Uda-Where?: A Walking Tour

Many of you may wonder how we get our kids to just go, go, go through out these trips. Well it's not all pretty and fun. There are always melt downs along the way, as seen below, but we do have a couple of tricks. One is try to find unusual things to surprise them with and help them change their tune....like THE WORLDS LARGEST VENDING MACHINE or least the largest one we'd ever seen. Ethan love's vending machines or at least loves putting in money and getting stuff out of them. So just as he pulled a massive grump fest we happened upon this. We were all amazed to see full bags of chips, cookies, and liter sodas bottles for sale. We weren't sure how they come out but the drop was so long we couldn't see how they wouldn't bust open in the fall.

We try to go at a pace they can handle and allow extra time for pretty much everything. You want to have a plan but be flexible. We also pack snacks, lots of snacks they are use to just in case the food is too unusual for them.

If there is something along the way that they want to see we stop and watch for a while like the slides our first day or these street performers. The boys still keep talking about these guys because as part of the show they set up to do a stunt and then one of the guys pulled the others shorts down exposing his boxers instead of the stunt. So of course that was the highlight of Z and E's day.

We also become the stroller brigade. Every time we pack we sigh and hem and haw over what strollers to bring. In the end we always take our big double seated chariot and regular stroller and have never regretted it. No the chariot doesn't fit through all doorways but it generally fits through most handicap access doors. Yes it's big and cumbersome but...it allows Chris and I to keep on going and the boys to take a break when they need it. So both sides are happy. Except for Zach who has to share an ever shrinking space with Ethan.

After ice storms, snow stores, and being rerouted all over the country Grandma S. finally arrived bag-less. Since we waited around all morning for her to arrive we didn't give her any time to rest once she showed up as I had two more destinations to visit before our time in the city ended.
One was the Barcelona Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter near our apartment.

This church is famous because it is where the six Caribbean Indians, whom Columbus brought back from the Americas in 1493, were baptized.

After exploring inside we took a lift up to the roof for another spectacular view of the city.

Can you see the little tiny seats with the cornices underneath? Those are the choir seats. I guess you must have a big voice and small buttocks to join this choir.

The last destination for the afternoon had us strolling through the Quadrat d'O or Golden Square. This was an area favored by the wealthy, who embraced the new artistic and architectural style with enthusiasm for their residences and commercial buildings.

This Casa de les Punxes or House of the Points is often referred to the witches hat house because of the six turrets. The designer Puig mixed medieval and Renaissance styles with Modernist materials to create this beautiful home.

My mother's first comment was, "Are those corral balconies?", which indeed they were. Gaudi's creation was strongly attacked and ridiculed by Barcelona's intellectuals when built between 1906-1910. His organic design of waves against intricate iron seaweed balconies is now a museum dedicated to the man who left his mark upon this city.

This next home was designed by Tapies, Barcelona's best-known living artist. It was really quite bizarre as he added wire sculptured clouds above it. This too is a museum of the artists work but we moved on to see the last few buildings before the sun set.