Day 3 - Castles and Kings and a Knight in Fast Flip Flops

Today we went up to see Castle Montjuic. After a short tram and gondola ride, we made it to the top of the mountain and began exploring. The Castle is really more like a military fort and has played a key role in Barcelona history.

Stopping for a quick drink once we reached the top.

Cars to the left....people to the right

The port where most of the cruise ships dock.

In the summer this space is used for outdoor movies. The structure to the left is where they place the movie screen.

It was a pretty smoggy day so most of the pictures of the city didn't do justice to just how amazing the views were from the castle.

After the castle we went to the super market to stock up on some groceries, walked home by way of Santa Maria del Pi and then I took a pretty awesome two hour nap.

Once we had dinner we headed back out to explore a little bit more. We went by Santa Maria del Mar and then on towards Parc de la Ciutadella and the Arc de Triomf.

These are the Tres Dragons

Castell dels Tres Dragons

On our way home we literaly stumbled upon a little celebration in Plaza San Pedro where the giants were dancing in the square.

Then things started getting exciting....and I only write this because there is a happy ending. On our way home we stopped on a bench to rest for a little bit before heading back the rest of the way. As we were sitting there, a guy came up on a bike and asked us a question about the area, and while he had our attention, his friend grabbed mom's purse and started taking off on bike behind us. The women next to us started yelling "la drone!" "la bolsa!" which means thief and purse in Spanish.

Den turned around and starting chasing the guy on the bike. I think he heard Den's flip flops and turned around to see who was chasing him. At that moment the guy ran into the curb with his bike, dropped the purse and almost fell to the ground. I think if he hadn't dropped the purse, we would have had to say goodbye to mom's credit card and passport. Luckily, all items were still in mom's bag. A very important lesson was learned, and Den and I walked a very shaky mom back to the flat. Then Den and I finished a bottle of cava.

Day 2 - Fish and Geese and Kittens

We all woke up and took our time getting ready this morning. This was the view from my window.

Right after I took this shot a guy appeared on the terrace up there on the left and just peered down in my window for a few minutes (probably seconds but felt like minutes) and then turned and walked away. Will make sure to close the window from now on when I am getting ready in the mornings. :)

After a light breakfast we headed out to explore the neighborhood. We made a big loop that included Las Ramblas, La Boqueria, Plaza de Catalunya, Catedral de Barcelona and then ended up back at Den's flat for lunch.

At the La Boqueria, we wandered through all the fresh fruit, meats and cheeses, but had to draw the line when we reached the fish area. Apparently it was a little too strong for mom. If you want to see my pictures from last year when we visited La Boqueria you can find them here.

The Catedral de Barcelona was on of the cathedrals that I didn't not go in last year. Mom and I spent some time exploring while Den sat out on the steps and read.

The courtyard of the cathedral is home to a few dozen geese. This one on the left was posing for us. He stood still for quite some time, just looking at the camera.

After touring the cathedral, we headed back to the flat for lunch and a little siesta. By 4:00 we were up to catch the bus to Christina's parent's house south of Barcelona.

When we got there we spent some time with the wee girls, Erika and Nayra. You can tell Christina loves her nieces very much.

 Then the women walked down to the sea before dinner and got our feet wet, while the guys stayed back and fired up the grill.

Christina and I

Mom, me and Mary Jane

Mom washing the sand off her shoes.

When we got back to the house, the rest of Christina's family had arrived. Her sister Emma and David (parents of Erika and Nayra),and her other sister Monica and Jaume . We all sat down for a really great meal prepared by Carlos, Christina's dad. Oh and of course a few glasses of cava. :)

Just as the meal was ending, someone rang the front gate to let us know that a cat had crawled up inside the engine of David and Emma's car. And at some point it was rumored that it was having babies in there, which ended up not being the case.

But after some investigating, it ended up being a kitten who had crawled up there alone. We decided to take the girls inside and let the guys figure out how to get the cat out, which eventually they did.

This is Christina's family. Mom and Dad (Carlos and Mary Jane) in front. David and Emma on the left with Nayra, Jaume and Monica in the middle, and Den and Christina on the right with Erika.

We had a great time and wish we could do it again while we are here but Mary Jane is taking the girls to Scotland to visit her family and will be gone for most of our time here.

I hope everyone is not buring up in the states. The high today was 82 degrees and absolutely lovely!

 Laters, baby!

Day 1 - What A Difference an Hour Can Make

Tuesday started out as a very good day.

I was able to meet my packing goal of taking only 1 bag and 1 carry on.

We got to the airport nice and early.

Nobody lost their passport.

Mom and I made it through security without a strip search.

We found seats right by the gate to sit and wait for our flight to start boarding.....and as I took the last sip of my Diet Dr. Pepper, it happened.

The lady working at the desk came over the loud speaker and announced that there was going to be a possible delay. The seatbelt on the co-pilot's chair was malfunctioning and they had to order a new one.

She was estimating the delay to be at least one hour.

Guess how long our layover in London was? 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Needless to say after much wailing and nashing of the teeth, we missed our connection. We finally made it to Barcelona 6 hours later than planned.

I have to say that the last few flights I have been on have had some pretty horrible delays, to the point where one flight had to turn around mid-air and land due to smoke in the cabin. I think I am a jinx. Hopefully we will have better luck on the way home.

Once in Barcelona, Den met us at the airport and got a taxi to take us to his flat.

(Did you hear that Luke and Teena???? A taxi!!!! We had to take the bus and WALK to the flat!)

Den prepared a wonderful meal and we sat down to eat and watch Spain beat Portugal in the Euro Cup Semi Finals. One of the coolest (and sometimes annoying if you are trying to sleep) things about his flat is that with all the windows open you can hear the cheers and screams from all the local bars and neighbors. So when Spain won, it felt as if we were surrounded by hundreds of other fans.

After the game, Den and I left to grab a drink at a local bar hidden down one of the old winding streets in his neighborhood.

The entrance was an old elevator and the drinks and the company were great.

It was a perfect end to my first night in Barcelona. 15 days to go!