Where Next? Travel with Kristen and Carol
Where Next? Travel with Kristen and Carol
Barcelona, Spain - Travel with Silvia
In this episode we are meeting with Silvia from Barcelona, Spain. She shares what she loves about the area, the food, the nature and why she returned after spending several years in London.
Learn about the Pyrenees, beach walks, drinking Cava, eating tapas and more!
Visit our Instagram post for images!
Silvia's photography and passion projects:
https://www.instagram.com/silviaragel
https://www.instagram.com/my_vietnam_project
https://www.asianelephantprojects.com/
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Hosts
Carol Springer: https://www.instagram.com/carol.work.life
Kristen: https://www.instagram.com/team_wake/
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Hi, welcome to our podcast when Next Travel with Kristen and Carol. I am Kristen and I am Carol, and we're two long-term friends with a passion for travel and adventure.
Speaker 2:Each episode, we interview people around the globe to help us decide where to go next. In today's episode, we're meeting with Sylvia from Barcelona, spain. She shares what she loves about the area, the food, the nature, and why she returned after spending several years in London. Enjoy, enjoy, hello Hi, how's it going? So nice to see you. Finally, thank you, sylvia, for joining us from where today?
Speaker 3:Well, today I'm in London actually, so yes, I'm not at home.
Speaker 2:Nice, okay, very good. Yeah, I think we were going to meet several weeks ago, but then so many things kept changing and I got sick and the holidays. So, yeah, I'm glad we're finally making this happen.
Speaker 3:Yes, and I lost my voice as well, when we were going to be recording.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, yes, Okay. So you're in London, but you're typically based in Spain is that correct?
Speaker 3:Barcelona, yes, barcelona, okay great, yeah.
Speaker 2:So we want to learn about Barcelona Day, but I think you have some really great backstories. How did you get to have such a kind of fluid work schedule and what enables you to be able to travel so much?
Speaker 3:Initially, I came to UK many, many years ago just because I needed to learn English, because I didn't speak any English at all.
Speaker 1:And I was initially from Barcelona.
Speaker 3:You are, okay, got it. Yeah, yes, I am from Barcelona, yes, and I came just for three months, but I soon realized that three months wasn't enough to learn the language, especially when you start from zero, so I decided to stay a little bit longer and then, 20 years later, I went back to Barcelona. So I spent most of my adult life here in the UK. So, yeah, I feel like being at home when I come here, but no, definitely home now is Barcelona. Where do you?
Speaker 2:stay in the UK, in London or some other town In London, yes, I'm in.
Speaker 3:London now? Yes, right in the middle of London, really really nice. I'm not used to the UK weather anymore and I'm freezing. I'm so cold.
Speaker 1:What's the temperature like over there right now.
Speaker 3:Over here it's freezing, so it's about 32 Fahrenheit for you guys.
Speaker 2:Thank you for translating.
Speaker 3:I was going to translate it the other way, I took a note and I wrote the equivalent because I knew that this was going to happen. I was going to have to tell you Fahrenheit, so we understand each other. I love it. So right now here in London is below actually 32 Fahrenheit, so it's really, really cold and I'm not used to this anymore.
Speaker 3:I can imagine, because right now, in barcelona, the, the weather in winter normally is between 9 and 12 uh celsius, which is um 48, 53 fahrenheit a little late, yeah. So that's about you know what I can have where I'm at right now is about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yes that's it.
Speaker 3:Lower than that is just too cold for me. So, yes, I'm not used to anymore yeah, you have a beautiful accent.
Speaker 1:It's so funny because I don't I'm getting to you and carol have talked but I haven't, so it's kind of fresh eyes and, um, when you first talked about, oh, she's from the uk and maybe she stays in barcelona, and then now just hearing that, now I can hear both.
Speaker 3:Yes, I learned the language here, so I started from zero. So you know, to me it's just a normal way to speak, really. But yeah, yeah, and I lived for a year in Australia years ago and they thought that it was so funny that a foreigner spoke English with such a British accent and they were just laughing all the time. Yes, it's very unique.
Speaker 2:I love it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. I'm just curious about growing up. So you grew up in Barcelona, and then what made you want to learn English?
Speaker 3:To be honest with you, it was a little bit like an excuse for me to go and travel and go on my own. I was very young and I've been working and studying and it was like you know what I'm just going to put this excuse? Because it's like perfect excuse. Everybody should speak English. So there we go, and it was perfect because everybody really believed it. So, yeah, that's how I came to the UK, but initially, as I say, it was just going to be for three months and I ended up staying 20 years Because at the time it showed to me that I had more opportunities here in the UK and I studied here my degree, my master's, professionally.
Speaker 3:This is where I grew up and I made myself so, and one of the the reasons why I'm able to work from wherever I am now is because I I did a master's in translation, so I can, you know, I do my work, my translation work, from anywhere, really. So I just need my computer, good uh internet connection and that's it. And also, I got the qualification, uh tefl qualification, so I teach uh english as a foreign language and photography online as well, so I can work from online.
