Mom, Dad and Leah got in on Thursday morning, and I already wrote a little in my November 27 post about what we did Thursday so I won't go into a lot of detail again, but basically we walked around some, then they all took naps, then we came over to my host family's house for dinner.
On Friday, we took a day trip to Sitges. This is a small beach town south along the coast from Barcelona. During the summer it offers a lot of swimming and surfing and such, but during this season it is a little more low-key. We walked along the water for the morning, past the beaches and the piers and such, then had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the water. This was Mom, Dad and Leah's first opportunity to try Spanish Paella, which is a dish with rice and lots of seafood and spices. I think they enjoyed it. After lunch we took the train back to Barcelona and spent the evening walking around Las Ramblas, which is a popular walking street in downtown Barcelona. The city had just turned on all of its Christmas lights too, so it was a pretty time to be in that area.
On Saturday morning we went to Montjuic. It was raining most of the day, so we spent a lot of time inside the Museu Nacional de Arte de Catalunya, which has a number of art exhibits from around the region. We also walked by the Olympic Stadium where the 1992 Olympics were held in Barcelona. Then, we came back to my host family's house for another meal. This time we had a lunch with some of of my host-family's extended relatives. I think we were about 12 or so, and it was a great time for my families to get to know eachother, and for Mom, Dad and Leah to get to try their hand at understanding some Catalan. There was a ton of food--the first course included salmon, herring, clams, and a number of other "tapas" then the second course was Fideua, which is a noodle dish (somewhat similar to Paella) but much more typical to this particular region of Spain. Lunch was followed by cake and Spanish turrones (a typical Christmas sweet). In the evening, I stayed back to do some studying and Mom, Dad and Leah went back to Montjuic to see the night-time lighted fountains, and then past the Sagrada Familia to see it at night.
On Sunday we took another day trip, this time to Figueres. The main attraction in Figueres is the Salvador Dali museum. My October 31 post talks a little more about Dali's art and how he is one of the most famous surrealist artists in the world, let alone Spain. We enjoyed the museum, then had dinner in Figueres and then brought the train back to Barcelona.
On Monday I sent Mom, Dad and Leah out on their own in Barcelona so that I could study in the morning a little then take two finals in the afternoon. After my finals, we met downtown and I took them around a bit, showing them two of my University buildings where I have classes and such.
On Tuesday I had a class in the morning, then we met for our so-called "Gaudi Day." We visited three buildings that Antoni Gaudi (the most famous architect from this area) designed. We started at the Sagrada Familia, which is a huge cathedral that is still under construction. It has been under construction for the last 100+ years, and the soonest estimate of when it could be completed is 2020, but it is still a beautiful place to see. Dad, Leah and I took the elevator up into one of the spires and got some great views of Barcelona.
After the Sagrada Familia we took the metro the the Casa Milla, also known as La Pedrera. This is an apartment complex that Gaudi designed. There was an exhibit on the top floor with some of Gaudi's furniture and such, but the real attraction is the roof, which has all types of odd-shaped pillars and spires. It's hard to explain, so you'll have to check out the pictures. After La Pedrera we had lunch at a restaurant close-by, then moved on to our next adventure.
Next, we went to Parc Guell. This is a park built up on a hill overlooking Barcelona, and a lot of it was designed by Gaudi as well. The most notable features are a long park bench that is completely covered in broken tile mosaic, and two buildings that are now gift shops, but I think look like gingerbread houses. Again, the pictures at the end of this post will give you a better idea of what I'm talking about.
On Wednesday I sent the family out again to expore on their own so that I could prepare a Powerpoint presentation for my last Political Psychology class that afternoon. After that, I met them and we walked along the docks some, then went into the Aquarium. I think this was one of Leah's highlights of the trip, as we got to walk through a glass tunnel surrounded by sharks and fish on all sides. After the Aquarium we had a nice dinner at a place close to the water.
On Thursday we took our final day trip to Montserrat. This is the mountain just outside of Barcelona that has some fascinating rock figures, and partway up the mountain there is a monastery that houses the Black Madonna. Two of my BCA friends, Caitlin and Alisha joined us on the trip to Montserrat as well. We went straight to the top of the mountain and walked around for a little while enjoying the view. It was great for me because even though I had been there before the weather was much clearer this time around so I got to see a lot more of the view instead of just clouds. After we walked around on top, we came back down to the monastery and cathedral to see the boys choic sing a few songs, then walked past the Black Madonna. Caitlin and Alisha had to head back to Barcelona for a class, but the rest of us stayed to have lunch at the cafeteria there before heading down.
We spent Thursday afternoon packing (I had to get a bag ready to send home with Mom and Dad) and then went out for Chinese food for dinner. Dad had frogs at the restaurant, much to Leah's disapproval, but they were actually really good. After dinner we said goodbye, and Mom, Dad and Leah went back to the hotel to get some sleep before their flight back home on Friday morning. They should be on the plane somewhere between Barcelona and New York as I write this.
After goodbyes, I went to see the European premiere of a skiing movie by Teton Gravity Research. They make films of some of the most incredible skiing I have ever seen, mostly backcountry skiing in some of the biggest and steepest mountains of the world.
And, this evening I am loading up on a bus and heading to the French Alps to try my own hand at skiing some of the biggest mountains in the world.
Hope everyone had a restful Thanksgiving break! Enjoy the pictures of this last week with the family in town!
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| Mom, Dad and Leah Visit Me in Barcelona |
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