Barcelona

A couple of weeks ago we got back from a fabulous vacation to Spain! We took over 500 photos and so this blogging thing was super difficult. To make it easier on myself I broke up the posts into the three places that we traveled: Barcelona, Marbella, and Madrid. Please keep in mind though that I not only keep this blog to share with our family and friends that we don't live close to, but I also keep it as a kind of journal for us. So, with that said, there will be a lot of pictures...don't say I didn't warn you!

We started off the trip in Barcelona...

So, the night before we were to leave for Spain Nathan and I flew home from a friend's wedding in Utah. It was a little hectic and Nathan accidentally left our camera on the plane. (We have since located said camera) I wasn't really upset, but I was a little frantic because we were leaving and needed a camera! So once we got to the airport we stopped into a shop and bought a camera on the spot. Seen here:
We got ten steps out of the store and realized we didn't want the camera. This was to be the first in a long string of buying and returning cameras on this trip.
I was so worried about the camera that I put my shirt on inside out.
After 16 hours of traveling, we made it to Barcelona!
Nathan has been waiting 7 years to get that Spain stamp in his passport.

We got a cab and headed straight to our hotel:
It was small, but nice

I know it may seem weird that I included a picture of the shower in this post. However, if you had ever been in this shower you would not think me weird. It was pure heaven.
This was an interesting feature and it took us a good minute to figure it out. You had to put your key in this slot to turn on the lights in the hotel room. Very environmentally friendly.

After a very quick cat nap we hit the streets of Barcelona

We started the trip off with a 4 hour bike Tour
Here we are with our bikes
The Johnsons with their bikes
Nathan in front of the Palace of Catalan Music
Spain's Arc de Triomphe
Gaudi Fountains



I can't remember the name of the building in the background, but the tour guide sure had some jokes about it
Nathan in front of Barcelona's Bull Fighting Arena

Nathan and I in front of the Sagrada Familia. Just a little background on this church: It was designed by Gaudi (what in Barcelona wasn't?) and construction began in 1882. As you can see by the cranes it is still being built. Our tour guide told us that it is supposed to be completed in 2026 but that if it was he would "be the Queen of England."
Our tour ended at the beach where I bought those sunglasses and we saw some of the first of what would be many of the famous "Barcelona Nudes."
We ended our first day in Barcelona with some famous Tapas and went to bed early. We were e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d!

The next day we got up bright and early and headed to the Sagrada Familia, this time to go inside. We thought we would just grab some breakfast on the way there but that was easier said that done. It was about 9:30 am and NOTHING was open. Those Spaniards really do things on their own time schedule. After much searching we found something and made it to the Sagrada Familia before the line got super long.
Nathan, Meg, and I enjoying the outside portion of our audio tour.
Nathan and I in front of the Nativity Scene
The inside of the church was amazing! It was so bright!

If I hadn't heard of Gaudi before visiting Barcelona, I sure knew who he was after. We had to have some sort of commemoration of him...here is Nathan's.

After visiting the Sagrada Familia, we walked...A LOT! We had lunch on the beach and then went shopping and exploring. We had planned to visit the Picasso Museum...but it was closed on account of it being the first Monday of the month. ... ?!?!? I'm telling you, in my next life I am living in Spain!
Uh...wrong country boys. Don't let the language throw you off. The Spanish did not think he was funny trying to order burritos and enchiladas.
We found this cute street on the way to the Picasso Museum (before we knew it was closed). I loved the laundry strung across the buildings.

The next morning we started the day off by touring an apartment building designed by Gaudi.
It was right across the street from our hotel
The top of the building was very cool, it reminded me of something out of a Dr. Seuss book
All of us on top of the building with a view of the Sagrada Familia in the background

Afterwards we had reservations at a cooking class. They taught us how to make tomato soup, spanish omelets, paella, and catalan cream. After we cooked everything we got to eat it...it was really a lot of fun
Here we are cooking up a storm. Meg is making catalan cream and the rest of us are working on tomato soup. I included this picture for only one reason though, and that is the guy standing next to Meg. He had a thing for "Meghan" and kind of became the joke of the trip. He provided us a lot of entertainment so I thought it only fair to include him in the blog.

Nathan and I learning how to peel tomatoes


The boys did very well


Us with the finished Paella
Torching the catalan cream...I found that to be way too much fun.

After we were experts on Spanish cooking we hit the streets again for some more shopping!
Nathan and I on Las Ramblas street
We just liked the name of this hotel...
On our jaunt down Las Ramblas we found La Boqueria Market. It was crazy busy and they were selling some pretty unusual stuff.
The boys by a stand in the market. This spot smelled horrible.
We passed a library and Meg was so upset that it wasn't called a biblioteca. Seriously? What is up with that?
Another apartment building designed by....well you know.

That night we headed up to what we thought was a castle on the top of a hill. Well, it turned out to be a museum but the view from the steps was awesome nonetheless.


Nathan is so happy to be in Barcelona...
We had to climb a lot of stairs (okay and go up a couple of escalators) to get to this view. It was well worth it.
Boys being too cool

We then headed to a Bilbao vs Real Socialidad soccer game. It got a little stressful when our tickets wouldn't let us go in the same door. We decided to split up and Nathan went in a different door. We thought we would just find each other once we got inside but that was way easier said than done. None of us had cell phones and each section of the stadium was blocked off from one another. Finally, with a great amount of prayers and luck, we found each other and were able to enjoy the game. We even got to see a goal! Our night was complete.
I couldn't believe how big the stadium was! Imagine getting separated in THAT! I also couldn't believe how into the game everyone was. Not one eye in that stadium wasn't watching the game and there was NO ONE getting up to get treats or go to the bathroom. It was so different!

This was our last night in Barcelona. We got on a plane the next morning to fly to Malaga/Marbella.