Adios Spain – we are all heading back to Atlanta! Sadly, for the Hayward crew, they will be taking a slight detour through Canada on their way home and arriving about six hours after us. We sure are grateful they made the journey to be with us for our final week and appreciate the extra effort!
While we waited on our flight, Josh made friends with two little boys who were traveling back home to Atlanta on our same flight. I listened to him proudly telling these boys how he had been living in Europe for four months and was so lucky to see so much. I also heard him share that he wants to travel to India next. So, it sounds like we have another adventure to plan Sean!
Our flight home was pretty easy. We are all pros (especially Leila) at these transatlantic flights now and just enjoyed 10 hours of movies, games and what felt like endless snacks.
We arrived back in Atlanta an hour earlier than expected, made record time in immigration and reunited with great big hugs for Sean.
The drive home felt brutally long as we were all so anxious to get home and meet this sweet boy!
It was a long and very exciting day after a long and very exciting trip. I’m looking forward to settling in, processing all that has happened and getting back into our old life…perhaps with a slightly new perspective. For now, it just feels really good to be home!
On the day we arrived in Barcelona our Airbnb host told Josh about the amusement park at Tibidabo…and it’s basically been all he has talked about ever since. The rest of our crew wasn’t too interested (I get it…I wasn’t too thrilled about a crowded amusement park in this heat either) but after a week full of museums, churches and architecture this kid deserved a couple roller coasters.
At 10:00 Josh and I hopped on the direct bus to Tibidabo and headed off for a day of fun. The amusement park is really quite nice, rides are tucked in among the trees and the hilltop provides a beautiful view of the city and sea. Josh was so excited and had a smile on his face all day; despite the heat and very long ride lines. I had a great time too, but definitely started losing steam as the day’s heat increased after lunch and I felt like I was melting in line behind the hoards of camp field trip groups.
By 3:00 we were both totally worn out so we headed for the bus home (it was a very quiet ride).
While we were at Tibidabo, Leila spent a girls day with Aunt Jody, Ella and Sophie; sampling local pastries and shopping for some new ballet gear.
Once we all met up back at home, everyone else headed out for a late afternoon tour at Park Guell while I spent some time packing us up (for the very last time).
After the park, we had a “clean out the fridge” dinner and then went out for our last European gelato; while enjoying the scene on Las Ramblas.
I still can’t believe that this adventure has come to an end. Tomorrow morning we board a plane home. For so long (4 years) we have either been dreaming about, planning for or living life on this trip. It feels very strange that it is now over (not bad strange…or good strange…just strange). I’m a little apprehensive about my re-entry, but also very excited to be home together as a family AND meet our new four-legged family member!
After our big day yesterday we had a very slow start to the day. We headed out around 11:00 and took the subway (which we are now pros at) up to the Montjuic neighborhood. On a city hilltop, this is a relatively quiet area and is full of beautiful gardens and trees. Once off the subway and funicular, we headed in two different directions. Marc, Sophie and Josh took the cable car up to the top to take in the view. Noni, Jody, Ella, Leila and I headed to the Joan Miro museum.
The museum was great; Leila and I had another chance to explore it on our own and again play the “guess the name of this piece” game. At the end, Ella, Leila and I made some of our own Miro inspired art work too. Leila’s is titled “red kayak being overtaken by blue wave”. I think we know where the inspiration for that piece came from!
After that, we all met up for a delicious lunch at a restaurant in the gardens and then meandered our way down the hill (briefly stopping at a playground) on our way back to the subway. We took the train home and then Jody and I quickly ran up to grab some food for the kids to enjoy on their night home alone. Josh was so excited. He had declared that they would eat french fries, nachos, pizza and coke floats…make a mess…watch movies…and have no one to yell at them. We made his wish come true!
While Josh was living his best life, the adults headed out for a paella and sangria cooking class. I was really excited about this. The class took place in a beautiful kitchen space in the old part of town and was run by a lovely woman who owns this business with her sister and uses the produce from her family farm in nearby Girona. There were about 12 of us in the class and we divided up to prepare the paella, sangria and catalan crema dessert. We then all worked together to cook the paella and learned about the typical “paella day” traditions in Spain. The experience was really unique and the food was delicious.
On our walk home from class we got a call that Leila wasn’t feeling well. Luckily she had her sweet cousin to take care of her and I was home quickly to get her tucked into bed. I think Josh’s dream menu may have been the culprit because after a long night of sleep she was 100% again! Phew!!!
