August. August in Spain. August is hot.

August. August in Spain. August is hot. August is vacation time. August is when businesses close for the month. August is tourist time. August. August in Spain. August is hot.

Since I arrived home last Thursday we have been having a heat wave here. Well, it is August. It is supposed to be hot. We understand and accept that. We haven’t felt like doing much of anything. That could also have to do with how crazy and exhausting the past two weeks have been for each of us. A good reason to just relax.

When I got home last Thursday we had good intentions of going to the beach but as I mentioned  I was exhausted and it was just too hot. Friday we spent a couple of hours on the beach. That afternoon we went by our wonderful butcher’s, Mitjans, only to find that they were closed. We were not able to stop to read the sign on the door as we had traffic behind us so not sure if they were just closed for a couple of day or if indeed they have closed for the month as so many places do.

We decided to go to the market in Vilanova on Saturday. We could get some meat, fish, veggies and cava there. We planned to go to the beach in Vilanova early that morning to beat the crowds before we hit the market. We got to the beach before the massive crowds showed up. It was hot. The water was perfect. We stayed for a couple of hours and then left to go to the market. The town seemed very quiet. Most shops closed. Lots of parking in the parking garage. Hmmm. Perhaps the open air-market is not happening today. The Mercat del Centre was locked up. We knew that Vilanova were celebrating Festa Major but we just didn’t consider that everything would be shut. Now we know. I’m sure it will be a month of discoveries like this. We will try to check websites before we go to do business somewhere. All part of the learning experience in our new home.

Yesterday we went to our favorite beach early both to avoid the crowds and thinking it would be cooler. We did avoid the crowds. But not the heat. Again, the water was perfect so that helped. The crowds seem to start arriving around 11am so we try to escape shortly after that. Look how empty it was when we arrived.

For the record, we are used to hot weather. We haven’t lived in a cool summer place since 2002. This is also not the first home we have lived in that didn’t have air conditioning. When I moved to Australia in 1994 to be with Bob our brand new flat didn’t have air or heat. Believe me it needed both of them. It is just a case of adapting. When you have several days over 90°F (mid 30°C) the house does get warm even with the wonderful thick rock walls. It was trying to rain this morning which made it humid. Bob was trying to get ready for a business trip and we joked that we must be back in Louisiana. Lol. We know that the temperature will drop and the house will cool off. The next three days are supposed to be a lot cooler. On a positive note…we don’t have the almost $200 (170€) monthly bills for running the air conditioning. 🙂

I took Bob to Barcelona airport this morning as he is off to Italy on a quick business trip. Back tomorrow night. Have I mentioned that it is August? Tourist time? The month when Spain vacations? Thankfully, we have been paying attention to the news and social media about the long security lines at the airport. The security workers are holding rolling strikes due to claims of low pay. We arrived over 3 hours early and it took Bob an hour to get through security. This was a good day as there have been reports of it taking three hours to get through security. When we arrived shortly after 11am it was crazy and the lines extended back through these stanchions. I took this photo as I was leaving when it was much quieter.

What a mess and very annoying when people decide to cut in line or show up late for a flight and expect special treatment. These aren’t people that missed a connection as they wouldn’t be going through security. These are people, and they are in every airport, that show up at the last minute and then expect the rest of us who arrived when we were supposed to make accommodations for them. Always irks us.

Funny how things change and become no big deal. Didn’t give a second thought or concern to taking Bob to the airport today. Parking in the airport garage. Driving home. I remember when Bob was making his first business trip since we moved to Spain and what that meant I needed to face.  Just a normal thing now.

So, just to recap. August. August in Spain. August is hot. August is vacation time. August is when businesses close for the month. August is tourist time. August. August in Spain. August is hot.