Speaker 1:Yeah, whatever, yeah so you are translating, so you work completely online. It's your own business and you teach English and you translate as well.
Speaker 3:Yes, oh, that's great.
Speaker 1:So what made you then 20 years later and you're online to now go back to Barcelona?
Speaker 3:You know you miss your family and I have two little nieces and they are the world to me and we are really a close family and I just really miss that. I'm going to say this because my family will be listening, but the weather was a big thing really. I had to know with this weather, yeah, I mean you have to think that when we are in Barcelona in winter you still have the chance to sit outdoors, you know, to have a meal by the sea, to have a drink, it's just. You know. I really miss that. For many years I missed it. So now I spend all the time I can outside and I meet all my friends and family and just the other day we were having a big meal with the family just sitting outside by the beach where we live, outdoors In the middle of winter. No way you can do this here in the UK, you know, yeah.
Speaker 1:With parkas maybe, and like covers and feeders or something.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, and I just don't enjoy it like that. I mean, I love the UK. I mean don't get me wrong, I grew up by the Mediterranean, when you know the winters are, you know, quite mild and I'm used to spending a lot of time outdoors, and you miss that. You miss that when you can't do it.
Speaker 1:So do you have two different places, one in the UK and one in Barcelona?
Speaker 3:Oh, no, I don't have one in the UK anymore. No, no, no, no. But when I come here, I just come and visit friends and my British family. So, yes, I stay here, and it's nice, it's nice to be able to do that.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, nice cosmopolitan city like one of the best cities in the world. Yes, yes. That's amazing you have like yes yeah, dream life and then live in barcelona and then, if it's too hot in the summer, you just go visit your friends in london exactly, and it's just less than two hours from barcelona.
Speaker 3:Barcelona london flight is less than two hours, so that's that's one of the good things about barcelona as well is, um, you know the, the position, the location, location is really really good to travel all around Europe and it's, you know, the longest that you can do. I don't know three hours flight, you know, to go somewhere in Europe, but there's nothing really for you guys you do like really long distances.
Speaker 2:That's a key day for Kristen. Absolutely it is, since, yeah, that's a key day for kristin. Yeah, and then and then. Also trains is there a lot of trains, um, that you can go to, like italy, go to paris, exactly exactly that.
Speaker 3:That's. That's another thing you can do um here in europe. You can just go by train anywhere, so, and it's really it's quite affordable as well. So yeah, it's great. So what? What brought you as well? So yeah, it's great.
Speaker 1:So what brought you to the UK? How long are you there? For what do you split your time? Do you split your time, or is this kind of how you feel, like I'm going to go here and there, yes, yes.
Speaker 3:Sometimes it's just because last time I was here was about a year ago now, so it's been quite long for me traveling, but last year was a little bit.
Speaker 3:You know, I was really really busy at home and and it was so hot as well during the summer it was unusually, um, hot and it really didn't feel like doing much, you know, just staying home at home just by the sea, and I have a little, uh, super pool as well, so it was really like you know what. I'm just gonna wait for the weather to get a little bit cooler, so yeah, but normally, yeah, I'm based in barcelona, so I live there and I actually live just about 40 miles south from barcelona by the seas, so it's not actually in the city I saw on your link tree that the elephant sanctuary and then your woman in v.
Speaker 2:Can we just touch a few minutes on that and then we can share the links in the show notes?
Speaker 3:Yeah, 2017,. I traveled to Vietnam for the first time and I loved it. I absolutely loved it.
Speaker 3:And then, when I was traveling around Hoi An, I just experienced like a bit of kind of a negative feeling when I saw some of white, disrespectful tourists treating quite badly the the women the work um, the old women the work around the markets.
Speaker 3:I was a little bit shocked because, um, you know, one of the things that I always really wear about, uh, when I'm traveling is always to be very respectful for, you know, wherever you go, the people, the place, their culture, even if that culture is very, very different from yours.
Speaker 3:You have to respect wherever you go, and I was a little bit hurt seeing how some people were treating these women and it just stayed in the back of my mind. And then, two years later, I decided to go back and just work on my photography project and just having them as the main subject of the project and just kind of like giving them a little voice to show to the world who they are. They are women that have gone through a really really tough life and they're still working very, very hard. Most of them are really really old. Most of them are on their own as well, because they have lost most of their family, the men, and I thought I just wanted to do that project, uh, to honor them really, and this is still developing, so I'm still working on one of your artistic projects.
Speaker 3:Yes, you're an artist as well. Ongoing project yes yes, very cool.
Speaker 2:And what's up with the elephant in chiang mai? What's that?
Speaker 3:all about, oh when? Yeah, I was just last uh, last in November. I was in November in Chiang Mai and I just had, I just wanted to go back to see the elephants because I just well, I love elephants and I just had an amazing experience and I just wanted to see places, you know again, respectful with the environment and the animals. And, yeah, and I found a few places, so now I can talk about them as well in social media, if you're interested, so I can tell you where to go.
