Day 20: Back to school

Today Pat and I started Spanish lessons. Pat stays home with the kids while I have class from 10-11:30, then brings them over to the school so I can look after them while he has class from 12-1:30.

I took the kids to the park, then they fell asleep on the walk home so naps and lunch were all thrown off today. I picked up groceries on the way home, so carrying 2 kids + groceries up 4 flights of stairs was my CrossFit workout for the day.

We took a walk to the north east side of Cadiz in the afternoon to see the ferry terminal and port. Jasper was pretty excited about the giant cranes that lift sea cans onto ships. I have a feeling those cranes will make an appearance in one of his games soon.

 We made a mid afternoon cafe stop for coffee/ milk/ beer. People love to say hi to the kids and ask us questions about them. It's a good chance to practice some Spanish. I learned the word rubio (blonde) in class today and then realized that old ladies always say that and guapo (handsome) to Jasper when we're out.

 This evening was the start of tosantos, a festival unique to Cadiz, related to All Saints day on Nov 1. All saints day (Todos los Santos) is a National Holiday in Spain. It is a day to honour deceased relatives by visiting graves and laying flowers.

 I'm not sure how this part of tosantos relates to honouring the dead, but tonight at the market, each of the stalls made dioramas out of their wares (fruit, fish, meat etc.) to depict satirical versions of current events.

 Most seemed to be related to the separatist turmoil in Catalonia, and most of the humor was lost on us. Jasper sure thought the birds made of fruit and circus for shrimps were cool. 

It was hard to get pictures of the stalls (there are better ones on Instagram).This one features sword fish heads.with wigs and signs that say something like "long live Spain, long live the king, long live the daddy", and the other ones have various profanities (that we discovered on google translate!). Definitely a unique festival experience!