Firstly - Four days in Barcelona are not enough. Especially if the rain comes down in buckets for three of those days, and you're juggling two kids, a soggy map, and a migraine. The fact that I still loved the trip says everything about Barcelona. It's a wonderful city, and I hope to go back.
I made a deal with the kids that we would do lots of kid things, and in return I would get to spend one evening eating paella and drinking wine in some nice little restaurant, and they would Sit Quietly for several hours beside me while I did so.
;)
Owen and Eleanor in the CosmoCaixa.As part of the Happy Kids Plan, we spent one rainy afternoon in the CosmoCaixa, a simply amazing science center. Now - taking Owen to a science center is always an adventure. He get so excited by all that... that... SCIENCE, that he just completely looses his shit! It was fun watching him pinball from station to station, telling anyone who happened to be standing beside him all about how this particular experiment worked. The other kids in the place were mostly teen-agers on a school fieldtrip, and were just happy to be out of school. They couldn't have cared less about the Plasma Orb. Meanwhile, Owen was busy instructing Ella and I (and anyone else who came near enough to be grabbed) on exactly how to get the best Plasma Arc, and where to stand in relation to each other to see if the plasma will triangulate. I don't have a picture of the orb. No chance to get the camera out, what with all the science assisting being required of me. Here's another shot, and this one is prettier anyway.
;)
Crowd at the Sagrada FamiliaOf course we went to some of the famous sights. Sagrada Familia was jaw-dropping. Ella and I loved it. Owen thought it was just too gaudy. <pause for laughter> Google it to see stunning shots of the cathedral. There are better photographers than me out there, and if they've ever been to Barcelona, they've posted a picture of Sagrada Familia on Flickr. Here's my pic. Tourist Season, my friends, has arrived! Everywhere we went, people were standing in line to get there ahead of us! We leave for Italy in a week, with no plan, and no hotel reservations, and I'm growing concerned!
Speaking of concern, we've got a story to tell about Bob coming back to France after his month in Los Angeles working. It's coming up next.
Brenna