A Barcelona Vacation

If you are a foodie, like architecture, and are looking for a family friendly city, then Barcelona is the place for you!  We just returned from a four day trip and we had a fantastic time!  I took over 500 photos (thank goodness for digital cameras!) and could not get enough of the amazing architecture of La Familia Sagrada, Parc Guell, and Casa Batllo.  I think La Familia Sagrada was my favorite.  It was equal parts divine, bright and organic.  It was like no other cathedral, which I have to admit, was a nice change.  While I love the stained glass beauty of a traditional cathedral, every element of this cathedral felt very intentional, revealing God's majesty with glorious light, sculptures and nature reflected at every turn.  Or perhaps I just need to visit more cathedrals with an audio tour or guide by my side, so I can better appreciate the history and design. :)

 

Parc Guell was pretty amazing.  It is a huge park with so much design infused.  I was in awe of all the rock structures and tile mosaic.  Talk about picking two of the most tedious manners of art!

Casa Batllo was Marty's favorite Gaudi architecture.  Set along a main shopping street with designer stores, this former home is an amazing display of Gaudi's design intent and creativity - inspired by the ocean.

We paced our trip to tailor to two young kids with short attention spans.  Beckham was amenable, as always.  Hayden was 50% awesome, 50% awful.  He was best when he had something specific to do, like looking for the next number on the Casa Batllo guided tour, then punching it into the player.  He was worst when he had free reign to run, like at the Parc Guell.  I had heard from many other moms that it's really the terrible three's and I am in full agreement.  Age two was terrific.  Age three has been an emotional roller coaster - one moment amazing as we watch Hayden learn, one moment hilarious as he says or does something cute, and one moment frustrating as he tests his limits and pushes ours as well. And not stopping our touring for naps certainly doesn't help!

Still, I love that Hayden is always happy, ever so smart and observant, the first to offer help, unafraid to try new things, creative and imaginative, and a loving boy and big brother.

We were fortunate to have found a young woman (with the hotel's help) come to watch the boys for two nights.  For those two nights, we went out to dinner - something much harder to do these days, especially while traveling to a foreign city.  The food in Barcelona - even the quick "fast food" tapas place, was delicious, and right up our alley!  My favorite place was Famen, recommended to us by the hotel staff.  Every dish had perfectly balanced flavors, like my tuna tataki with sweet honey marinated mushrooms.  We also enjoyed meals at Bar Lobo and Isabella's - recommendations from friends who have been living in Barcelona for about a year now.

Granier - Delicious pastries and so cheap

Bar Lobo - must try the eggplant with honey balsalmic!

Pez Vela - Black rice paella with squid and artichoke

Isabella's - Burrata salad with basil oil

Tapa Tapa - Potatoes Brava were delicious!

Famen - Shrimp with sweet chili sauce and potatoes with mint romesco

Salad with baked goat cheese and lychee 

Baked cheese with arugula and sun dried tomatoes

Seared turbot and vegetables

Tuna tataki with honey glazed mushrooms, fried basil

Catalan cream w dried raspberries

 It is amazing to think about how many places and experiences we will be fortunate to share with our boys.  Already, Beckham has been to four European cities, not counting our day trips.  I continue to feel so thankful for this opportunity, for the chance to spend quality time with our boys, and for the blessing to be their parents and have them in our lives.

sleeping cutie at dinner

drawing airplanes 

Happy 4 months & Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow, I am not sure where the month of November went, but it has come and gone in a hurry! Beckham is four months old today!  I normally take his "official" photo but he also had his 4 month check up today, got shots, and slept most of the afternoon.  Now that it is fall, the skies are gray and overcast, so the combination did not make for a great photo session.  So instead, here are a few photos from the past few weeks!

Costume Party

Wearing new outfit from Grandma and Grandpa

Tummy Time - we can flip over to our back too! 

Playtime!

Beckham continues to be amazingly easy and happy.  He is content to just hang out and rarely cries.  He's also really consistent so we have grown accustom to our nice, regular schedule.  Awake at 7 am, Snooze on the way to drop Hayden off at 8:30, Nap from 12-2, Sleep from 8:00 - 11:00 pm (sometimes stretching past midnight) with a couple stirs in the wee hours to eat and go back to sleep.  In between, he is laughing and talking up a storm.  We are also enjoying some play time whenever we are home, which surprisingly isn't too often - maybe once a week.  

Most days, I am out running errands, meeting with friends or meeting my French teacher.  I can't say I have much of a regular routine, other than every Wednesday for my French lesson.  The past 3 months here have certainly flown with little idle time.

There is no doubt that Hayden is settling in just fine.  He understands some French and is starting to say things here and there.  Two weeks ago, the kids loaded up on a bus and went to La Ferme.  My car registered "freezing temperatures" that morning and it was definitely a cold Fall day to go to the farm.  As usual, Beckham was just fine hanging out in the cold for 4 hours, despite not dressing him for the low temps.  The trip consisted of visiting the rabbits, goats and cows and learning about what they ate.  There was plenty of play time too, given short attention spans and lots of 3 yr old energy. Afterwards, Hayden kept talking about the "vaches."

Quite the ensemble: Ikea safety vest, Dad's old hat and fireman rain boots!

Snack break w fresh milk

I won't describe what these cows were standing in... :}

baby cows - aka veau in French (veal)

class photo

dressed for the farm but not for the cold!

The class has started to work on their colors.  First was "jaune" or yellow and last week, it was "bleu" or blue.  On the way home from school, I pointed to a cement mixer which is candy-striped with yellow and white.  When I asked Hayden what color the mixer was, he replied, "jaune and white."  :) I find it so fascinating how quickly little kids can learn another language.  These little kids are learning to speak about 2-3 languages at once!

This past weekend, it was an extremely foggy day.  The fog here stays pretty low and this day, it was particularly thick and blocked out the sun.  We had already decided to head indoors for the annual Family Village event.  It is best described as an interactive trade show for kids.  One big hall with lots of stations, all featuring fun activities for kids: painting, baby gym, circus school (which seems to be more popular here than in the US), ropes courses, baking, etc.

It was a little overpriced but fun for Hayden.  He made smoothies, watched some kids perform, rolled out and baked a pastry and did a little tightrope walking on a pretty tough ropes course (no fear!)

It sounds like we are in for a pretty gray winter.  However, we are excited because we are gearing up for a week of skiing, just before Christmas.  The lodge is booked & we are going with another Expat family.  A couple weekends ago, we rented and bought all our ski gear.  It was so cute to see Hayden's little skis next to mine.  It will be fun to see him all bundled up and we are looking forward to him learning to ski.

In two short days, it is Thanksgiving.  Of course, Thanksgiving is not celebrated here and most stores are already set for Christmas.  A fellow Expat/Co-worker of Marty's invited us to join them for a Thanksgiving feast a couple of weekends ago.  It was AMAZING and I am so glad we got to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal.  It is my favorite holiday meal and one that I wish I could enjoy more than once a year.  It was a wonderful evening and fun to meet some new friends.

However, it did make me a little home sick.  Over the past three months, we have spent so much of our time and focus getting settled, or traveling, but with the holidays coming up, we will certainly be missing home and enjoying time with our friends and family.

We have SO much for which to be thankful.  This year has been a busy one for us, but full of amazing moments and memories, and of course, the arrival of our sweet Beckham.  I thank God for our sweet healthy boys and for this wonderful journey we are on.  He has definitely blessed us with so much!!