Barcelona...Hablo un poco Espanol!

Barcelona

Chad had some work in Barcelona so we tagged along and added a weekend to our stay.  We enjoyed our time there, but wished the weather could have been a bit warmer (especially since I packed for warmer weather).  It was a nice break and the people in Spain were very kind.  I also got to use my little Spanish knowledge.  I was told that I spoke well by some staff members at a restaurant.  However in Barcelona, they also speak Catalan, which is similar to Spanish, but still a bit different.  We found ourselves reverting to German saying Danke instead of Gracias at times. :)

Flight

We had a great pilot on our way to Barcelona.  He told us to look out our windows and we could see various sites in France, the Swiss Alps (beautiful), and the Mediterranean Sea.  What was particularly impressive about this pilot was his ability to give the information in Spanish, German, and English.

Site Seeing

We were very fortunate that we were able to meet up with Dorothy again in Barcelona!  We spent some time with her on Saturday and saw a lot of major sites in the city. Thanks to her guide book she was full of information! We met her and a friend from Granada at a large park, Parc Guell, in north part of the city.  This popular, and people filled park was designed by a famous Spanish architect, Gaudi.  It was full of mosaic buildings and statues. Crowded doesn't seem to explain the number of people that were there on this particular day.

We also saw the Olympic Stadium that was used for the 1992 Summer Games.  This stadium looked a bit more modern than the one in Munich. Something we should note to get to the stadium from the Metro stop we had the choice of several stairs or escalators to get up to the top of the hills! Not one or two, but 5 or 6 escalators only going up. Sorry you have to use the steps to go down!  Who knew you could have escalators outside?  

We also visited Museu Monestir de Pedralbes. This was a small area with famous replica buildings from various Spanish cities.  You can see that the architecture is unique in various communities.  It was nice for Dorothy as she had seen some of these actual buildings during her semester in Spain.  Chad pointed out that we don't have to visit all these cities now that we have seen the various sites here.

Family shot in front of Font Magica de Montjuic

The final site for the day was the Magic Fountain!  It was AMAZING and very well done!  There is a block of various small fountains and then one large fountain in front of the stairs going up to the Palau Nacional.  On select days at various times in the evening there is a water show set to music and lights.  This reminded me of the fireworks on the 4th of July.  People gathered before and claimed their seats to watch and listen.  Will LOVED the music and danced away in the harness. He watched in awe!  It was a highlight of our trip.

Sunday on the Beach!

On Sunday we went to beach in the afternoon, after a morning of thunderstorms.  It was a bit chilly but we walked up and down the coast and stopped at one of the many restaurants and had some nachos, a sandwich and beverages.  In Germany beer is cheaper than water, in Barcelona the Sangria was cheaper than water.  I ordered a Sangria and Chad felt at home with a Corona!

Will enjoyed playing with the sand on the pier

Will admiring the Mediterranean Sea...not bad for 10 months!

Will walking!

It is also important to note that Will's first long set of steps strung together (8 or more) came in the hotel in Barcelona!  Our little guy wanted to walk everywhere...in the airport, waiting for the metro, along the pier.  He was a walking machine!  He also would be full of giggles when he walked around the bed and wanted to be chased.

Dinners...

I need to make sure I mention that we did familiarize ourselves with the Spanish culture and ate dinners after 8pm! Poor Will!  most restaurants didn't even open until after 8:00pm.  We waited in line on Saturday night for about 15 minutes until the restaurant opened.  WOW!  We didn't get back to the hotel until after 11pm and Will slept right through the night!

We also ate dinner twice at an Italian restaurant near the hotel. The food was very good and the staff ADORED Will.  We were there at 8:30pm and were only the second people there for the evening. Each staff member came over to us to say hi to Will. Our waitress took him back into the kitchen (yes this freaked us out a bit) and got him a roll. They played peek-a-boo with him and kept him entertained during our dinner. They were very kind.  Will also enjoyed the attention.  The second night we came back, they remembered Will and were just as kind.  I think Will was called "muy guapo" about 100 times that night.

