Barcelona, Day 2

After waking up naturally (courtesy of excited children), we headed out to explore. We had breakfast in a little cafe on La Rambla. I had a traditional Spanish breakfast of a croissant, coffee with milk, and orange juice, Matt had a cured meats and cheese plate with bread, and the older kids had ham and cheese sandwiches.

After breakfast, we made our way south toward L'aquarium Barcelona.

Port Vell

The kids loved climbing on these little "hills."  Well, one of them liked it.

The Aquarium was a lot of fun. The bigger kids were excited to look at everything, and Clara would randomly point and shout, "Feesh!"

It was a little crowded, but not unbearably so. Around the big shark tanks, they had a moving sidewalk, which really helped the congestion. Of course, it made for blurry pictures, so I don't have many.

Once we left, it was getting close to lunch time. We wandered aimlessly until we found a place that looked suitable. The food here was good, but the service was terrible. And we must have had some miscommunication, because the server brought out one entree for Matt and me to share (we ordered the same thing).

Most of the restaurants we visited had wifi, which was very helpful since we can't get international data for another month or two. Matt downloaded the Google map of the city, which helped us get around easily. We discovered that we weren't far from the Chocolate Museum, so we stopped there next.

The Chocolate Museum was a fun place. It was small, and had some displays and movies about this history and making of chocolate. But mostly there were fantastic sculptures, and we all liked looking at everything. It was hard getting pictures with the glass.

Darn reflection!

Detail shot from the scene above

Of course we visited the chocolate shop after the tour, and we each choose a treat.  Yum.

By this point, the kids needed a rest, so we started walking back to the hotel.

As we walked, several locals said, "Hola" to the kids. Miles happily said it back, while Lily said loudly, "We don't live in this country." Luckily she only did this a few times.

Souvenir shops were everywhere, and they all had these little figurines with pants down, pooping.

These are called caganers. There were traditional Catalan boys and girls, and a huge variety of famous people (from the Pope to footballers to Donald Trump). These figurines are even commonly included in nativity scenes (although typically far from the manger). Of course this was one of the kids' favorite things.

After some rest at the hotel and some TV time, we were all ready for dinner. The lady at the hotel had suggested a place, and said it was very child friendly, so we have it a try.
This is what it looked like inside...

And no kids menu. Hmmm, child friendly? Thankfully we were early birds and they sat us in the corner.

Matt and I ordered chicken paella, and the kids shared a shrimp pasta dish. Our food was good, the pasta was not, but the kids liked it.

Once we finished dinner, we went back to the hotel and put the kids to bed. So exciting, right?

Barcelona, Day 1

During the February half term break, we went on our first trip since we arrived in England. Since it was still winter, we didn't want to go anywhere cold, so we decided on Barcelona. Overall, the weather wasn't that much warmer than where we live (it was probably in the 50s/low 60s during our stay), but a great time was had by all.

I'm breaking it down day by day to avoid one or two super long posts.

Our flight was scheduled to leave the UK near 10am. We used the mid-term parking at the airport, so we didn't have to worry about getting a taxi with car seats. The kids were very excited, but Clara was a little cranky and didn't want to eat. And on the way to the airport, we found out why - she threw up all over herself (fortunately it was a one time event, and she wasn't ill). I'll have to mention here that I did not pack weather-appropriate clothes, so her only jacket was soiled. And it was cold and windy. Matt washed out her jacket in the bathroom once we got inside, and stuffed it into a plastic bag for travel. Poor baby. Then Lily fell on the escalator, and I was worried that the day would just be one disaster after another.

Luckily that was the worst thing that happened. We had some time to hang out at the airport, so we had a snack and the kids played. Matt saw a man who had a nice plastic folder for his travel documents, and mentioned that we should get some, too. The man overheard and gave us his! (Not the most interesting story, but it was really nice of him, and that folder was so handy to have.)

Our first plane ended up being delayed, turning what was supposed to be a 2 hour layover into about 30 minutes. But we made it to our second gate in plenty of time.

My travel buddy

The plane for our connecting flight was a bit bigger, so Matt sat next to the two older kids and I had the baby on my lap. Once we took off, though, she only wanted Daddy. So for much of that 2 hour flight I was by myself. It was the most relaxing part of the whole trip!