Speaker 2:Okay, very good.
Speaker 1:So I'm just on your website because I'm like, wait, when are I going to see these pictures? And I just see one picture. So I click on travel photography and I see the one. It's a back of someone with these beautiful like baskets that they're holding yes, yes.
Speaker 3:The Vietnam project yes, yes and they are all women in that project.
Speaker 1:Yes, and so I just see one photo of a older lady with a hat I don't know what they call them, just seems like she's holding a bag or something. The one photo is there other photos.
Speaker 3:Yes, I got an Instagram account that is just dedicated to that, so, don't worry, I will send you the links.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we'd love to share it too. That's so great.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because in that project also I work not only with photography but also with my art practice, and I introduced collage and printmaking, and so it's a little bit. You know, it's wilder than just what initially I intended.
Speaker 2:But yeah, and have you had the chance to show your art at all yet, or is that something you want to do eventually?
Speaker 3:Well, the idea was to do that, but again, you know, covid arrived and then, as we all know, um, just stop everything that we were doing. So it took, it's going to take a little bit longer, but it won't be there. Yeah, and I also feel like I owe to Barcelona to have an exhibition, because all my exhibitions have been here in the UK.
Speaker 3:You know the photography and the art exhibitions before oh, yeah, yeah, here in London and yeah, and in the south of the UK, where I used to live. So, yeah, and I feel like I ought to have one, you know, in my, in my city, in Barcelona. So we must go to our opening yeah, oh, yes, please, yes, I will send you an invitation, absolutely, and then you can visit Barcelona and you know, see all the places, the nice places I'm going to be telling you about now. Yes, oh that's great.
Speaker 1:It looks like. So I didn't know. The photography. It's not a side project, Is it more? Or is it just a hobby? And then you're a translator and teacher.
Speaker 3:Well, the truth is that, if you ask me who you are, I'm an artist and I work with mixed media and photography. But the truth is to be able to live as an artist in Korea and with my art practice, I had to have something inside, and that's why I did my master's in translation and I have my translation business, so then I can have both and I can you know, carry on with my art practice. I totally understand.
Speaker 1:I am an executive recruiter and podcaster. I compete in wake surfing and hill events and backpacking.
Speaker 3:Exactly, I do a lot of different things and when you're so passionate about something, you just can't leave it, no matter how you know it's going to take you to get there, you will do it.
Speaker 3:So, if you like hiking, you've got a very, very nice hiking here in the north of Catalonia, yes, in the mountains, in the Pyrenees. So you see that again, it's another nice thing about being in Barcelona. You've got both walls, you've got the sea, amazing beaches, and also you've got the mountains. So you know I don't want to sound pedantic, but Barcelona is a beautiful, beautiful place to live. We've got everything.
Speaker 1:Everything Nice weather as well, food, culture so, okay, guys, you have to come and visit absolutely what were the mountains that you mentioned to the Pyrenees, oh um, the py is pyrenees, it's just.
Speaker 3:It's just a in border between France and Spain.
Speaker 1:Oh, got it, Okay, okay, got it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Of course the one that's so far north. I always thought of it like way down by like Malaga or something.
Speaker 3:Oh, it's way up there, yes, in the northeast, and it's just about 100 miles from French border.
Speaker 2:Oh, look at that.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:Okay, and so they just go west and you'll hit the mountains. Basically, yes, okay.
Speaker 3:Exactly. But again, you know, you go skiing from Barcelona and it's about two hours, two and a half hours and you're in the skiing resort In France. No, no, no, in Spain, in Spain, you have skiing.
Speaker 2:in Spain, yeah yeah, yeah, I'm so surprised, oh, my goodness. Okay, yes, in Catalonia. I'm so surprised, oh, my goodness.
Speaker 3:Okay, yes.
Speaker 2:In Catalonia. How high are the mountains, Do you know? I mean it's going to be in meters About 2,000.
Speaker 3:Of course I'm going to say meters, sorry, it's pretty close to the yard, just below 3,000.
Speaker 2:3,000. So that's probably like 9,000 feet for us.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah that's good times. Okay, yes, and again, you know, it's just like very, very close from Barcelona, so you can go just for the day skiing Wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and if you want really fancy. Not, you know, France and Switzerland are too far away, right, Exactly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no absolutely. I went to Barcelona in oh goodness 99. It was a long time ago and I won a trip with my company. We stayed Actually we stayed at the Ritz. It was very fancy, very fun, okay, yes. And then we saw Gaudi's, la Familia and all of the, but the weather to me stood out the most. But the weather to me stood out the most. It was like Southern California warm, nice, great climate, beautiful.
Speaker 3:That's right, the beaches, everything. It's very similar to the Californian weather. Yes, yeah.
Speaker 1:So what is it that you know in living there? How is it growing up there? What are the things that you did? Um? What do the kids do? Families, I had.
Speaker 3:I had this conversation a long, no long ago.
