Last Day in Barcelona

For our last day in Barcelona we planned NO school work and an adventure to an Urban Jungle. The Jungle was written up as a great adrelinaline rush with zip lines, log rolls, rope swings and even a small pungy jump. However, after taking the metro and walking almost 2 kilometers, it was closed. Of course. Yes, I did email them before we went to verify their hours, however they did not email me back until we were standing in the GPS designated spot of the location. They only open on weekends. I am almost sure the website did NOT say that, but I do have limited Spanish language skills.

Hey when we are handed lemons, let's make lemonade. Right close by was the Museu Blau, Museu de Cienies Naturals de Barcelona and even from one hundred feet away I knew what that was! A Science Museum. A quick internet check showed that kids were free and at the ticket counter I asked if their teacher was free also. Si!  Only 5euros (price for 1 adult to all exhibits) for a couple hours of exploration and fun.

 

We all had a great time! The exhibit - Planeta Vida was a wonderful discovery of three major concepts: the Biography of the Earth, the Earth Today and Islands of Science. Basically it had a ton of really cool interactive screens and audiovisual material which let the kids learn as much as they wanted about the topics that interested them. 

The first for Mabret was the huge display of minerals from all over the world. Grandpa Martin would have loved it.

The most entertaining and gross was the temporary exhibit - Enverinats- The Most Poinsonuos  Animals in Nature. This exhibit included 50 live animals such as rattlesnakes, tarantulas and scorpions.  

While the exhibit did show us the purpose and uses of poison, as a defense against predators or to capture prey, we just felt lucky to have escaped Africa and India with getting bit or stung by any of those critters. Watch out, cousin Sarah lots of those bad guys live in Australia!

It was a bit cold and blustery outside but the boys enjoyed the playground equipment outside the museum.

 

     Soccer in the Placa again before bed. This time with the young and old locals.

    Good night Barcelona  

Chilling out in Barcelona

The last two days have been filled with school work and free activities. 

Sunday 2/16 we slept late, after the soccer game, and spent the entire morning inside the apartment. Breakfast, Olympics, school work and minecraft videos. We then headed out for lunch of Mabret's choosing. En route, in front of City Hall, (reminiscent of our visit in 2004) we came upon a peaceful demonstration or two. The first to protect dogs and the second to help Venezuelans. Both calm, friendly and peaceful.

Next was lunch, and then off to the 3pm Sunday free admission to the Picasso Museum. Or that was the plan. When we arrived at the museum, we encountered a kilometer long line to enter.  Roman saw the line and said ....."that long a line just to see art!"

We tried to wait it out in the museum shop, but 45 minutes later there was still a very long line.  I guess that money saving idea needed better planning and kids who do not oppose standing in long lines.

We walked around and then headed back to Placa Reial (our square) for play time (soccer in the square) and cheap toy negotiations with the hawkers. The negotiations here in Barcelona are much more reasonable than in Rome and boys had fun with light up shooting/spinning things and annoying whistles. Ah, what I'll do to keep them happy and maybe get them into a museum next time.

     Mom's view of the kids negotiating in the Placa.

    Fun in Placa Reial.

Well after dark we headed the 10 feet to the apartment for dinner. Mom made pasta again and a Caesar salad that got raves reviews. Both boys truly enjoying the home made dressing.

Monday 2/17 was more of the same, but included a long walk to the beach for beach soccer and finally a "good" meal for Katie and I.

The beach was beautiful on the 50+ degree, sunny day and the boys played with some nice teenagers from France. 

     Touching the Balearic Sea or Iberian Sea for the first time! The Balearic Sea is within the Mediterranean Sea and connected to the Atlanitc Ocean but is almost completely enclosed by land.

      That is the W Hotel in the background not the Burj Al Arab in Dubai.

    Fisherman's paelle! Very good.

Happy Birthday Roman

Nine years ago today was a crazy, memorable and wonderful day in our lives. Roman Martin Levant was born at 9:08 pm in Dixon, IL. Bob and I were en route on the plane but arrived in the small town 2+ hours west of Chicago after midnight. We were then able to see and hold our son for the first time. The last eight years have been filled with extreme joy, laughs, much learning and adventure. Roman is our funny, creative, dramatic, artistic, smart and kind son. He is full of personality, of ALL kinds, at all times. We love him and appreciated all he has given to us and his wonderful brother Mabret.

Today in Barcelona is Roman's day. While he made a very specific schedule of how HE wanted to spend his day, some slight alterations were made.

On the real list was a walk around the main tourist area and right near our apartment, La Rambla. With the big night ahead no one really wanted to wander far. The plan was for Roman to search for an appropriate birthday gift, find the correct Metro stop for tonight, lunch of tapas and explore.