Tapas

We also enjoyed the Spanish concept of Tapas!  These are small portions of various appetizers. We went to a Tapas restaurant one night as well and the concept is great when you want to order new things to try.  Each tapa was 3-6 EURO and we ordered 3 things to share and then we ordered 3 more (a couple twice because we liked them). It is a great way to try new things and also get a variety of things.  Will enjoyed the hamburger and vegetables.  He's a good vegetable and meat eater!

Love the Palm Trees outside the Soccer Stadium

There was also a semi-final soccer game between Chelsea (UK) and Barcelona when we were in town.  The two teams tied so the fans were a bit somber when we saw them. It was fun to see the spirit in the people in the Metro.

Will's Cheeks & Friendly People!

I also have to mention the friendliness of the Spanish people! They were helpful, smiled, and said hello.  It was nice to be around that again after being in Germany.  I must also say Will was a very popular boy in public. It could be because of his light hair, blue eyes, and fair skin (rare in Spain), or because he seemed to smile on cue at everyone.  I had so many people tell me he was "muy guapo" or very handsome and the poor guy had his cheeks pinched more in one day than in entire life.   He was a star that is for sure and I was a proud mom! :) 

Spanish Fashion

My friend Anna told me before we left for Spain that the Spanish are good dressers and dress their children well!  TRUE STORY!  I felt underdressed at times. You'd see lots of scarves, boots (really boots when it was warm???), and trendy sunglasses. People in Spain are thin and dress well!  They also dress their children well (I notice these things now Will) right down to the shoes. I saw little ones where shoes that cost 100 EURO and these kids aren't getting any use out of the shoes (they aren't walking yet).  It's a good thing Will is cute because I had him wearing jeans and t-shirts a lot!

Mom where are we going now?

La Rambla

We also spent some time walking up and down the market/shopping street La Rambla. Will and I walked around the shops one day and Chad went with us one evening as we saw the various vendors selling large portions of mean and a variety of fresh veggies and fruits.  Also on this pedestrian street you could see street performers and buy various animals.  Yep, you could buy a small baby ducks, turtles, roosters, bunnies, birds, fish hamsters...and others.  Will enjoyed looking at them, I was left thinking you could never have a stand like these in the US on the street!

Outside a Market on La Rambla

La Sagrada Familia Church

Kelly and Will's Afternoon Adventure

On our last afternoon in Barcelona, Will and I took the bus and walked to visit the famous "unfinished church"  La Sagrada Familia.  Gaudi began this church in the early 1900s and it is unfinished today. You see scaffolding on it and it is set to be finished in 2020, but the locals doubt that it will ever be complete.  It amazed me to see how many people come and pay see this unfinished building that isn't even used.   It is quite the site and very unique. 

On our way to the church Will and I took the bus.  We are managing public transportation quite well.  Will was in his pusher and a man offered to help me lift him onto the bus.  I had my ticket out and didn't have ahold of the pusher.  Before I could grab it, The man picked up the pusher and it tipped forward onto the sidewalk. THANK GOD Will was strapped in and I caught the head portion. The man felt bad, the bus was crowded, Will was crying in fear, people were pushing to get on, and I had to find my ticket and get on the bus yet. It was a bit scary and the language barrier made it worse.  If only I could have said wait a minute or hold on thank you.  In the end all was fine and Will only cried for a moment.  Maybe he sensed my need for him to act like he was fine.  :)

Will's Reward

Will was so good in Barcelona!  He was a trooper and waited while we had late dinners, he took naps in his pusher, he tried new foods, he let people pinch his cheeks, he road on the subway and bus when he just wanted to go to bed, and he smiled all the time!  I felt the need to do something for him after our bus trip, so I bought him an ice cream bar.  Really I bought it for us, but he enjoyed most of it!  Also several older women enjoyed watching how excited got eating it.  He has mastered putting his hands down at his side and his tongue out when he's ready for more!  

These are just some highlights of our time in Barcelona!  We enjoyed the city and the people!

We spent time in Barcelona in April because Chad had some work. We were able to add a weekend to the trip to see the city and see Dorothy again! :) I was able to put my limited Spanish to use and Will had his cheeks pinched more in those 5 days than he had in the first 10 months!