Day 82 - The Greatest Personality Trait of Spanish Children
/The Spanish children we have been meeting here in Barcelona, whether at the playground or the beach, have a great personality trait that I think should be advertised more in the world: They are extremely sociable and are not afraid to ask for something they want. A few days ago, when we were at the park playing with water balloons, a few little girls asked if they could have some of ours to play with. "Sure why not!", we said.
Then yesterday, when we were at the beach, a few little kids came over to where I was sitting and asked if they could play with Hannah's floaties that were clearly not being used. At first I just stared at them because I had no idea what they were saying. Then I saw them run off to another family who had a tube lying around, where they seemed to repeat the same question, got consent, and ran off with the tube. "Ah", I thought to myself, "that's what she wanted"!
Shortly after that, a young girl about Hannah's age came and sat next to me and asked if she could make a castle with Hannah and Kian's sand toys (both of our kids were playing in the water with Daddy). I understood some of what she was saying and said "Si". She started playing happily with her mama nodding and smiling at me and watching her from a few towels away.
Today, we had yet another example. Kian and Hannah were playing with a Velcro catch and throw toy, and a girl and boy came over and asked if they could play too. So Romine & Kesito (sp?) took turns playing with Kian and they all had a great time.
I want to be clear about something, these kids, every single one of them who has approached us, regardless of their age, has been very polite. They simply ask (they do not yank toys out of each other's hands), and if you say yes, they happily start playing. If you stare and shake your head (like I did because I was confused), they will run along happily and do something else. Also, they are not interested in taking another kid's toys for themselves. They know that once they are done or if the toy's owner is leaving, they have to give back the toy they were playing with.
How awesome is this personality to start from such a young age! If you want something, just ask for it. It also is wonderful for socialization because often times they like to sit and play with you.
The little girl that was playing with the sand toys on the beach ended up playing with Hannah in the water for a while too. The two of them just ran in and out of water giggling without needed to have a conversation :)
El Pi
After the playground, we started walking back to the apartment and noticed a sushi restaurant nearby. From the outside, the place definitely does not look like a sushi restaurant, we only noticed it because of the menu they had outside. The name, El Pi, also doesn't sound very Japanese, so while we had seen the restaurant before we never realized what it was.
Once we entered the restaurant, we couldn't believe our eyes. The place is huge and beautiful! It was almost like in Harry Potter, when they go to the Quidditch cup and pitch a tent that looks small and insignificant from the outside but is a luxurious space with multiple bedrooms inside! I seriously felt like I was in a restaurant at a spa. Beautiful music was playing and just the decoration of the place brought serenity :)
The food was also great, delicious and beautifully presented, and our kids loved eating salmon sashimi! That's awesome news for their sushi and sashimi lover parents :)
We arrived at the opening and had the restaurant to ourselves, but the restaurant started filling up quickly, which is always a good sign!