Barcelona, Spain

Two weeks since I last posted - hard to believe it's been that long.  Since the last post not much has happened here in Germany.   Between the 3 kids we have soccer Monday - Thursday, which I guess we better get used to if they are all going to have after school activities from now until they go off to college.  Haaken has gotten over the transition of starting school and now seems to look forward to it everyday.  He made a new friend there named Ian, and that seems to have made all the difference.


We had a short trip to Barcelona last week.  We left on Wednesday morning and drove the 3 hours to the discount airline.  Only the third time we've done it but it's starting to get old already.  When we are paying prices that are about a 5th of what we'd pay for a more convenient flight we just have to suck it up and do it I guess.  Thankfully the flight and bus ride to our hotel went smoothly.  Our first destination wasn't actually Barcelona but Lloret de Mar, a beach town about an hour north.  We had heard about this beach from one of Carissa's coworkers who said it was fabulous.  That combined with a $50 a night price tag for apartment rental at a hotel with a great pool and within walking distance to the beach made the decision easy.  We were a little nervous about what it would be like when we got there considering the price  (the pictures looked nice), but it turned out to be great.  We aren't really sure why the price was so cheap - the only reason I could see is because a new hotel is going up right next door and sometimes the construction was quite noisy.


Anyway, we got to our room at about 2pm, changed into our suits and headed down to the pool.  The kids swam and we relaxed and had a snack and some drinks from the pool bar.  After a couple hours we went back the room, got cleaned up and then walked down to the beach.  We had to walk through the town a little bit and it's a tourist town much like you'd find in the States.  Basically the streets are all lined with souvenir shops selling a bunch of junk.  The beaches are great though, and have the most coarse sand I have ever seen.  So coarse that you have no hope of building a sand castle because it can't hold a shape.  The kids had a great time playing in the warm Mediterranean surf.  By this time it was dusk and we decided to eat at a little restaurant on the beach and then walked home.

First dip in the Mediterranean

Thursday we got up and headed straight back to the beach.  After dragging the kids on the previous sightseeing trips we figured they deserved a trip that was more up their alley.  We spent the morning at the same beach (Playa de Fenals) we had visited the previous night and then walked maybe a mile to Playa de Lloret, which is the more popular beach.  The kids played some more, we had a picnic lunch, and then Carissa and the kids had a little nap on the blanket while Dad read and drank beer.  That night we went into the center of town for dinner.  The girls had seen some shops where women were offering fancy hair braiding like you see in the Caribbean and were begging to have it done.  We went to a place we had seen before near our hotel but it was closed and the girls were heartbroken.  In the city, however, we stumbled into another one and the girls were ecstatic.  This pushed back dinner to the point where Haaken and I wandered through the city to find some food and bring it back to the girls who were still getting their hair done.  So dinner ended up being take out pizza in a hair / tattoo parlor.  Not exactly what you travel to Spain for, but the girls were so excited it was worth it.

Coarse sand

The girls weren't smiling the whole time.  Apparently it hurt quite a bit.  Near tears most of the time.

Finished product

Friday we got packed up and taxied to the bus station to get to Barcelona.  We arrived in Barcelona at about noon and after eating lunch and a short nap in the apartment we once again walked to the beach (Barceloneta beach).  Another great beach, this one with standard sand.  Their were whitecaps on the Mediterranean, but we found a great spot partially sheltered by a breakwater that allowed some waves to make it in, but significantly reduced the undertow.  I got in the water and had a great time showing the kids how to body surf.  After a couple hours we decided to walk the boardwalk and try to find someplace to eat.  We ended up in front of a restaurant that had a DJ playing all kinds of hip hop and electronica.  It was packed, and the kids got all excited by the music and the scene.  Haaken of course started dancing - the kid literally cannot hear music and not dance.  It's like it's an involuntary reaction.  We got a table, ate appetizers for dinner and Mom and Dad split a pitcher of Sangria.  We got back to the apartment pretty late and all collapsed into bed.

Body surfing

Haaken loved the waves crashing into him.

Dinner and drinks

Saturday we decided we had to at least see some of the sights and the city.  We started the morning at Sagrada Familia, which is a famous church designed by renowned Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi.  This poor guy spent 40 years living basically in poverty designing and trying to get this church built until one day on the way to the church he was hit by a tram and killed.  It really is an incredible building, but due mostly to the fact that Rick Steve's Barcelona was already checked out at the library, we stood in line for 30 minutes, paid 25 euro in entrance fees, only to find out that it's not even done being built yet.  In fact, it's not even close.  Based on what I read when we got in there, this church won't be done until 2030!  Granted, we probably would've paid to get in anyway, but this is quite the deal they have going - the entrance fee goes to pay for the completion of the building.  The outside is surrounded by cranes and scaffolding (not uncommon when cathedrals are getting cleaned or restored) and the inside is the same - no pews or furniture, just a massive empty room with a dusty floor, and piles of supplies scattered here and there.

Sagrada Familia

Feeling like we got a little bit ripped off, we took the metro to the city center and walked down the most famous street - La Rambla.  It was packed and the kids had a good time checking out all the street performers lined up and down the sidewalks.  We stumbled onto a huge market, Mercat de la Boqueria filled with long rows of fruit stands, and fresh meat and seafood.  The kids each got a glass of freshly squeezed juice to drink while we wandered the market.  It was a great time until the smell of the seafood got to Haaken and he ended up throwing up his juice in the middle of an aisle.  We continued to meander though, making sure to stay away from any seafood stands and then bought some food from a couple different vendors and sat down for lunch.  I could have stayed there all day just sampling and watching the workers and people.  I did get to see one of the meat vendors cut up what I think was a chicken and prepare the sweetbreads for a waiting customer.  Good thing Haaken didn't see that.

La Rambla

Mercat de la Boqueria

After lunch we walked a little further down La Rambla and then detoured into the adjacent Gothic area of town.  Really cool area with super narrow streets and great buildings.  The kids got some gelato and we walked over to the Barcelona Cathedral.  We checked out the cathedral, sat for a few minutes listening to a youth orchestra practice, then left and walked to the metro to head back to the apartment.


By this time it was late afternoon and we wanted to get a little more beach time in so we changed and went back to the beach.  Probably should mention that Spain's beaches are clothing optional, but it didn't seem to faze the kids other than Elise asking "Why do some of the women not have tops on?"  After that they didn't give it a second thought.  Haaken made friends with a little Spanish girl and they had a great time running around chasing a ball and digging in the sand.  We had Haaken say "Adios amiga" when we left which the girl got a kick out of.

That night we tried to find a couple recommended restaurants in our neighborhood to eat at, but one was closed and the other just didn't look that great.  Instead we went to a market and bought some food and brought it back to the apartment.  The kids lucked out and found some American cartoons to watch while we ate and then hit the hay.


The trip back was uneventful as well, except for a Stau (traffic jam) on the Autobahn.  For the next three weeks it's going to be work, school and soccer and not much else.  This weekend we're planning on going to Oktoberfest in Munich.  Next trip is Garmisch for a dental conference.