Speaker 3:A few days ago I was with a couple of my friends that we are the same age and we are from all, from barcelona, and we're just thinking how lucky we were of you growing up in a place like this, because we were most of the time we were outdoors, playing and just spending time out there, you know, playing by the beach, and even in winter you would just be playing there by the sun.
Speaker 3:You know your parents would be sitting in a terrace, just you know, enjoying a meal or whatever, and you just finish eating and you just jump over there and it's just the freedom of being able to be out there most of time and and eating very nice, healthy food as well. You know, because we got a lot of fruit and vegetables and which, you know, I took it for granted. But then, you know, I went to live into the uk and then I realized that the fruit didn't taste. I I remember, just you know, eating a peach, for instance, and it's like this doesn't taste anything, because obviously but you know it's not, it's normal, because the fruit arrive here when you know it's still green. I mean, you can't expect the fruit and the vegetables to taste exactly the same. But I remember that, just being in my grandparents' garden and just grabbing tomatoes, and the taste and the flavor, you know the smell, everything, it was just so nice.
Speaker 3:The flavor you know the smell, everything.
Speaker 1:It was just so nice, so I think you know I was really lucky to grow up in a place like Barcelona. Oh, I was going to say typical fruits and veggies, is it?
Speaker 3:kind of like California and sort of everything. Well, in summer, especially the peaches, they're so nice, so tasty, and I'm obsessed because I've been back in Barcelona for about six years now but I'm still obsessed that I need to, you know, to gather lots of peaches. So I do lots of reserves so I would have you in the winter just in case I run off. You know, because I still got this in mind like, oh my God, I won't have enough. And then my mom keeps say, don't worry, darling, you know, you live here now you can eat as many as you want. But yeah, and lots of strawberries as well. And also eating being back on eating seasonal fruit and vegetables, because here in the UK you can find strawberries all year round, which to me that was very strange, because you eat the strawberries just in the summer, beginning of the summer, you know.
Speaker 1:It's like us now too. It's all year round, which is different, for sure. What kind of like meals do you like that are traditional Well?
Speaker 3:again we cook with lots, lots of vegetables Vegetables are there all the time and lots of salads as well in summer. In winter, we do lots of chews with meat or vegetables and lots of soups, and one of my favorite ones is rice stewish with um fish. For you to imagine where it's almost like soupy paella I don't know if that makes sense.
Speaker 3:But you know, it's so nice, it's so warm and it's just so, so nice with lots of nice fish, because, for instance, where I live, we got the fishmongers there. You know that the fishermen just arrive in the morning and then just go to the market and have fresh fish and really really cheap as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah lots of tapas, I'm assuming, as well.
Speaker 3:Yes yes, casers, things like that, yes and there will be something that you would do on the weekend, for instance, that you have more time and then you don't really want to cook, and then you go out and have a few tapas for dinner and just share with your friends.
Speaker 3:And it's really really nice as well, very cheap as well, because now for instance, I'm here in London and I remember this morning I was just going for breakfast and thinking, oh my God, everything is so expensive. I'm thinking about the prices. We, you know, we prices we got in barcelona are very different yeah, what's a traditional tapas like what are the foods?
Speaker 3:or the because tapas like little plates, right of little things that would actually vary, depends of the the party in in spain you are, because, especially if you are by the sea, then the tapas will involve some fish, some seafood, prawns, clams, things like that, which I adore.
Speaker 2:It's like a little mini paella yes, yes something like that as well, yeah, and then gosh.
Speaker 3:I don't know cornmeal as well, jamon. Lots of different cheeses as well. Yeah, and then gosh. I don't know cold meats as well jamon. Lots of different cheeses as well. Depending again, where which part of the country you are, there will be different types of cheese and cooked little cooked dishes as well. So, depending of you know where you go as well, and some places make just cold tapas, but wherever you go, it's going to be nice anyway I can guarantee you yeah, and what are activities?
Speaker 1:what do families typically do? What's a typical day look like? Um?
Speaker 3:well, in my family, for instance, we've always been very sporty so we would always go for either for walks or, in summer we'll be like doing lots of swimming. Again, you know you can swim. We're swimming from sometimes from easter in the in the sea, uh, up to october, so that's a lot of time.
Speaker 3:You know lots of chances for you to be out there and and swimming, and I know you're interested in surfing I I know you're going to ask me and I'm going to tell you the Mediterranean is not like biggest place, the most famous place for swimming, sorry for surfing.
Speaker 3:But still, you know, just very close from where I live, you've got a surfing club, so you still can do it, but you don't have like the massive waves you would have in the Atlantic side, so, or in Portugal that they are. You know they're more famous for surfing and I know you like Portugal as well, but still you can do that. And lots of cycling as well. There's lots of cycling paths outside in the countryside just nearby where I live, you can go with the family for a very nice flat cycling path surrounded by vineyards, and you know lovely countryside, so that's really really nice. Because, yeah, that's something else. Where I live, just south from Barcelona, I'm surrounded by vineyards, oh wow. And where I live is where they make the cava, which is our equivalent of the French champagne. Oh, and what do you call that? Cava, cava? How do you spell that? C-a-v-a.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's easy. Okay, that's the Spanish champagne, or is it Barcelona specific?