Once we landed in Spain, we took a taxi to our hotel, which was just off La Rambla (a centralized street, popular with locals and tourists). By this time the older kids were overflowing with excitement, but they weren't listening very well. Since it was early evening, we grabbed some nearby takeaway and settled in for the night. And what did we eat for our first meal in Spain? Shwarma. Not exactly local cuisine, but it was quick and good.

One thing we made sure of when booking a hotel was that the kids would have their own bedroom, so we stayed in a little apartment with a kitchen and two bathrooms. And I'm certain that everyone slept better with this arrangement. 

Day 1 was mostly travel and little excitement, but it gets better from here. :)

Pancake Day

Today is Pancake Day in the UK (commonly known as Fat Tuesday in the US), which is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Making pancakes is one way to use up rich foods like eggs, milk, and sugar, since it is traditional to give these up for Lent.

Now, we're not talking about cakey American pancakes here. These are generally more crepe-like, and can be loaded with sweet or savory toppings. I ordered a ham and cheese pancake from our favorite little sandwich shop today, and it was very nice.

Across the UK, pancake races are held in various towns and villages. Participants with frying pans race down the street, tossing and catching pancakes in the pan while running. Now, I haven't heard anything about a pancake race near us, and I may have sought out more info had I not forgotten that it was Pancake Day in the first place. Maybe next year.

I'm working on several posts at the moment, since we just got back from our first holiday (yay!). So stay tuned for our exciting trip to Barcelona!

Nature Walk

Walking is a very popular activity in this country, and there are plenty of footpaths to choose from. We live right next to a few, and decided to explore a bit on Sunday.

We began our walk in the gardens. It was a very popular place to be, since the weather is starting to get a little warmer.

The kids did really well, and Lily only rode on the buggy board for a short time on the way home. They ran and played, and pretended to be Pokémon.

Some of the paths we walked were paved, and some were dirt. We were all somewhat muddy when we got home, so next time we'll definitely wear our wellies.

Oh, these views!

I'm really looking forward to spring so we can explore even more!

Today I'm Missing...

Movie theater popcorn. The kind with loads of artery-clogging fake butter sauce. We haven't been to the movies here yet, but I know from other sources that you don't get the butter. You choose salty or sweet (um, no) and that's it. What I wouldn't give right now for a massive tub of the good stuff.

Spaghetti squash. I've seen so many delicious looking recipes lately, but unfortunately there are none of these squashes in the stores.
Doesn't this look amazing?

And finally, last week for some reason I was thinking about the town we moved from. I was picturing a particular stretch of road, and a pang of homesickness washed over me. Now, I honestly haven't had many instances like that over the past five months, and it only lasted a moment. It was just completely unexpected.

Image via visitarvada.org

Wouldn't you miss these views, too?

visitarvada.org again

Bits and Pieces

I've been slacking a bit on blogging, I know. But right now we're just doing the day to day regular life thing. We do have a few fun things on the horizon (travel!), and hopefully once we're headed into spring we'll get to explore our area much more.
But for now, here are some random thoughts.

I've never cared much for hot tea, until I came to the UK. It was a hassle to make, and I like my hot drinks sweet. But here I'll make tea with a little milk and a spoonful of sugar, and I like it. And then there's the electric kettle. I know, how hard is it to boil water in a stove top kettle or the microwave? But I love the convenience. And it's not just for tea. There are huge varieties of cup of soup or ramen here that you make using the electric kettle. (I just won't mention the popularity of instant coffee, yuck.) Lastly, you can use the kettle to preboil water for things like pasta or vegetables. Convenient!

The kids are assimilating very well. Both of the older kids have picked up so many English terms and phrases, and when Miles is reading, he sometimes uses British pronunciation. It's pretty cute, and I'll love it if any of the kids develop an accent.

A few things I've heard from Miles and Lily lately:
- I'm cross with you!
- No, mom! Pants are called trousers, and underpants are called pants!
- I've got a cheeky little raisin!
- I keep getting all muddled up.
- We should take a picture of the telly.

Matt took Lily to a daddy/daughter dance this weekend. She was so excited to dress up and go to a dance, and it was adorable! Matt said she danced a lot, and they both had a great time.

Miles, Clara and I had a movie night while Matt and Lily were out.

That's all for now. I'm hoping we have new adventures soon to blog about!