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Published: December 4th 2007
The Second Breakfast
Starting with our trip to Berlin we have found it beneficial to have a little something in the morning for the kids when they first wake up. By the time we get organized and going Mom and Dad are ready for coffee and the girls are ready for their second breakfast. This practice was gladly adopted by all. Here Eliza is thoroughly enjoying some sort of cream stuff pastry.A cheesy title? Yes. But it was entirely appropriate for our day of Gaudi hunting. Two weeks before we went to Spain I did a little homeschooling lesson with the girls on the letter G and on Antoni Gaudi in particular. I thought they might appreciate this rather interesting architect and it would also help to get them excited about another big trip. It worked and their excitement was unabashed during our whole day searching for Gaudi buildings.
I was up with Emma & Eliza around 7:30. The girls had yogurt, muffins and oranges for breakfast. I took a short run and got everyone dressed. In typical travel fashion we then went out for our second breakfast at a local cafe where we fully enjoyed the coffee and pastries. We walked to La Rambla, which is the huge tourist street full of shops, cafes, souvenir stands and peformers. We went to our first Gaudi building, Palau Guell, to find it wrapped in tarps for renovation. Too bad. Undeterred we took the red line metro to the second Gaudi building of the day, Casa Batllo. It was truly stunning in person. Even though it is such a different look it does
Casa Battlo
(Emma's photo) somehow blend in with the rest of the buildings on the streets. Locals know it as the casa dels ossos (house of bones) because of the strange skull like balconies. We decided to spend the big money and go inside (at least the kids were free) and it was definitely worth it. This is one of those things that had we come here in college we never would have spent the money to go inside; we would have contented ourselves with the outside view and in doing so really missed out on a lot. The interior is equally dramatic because Gaudi spent so much energy fashioning everything from doorways, windows, ceilings and lamps. We were given audio guides with our entrance tickets and the girls enjoyed having an interactive tour of the building. The self tour brought us all the way up to the roof where we had a great view over the whole area of l'Eixample.
We stopped outside for a snack of rice cakes, apples and carrots and then walked to building number 3, La Pedrera (Casa Mila). On the roof of this building are sculptures that supposedly led to the creation of the storm trooper helmets
Girls at the Gaudi House
They enjoyed the interactive tour on the audio guides. in Star Wars (the girls thought this was way cool). We decided not to go inside this one but wanted at least to see the exterior while on our walk to the big sight of the day: La Sagrada Familia. Along our walk we found two playgrounds to break up the day and had our sandwiches that we had packed. We got to La Sagrada Familia and it exceeded all expectations. Apparently this is the biggest tourist attraction in all of Spain! The cathedral is still under construction after over 100 years and when it is finished, some time in the 2020's, we have already made a date to return with our three girls. The temple was Antoni Gaudi's obsession and last great hurrah. He devised a temple 95 m long able to seat 13,000 people and much of the initial detail was done by his hand. One nearby tourist commented that it looked a little like a sandcastle that had been rained upon (sort of accurate actually). We had a great walk inside looking at the amazing stained glass, and then found another playground, this one right in the shadow of the cathedral. We picked up some souvenirs, patches
On the Roof
Again at the Gaudi house. for the girls backpacks (which have limited space for more country patches), a key chain ornament for our Christmas tree and Picasso scarves for the girls to play with, which they adore.
We took the Metro to Parc Guell where Gaudi turned his hand to landscape gardening. Here you can really see his passion for natural forms both the artificial ones he created and the ones he left in the scenery. It was a crazy walk up this monstrous hill, broken up by escalator rides! The girls Loved this part. There were even more stunning views of the city from the top of the park and Abigail thought that she saw Africa! We walked around and found the famous seating area with all of the mosaic benches. We sat and just soaked in the sunshine while the girls put on a performance using their new scarves and running around like birds and butterflies (see video below). It was really cute. After a break of water and pistachios we started to exit the park via the famous lizard fountain and these two buildings that we could only describe as gingerbread houses. The park originated in 1900 when Gaudi was hired
to create a miniature city of houses for the wealthy, in landscaped grounds. The entrance with the gingerbread houses was the start but the project was eventually abandoned and the city bought the park in 1922.
It was a long walk back to the Metro but luckily we found ice cream along the way to help give everyone the sugar rush they needed this deep into the day. We took the Metro to Liceau and when we got off on La Rambla we saw this immense market area, Mercat de la Boqueria, and just had to check it out. It was terrific, full of meats, fish, fruit, candy and vegetables. We bought some strawberries to take home for a snack. It was our intention to go out to dinner and enjoy more wonderful Spanish food, but once we got home and the girls got going they were not interested at all in going out to dinner. It seems that if they don't get in at least four hours of imaginary play each day then they just can't function. We conceded with the agreement that we would all go out the following night. I went to the grocery store and
picked up pasta and sauce for the kids and some Spanish beer and wine for the grown-ups. After the kids ate they had a much needed bath and a few chapters of our current chapter book (Pippi Goes On Board, very cute). Jonathan fell asleep next to Eliza while I read my book and we were all in bed by 10pm after a long day touring beautiful Barcelona.
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Mom
non-member comment
Hey...these pictures are great, what a great trip. I love the one of Eliza eating breakfast!!! Now I have to add Spain to my list of places to visit as well. Love, Mom