October


It's Anselm's first autumn and here in his little cocoon, as well as everywhere else in the northern hemisphere, in places he does not even know exist nor can even imagine, the days are shorter, the nights are longer, and one day for the first time, his body shivered in an involuntary response to a chill wind heretofore unknown to this newcomer. A June baby.

Yet, all is not lost. It may be autumn in Europe, but we're in Spain. That means many things including that that while you may have to come to terms with predominantly grey skies and steady drizzles in the northern latitudes, here there are still plenty of opportunities for this kind of thing...

Anselm makes it out to the beach for the first time

Believe it or not, this is a beach in Barcelona. Perhaps not downtown, but not too far either. Where, you might ask, are the hordes of sangria-swilling tourists? Well, you certainly won't find them here. This beach is rather tricky to access as it is right in front of a military compound. Some of the buildings are visible in the background.

We gained access to this gem through a friend of ours who is a career army guy although you would not know it by looking at him. In fact, I've never seen him in uniform and am not even sure he actually wears one to work. In any case, I certainly couldn't picture it.

We came here for a change-of-the-season BBQ and after gorging ourselves with way too much meat, we made our way past the officer's club lounge, past the pool, through the gate, and out to the Mediterranean. Nice.

This was Anselm's firs time at the beach (I don't think accompanying us to a beach-side "chiringuito" counts). And while it was October, the late afternoon sun was still warm enough to counter the soft wind that sent waves curling up the sand toward us.

The Frazier men caught on a moment of quiet contemplation

Steph and Anselm soak up the sun as a ship rolls by almost unnoticed on the horizon

That's one of the cool things about Barcelona. This is a place that leaves little room if any for ambivalence. The pace is furious; the streets are crowded, noisy, and dirty; people usually range from cold to downright nasty. That's when you ask yourself what the f*** are you doing here.

Then, there are days like this when you discover a nice quiet spot like this and gaze out to the horizon and thank the fortune that brought you here.

About a week after that, a week of buses and metros, of pushing and shoving through crowds, of working way too much, it was time to go out and find some more ying for all that yang. This time we went with Roland and Andrea (check out their blog on the sidebar) to the park.

Yep, a Sunday family picnic at the park. Gabriela is just a few months older than Anselm and Louis is 3. While we knew each other before, it's been great to get closer to them now that we have Anselm and lots of common experiences to share. People with children often tell the childless how their arrival changes everything. One of those things is your social life. Childless couples, not to mention single friends, just don't come around as much any more. It's nothing to take personal, it's just that mobilising on moment's notice is a bit more complicated. It usually involves a complex logistics exercise and a great deal of determination.

So after a few failed attempts to hook up, we finally made our way to the park on a beautiful Sunday afternoon with the kids. Lovely.

Andrea feeds Gabriela

Roland feeds Steph with Louis looking on



Louis showing off his tree-climbing skills

Post-picnic stop by the beach. That face Anselm is making is an early warning sign he will soon enter the "take me home NOW" stage.