Before leaving the US four months ago I had booked and was looking forward to this adventure. A trip for 8; where we would be picked up in Barcelona and travel the 1.5 hours up to the Costa Brava for a day of kayaking and snorkeling. The day before our excursion the weather forecast wasn’t looking so great, but our guide assured me that the trip was on and it would be great.
On Tuesday morning we packed up our swimsuits and snacks and took the subway to our meeting point. Our guide, Borga, met us at the waterfront and we all excitedly hopped into the van. On the drive Marc asked a bit about weather concerns and Borga said “it would be great…if we are lucky it might even rain a bit and reduce the crowds.”
We arrived at the beach, it rained a little and crowds disappeared. Perfect! Then the sun came out. Even better. Then we quickly selected snorkel gear, life jackets, paddles and partnered up for our boats (Noni and Ella, Marc and Josh, Jody and Sophie, Leila and I). We opted to skip the basic demonstration as we all know hot to kayak. Then we prepared to enter the sea and saw that we would be kayaking straight out through some pretty serious waves (I would say probably 4 feet). Not easily phased, I was really a bit nervous about this. The guide’s advice was take the waves straight on and don’t worry the crew from the rental spot on the beach would help. That help basically consisted of throwing us in the kayak and screaming “GO, GO, GO” very loudly and frantically. Well go we went and all of us made it through. With the harrowing part of the paddle behind us, we all relaxed a bit. The conditions stayed a bit rough though and it was a lot of hard paddling, it was fortunate that we all really knew what we were doing or things could have gone bad. We wound our way through some great rock formation passages, hopped out to explore a cave and almost all of us did some cliff jumping.
Our guide decided it was too dangerous to go to the planned location for our snorkeling…and considering he thought our entry into the sea was safe I can only imagine what qualifies as dangerous. We headed to a nearby calmer cliff area and all did a bit of snorkeling. The water was beautiful but unfortunately none of us saw anything more than some fish and sea stars.
After the snorkeling it was time to head in. With our entry fighting to get over the waves I was envisioning this fun “surfing in” return. However, that was also deemed too dangerous. The waves had gotten so big by this point that we had to get out of the kayaks and swim to shore while the guys on the beach came to collect the boats. This was all a bit unnerving. Leila was very nervous but she, Jody, Sophie and I all made it in just fine together…swimming in on the waves and luckily timing it without getting caught in a crash. Behind us was Marc/Josh and Noni/Ella. Once I got Leila on the beach I started swimming out to help Josh who was making his way in pretty fast. Then a huge wave came up. The wave caught Noni and Ella’s boat just as they were preparing to get out but that option was no longer available. They were forced to ride the wave in and paddle as hard as they could. Josh and I were taken out by this same wave while we were swimming and tumbled around underwater (I have always hated this feeling). That scared Josh quite a bit but a big hug from Leila and high fives from all the guys on shore turned him around pretty quick.
We soon learned that we were the only crew that went out for the day and that buses from Barcelona had been turned around due to conditions. We were all really happy we got to go and while a little bit scary at times it was a really great experience and a fun paddle. The kids were really proud of themselves for getting through the scary moments and we all celebrated beach side with some beers, champagne and ice cream.
Back home in Barcelona, we all enjoyed some warm showers and then Noni kindly stayed home with an exhausted Leila and Josh while the rest of us headed out for some tapas and a walk around town. The tapas were delicious (favorites: lamb skewer, fresh anchovies, fried little fish) (least favorites: squash blossoms stuffed with cod cream…I still feel gross when I think about the consistency of that one).
A great day with a few challenges, a few new experiences and everyone still in one piece!
We started the day with a trek through the old part of town to the Picasso Museum. Picasso is one of Leila’s favorite artists so she was really looking forward to this museum. We arrived a few minutes before it opened and a few minutes before a thunderstorm rained down.
While not everyone loved the museum, Leila and I really enjoyed it and she said it was her favorite part of the day. The museum had an incredible amount of Picasso’s work and really showcased his changing style and mediums (no idea he did so much pottery) over time. While Josh was chilling with his cousins Leila and I had fun just the two of us; slowly making our way through all the rooms and guessing the names of each painting.
After the museum we found a cafe to grab a bite, get out of the rain and figure out an afternoon plan. We decided to he to La Pedrera – Casa Mila to see one of Gaudi’s greatest creations. It took some work but we managed to get tickets and had just enough time to make the mile trek through the city to the home. Along the way we briefly checked out the Palau Music Center, a beautiful representation of the Catalan Art Nouveau style and strolled past Casa Batllo, another nearby Gaudi’s creation.