Speaker 3:No, no, it's Spanish, yes, but it happens that it's just where it's made. It's just in this area in Catalonia, yes, and it's really really nice, and also as a day trip that you can do if you are visiting Barcelona. You can go to one of these vineyards and you can spend the day there and they take you around, they show you, you know all the process, uh, uh, making cava. You can have some taste, you can have some lunch in there by the vineyards. Really, really nice, uh, countryside, so that's like Napa, it's like Napa, california, exactly.
Speaker 3:Exactly, we've.
Speaker 1:Exactly.
Speaker 3:In.
Speaker 2:Santa Barbara, exactly, we got that as well. Oh, that's amazing. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1:And that city was called what again?
Speaker 3:It's just an area. If you look for Cava, then it will show you where it's made, and it's an area which is like 40 miles from Barcelona, so it's lovely just spending some time in the weekend there.
Speaker 3:Lots of hiking as well. Lots of hiking. Just nearby where I live, you've got this beautiful coastal path that you can go. Just beautiful, the scenery, the sea on one side, little mountains in the other. It's just so, so nice and you just can walk. What I normally do is I may walk from one town to another and then catch the train back. I will walk to the next town, which is Sitges it's a beautiful, beautiful little town by the sea Then have a very, very nice meal there and then catch the train back home. Oh, that's nice, lovely. So it's a very, very nice meal there and then catch the train back home.
Speaker 3:Oh, that's nice, so it's a really really nice thing to do.
Speaker 1:What was the?
Speaker 3:city call. You said Sorry, what was the city call? Sitges S-I-T-G-S. Yeah, it's really really nice and again, if you are in Barcelona you can just catch the train and it's just like half an hour. From Barcelona you can visit Sitges, which is another beautiful little town by the sea.
Speaker 2:Oh nice. So when you take these trains, is it just kind of like public transportation they're always the same price or is it like the train from London to Paris, for example, Like the price varies depending on like how soon you book in advance? But are these just more like local trains that you're talking?
Speaker 3:about. Oh yeah, these are local trains. Yeah, these are local trains. You don't need to book in advance, you just buy in a day. Yes, okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:So it's a South. It looks like South along the coast.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, and it looks like there's a lot of mountain areas, right around and you can actually work.
Speaker 3:you know most of the coast along Catalonia all the way to France. You can walk by the sea. There's a coastal path. You can go from town to town. There's people that do that in summer and they just, you know, walk from town to town by the coastal path and they are amazing because you go through. You know lots of pine tree areas, because this is very common to see. You know we have lots of pine trees by the sea and actually I was mentioning this to my friend the other day that the smell that brings us back to our childhood memories is the mix of the pine trees with the sea salt. You know that that makes it unusual.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's like it's. It's like, you know, it brings it, always brings me back to you know my childhood memories, you know, walking by these, uh, coastal paths and just you know the shady beads by the sea and the smell of the pine trees.
Speaker 2:It's just so nice. One of our podcasts coming up. We're going to be interviewing someone that did the El Camino Real, which I think is like more in the Northern. That seems so amazing. I can't wait to hear about it. But doing that same with, but like by the sea.
Speaker 3:Exactly To me. To me, it's just like doing that same with, but like by the sea. Exactly, exactly To me. To me, exactly To me, it's just like the perfect hiking, because I, because that's where I go, I buy that and it's just yeah totally, and I'm I'm looking at a map and I kind of stand out to see wait how far, how far is Franceance from there?
Speaker 1:because I thought it was a plane ride and it still looks pretty far. If I'm looking right, it's got to be a couple hundred miles or is it oh? Sorry. How far is sorry?
Speaker 3:what's from, from france, that walking path you said it goes all the way oh yes, yeah, well walking, yeah, it's gonna take you, because it's about from barcelona, it's about uh, 100 miles. Yeah, my gosh.
Speaker 1:So that's not that far. Actually, I thought it was no, no, no, yeah, I did try out one In.
Speaker 3:European standards. You know, yeah, it's. You know it's 100. But my grandma used to live in the south of France and I used to go there to visit her for the day from Barcelona.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, so how, how did?
Speaker 3:you go visit or take your bike and just go, no, no, no by car, by car there we go. No, no, no no, no, yeah, yeah, that's okay, perfect.
Speaker 1:I was like thinking how young you know with it. So just a couple hours, you just grab, get in the car and go a couple hours.
Speaker 2:I did not realize it was all that, so it's the kind of it's beach hours. I did not realize it was that fun, so it's beachy. So it's not rocky, it's like beachy roads.
Speaker 3:Or beachy, and then paths. Yeah, yes, here in Catalonia we've got like two sides. Where I live is really flat and very sandy, but then like halfway up to the north it's very rocky, and that you know there is really this coastal path is just amazing. And again, you know you can do that, you can go from town to town and just just to stop there and you can camping in there and then carry on and it's just um, really, really nice.
