La ciudad entera: The whole city

Hermanas/Germanas

Sunset at La Fira

Jess...typical ;-)

FAMILIA!

Dusk

Madre y Padre chillin on the steps of Museo Nacional de Arte

Jess...looking HAPPY--no way! haha She's pumped for the fountain show...can't you tell?

Daddy's girls...it's not snowing...there is serious liquid in the air from all of the splashing ftns!

Dad enjoying Font Magica

The ladies: Jess and Ma

Yes...this is the Fira in all her glory

So...it's supposed to rain all week and I'm pretty sure that the best way to see a city is when it's sunny...especially after I am constantly bragging about how Barca is ALWAYS gorgeous! Today, though, we totally lucked out and it was sunny! So I basically took the fam everywhere I could think of that we could fit into one day...and I think they pretty much hate me now...except for the fact that I took them to get churros from the old woman in Gracia...which=much love, even though I don't know street names! :-D

Las Ramblas y Passeig de Gracia: Las Ramblas and Passeig de Gracia

As we wandered away from the water up toward Placa Catalunya, we noticed a huge crowd up ahead...unlike the typical street performer crowds, which tend to form circles, this one was cheek to cheek. As we got closer, we realized that we were catching the tail end of the procession of Mary up Las Ramblas, which would probably eventually lead to la Catedral.

I've seen plenty of these in books but it was really cool to see one in person. Behind Mary, a woman in the window was inspired to sing a ballad to her as she floated by on the shoulders of some Barcelonian men.

I guess I'm just used to all of this walking and crowds, but Jess was a little taken aback!

Or maybe she was just scared of the cloaked men in the procession...


Jess Mom and Dad are making their way up Las Ramblas through the Holy Week crowd

We caught Jesus! We managed to get to the front of the procession just before it turned off Las Ramblas into Old City.

"Jess Jess? No no."

She was a fan of this building...but not for the architecture as much as the "Guess" sign in the window!

The fam across from Gaudi's Casa Batllo...ready for more adventures!

Mi familia esta aqui!: My family is here!

After a super-long flight...and a newfound (pretend) hatred for the city of Frankfurt due to their airport, my family arrived...very tired. Jess is afraid of flying and didnt sleep a bit so she missed out on most of today, but I managed to drag Mom and Dad around a bit to the areas near their awesome Aparthotel...or rather the apartment/loft that they are renting for the week. We grabbed some bocadillos at the fast-food chain called Bocatta, where Mom and Dad got to try out not only our typical meal, but also tried out Patatas Bravas, a common tapa. SOOO GOOD. haha.

Clearly they needed to see Placa de les Glories...because they are living so close AND it has been the focus of my life for the past few months. We took a long walk around it and I showed them where the market, aka my site, is. They already seem to really appreciate this city and it makes me really excited!

I decided to take them up to Sagrada Familia, just to give them some sense of the major tourist and architectural attractions of the city. Along the way we marveled at the Bullring, for which Barcelona and the rest of Catalunya are not known for.

Apparently, though, against the popular culture of the region, bullfights do still take place here.

Mis padres a la Sagrada Familia!

After a bit of exploring and an intro, we returned to the apartment so Mom and I could get food in case there was mass closure of stores for Holy Week, and to bring the hermanita some food. When Jess finally got up, she Mom and I headed into Ciutat Vella to see the sights.

One of my favorite places at night has to be Ciutat Vella; the narrow streets filled with music from street performers and the mood lighting make me feel 100s of years away from present day.

The home of the Bishop(?) is connected to the Cathedral and is a great example of ancient residential architecture in the area. The main entry to the house leads not to the interior, but to an exterior courtyard meant for ventilation. It still maintains lots of charm with its vegetation and calming fountain.

It was a long day...and then some Sabres. The fam is finally wide awake and I feel like I've been up for 48 hours!

Absenta, que perfecto: Absinthe, how perfect

It was one of those days, and it seemed only appropriate for the kids to try absynthe, the true Euro-way...flamin' hot!

Ben sets up the Absinthe, spoons, sugar, and water

Balancing skills

Light sugar on fire...

Add sugar to Absinthe...

Don't burn yourself...

Just add water!

Just WATCHING this little trial makes me believe it is not an experience worth trying! I'm not opposed to the pyro show that it presents, though-Jimmy would have been amused.

Noche de peliculas!: Movie Night!

B. Rock made some fantastic Tacos...which are Mexican, as opposed to Spanish--but they were still awesome...mmmmmmmmmmm!

Of course we moved the couches, etc. around once again, and grabbed a mattress to accomodate our ridiculous number of male guests for the show! Ben set up the projector and his computer...

Everyone settled into their seats...

007...Espana style

Brandon vino: Brandon came

The weather and sunset were great tonight, which lead to great shots like this reflection in La Fira windows

ftns along the street

LA FIRA--never ceasing to amaze

The boys in silhouette...Bob Brandon Ben Tom

One of many levels of the ftn

Looking down at Placa Espanya

Dinner along Parallel

Doin the dance--at Sunset...best CUA night out so far!

Nights like this one are what I will remember from Barcelona

Sacando fotos en el distrito 22@: Taking photos in the 22@ District

A sweet fountain at the beginning of the walk.

A park, designed by Jean Nouvel?



Rambla in 22@, and sculpture

Walking on the Rambla in this up-and-coming neighborhood

The pride of Catalunya

Amazing disparity between the main rambla and the areas within a block of it

The Barca means of protesting the building up of the few neighborhoods where young people can currently afford housing.

Group chat with Eugenia

A christian church built for athletes during the '92 Olympics...I love the layers, curves, and planes

brand new facade designed for plant growth over time

After class, Felipe, Ben, Rob and I went to get cafe and bocadillos with Eugenia. One of the best convos so far this year just about housing in Barcelona and social situations and schools. It was nice.