Out and About in Barcelona

While we are abroad, we are just living a normal life, doing mostly mundane, everyday things! However, we have had a few highlights over the past few weeks. After my mom left, Corey was with us for one more day. We returned to Parc Guell with a reserved ticket time so that we could see the beautiful Gaudi steps. 

The views from the top were great! 

Corey and Taylor were in full tourist picture-taking mode, and Logan loved running around driving his cars and playing at the playground.

We have taken advantage of the gorgeous weather and enjoyed quite a few days at the beach. Sun, sand, people-watching, and relaxation. We enjoyed every second because we know that when we leave Barcelona in a few days, we probably won’t see beach weather again for quite a few months. On one of our beach days we walked the 2+ miles to get there, stopping for some tree-climbing along the way.

Logan finally got a much-needed haircut and the barber thought that a mohawk was the best style choice. Logan wasn’t so sure.

My Swiss sister, Dani, came to visit us again, this time for a three-day weekend. Dani has been to Barcelona before, so we didn’t have to rush around and do all the touristy stuff. We enjoyed doing some simple things: strolling Las Ramblas, visiting La Boqueria Market for lunch, walking the Gothic Quarter by the Barcelona Cathedral, and eating tapas at one of our favorite restaurants. This time we enjoyed a few new items on the menu: cured ham, chorizo sausages in a beer broth (delicious - and I learned how to copy them at home with sausages from the grocery store), seafood paella, potatoes with aioli sauce, mussels in red curry (so good), tuna tartar, calamari in panko, bread and sangria. It was fabulous all over again!

 We also had a beach day with Dani. She was happy to enjoy the beautiful weather as it was a nice change from Switzerland where they were already close to freezing temperatures. One evening Dani made us a homemade mousse with tobleroni chocolate. Logan loved it so much that he had to lick his plate clean!

Of course we had to get some pictures together in front of Sagrada Familia Church!

After Dani left, we did a bit of shopping. Logan is outgrowing and wearing out his shoes…and with the weather changing we needed something new. We found them after searching a few malls and lots of children’s shoe stores. Turns out that Logan loves to shop as long as we are getting him new shoes. He even enjoys trying them on and walking around to make sure they fit him right. 

One day we walked to the Block of Discord so that Taylor could see the Gaudi architecture (my mom and I visited here when Taylor was in Granada with Corey). Logan was more interested in the construction going on across the street. He was happy to stand and watch the excavator dig holes and move dirt around.

In Barcelona they don’t do a very big celebration of Halloween. I’ve seen a few decorations in stores, and we saw a few people dressed up on Halloween day and the following weekend. Halloween is one of our favorite holidays to celebrate, and we always host a Halloween party. It was a little sad being so far away from everyone while we saw pictures of all the celebrations going on back at home. I know that’s the price we pay for traveling the world…but nonetheless it made me homesick being here and having nothing going on for Halloween, no friends to get dressed up with, no pumpkin carving or Avila Valley Barn visits. Logan didn’t get to wear a costume and there is no trick-or-treating here. At least he’s young enough that he doesn’t know the difference anyways. We will have to make up for it next year! 

On Halloween we took a cable car up to Parc Montjuik, a part of town with a 400-year-old castle and great views of the city. Unfortunately there was a lot of haze over the city, but it was still neat to see the sights from so high up. Logan enjoyed the cable car and told us he was “flying.” In honor of Halloween, Taylor and I stayed up and watched a few episodes of “The Twilight Zone.”

"Flying" on a cable car ride.

With just a few days left in Barcelona, we have been trying to check things off the list that we want to do. One of those things was a walk through the Gothic Quarter sampling different desserts, by recommendation of Rick Steves. First stop was for some homemade torro, a variation of nougat made with almond, honey, and sugar, brought to Spain 1,200 years ago. We purchased small samples of the three kinds of turro: soft, hard, and yolk. The hard (dark one) was my favorite. 

Next we stopped for some churros con chocolate, greasy churros served with a side of pudding-thick hot chocolate. Taylor had some sweet memories of this dessert from his first time in Spain and we’ve been looking for a good place since we arrived. We also ordered some crema catalana (similar to creme brûlée, but with more of a cinnamon flavor). To me, the crema catalana tasted like a pudding version of horchata. Logan slept through the treats and we enjoyed the atmosphere of the small cafe. 

The last stop on our dessert tour was at a chocolate shop founded in 1827 called Fargas. We didn’t really know what to get, so we picked out a small sampling of chocolates, a chocolate-dipped orange slice, and some sweets on the counter that looked good. We enjoyed it all later at home accompanied by a glass of wine.

We have spent a lot of time at parks with Logan. Most of the time I take him to the park in front of the Sagrada Familia Church, as it's an easy walk downhill from our flat. You can't beat views like this while hanging at the park with your toddler!

We also enjoyed the beautiful park outside the Barcelona Zoo with two different playgrounds and a small pond where people rent row boats to cruise around. We packed a picnic lunch and strolled and played most of the day. 

At one of the playgrounds there was a man dressed as a clown making balloon shapes for the kids. Logan requested a blue flower, even though we offered him a sword. The clown seemed amused that Logan wanted a flower, but we figured he could have whatever he wanted. I don’t think he really knew what a sword was. When he got the flower in his hands, he was thrilled! He proceeded to bash it into everything in his path as if it were a sword, until all the petals popped and he was virtually using the stem as a sword on its own. By the metro ride home Logan was covered in sand and dust, jelly on his face, dirt under his nails, clothes filthy, and so so happy with his flower/sword balloon. It was a very nice park day.

One evening we headed out to see Barcelona’s Magic Fountain. The magic fountain of Montjuic has been entertaining people in Barcelona since 1929 when it was debuted at the International Exposition. Music, lights, movement and water make for a great show! 

Spectators sitting on the steps watching the Magic Fountain show.

Spectators sit on the steps watching the Magic Fountain show. Logan absolutely loved the big fountain, as well as the smaller fountains leading up the road to the show. He spent his time running around and dancing to the music while we tried to enjoy the show but keep an eye on him amid the crowds and prevent him from jumping into the water! We attempted to get a silhouette shot of Logan and me in front of the fountain. As I tried to get Logan to look at me, I asked him, “where are mommy’s eyes?” This got me little fingers poking right into both of my eyes! It was truly a magical night out with our two-year-old! 

Taylor’s birthday morning woke us with pounding thunder storms and heavy rain! I made him a french toast and bacon breakfast, and we stayed pretty low key…our plan is to celebrate in Croatia next week. Our last few days here will be spent purging unnecessary items that we can’t fit into our luggage and packing up. Goodbye Spain; Croatia here we come!