Speaker 2:Wow, that sounds amazing. And then, on the sea, do people? Is there a lot of sailing or paddle boarding? Is there any sports that people do on the?
Speaker 3:Yeah, all of that Because, as I said, nearby where I live, there's a couple of clubs that they do sailing. It's so nice to see as well all you know young kids doing that once a week. They do that as a activities and they sailing and they do surfing, paddle surf, all sorts, and also because it's quite flat as well for them to learn, it's really really nice. So it's nice, and also from home because I can see the sea. Sometimes you can see the little boats. They didn't when they are um training during the week and there's a site in there. It's so nice.
Speaker 1:That sounds fun. So you said it's relatively inexpensive to live in Barcelona. I was curious, cost-wise, how much it costs to. I mean, gosh, I'm like I want to go.
Speaker 3:Well, barcelona, like any other big city, it's always more expensive than you know surroundings. Living in Barcelona is more expensive than you know surroundings is. Living in barcelona is more expensive than where I live, and I'm just, yeah, 40 miles away from it yeah, but um, in barcelona, how much is it to buy a house and or rent a place there?
Speaker 1:how much is it just well?
Speaker 3:the, the rental, for instance, more or less for a small apartment in in barcelona, about 800 euros. Now the euro and the dollar is more or less the same. So yes, about that, about 800 maybe. And then you know if you are maybe about 100 euros in bills, then plus food, extras or whatever around you know, 2000 euros per month.
Speaker 2:Okay, okay, and then how is that different? Is that Barcelona where you live, and it would be like 20%, 40% cheaper where you are.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I would say something like that yeah, cheaper, yeah. Oh, I just say something like that yeah. Cheaper.
Speaker 1:yeah, oh, I just did 800 euros and it's 867.
Speaker 3:Yes, exactly, it's more or less yeah For US dollars.
Speaker 1:Just about the same.
Speaker 3:Yeah, again, you know, always depending of you know, if it's a family kids, what kind of extras? Do you have a car? Because most of my friends in Barcelona don't own a car because they don't really need a car, but I own one because where I live I need one. So that would add some extra and even where I live is a little bit cheaper, but then I would have to add those extras so you little more expensive. So I think it compensates a little bit.
Speaker 1:What do families and kids do typically like sports-wise or like their school life?
Speaker 3:Lots of sports, really Lots lots. Because I got my nieces Well and I remember, when I was a child with my brother, my mom poor thing she was taxing us all the time Because we had sports all the time.
Speaker 1:Just like us. Yeah, yes.
Speaker 3:And when I grew up, I did figure skating, hockey, swimming yeah, and my nieces are doing that as well and ballet and figure skating and swimming. All the kids that grew up around Barcelona, they always always do swimming, always.
Speaker 2:I mean for us.
Speaker 3:it's almost like I wouldn't know anyone that lives around here and they can't swim really, because we live by the sea. Oh, it's almost like I wouldn't know anyone that lives around here and they can't swim really, because we live by the sea. That's fantastic.
Speaker 2:What about air conditioning? Is that very common? Or do most people just have to muscle it through on those really hot days? Or is it becoming normal now?
Speaker 3:Well, it's actually becoming more and more common, especially after what happened last summer. Last summer was really extremely hot. It was extremely hot and even for someone like me I loved it. But even for me. At one point I was like, okay, this is no fun anymore. We need to cool down a little bit, because it was an energy waste, Because we actually reached the 86 Fahrenheit and the thermometer wouldn't go below that for days and days. Oh, and that's not that common in barcelona.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we had in northern california had, uh, I felt like it was two weeks of almost 100 plus every it was from 100 to 115, 117 and I've never seen that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I remember in my car I got even here in london for the first time ever that you know, since the recordings started, they reach 40 degrees, which is 104 fahrenheit. Yeah, never before.
Speaker 1:Wow it was yeah, but last time I was it was very, very unusual, very unusual, yeah, and I I don't normally use aircon at home ever yeah, yeah last summer I did, yeah, so yes, I was curious also, like okay, so someone comes, wants to spend, you know, six months there, or three months, or a year. What are the things that they should watch out for or to do specifically, that they wouldn't necessarily find on, like you know, if they google barcelona and visits, you know visit here, like gaudi's, gaudi's, um, you know, uh, his artwork, which is amazing, walking around, but what is it? That's kind of underground that people may not know about.
Speaker 3:Well, I have actually met a few people that they came just to spend a few months, you know, just as, again, because they can work from anywhere in the world and just say, oh, we're going to have a little stop in Barcelona.
Speaker 3:Most of them just decide to stay because I don't know as a you know, from the point of view of someone that comes here, when you are from a place, you tend to take things for granted, and it's not until you've been away for a long time and then you come back and then you, you realize, you know how lucky you are, and then you see things a little bit as a foreigner and most of the people I've met that they decide to go to barcelona just for a few months.