We arrived at La Pedrera in time for our booked audio tour and dove into Gaudi’s unique vision and overwhelming emphasis on reflecting nature. We began in the courtyard and then from there it was straight to the roof. The roof was full of ups and downs, wild chimneys and towers and impressive views. After the roof, we headed to the attic – this was actually my favorite floor. I loved the framing of the roof line and there were many small exhibits representing Gaudi’s design techniques and inspiration. The last stop was the top apartment which showed how the (very wealthy) residents once lived in this building. This, and many other Gaudi creations, had been very controversial at the time and were accused of bringing down these fancy neighborhoods…but today they are the biggest draw.
After our tour, I headed home via subway with the kids and Noni, Marc and Jody enjoyed the walk. Marc and I then headed to the store to stock up on some supplies for our big adventure tomorrow and then we all headed out for a yummy dinner.
Coordinating eight people is a bit more challenging and its tough to pick activities that everyone is excited about but I think everyone is being a trooper and doing our best to keep up the energy despite the draining heat; which feels really brutal to me after it being so nice and cool for the last 3+ months.
We were all looking forward to our visit to La Sagrada Familia today. Gaudi is probably one of the most unique artists ever and while I have seen the outside of the cathedral during past visits to Barcelona, I was really excited for the opportunity to tour the interior and towers.
I was up early, so I checked out our route to the church on a morning run. It was almost 3km away and not the most scenic of routes but seeing the church in the early morning light and without the crowds was a treat.
The run also helped me decide that it was really hot and we would NOT all be walking to the church today; it was time to figure out the subway.
After a little grocery shopping, a crash course on Gaudi (the kids’ most interesting learned fact was that Gaudi died as a result of being hit by a tram) and my brother’s purchase of a metro card we all headed out.
Barcelona Metro
The crowds at the cathedral were intense; we have really hit prime tourist season. Luckily, with pre-purchased tickets it was pretty quick to get in and the building was unbelievable. La Sagrada is still under construction; not expected to be done until 2026 so it was totally different than the 500-1000 year old churches we have seen so far.
Inspired by the forest and nature this place was incredibly unique. We had an audio tour which provided a lot of information and helped explain all the very intentional details and intricate oddities that comprise this magnificent cathedral. We then made our way up to the top of the Passion Tower (via a high speed elevator) and then slowly wound our way down a ridiculously steep and narrow spiral staircase. This was an incredible way in which to see the exterior details and the ongoing work…all of which Gaudi insisted on to ensure the angels could see the beauty from above.
After the cathedral, Noni headed home with kids and Marc, Jody and I ventured on to see the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau; a historic site that was supposedly an amazing representation of Gothic architecture that was still primarily unknown and not too crowded. We hadn’t really planned this detour and didn’t exactly know where we were going. Things did NOT go smoothly.
We hopped on our first train at the guidance of a random woman in the station but quickly realized that wasn’t the right way to go. So we consulted our phones and figured out a station where we could transfer. What our phones didn’t tell us and what we didn’t notice on the MANY bright yellow signs (in Spanish) all over the stations was that the train route we were transferring to was under construction. None the wiser, we hopped on the train, the doors closed and we noticed there was something missing…the other 1000 sweaty tourists riding the metro.
The train closed its doors, accelerated out of the station and then stopped in the middle of a very dark tunnel. We had to laugh…and it was easy to do so since it was just the three of us and no kids to worry about. Within a couple of minutes a train official walked through and communicated what we had interpreted as, “don’t worry in a few minutes we will go back to the station”.
We managed to figure out another route which included going back to the La Sagrada Familia, catching a different train and walking less than 2 blocks…SO EASY. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived to the entrance and read the sign we learned that the hospital tour had closed 2 hours earlier. Again we laughed…again because there were no kids!
Back on the trains, our navigation improved, we made our way back towards home and then enjoyed a short walk…making it back just in time to watch the Women’s World Cup. Go USA!!!
Feeling overwhelmed by the new city I started the day with an early run. That helped be get better oriented and I discovered some of the main landmarks; the Boqueria (market), the Gothic Quarter and the waterfront.
