A very long post!

OK, I am finally blogging again!  I have so many photos, that I will mostly just caption them.

First, here is Jacob's promised "graffiti", as mentioned in the last post.  The second one is the word for bacon in Spanish ("tocino"). 

 Our Spanish instructors took us around the city near where we have classes.  This area is called Vila Olímpica and is close to the beach.  This section of the city used to be run down and full of old warehouses, but was rebuilt and developed for the Olympic games.  Here is one statue called "Marc", named after the sculptor's son.

A popular statue of an elephant in the huge city park, Ciutadella (right next to Vila Olímpica).

Too many photos of the cool hide-away bushes...

My first attempt at baking...banana bread.  It so much research and shopping to find a baking pan for bread.  I was told that nobody bakes bread...why would I want to do THAT?  Finally I found one at El Corte Inglés, the MASSIVE 12-floor shopping center.  I used the humble kitchen tools found in our rental apartment, and it didn't turn out too bad.  I discovered something I forgot to bring: measuring spoons and cups so I can easily use American recipes (which I look up online).  I did find a glass Pyrex measuring cup with some odd pint and ounce measurements that don't match up properly.  (Yes, I bought it anyway!)  Well, my measurement estimating didn't set me back too much.  Everyone finished off the bread, slathered in cream cheese.  

At the corner of our street where we live, there is this huge grate on the ground that blows strong air continuously.  The boys religiously play with the air when we walk by...like this, and tossing hats to each other, etc.  I have learned not to step over the grate in a dress...

Here we are, chilling on the patio of a restaurant next to the beach, waiting for our apple lime sorbet, tangerine mint sorbet, and blackberry yogurt ice cream to arrive...  so spoiled!!!  If we look tired, it's close to 11:00 at night.  We are getting accustomed to eating late, usually starting dinner between 8:30-10:00!  

OK, so we discovered a cool street by taking a new route on the metro, getting off at a different stop to see where it might take us.  And the boys found a favorite new shop...with guns, knives, swords and anything sharp or dangerous.  :)

Back to La Boqueria...the famous open food market on the crazy tourist street, Las Ramblas.  Yes, these are real eggs...emu, ostrich, etc.  

The boys are buying candy...again...

And here's the purchase!

Oh, so much candy...

REALLY?!?!  I bet we might see one of these on the beach...

 Boys and Dad...

Super cool place with spouts to wash up

Boys and Mom...

Shall we go in for a taste?

Of course!

Just one of those cool, random spectacles (this one graffiti) you see walking around...

The boys' first experience with tapas.  

Jacob: thumbs up

Nicholas: not so great

Jacob bought a longboard!

So did Nicholas!

Chillin' after a swim in the ocean

And off they go... 

Ray bought a ping pong paddle and played a pick-up game at the park.

Our instructors took us to a neighborhood in Barcelona called GRÁCIA.  It is my kind of place!  Lots of specialty shops with plenty of character that are NOT selling the typical junk for the tourists.  Rather, quality goods, gourmet cafés, organic and natural food stores, mostly in fun little alleys mostly for pedestrians.  Here is one familiar sign I saw in Grácia.  Who's heard of the SLOW FOOD movement?  (If you live in Truckee, most likely you have.)  This is an organic bakery.  I bought a mini loaf of banana carrot bread with poppy seeds on top...scrumptious!  

Grácia was preparing for a big neighbourhood festival for the following three days.  They begin planning for it in January, and the festival is in August!  Many of the streets are decorated with different themes.  The residents of each decorated street do all the planning and work.  It's a community effort.  They make almost everything from recyclables.  One man we spoke with said the retired ladies had been working for months on the decorations for one of the streets (some are more elaborate than others).  Here are some photos of the preparations.  

We discovered a great cupcake (and cake) shop with this sweet owner!

Another day we took a tour of Sagrada Familia, the famous cathedral designed by Antoní Gaudí.  It is still under construction for over 130 years.  It was intriguing to learn how Gaudí used unique (at the time) methods of engineering through his understanding of geometry and mathematics.  You can look up so many photos online, but here are some we took.

Each side of the cathedral shows a different aspect of Jesus' life.  

This is the crucification side, and the figures are gaunt and square-ish.

Inside the cathedral, Gaudí wanted light, color, 

and a sense of nature with columns like trees and branches.

Discovering some of Gaudí's engineering methods.  

This side is the birth of Jesus...very ornate.  

It includes many depictions of plants and animals.

These are a series of strings with weights that Gaudí designed to develop the towering spaces in the cathedral.  Turned upside down (not possible), you could see how the space should look.  

We love this little TINY place called Maoz, a vegetarian food bar/buffet of falafel, hummus, and lots of toppings and sauces for your pita or bowl.  A super value, too, which is a good find in this city!  :)  

Back to the beach for a swim.

Nicholas riding the waves!

Jacob slamming the waves!

I have more photos...to be continued!