Speaker 3:They just, they just decide to stay longer because all the things that we've been saying, you know, the weather is really really nice, food is really nice as well, and very cheap to eat out, and it's really good quality. Lots of activities you can do around, especially if you are a sporty person. In summer you can do all the hiking, swimming, surfing, then in the winter you can do all the skiing, hiking as well, up in the mountains with snow, and also the good thing is, if you live in Barcelona, you still can, as we were saying, move around Europe, visit different places in Europe very, very easily.
Speaker 3:I met someone from the northeast coast of the States, from Maine, two years ago and he wanted to spend, just, you know, three months here, three months there around Europe. But after staying in Barcelona, he decided to stay in Barcelona as the base and then from Barcelona just move around Europe, because it's so easy and he thought that it was the best place to stay, to live and then move from there.
Speaker 1:With the wineries, you can see that With the mountains you can do that Skiing beach. I love that coastal drive to or the road to France, which I think is just sounds amazing.
Speaker 3:Yes, and if you're not a city person and you decide, oh, barcelona could be a little bit too busy for you, then you can always move just a little bit far away, uh, further away from Barcelona, like, for instance, where I live, and it's much, much quieter, um, and still you are very close. You know um train distance half an hour 40 minutes. You can, you need, do you need, very close, you know train distance half an hour 40 minutes.
Speaker 2:Do you need a car where you live in, since you're outside of the city, or can you rely on train enough?
Speaker 3:Oh no, you can rely on train and that's how I normally go to the center, you know, to the city I never drive, there's no point yeah, and also that train, again, again. You know that train goes by the sea, that kind of like almost parallel to that, uh, coastal path. I was telling you about it, so it's just so nice to do that as well. So the trip, uh the trip to to the cities, is really impressive.
Speaker 2:So so this gentleman that you said was from maine ended up staying there. Did he have a car? Or can you really like stay there long term without a car?
Speaker 3:No, no, no, because he lives in Barcelona. So most of the people I know that, foreigners that live in Barcelona they just either use public transport or they just rent the car like temporary. Okay. You can do for just two days, just for the weekend, or for a week or something, and they tend to do it with a group of friends, so that's much cheaper than owning a car if you don't use it often.
Speaker 3:Oh, my goodness yeah, but actually you can go from Barcelona to the mountains, to the ski resort, by train or by bus, so you don't actually need your own car if you live in Barcelona okay, but you have to take a car to get to go skiing well, I do, because I, I just do that yeah, of course that would be, with the skis and all the stuff. But, but you can, but you can do it, you can do it, oh, you can do it, oh you can. Okay, got it yeah.
Speaker 2:Even in Boulder. There's a bus in downtown Boulder where all the like high school kids and they take the bus up to Nederland, which is a town just like 40 minutes away. Kind of crazy, yeah.
Speaker 3:That's amazing. Yeah, before I had my driving license, I used to drive that with a group of friends. We would just catch the bus and go to the ski resort for the day.
Speaker 2:How far was that? Was it an hour, an hour and a half?
Speaker 3:Two and a half three hours, depending on the area where you want to go, Because we got a lot up in the Peony.
Speaker 1:That sounds great.
Speaker 2:Wow, so we're getting close to the end of our hour and I have these rapid fire questions. But, um, kristin, do you have any more? Any other?
Speaker 1:the last thing I have to say is I'm totally loving your accent, changing from uk to to a spanish set like a bat. But your english is so amazing. It's just, you know, like as if you were born speaking English, and it's really good. I know from traveling different countries. I was in South Korea and Bali. Bali speaks English, but it was just so. I, you know, I wanted to be able to talk to, to people and I didn't have that language down, of course, but just loved hearing your accent change.
Speaker 1:I didn't notice it and then I was like, oh wait a minute, I don't hear the UK anymore. But I'm sure because you're there right now and as soon as you get off the phone, start talking, it'll come right back.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, well, the thing is sometimes, when I'm speaking in English but I'm thinking about something that is related to Spain, then it would change a little bit, and it also works the other way around when I speak my own language, I'm speaking in Catalan or in Spanish, and then I'm thinking in English.
Speaker 2:So I would put English words in there. Yeah, oh, that's great, oh, yeah. And then, speaking of languages, so people that come there that are not, do not have, do not remember their high school Spanish and I know the Spanish accent's a little different how easy it is to get by with just speaking English in Barcelona.
Speaker 3:I think it's. You know, there's more and more people, uh, now that speaks english and also we are very used to having foreigners and we make it very easy for you to you know, if we cannot speak your language, but you know, there's always. I always say, when there's a will, there's always a way to um help or make you understand, or I don't know so yeah, yes, yes, because we're so used to.
Speaker 3:You know, especially Barcelona is a very interesting place and we're so used to having foreigners in there and it's. There's never been a problem and from all these friends that I met from different countries, they have never found any, you know, any problem.
Speaker 2:Oh awesome, find any, you know any problem. Yeah, awesome, great, all right, so some of my questions um what is your?
