Anyway, just after New Years, Pete, Miranda, Chelsea, Dave, and I hopped a plane to Barcelona, to spend the first days of the new year surrounded by beach, sun, and tapas! Mom and Denny joined us partway through the trip and we explored the city together. 
The tapas were incredible at this little restaurant in the Barrio Gotic! Patatas bravas, calamari, whole little fishies, and a special dish with goats cheese on top of a stack of sauteed peppers, eggplant, tomato and onions.
Okay, I've seen a lot of homeless guys with dogs. But a cat hunkered down against the cold in a fleece blanket?
La Cascada, The best fountain I have ever seen, designed by Josep Fontesere and Antoni Gaudi in Parc de la Ciutadella. I love the amalgamation of fantasy and nature. Horse-mermaids. What more do I have to say?
One man's junk is another's treasures - the flea market between Encants and Glories subway stations. I also bought an old watch face from a guy who had a table full of...old watch faces. He said he collected them from all over Eastern Europe. Why? What was his vision?
The view from our little apartment on Valencia and Padilla.
Just off La Rambla lies the Mercat de la Boqueria, full of every kind of Spanish food thing imaginable.
...I mean, imagine - candies coated in metal! (remember those little BB's that used to decorate the tops of cakes, and we'd pick them off before we ate the cake? I just don't think they pick them off here in Barcelona!)
...or an entire stall of every kind of mushroom you can imagine. I'm not sure about the moldy ones in the left side of the picture. Maybe it's Roquefort fungi?
La Pedrera designed by Antoni Gaudi (aka Casa Mila). Built in 1905-1910. You can't see the wrought iron balcony decorations, but I'm definitely going to put them in my future house.
La Pedrera designed by Antoni Gaudi (aka Casa Mila). Built in 1905-1910. You can't see the wrought iron balcony decorations, but I'm definitely going to put them in my future house.
When I grow old, I want to be an old spanish man who goes to the park on Sundays and plays cards with my friends....
...or maybe some afternoon bolos
Ah, the famous Sagrada Familia, which looms over the entire city, and has been under construction since 1882. Antioni Guadi had devoted his life to working on it, although only a small part was complete at the time of his death in 1926. Pictures do not do the structure justice. You should go and look. And go and look in 30 years from now, because they'll still be working on it then, too. Just now, most of the stained glass windows have been installed except for a few dozen along the high walls which are currently just clear glass.
La Sagrada Familia.
Inside la Sagrada Familia
On Jan. 6th we went to see the Cavalcada dels Reis, a highly organized parade for the Epiphany, which is the big Christmas celebration in Barcelona. Awesome dancers, stilt-walters, horn players on horseback, mechanical camels operated by a forklift, and a whole float of coal diggers in the back for the naught kids (you can actually buy candy coal at the chocolate shops here to put in your childrens' shoes if they've been bad). Instead of Santa, they have the 3 kings. But the photos, again, didn't do the scene justice, so I left them out. But here's the Rosca de Reyes, the traditional sweet bread every bakery cells during the Epiphany....
...and inside the bread, you find a figurine, a bean, and money. Whoever finds the figurine is the king, whoever finds the bean must pay for the bread, and the money...nobody could really answer that question, I think it might have fallen in the dough by mistake.
The tapas were incredible at this little restaurant in the Barrio Gotic! Patatas bravas, calamari, whole little fishies, and a special dish with goats cheese on top of a stack of sauteed peppers, eggplant, tomato and onions.
Okay, I've seen a lot of homeless guys with dogs. But a cat hunkered down against the cold in a fleece blanket?
The grandiose gateway into Park Güel, designed by...yep, Antoni Gaudi.
Tile work in Park Güel
Denny, Mom, Miranda, Pete and I sitting out in the afternoon sun, eating "healthy cookies" and drinking a bottle of wine.
Anatomically correct benches in Park Güel
Park Güel
Park Güel
Park Güel
Park Güel
We spent one afternoon at the beach, socks off, watching the surfers. That's right - surfers. All the while, washing down our patatas bravas with beer.
On our way to the Miro museum at the base of the Montjuic hills.
Exploring the little neighborhood, Gracia.
Exploring the little neighborhood, Gracia.
Casa Batillo
Barcelonetta, was once the fisherman's wharf and was built with very narrow, gridded streets.
Construction of all sorts going on down by the beaches near Barceloneta.
Let's sail to Barcelona some day from someplace far, far away!
