By dinnertime last night, fantastical ideas about living in Barcelona began percolating around the table. We continue to be caught up in the beauty of this place, from the people, to the architecture, to the romance that can capture anyone when traveling abroad. Barcelona feels different than the other cities we’ve seen around the world though. We often talk about where we’d go back to visit, which includes Mexican beaches, Canadian skiing, Costa Rican jungles, and Chang Mai (in northern Thailand), and there are a number of places that fall on the “one & done” list. Barcelona, however, is the first place weaving itself into some deeper space inside.
Even though the kids woke up between 8:30 & 9 yesterday morning, we didn’t actually leave our room until 11. We had three things on the agenda, and by the time we finished the day, we only accomplished two…which was great. I have always been an agenda/schedule driven guy. Not terribly rigid, but enough so that it could make Jill a bit crazy. She would let me know how much she appreciated not needing to worry about planning, but that it would benefit everyone in our family if I could just “chill out” a bit. We had a book displayed on our shelf at home that she treasured titled “The Art of Doing Nothing: Simple Ways to Make Time for Yourself” by Veronique Vienne. She was much better at creating sacred space for herself and those around her than I am. However, I am so grateful for the ways she taught me to slow down, allow space for the kids to slow down, and to give myself quiet time with my thoughts and feelings (I’ve been fighting that space for the last 4 months, but that’s another topic all together). I digress…back to yesterday morning. The kids wanted to lay in bed, read (and play a few iPhone games), so I picked up a book I borrowed from a friend that I’ve been reading, “The Brothers K” by David James Duncan, and settled in.
Hunger began tolling, and by 11, we were ready to make our way to a bakery just around the corner from our hotel. We had another great adventure attempting new foods , and figured I should try some new foods, so I ordered a Matcha Latte, which was a mistake…definitely not my cup of tea. After breakfast, we did a bit of wandering before jumping in a taxi so we could explore the castle at Mountjuic.
The gondola ride up to the top of Mountjuic is incredible, and we were quickly taken with the beauty of all of Barcelona. Grayson was struck by how different the city looks from our cities back home. You can see and feel the history from that perspective. At the top, we made our way past the street vendors and entered the castle. As we explored, we learned that the first parts of the castle were constructed in 1073. “How is that even possible?” “How did they get these stones stacked and the water pumped?” “Check out this well!” When we began to realize that the ground we were standing on had been defended by people on horses with swords, arrows and catapults, we were a bit awestruck. Ellanora was disappointed though, as she learned that the castle did not house kings and queens of the past, but it was a fortress for defending Barcelona…I don’t blame her!
We got a glimpse of the stadium that hosted the 1992 Barcelona Olympics before heading back down the Gondola and commencing to stroll (complete with some grumbling about more walking). It wasn’t far before we were in a neighborhood lacking many tourists, but full of life. We found our way to Carrer de Blai (Barcelona’s famous Tapas street).
Every shop is filled with Pintxos (think sliders made out of anything you can think of). Each item was around 2 Euros, and we had soon filled our plates with some familiar (and not so familiar) foods.
After lunch we made our way to another gelato spot, though I opted for more hot chocolate & churros, (because who can resist?). Ellanora wanted to be sure we took a picture of this advertisement:
We ended up at our hotel for a brief siesta before making our way to Flamenco Dancing. It was incredible, and we were soon all caught up in the music and emotion coming from the stage. The dancing was so intense, Ellanora was a bit concerned about the stage holding up as it flexed with each dance move.
We wrapped up our day with dinner on a plaza that included steak, potatoes & paella.
I think some of what makes this city so meaningful to us in such a short time has as much to do with the spiritual and emotional journey each of us is on as we redefine what our family looks like now that we are a family of 4, as it does the city itself. I would love to see my kids spend time on their own in a foreign place like this as they grow older. Until then, we’ll keep exploring and dreaming.
Today, we’ll make an attempt to do some laundry, visit the Museu de la Xocolata (chocolate museum) and dip our feet in the Mediterranean at the beach before boarding our cruise.
Learning to Move Through the World 