Un dia al parque: A day at the park

Despite our best efforts...(yeah right)...we finally woke up, got dressed and strolled through Parque de la Ciutadella. It's my FAVORITE! We had fun just goofing around, watching all of the good, bad, and the just plain STRANGE uses of the park on a beautiful day like today was. Oh flowers!

Balloons with legs!

Why don't people near us just carry dancing shoes and a dance partner around to stop at parks and entertain?! We were jealous--WE wanted to learn to dance like these couples!

Ahhh, the Gaudi fountain...I believe Jessie began to appreciate Gaudi at this point-haha

The icing on the cake...er...fountain

Jess up at the top

Jess and Meg

"Dude...I think you like guys in bands. Do you like him? He looks like he's in a band. Dude-Are you in a band?"

Little kid, big dog...entertainment for at least 30 minutes of our lives.

The Arc de Triomph

MOOOOOPPEEEEEDDDDDD! After an Easter dinner with the McG fam at the loft, the CUA crew headed toward Aldana/studio/Gran Via for the night.

With only a few distractions along the way...

...at least they were architectural! (Hotel Nouvel--interesting...)

Una noche de fiesta: Party-night!

I couldn't have my family come all the way to Barcelona and not show Jessie the crazy clubs that don't open til 2 and don't close until sunrise or later...

NUBAA is always an appropriate place to start the evening...an English-speaking bar with English and Hispanic bartenders...home of some of our fond Barca memories!

Jess matches my Mojito

Fredo wanted to know how to order a BIG beer...

Bob apparently has that down in Spanish somehow...!

Sissuuuuuuuu!

Alfredo and Meg on the way to Sunset, one of more than 4 night hotspots perched atop the 3-story open-air mall called Maremagnum.

Typical! haha

The Bob Stare

Jess and 'Fredo

Look who decided to join us?! VICTORIA! Woot woot! haha

Meg and 'Fredo

BLUE EYES!!!!!

I LOVE THIS WALK...this picture captures the lighting along the water perfectly.

~another good night in Barcelona

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.