That Means We've Been Out Of Kingdom.Enjoying the sites (some ancient, some modern, and some all too familiar)the sounds (first city hustle and bustle then tranquil ocean waves) and the tastes of the Mediterranean (some new and delightful others warm and familiar).
Starting In:
Barcelona, Spain to be exact.What I did know before starting our latest adventure was that we needed 5 days to at least scratch the surface of things I wanted to see and do it at a pace we could handle with 3 kids in tow. What I didn't know is how much we would love about this city and all it had to offer.Barcelona's streets are wide and clean. The city transportation system was the BEST we've ever used in Europe and easy to navigate. The mix of old and new kept us excited day after day to see what was next.First we Defended Castle Montjuic and Explored Parks.
We had to take a funicular and tram to stand guard here.
Then cross the moat to spend the morning protecting this castle.
From the tram we spied these slides and knew we HAD to check them out on our way down the mountain.
They did not disappoint.
They were the longest....
and fastest slides any of us had ever ridden. About half way down I knew this was not going to END well and had a huge bruise on my butt to prove it.
Note: The baby was not harmed while performing this stunt.
Another hidden treasure of this city is that it is full of PARKS.
Not just pretty green patches of grass to relax in but honest to goodness fun parks.
Some were big with fountains and duck ponds and others like this one were tucked away
between apartment buildings but had really unique features.
We Sampled Tapas and Indulged in their Delectable Desserts...The food was not as good as our recent Florence experience but after a few tourist mistakes it got much much better and we had some wonderful meals. They became quite peaceful too, once we discovered a Subway. We fed the boys first, at a normal hour, and we ate Tapas on Spanish time while the boys played with our iPhones.And then there was this.....
After having sampled several versions we found that THIS is what we truly came to Spain for.
One cafe in particular, Petritxol, had us begging for more. The Chocolate Caliente was served as thick as pudding with a mound of whip cream and churros on the side (you know those little fried bits of heaven). Actually I had to stop ordering the churros, sadly, because I've found as the years go by fried food and I don't get along very well.
We marveled at its Art both Ancient, Flamenco Dancing and Gothic Quarter, as well as it's more Modern style, architects such as Gaudi and Montaner, and Cadafalch. One thing I really wanted to do was see a Flamenco show. But I seriously questioned whether this was a good idea with the boys? Would they even let us enjoy the show? After a bit of research I came upon a dinner theater called El Tablao de Carmen. It is tucked away in a village called Poble Espanyol, a place we wanted to visit anyway. So I talked it up to Chris and persuaded him to let me go ahead and make the reservations. After a few set backs, like a trip to the ER and forgotten tickets, we sat down to an amazing meal and this...
The boys were so memorized by this incredible show that not only did we all enjoy it but they hardly touched their food they were so focused on the performance.
Starting In:
Barcelona, Spain to be exact.What I did know before starting our latest adventure was that we needed 5 days to at least scratch the surface of things I wanted to see and do it at a pace we could handle with 3 kids in tow. What I didn't know is how much we would love about this city and all it had to offer.Barcelona's streets are wide and clean. The city transportation system was the BEST we've ever used in Europe and easy to navigate. The mix of old and new kept us excited day after day to see what was next.First we Defended Castle Montjuic and Explored Parks.
We had to take a funicular and tram to stand guard here.
Then cross the moat to spend the morning protecting this castle.
From the tram we spied these slides and knew we HAD to check them out on our way down the mountain.
They did not disappoint.
They were the longest....
and fastest slides any of us had ever ridden. About half way down I knew this was not going to END well and had a huge bruise on my butt to prove it.Note: The baby was not harmed while performing this stunt.
Another hidden treasure of this city is that it is full of PARKS.
Not just pretty green patches of grass to relax in but honest to goodness fun parks.
Some were big with fountains and duck ponds and others like this one were tucked away
between apartment buildings but had really unique features.
We Sampled Tapas and Indulged in their Delectable Desserts...The food was not as good as our recent Florence experience but after a few tourist mistakes it got much much better and we had some wonderful meals. They became quite peaceful too, once we discovered a Subway. We fed the boys first, at a normal hour, and we ate Tapas on Spanish time while the boys played with our iPhones.And then there was this.....
After having sampled several versions we found that THIS is what we truly came to Spain for.
One cafe in particular, Petritxol, had us begging for more. The Chocolate Caliente was served as thick as pudding with a mound of whip cream and churros on the side (you know those little fried bits of heaven). Actually I had to stop ordering the churros, sadly, because I've found as the years go by fried food and I don't get along very well.
We marveled at its Art both Ancient, Flamenco Dancing and Gothic Quarter, as well as it's more Modern style, architects such as Gaudi and Montaner, and Cadafalch. One thing I really wanted to do was see a Flamenco show. But I seriously questioned whether this was a good idea with the boys? Would they even let us enjoy the show? After a bit of research I came upon a dinner theater called El Tablao de Carmen. It is tucked away in a village called Poble Espanyol, a place we wanted to visit anyway. So I talked it up to Chris and persuaded him to let me go ahead and make the reservations. After a few set backs, like a trip to the ER and forgotten tickets, we sat down to an amazing meal and this...
The boys were so memorized by this incredible show that not only did we all enjoy it but they hardly touched their food they were so focused on the performance.
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