The Aquarium, walking around and Parc Guell

10.7 miles

Old Cathedral, Museo de la Ciutat, Mummified Mamoths and the beach, but no gelato

Today we started at the Old Cathedral in Gothic Quarter.  You can see gargoyles that drained the water off the roofs and a piece of ancient Roman aquaduct. 

We then went into the Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat.  It is underneath the Placa and let's you explore the digs of the ancient city below.


16.3 miles

The last day at work

Today we went to work for the last day.  We left work around lunch and headed back to our hotel.  We stopped and got a croissant and a huge  french-style macaroon.  Yum Yum.

After lunch we went shopping for coffee, candies and other foods to bring home for us and to share.  We then went to this really cool store called  Wit Lab.  I bought two cool guys.    One was this 4G USB drive.  The other is a little blue zipper pull guy.  He's really little and cool looking.

After shopping, we explored around, looking for somewhere interesting for dinner.  After a long walk, back near our hotel and went to a little place for European Pizza.  It's really good, and different than we get at home.  Especially the one with shrimp on.

7.25 miles

Monday, another day at work

We went to work again.  I did a little in my music book and then played on the computer.  I had steak again for lunch, I could get used to this.

That evening, we met my Mom's friends for a special dinner at a place called Quatre Gats ttp://www.4gats.com/.  This has been a restaurant for over a hundered years and famous artists used to eat there.  We had stewed rabbit, shrimp and other tasty things.  We took the Metro home and went to bed very late, since we didn't meet for dinner until 9 PM.

5.25 miles

Sagradia Familia, Montjuic, Colon Statue & Las Ramblas

We started by walking to Sagrada Familia.  It is a cathedral, designed by Gaudi.  They started building it in 1882, by laying the stone of the crypt.  In 1883, Gaudi took over the construction and devoted most of his life to it.  He died before it was finished.  In fact, they are still working on it.  It was scary up in the towers because it was really high up with tight spaces.

After that, we took the train to the Funicular to the top of Montjuic.  We explored the castle on the top and saw where the metric system was started.  The castle was awesome because it was old and you could see the sea from many angles.

We walked down the hill and saw several gardens.  I really liked the water garden with the frogs and lily ponds.

We wandered around until we found the metro and took it to Las Ramblas so we could see the Columbus statue.  After, we found out that you can go up inside the statue.  Maybe we'll do that later this week.

We walked up Las Ramblas and saw lots of street performers and craft booths and lots and lots of people.

We went back to the hotel for a short rest then headed out for dinner.  Had a great dinner and then went back to get some sleep.

11.8 miles

The Chocolate Museum, the Zoo and the rain

Today we went to the Chocolate Museum and the Zoo. 

At the Chocolate Museum, we saw many interesting sculptures made of chocolate.  We also learned about the history of chocolate. 

Did you know that when people used to fast, they used to drink unsweetened chocolate. When we finished the museum, we stopped at the stop and drank pure hot chocolate.  I thought it was a little bitter but my Mom loved it.  After we finished our chocolate, we went to the zoo.

At the zoo, we saw animals we don't have at our zoo like a Tapir, Flamingos, and much, much more.  When we were heading back through the zoo, we encountered a little difficulty.  It started to rain.  We stood out the rain, under cover until it slowed down.

After the zoo, we walked through the old section which was cool, because it was built before there were cars.

Then we went to the Boqueria, which is similar to the Seattle Pikes Place Market.  We got fruit, bread, cheese and other stuff for dinner there.

On our way back, we walked along Las Ramblas and saw street performers.  There were huge demons, fat ladies, statues and a trained white mouse who did flips and bowed.

Back at our hotel, we had a picnic with leftovers and the foods we got from the market.  I'm stuffed now and just want to sit back and watch Spanish cartoons, even though I can't understand what they are saying.

10.5 miles

1st day at work

I went to work with my Mom.  We took the train to Sant Joan station and then the shuttle to HP site.  After watching a presentation I had lunch.  I had steak, fries, water, watermelon and cake.... and bread.  I met my Mom's friend Raquel who was in the usability lab.  I stayed with her and did my homework and played on the computer. 

When we got back to the hotel, my Mom and I walked around until Dad got back.  We went and had dinner.  It was great.  We had fried mixed seafood, patatas bravas, grilled veggies, bread with tomato, machego cheese and olives.  It was way too much food,  so we brought some back for dinner the next day.

When I got back to the hotel, I sat down to watch TV and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in the morning.

3 miles.

After getting to the hotel

Once we arrived at the airport, we had to pick up our Barcelona Cards (transportation passes).  We were told to take S1 to Placa de Catalunya, but S1 didn't stop at Placa de Catalunya.  When we figured that out, we got off the train and found a Metro station.  We took the blue line, which only got us sort of close to our hotel.  Finally, we got to our hotel, but our room wasn't ready. 

Mom and I walked around, went shopping for snacks and lunch.  While walking around, we got to sample Pina Colada flavored Sunny Delight.  Who know you could get tastes, walking around in Barcelona.  After eating our lunch in a little park, we went to our hotel and I took a nap.  Mom made me wake up after a while, but I didn't want to!  After a shower and new clothes, we went for another walk.  We saw these cool buildings.  I don't know what the one on the left is, but the one one on the right is called The Quarry by Gaudi.

When Dad finally got back to the hotel, he was very very tired.  We talked him into going for dinner and he said yes.  We went to a local place suggested by the hotel.  They said they would pick the Tapas meal for us and if they brought out something we didn't like, we didn't have to pay for that plate.  The dinner was GREAT.  We had fried baby hake (fish) which tasted like chicken.  We then went back and went to sleep.

5.5 miles

Chaotic Boarding....

So, we got up at 3:30 AM and got to the airport around 4:20.  We thought that would be plenty of time for a 6:10 flight.  BUT, instead there were HUGE lines to check our bags, get our passes and go through security.  AND, after we went through extra work to get me a boarding pass, my Dad still didn't have a seat. 

Mom and I got on the plane, hoping Dad would also.  He did.

Now we're squished in the back of the plane, but are happy to be on our way.

3.5 miles

3 days to go, and counting

This is my house.  Soon, we're going to be so far away from it that it's not even funny.  I'm SOOOO excited.