Phase 2

First, thanks to everyone for reading these updates and for encouraging me to keep going with them. I  read your comments, but for some reason Google won't let me respond to them (either that, or, more likely, I just haven't figured out how). But I appreciate them and try to write back.

Now onto more important things, namely, the cockroach. I am very, very pleased to report that there have been no further cockroach sightings. We sprayed both bathrooms thoroughly and put a couple of traps in the bathroom where the little guy made his appearance. Even with these precautions I was not comfortable in the bathroom for about a week. Minimal showering on my part occurred that week. After a good number of days without a sighting I figured it was safe to start showering again, but I don't think I'll walk barefoot in the apartment ever again.

The days here have been sunny and warm but not too warm and we've taken some nice walks, although I have not yet done the Orwell tour as I planned. The city of Barcelona has done a kind thing and opened up Park Güell to Barcelona residents for free for the time being. We visited this park in our early days, but it took us a while to get there (we didn't know the best path at the time) and it was a grueling uphill walk (it turns out the best path is less steep and has escalators built into the sidewalk). So by the time we got there we were already kind of wiped out and we only explored the free part. We planned to return another time to see the ticketed sections when we were feeling more fresh. But then the lockdown happened, parks were closed, and we didn't get the chance. But now it is open and not crowded and it is a beautiful time of year to be outside and enjoying this magical place. I will put some pictures at the bottom of this post.

We have also been spending a bunch of time in the Gràcia neighborhood, which is immediately adjacent to ours. For those who follow my Instagram page, this information will not be surprising because I post pictures from there all the time. It is a neighborhood that seems perfectly designed for people to just be people together, if that makes any sense. To me (an uncultured American), it feels like a theme park because it is so perfect. There are shops, cafes, bars, bakeries and even museums, theaters, and one or two small cinemas, all in a charming but not too-fancy style. Many of the streets are open for pedestrians only, and even in the streets where there cars pedestrians seem to have the right of way. I don't think I've ever lived anywhere with squares and I don't understand why everywhere doesn't have them. They are great.