I was home and showered just in time for Marc, Jody, Ella and Sophie’s arrival. This crew was super tired after a long day of travel but the girls rallied and we headed out to explore Las Ramblas, The Boqueria and the amazing yachts at the marina.
After lunch, Jody and Ella took their turn napping and the rest of us headed out to trek through the old streets of the Born district to Santa Maria del Mar Cathedral. This gothic cathedral was nice and quiet (tourists are a plenty here right now) and it was interesting to learn about its history. Dating back to the 1300’s this church had practically burned down after an 11 day fire and has several modern additions, including a, rather out of place, stained glass window celebrating the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Collectively we covered a lot of distance today and our new arrivals were pooped. We were all home early for a quiet night in our beautiful Barcelona home.
This is the best of a series of BAD photos. It’s really hot and sunny.
It was a LONG day. It started in Begur with waking up, packing and making the two hour drive back to Barcelona. The first part of the drive was very twisty and turny (along the coast), the middle was fine and the end was the typical chaos of city driving (except the “typical” is all in Spanish). After all that I was more than ready to return the car to the Barcelona Airport and cab it to our city apartment…which would be accompanied by lots of walking and train-ing.
We made it to our apartment without any issues and were welcomed into our beautiful space for the week. We needed a home for 8 since my brother’s family will be joining us, so it is very big, incredibly beautiful and comes with highly functioning air conditioning which is honestly the only important thing right now.
Spain is HOT. At only 83 degrees (apparently it was 100+ here during the heat wave a week ago) it feels brutal. It is so humid and sticky and we are so not accustomed to that. We dropped our bags at the apartment and then headed out to kill a few hours grabbing lunch, visiting nearby Ciutadella Park and then the grocery store for dinner supplies. I felt like I was melting. If you can find a shady tree and catch a breeze it is glorious, but between those spots it is rough.
We were home and chilling (temperature and temperament) by 4:00pm; anxiously awaiting the arrival of Uncle Marc, Aunt Jody, Ella and Sophie the next morning.
I’m not a big birthday celebrator, and truly I like sharing the day and spotlight with America, but a birthday in Spain with my kids and my mom and the beautiful Costa Brava was pretty perfect.
Mom woke up early to take a photo of the sunrise for my birthday gift. Pretty great photo!
Once we were all up and ready (a few hours after sunrise) we headed to another nearby beach with the plan to have another kayaking adventure. We had a little swim and Leila then had to take care of a few wardrobe malfunctions before we could hit the kayaks.
The kayaking was tough today, with a strong breeze fighting us the whole way out. We paddled hard and the kids loved it. Today I got to paddle with Josh, and I was really impressed. Both the kids have great confidence, strength and coordination with paddling…and he only asked about 72 times “can I jump out yet?”. We discovered a little cave, which Josh was very excited about.
Then we managed to find a little beach to pull up on, have a little snack and enjoy some swimming.
Our paddle home was super fast (the wind was with us); which was good because we had all worked up an appetite. We found a yummy spot for lunch, spent some more time at the beach, devoured some ice cream and headed home for a quiet evening.
Tomorrow we head back to Barcelona to enjoy some city time for our last week of the trip (yikes…I’m not ready for reality)!
Before coming to Spain, Noni had bought us tickets to visit the Salvador Dali Museum in nearby Figueres (Dali’s hometown). Our tickets were for 9:30 and with an hour plus drive it was another relatively early morning…and we didn’t have the smoothest night.
This is my bed:
The kids are supposed to be sleeping in the room next door with the same sized bed. Josh had been keeping Leila (who desperately needed to catch up on sleep) awake, so early on in the night I moved Josh in with me. Around midnight I guess Leila got lonely and came and joined us (I was stuck in the middle). Around 2:00am Josh fell out of bed, waking all three of us up. With this, I abandoned my room completely and went to sleep in theirs. We are going to have some bad habits to break when we get back home!
Anyway, once everyone was up we headed out on our drive to the museum. I remember learning about and seeing a lot of Dali’s work as a kid. Admittedly I never really liked his style but I could certainly appreciate it. The museum was actually really impressive and exceeded expectations. It was a beautiful building (an old theater) and the volume of work (drawings, paintings, sculpture, mirrors, technology, jewelry and crazy compositions) was impressive.
We spent a few hours taking in the museum and then grabbed lunch…a step up from yesterday’s hotdogs, we enjoyed tapas of mussels and shrimp.
We then drove home, stopping for a few essentials at the store, and all jumped in the pool for some Marco Polo.
adventure for four 