do.

Heat Pump and Ceiling Unit for our home

So, most people here do not have central air and I was fortunate to have found a home that had it installed (I believe most heat pump units are more used in businesses or if used in homes, they are for a specific part of the house, since most homes do not have a duct system throughout the home). But the prior owner did not maintain the unit as he should have and after around 15 years, it died.  The cost to replace it here is about the same as it would be to replace one in the U.S.  But to a typical Barcelonian, that seems outrageous.  Be that as it may, I decided to bite the bullet and they started the installation on Friday and will finish it on Monday.  The rest of my winter days & nights will be toasty warm and summers here with Chris will be cool and comfortable.

Building Issues (Continued)

A couple of articles ago I talked about the water issue that my neighbor below me has and the mystery about the source of that leak, which only occurs during heavy rainfall, which is rare here in Barcelona.  I also checked with my homeowner's insurance company but they do not cover problems caused by possible faulty construction in the home.  To move forward with this, I agreed to allow the contractor of the building to break through a large tile in the bathroom near the toilet and to pick away at the cement that was covering the drain pipe (burying pipes in concrete is common here).  They think they discovered the source of the problem, but it's difficult to prove.  They found a couple of cracks in the building's Y connector that takes waste water from my home to the building's drain pipe.  Hopefully they will conclude that this is a building issue and it will be fixed and paid for by the condo association.

Health of the Body

My knee is coming along nicely.  I've finished physical therapy and I'm no longer seeing my surgeon.  Now is the slow process of recovery.  I'm walking just fine and can do that for some distance, but I am still not able to run or do hiking excursions.  That will come in time.

I've depended on my Federal insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield. for my medical needs.  It's worked, but I have to pay most things up front and then get reimbursed a month later.  The only time I didn't do that was for the knee surgery but I had to constantly be on top of it, communicating to BCBS, the provider, who knows nothing about our medical insurance system and has to trust me that the process will work.  I have seen doctors here, but they tend to be for special things.  I have not had a good physical check-up since I've arrived. Then there are the copays, which are not insignificant.  It works, but it takes time and money.

So I've been thinking about possibly buying private health insurance here.  There are some plans that

have no co-pays and have a network of many physicians, clinics and hospitals.  I would keep my American insurance but only use it here for medication and for special needs.  I calculated that my premiums here would have equaled the co-pays that I spent last year.  So it seems logical to go through with this idea.  It would just a matter of choosing the best network and taking the leap.  We'll see.

Politics and the Holidays

Big things have been going on politically here in Barcelona and in Spain.  The first big change was

the Sept 27 regional elections in Catalonia.  The result is that the two parties that are in favor of becoming an independent nation and separating from Spain together received the majority of seats in the Catalan Parliament, even though they received less than 50% of the popular vote (which is not uncommon here).  These parties have announced for months beforehand that if they received the majority of seats, they would pave a path for independence.  This they started on Nov 9, when a resolution was passed to begin the process toward the creation of an independent Catalan state in the form of a republic.  Currently, however, they are at an impasse because the smaller of these two parties will not support the prior president of the Parliament, Artur Mas, to continue in that post.  Some news reports stated that by law the Catalan parliament had two months from the elections to elect a president, which has long passed and they are still debating.  Other reports stated that after the second vote held on Nov 12, which Mas failed to obtain a majority, two months are now open for new debates.  If after those two months, a president is still not elected, then elections will be repeated early in 2016.  I just heard from a friend that Jan 10th is the deadline.  Sometimes I get the feeling they are making this up as they go along, but I digress.

The other big news is that on Dec 20 Spain had its national elections.  Unlike the national elections of four years ago, this time no one party received the absolute majority in Parliament, although the conservative party, Partido Popular (PP), received the highest number of seats.  But in order to form a government, a candidate has to be elected among the representatives to be President (or prime minister).  This year, it requires at least two or more parties to form alliances, a difficult task at best, as the parties that have more in common still would not have the sufficient number of seats to form a majority and would have to join with parties that are idealogically very different.  If a solution is not found in early 2016, new elections will occur in May.

Personal Thoughts

I am still very new to the politics of Spain and Catalonia, so my opinions are still forming.  The path to independence for Catalonia, if it moves forward, will be fraught with pitfalls and obstacles, I believe.  It won't occur in the near future.  It is much too complicated and Spain is diametrically opposed to an independent Catalonia.  Although those in favor of independence believe the new state would be more prosperous after separation, I believe Catalonia would experience very hard economic times that would continue for a while before finding its economic balance and begin to prosper again, as I'm sure it will.

The recent Spanish elections show a very divided electorate still reeling from the economic crisis that has not ended, and a profound disgust for the high level of corruption that has infected all levels of government, to some degree or another.  They are also very concerned with the very real possibility of Catalonia attempting to separate, which would have a devastating affect on Spain. Whatever government eventually is elected to govern Spain, it will most likely be weak and ineffective to move its agenda forward.

The Holidays

This year I decided to stay in Spain for the Holidays (last year was my first and only visit back to the

My favorite pastry place!

States). Holiday lights were turned on Dec 1 throughout the city.  Around Dec 19 four blocks of wooden/steel booths were set up on the Gran Via on both sides of the street, just two blocks from my home, filled with all types of small stores, from candy to children's toys, to jewelry and artesan products of every kind.  On almost every corner there is a Churreria, where they make fried dough that is in the shape of a long, thin tube, sprinkled with suger and can also be dipped in hot chocolate. This will stay up until Three King's Day (Dia de los Tres Reyes - see below).

In Catalonia, families gather on Christmas Eve evening and/or on Christmas Day to exchange presents and have their Christmas dinner.  They also have the following day, Dec 26, St. Stephen's Day,as a holiday, with a big meal that includes canalons, where the leftover meat from the previous day are ground and stuffed in a pasta roll and covered in a bechamel sauce.

A friend who I've known for a few years and who lives in Madrid invited me to spend Christmas with him and his brother and niece in the northeastern coast of Spain in the city of San Sebastian, which is the Basque region of Spain.  I took the train up and back, long but relaxing.  It was a great time.  I've only been to San Sebastian once for less than a day, so it was a real treat to be there with a friend that was born in that area.  The city is beautiful on the Cantabrian Sea (or the Bay of Biscay).  It's also well-known for its amazing cuisine and delicious tapas called pintxos.  Besides San Sebastian (or Donostia in Basque), we also visited the picturesque town of Hondarribia which is on the sea and borders France, as well as a small and historic town called Oñati, where we visited some friends of mine who live there.

Chris is crooning away at our New Years Eve party

Of course New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated here, with the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes when the clock strikes 12 midnight, eating one grape with every chime.  You generally stuff your face with grapes in order to eat all 12 within a minute.  Chris arrived on New Year's Eve after visiting his family in the U.S. and we celebrated New Year's Eve at the home of one of our friends.  One of the guests brought the latest version of a kareoke machine (all contained within the microphone and connected to a flat screen TV).  We had a lot of fun singing Spanish, South American, American and English songs.

The last holiday of the season is Three King's Day, which is the same day as Epiphany, this year falling on Jan 6.  This is the traditional day when children receive their presents, although many receive presents earlier so that they can enjoy them before going back to school the day after Three Kings.  Here in Barcelona, the "three kings" arrive by ship to the Barcelona port the day before, where they are greeted by the city mayor.  A parade is formed and traverses throughout the city.  We are planning on seeing the parade at our friend Jordi's home, where his balcony overlooks the parade that passes on his street.