July 3 & 4

This morning and afternoon were pretty relaxing; Paul got a nice new pair of crocs and enjoyed spending time at home. Around 4 we walked up to the Bonasport and decided to give that pool a try... the past few times weren't very successful. Today was great, though. He had the whole indoor pool to himself so he was allowed to make all the noise he wanted while I read my book. We had a nice walk home and hopped in the shower together to get ready for the night.

I find it a lot easier to just take a shower along with Paul on nights that I have to go out... he gets a good clean and gets to relax while I get a good clean as well. So fresh and so clean in so little time.

Spain played in the World Cup and I went to Alejandro's house with Toni, Juan, and Roberto.

The boys are hilarious and the game was so stressful... I'm sooo glad we won!!!!

These are people celebrating in Plaça España after the game...

Afterwards I asked Toni to take me to Mont Juïc de Nit... it was a concert from 8pm-3am with 13 stages with different types of music. All the museums and attractions were also open all night so it was really nice. We hung out at the castle and listened to flamenco. I got a nice history lesson from my professional tour guide about castles and their place in Catalan history. The flamenco performers were great... the music was happy and upbeat and it had everyone dancing. It is a music that was created by poor people... so one of the instruments used to be a drawer that was banged on... it's been upgraded and modernized but has the same idea. It was really a great experience... I saw the port at night, which is the 2nd most important in Europe, as well as the Barcelona lights under the haze.

I got home very late... about 230am.. and got woken up at 7am by Paul. I had to be up anyway since I was joining Ignacio in a race, which Toni also signed up for. We left the house at 8am and got ready for the 9am start. There were maybe 4000 people in this race and the procedes go to handicapt people. It was 10K... and I wasn't aware that Toni runs 10K once a week... so I was screwed. Ignacio was way ahead of us and Toni was much better at running than I was. I haven't really done much running since the last race kicked my butt... so I'm not in the best shape. Small kids would pass us, and I would say it's because they're young and full of energy... then the old people would pass us... of course because they have a lot more experience.......

After the 1st lap I cheated and cut through a street and waited for Toni to meet back up with me. I saw Ignacio pass while I waited... itwas very easy to spot him in his lime green amongst all the red (which was given to us to wear for this race). I thought I could run the last 3K without stopping but my body wasn't cooperating. We finished at 1:08...11 minutes after Ignacio. Thanks goes to Toni for keeping me motivated.... and Thanks goes to GOD for not letting me be one of the people passed out in the street.

My ankles were killing me all day... and I was exhausted... so we hung out at home until 4 again while Paul played with his box of old photos. We went back up to the Bonasport for another pool day, and it was pretty successful. He's been in a very bad mood all day and has been mean to all of us at home... but he enjoyed the company of the kids while I read my book.