Speaker 3:favorite food in barcelona like a meal. Yes, it's. It's gonna have to be that stewy rice with fish thing that is called caldoso caldoso.
Speaker 2:How do you? Spell it c-a-l-d-o-s-a, d-o-s-o caldoso, caldoso, yeah, oh, arroz caldoso with the rice, yeah yes I just, I just can't have enough of that yes, oh, interesting, okay. And what did you have for breakfast? What's the typical breakfast there in barcelona? Well, in barcelona, yeah yeah, um, I'm always.
Speaker 3:I always have, because of my brit influence, you know I always have porridge with fruit Porridge, okay.
Speaker 2:Okay, with fresh fruit peaches perhaps, okay, yes, yeah. And then, when we were interviewing people and then I also heard this from another blogger in Portugal, portugal, that everyone has fresh squeezed orange juice you said once you go to the store, you can't even buy orange juice. You buy it in the Juicy Machine. Is it the same there?
Speaker 3:Yes, and.
Speaker 3:I was actually. It's funny because I was just listening to one of those podcasts the other day and I remember I think it was the guy that lives in Portugal, who travels to Portugal, that lives in Portugal, travels to Portugal, and I was just. I was, I remember, thinking like him, like no, of course, why would you buy oranges when you can make your own at home? Because that's what we do as well. Yes, you know, you got fresh oranges and they just, and he said as he said, you know, it's just three minutes, it takes you to do it and it's much, much better. Yes, the thing is, once you're used to um.
Speaker 2:You know, having fresh oranges, then you don't want to have anything.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I have a huge orange tree that it's it's falling. I mean, they're like where you pick one orange, there's like five together it's just orange, right now so I will be doing that this weekend and she shared some, some.
Speaker 2:She just came to me and we gobbled them all down. They were so sweet.
Speaker 1:They were so sweet.
Speaker 3:You know, one of the things that I planted in my garden when I went back to Barcelona is a lemon tree, because I was obsessed with that, and we've got lots of lemons now where, you know, here in the UK we don't really have lemon trees or orange trees. Oh good, yeah, lemons l.
Speaker 1:You know, here in the uk don't really have lemon trees or orange trees, so oh good, yeah, lemons, limes, oranges I love them all yes and then is there a specific type of music.
Speaker 2:You know, I guess, when I was, I don't know what's, what's spanish music, things like salsa, or I don't know oh gosh, no, salsa is not spanish, it's more south american.
Speaker 3:But, um, okay, yeah, the. But the thing is there's a huge, huge influence in in Spain from, uh, the music in, you know, from the UK, from the States. So I'm listening to radio here in London. It's pretty much the same as I would be listening to in there in Barcelona, where you know there would be a few, uh, more Spanish, obviously, but very, very similar. You know, the same kind of rock pop, you know. Okay, again, huge influence from the UK and the States.
Speaker 2:Yes, Right, and the money we know is the euro. I wish we could cover that. And then we did cover surfing. But if you did want to surf, I mean, could you just go farther south down in spain or like around the bend? Is there surfing down that way like ocean?
Speaker 3:surfing. Yes, it's around cadiz, which is uh right down south cadiz, you get the. The area that uh is more the atlantic side and that would be perfect Cadiz.
Speaker 2:C-A-D-I-Z. Yes.
Speaker 3:Gibraltar. Yes exactly, yes, yes, that is perfect for surfing. Yes Again, because it's the Atlantic side, you see.
Speaker 2:It's just. The Mediterranean is far too calm for the big waves. Far too calm, very good. Is there a lot of places to stay there? Is it somewhat of a touristy area or is it easy?
Speaker 3:yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yes yes, but you have to bear in mind that summers are much hotter down there. Okay, in the south of spain summers are much hotter, are the? The temperatures go around 104 as kind of normal in summer, just just to let you know, yeah, but the water doesn't mind, right?
Speaker 2:okay, great, yes, well, we are excited to come visit you at some point to say hi, yes, it's your art exhibition.
Speaker 3:Um, I don't know when this will happen, but we will do that, we will do the art exhibition and then we will go around the vignettes to some faces.
Speaker 1:Yes, in terms of that and the beach, and I want to do that. I want to smell pine trees with sea salt or sea water.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's one of the most wonderful smells, really, because of that memory that brings me, you know, yeah, it's just the best.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sounds amazing.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Wonderful, sounds amazing, yeah, wonderful. Well, thank you so much for your time and for sharing Barcelona and your heritage and upbringing, and with us it was just a thank you guys.
Speaker 3:thank you for having me, and it was really really nice sharing all these things and I really hope that you know I can finally meet you there in Barcelona and then I can show you all around. Yes Sounds fantastic. Okay.
Speaker 2:Perfect, thank you. Thank you Bye. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed the podcast, can you please take a second and do a quick follow of the show and rate us in your podcast app, and if you have a minute, we would really appreciate a review. Following and rating is the best way to support us. If you're on Instagram, let's connect. We're at where next podcast. Thanks again.