Roman was able to find the perfect jersey, Real Madrid with his name and number on the back. He just cannot wear it in Barcelona on game day.

We explored the Market La Boqueria.  A wonderful outdoor farmers' market directly off La Rambla. It's sights and smells were amazing. In order to keep the boys entertained, they were given the task of finding the most "unusual". Whether it be a fruit, meat, cheese, fish or candy. They did a good job. I could have snacked on all the fresh food forever, however Roman's sense of smell (fresh fish and meat) forced our departure. The displays nonetheless were out of this world.

After the Market we had our first official Spanish lunch of tapas and paella. The tapas were a mixture of various topping/salads/fish on a piece of bauguette and the seafood paella (seasoned rice, vegetables and seafood). Everything was good. As is the Spanish way, the tapas were counted and charged by the toothpicks left on the plate (one toothpick, one euro).

The Final and most important stop of the day......

FC Barcelona vs. Rayo Vallecano 2/15/2014 8pm

Camp Nou (3rd largest stadium in the world) 

Maximum capacity 110,000 Barcelona fans!

      Camp Nou (#1 tourist attraction in Barcelona - most visited Museum inside stadium)

       #10 Lionel Messi

Score when we left with only a couple of minutes left in the game!

Crowed but friendly metro ride to the stadium. The ride home was to crowed to even get out the camera.

A Happy Birthday boy!

Fat Tire Bike Tour

Our plan for Valentine's day was a four hour bike tour of the highlights of Barcelona. For just over $100USD the four of us had a great time riding around Barcelona, viewing the sites and avoiding pedestrians and cars. I told the boys if they were successful in NOT hitting anyone they could have iPod time.   Success!     

(Mabret "almost" hit a runner but Roman DID hit a pole. No injuries, so they got their IPod time.)

The tour began at 11am and included about 16 people in the group. Large but not as large as in the summer months. The tour met at Placa de Sant Jamue a square that houses the Town Hall and beautiful goverment buildings. We were fitted for bikes and helmets and off we went. Paula our guide, originally from Chile was a knowledgable and outspoken guide. She definitely made the tour interesting and fun for all ages. The stops included the Cathedral of the Holy Crosses and Saint Eulalia, Palau de la Musica Catalina, Arc de Triomf, Parc de la Ciutadella, Sagrada Familia, Torres Mapfre and the beach for lunch. The ride through the Gothic Quater's quaint streets with wonderful balconies and windows was amazing. The Passeig de Lluis Companys and the Parc were beautiful on this sunny day. 

 

    The Catherdal

     The Arc de Triomf

    Gaudi Cascada within Parc De La Ciutadelia (currently being cleaned)

The boys learned about the four highlights of Catalonia (the area immediately around Barcelona) : 

       Siesta, Tapas, Flamenco and Bull Fighting. 

 Thankfully, bull fighting was made illegal two years ago here in Barcelona and the arenas are now a museum, a shopping mall, and a parking lot. Siesta, tapas and flamenco are all still popular.

Anthoni Gaudi, the famous architect, was often a topic of discussion.  We walked around his final and greatest architeural endeavor, the Basillica Sagrada Familia. We enjoyed the vastly different views of the church from each angle and wondered at the 200 years of construction work, which is still on going. Roman and Mabret especially liked the Darth Vader like statues fronting one entrance (not seen in this photo).

Overall, the tour was a great first full day in Barcelona and gave us a good taste of what is to come!

Arrival in Barcelona

Arrival in Barcelona, Spain was courtesy of RyanAir an inexpensive airline within Europe that Katie found and will hopefully will serve us well while here. The flight was good and we had another smooth transition through the airport. We taxied to the fountain in the cetre of Placa Reial to await the arrival of our apartment contact. The placa is gorgeous and a lovely place to relax. The apartment is only steps from the fountain and very nice for our needs. Especially nice is that Katie has her own bedroom and with the kitchen we save plenty on food costs and can enjoy a home cooked meal together.

We spent a rather lazy day, doing school work and getting settled in. The grocery store is close by and we were able to stock up for the week. Dinner was some of the 'colorful' pasta Roman bought in Rome. Pasta, bauguette and good cheese and we are set for the night!

One of the most enjoyable and memorable events of the entire trip are the nightly 'shows' the boys put on for us. They can range from singing songs with accompanying drums, plays (The Hunger Games and the Wizard of Oz) and most recently Olympic events recreated. The extended time together, lack of videos games, toys, after school activities and most often television, leads to very creative entertainment! I will miss this when we head home.

Good night from Barcelona!