Hi :) Please take the time to read till the end (I will read yours then, too) due to a 'keyword' I've placed and you need to include in your request.

We do NOT live IN Barcelona city center NOR at the beach - it's a VEGAN PLANT BASED, non-smoking home.
Vegan because .... Dairy is scary, Cowspiracy, Dominion, Earthlings
Home in the outskirts of BCN, literally in the natural reserve park of the Collserola mountains; the closest metro stop is a very hilly (=up and down) 3km away.

!! To enable a better match between us please read and show that you respect our way of life !! GREAT advice of how to write your request : https://youtu.be/PVXewFRRuhw

Priority to :
-stays no longer than 3 days (=2 nights)
-women
-vegans
-single mom w/child
-CSurfers with references
-some former CS hosts and guests
-artists

You need to be 100% kind to animals in general - we adopted 23 rabbits and 4 cats which are all sterilized.

I am an ambivert and therefore can be described with quite opposite attributes depending on the situation and input I receive from my surrounding : fun, extrovert, observing, serious, introvert, chaotic, organized, reliable, flexible, American, German, respectful, critical, mindful, principled, and a bit overphilosophical, intolerant and tolerant. I get bored quickly if you try to impress me by name dropping or status symbols you have aquired.

As a HOST I will help you fulfill your expectations/interests you have for your visit. Best if you are culturally interested and want to discover Barcelona on your own.
You being a good guest in my sense means that you keep your space and communal spaces neat + clean, are hygienic (take a shower!), communicate with us respectfully even if you are not talkative, and be active either in a sporty, artistic, intellectual, musical, scientific, linguistic, adventurous or cultural sense - this is couchSURFING not couchPOTATOING!
So please plan on going out discovering either nature or the close-by city center of fantastic Barcelona or practice your instrument day and night (we have several at home).
I do not impose and would hope that you can enjoy the relaxed flow in our very welcoming and generous family. This should not signal that I want you around all the time, it is just our family's way of making guests feel comfortable. We do not like people who plan on hanging around all day or tagging along with us just because we are hosting them ! Have a self-driven urge to visit places of your particular interest and do some research about Barcelona and where we live before sending me a request. I will recommend things I am busy with and perhaps we end up doing an activity together.
¡¡ READ: It is fine to just want a safe place to sleep, and if that's all you need, express this clearly in your request. Please NO meat/fish/dairy/honey/eggs !!

If you arrive sick or get sick during your stay, immediately quarantine in your room - going out (to party at night) unless for a walk to catch some fresh air (smoking on the terrace is not a sign of sickness !!!) - , shorten your stay with us asap in the CS app, contact your insurance company that help you get home asap, and take medical measures (pharmacy, medical assistance). Do not ask us for medication - there are three pharmacies around our home. Go to the doctor's !!

If your being present in our home feels comfortable for both of us, you can request a longer stay. But do not ask for more than 3 days from the start! Keyword —maximum three days stay—

We always have live-in pet sitters (either a couple or one person) that care for our pets in return for living rent-free and have a weekly cleaner who (doesn't tidy messes, but) needs a tidy home to clean floors, bathrooms, surfaces and windows.

If we have agreed on a longer stay, make sure to offer helping our pet sitter - this work is not hard physical work, and it is not dirty work because it is done on a daily basis and therefore the pets' areas aren't filthy !!! It can include sweeping doodles with a Kärcher machine, throwing out the organic waste in the bin on the street, filling up water and food bowls and making sure the rabbits' sitting areas are dry and properly filled with sawdust, straw and hay.

We live a conveniently 15 minute drive (=taxi) to the airport El Prat (ca. 25 euros), 15 minute drive to the train station Sants and 25 min to França, 25 minute drive to bus station Nord. Tripple the driving time, then you have the time it takes by public transport.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

For me couchsurfing is a way of authentic traveling by immediately having a great start to experience a new city, town or region because you are seeing things through the eyes of a local with their advice and experience. An equally minded host or guest is essential - if I can't connect to anything in your profile or message, I prefer not to exchange !

After my first 2 fantastic experiences as a surfer myself in two Dutch homes in Utrecht I have become a total fan of the couchsurfing idea and hope to be as good of a host as mine were.

How it all started in July/August 2017: I had a couchsurfer staying with us (through a friend, not the CS website) and therefore wanted to try it out myself as a traveler.

Offering or receiving a place of PEACE (not equivalent to quiet!!!), COMMUNICATION (sincere, frank and authentic, please) and SAFETY (sexual tension not welcome) is important to me.

Interests

• books
• performing arts
• documentaries
• ethics
• vegan
• live music
• classical music
• jazz
• hiking
• philosophy
• historic sites
• art
• cinema
• sustainability
• ancient history
• listening
• simone de beauvoir
• viola
• bonobos
• classical ballet
• rodin
• habermas
• feminism = humanism

Music, Movies, and Books

books/authors - the kite runner, winnie the pooh, faust, millenium trilogy, murakami, schiller, kant, auster, plato

movies/directors/actors - intouchables, once were warriors, 13th, carnage, hitler stole pink rabbit, earthlings, la belle noiseuse, cowspiracy, what happened to monday, tarantino, wenders, jarmush, hitchcock, malkovich, hepburn, Marx brothers

music/composers - bossa, chamber music, jazz, brandenburgische konzerte, boccherini, brubeck, davis, von bingen

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

defended my daughters against a group of very violent and totally intoxicated skippers in Ghana who were supposed to take us on a boat ride. Although the situation was getting out of control (possible violence and robbery), I found a way where there was seemingly nothing to negotiate without threatening or outside help. we managed and are all still alive.

Teach, Learn, Share

teach - good food and music
learn - good food, your perspective and music
share - good food, wifi and music

What I Can Share with Hosts

as a TRAVELER I will always respect your way of life and dynamics at home; loudness, quietness, early or late bedtime hours, hijab or none are all circumstances I will immediately adapt to in your home. I like cultural (local and international) events, and visiting places or buildings of historical and anthropological importance. I love music, played loudly, softly or live.
I am quite flexible and without specific needs. Nothing to me is constant, but rather variable and in accordance with what the environment/neighborhood/situation requires, condones and offers.

I enjoy visiting art museums and biking in natural surroundings during the day and restaurants/pubs, indoor/outdoor music, theater, concerts, parties posh or grubby - big or small, and cinema/movies in the evening.
Having specialized in preparing plant based foods (also for non-vegans), I would gladly prepare a dish for you if there is enough time, interest and opportunity to sit down together. Please show me around your area, recommend food markets and describe places of your interest as well.
If time to cook is short, I am always open to meet and go and grab something vegan to eat with you.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, China, Egypt, England, Ghana, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, Romania, Scotland, Switzerland, Togo, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Germany, Israel, Spain, United States