Category: Spain

Barcelona did not grab us as some cities have, although to be fair, we prefer smaller ones (Ljubljana!!!). But we had a great time spending a few days with David, Pamela, Vala and Atli.

La Sagrada Familia (above) is worth a visit. Construction started in 1882 and, as you can see, it still isn’t finished. I have lost count of the number of churches we have visited this year. And although this was not the most impressive, Gaudí’s design is notably unique.

Inside La Sagrada Familia

Atli and Vala

We went on two walking tours of the city. The first was of The Gothic Quarter and the second, “Barcelona Uncensored”, wandered through the El Raval neighborhood, which is described as more artsy and edgy. Our guide told us that officials clean graffiti off the walls. This  has had the effect of encouraging artists to glue their art on, which appears to be allowed to stay (above).

 

Artists also paint the shop doors. Since most doors are closed in the afternoon for hours during siesta, there is plenty of opportunity to see the art.

Part of a Keith Haring mural on AIDS

Street in The Gothic Quarter

Las Ramblas

Barcelona Cathedral

Inside Barcelona Cathedral

Gothic Quarter Street

Ethan does this wherever we see this mannequin. Oddly, she has appeared in a number of cities across the world.

In many cafes in Barcelona, churros come with a thick cup of melted chocolate. This was our second time enjoying churros. What is not in the picture is David slurping down the cup of chocolate he ordered without churros. Not sure if he was the first to do it, but it appeared to make him happy.

On our second hike in Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, we departed from the parking area near Espot. We enjoyed it so much that we decided to repeat it with David, Pamela, Vala and Atli.

Group photo from our second trip.

Logan gets into the spirit of taking photos.

Lunch spot on our first hike.

We hiked to a second lake, Estany de Ratera, on our first trip.

We previously hiked to a peak of Mu Gorge and thought it was worth a return visit. So we headed back with David and family for a sunset hike on a different route.

When David and Matthew initially started planning for our families to meet up in Europe, there was talk of the trip being a celebration of both of them turning 50 this year. They neither look or act like what I thought 50 would be.

Atli and Logan posing, while the adults discuss why teen boys have high accidental death rates.

We were so happy that David, Pamela, Vala and Atli were able to make the trip from Iceland to visit us for a week in Spain. After giving them day to recover from jetlag, we headed off for a day of kayaking and hiking at Mont-Rebei Gorge.

Pamela and Vala (above)

Matthew and Logan

Unfortunately, our itinerary did not allow us to climb the wooden stairs pictured above.

Entering the gorge

The path we hiked back is pictured above, cut out of the rock wall on the right.

David and Pamela (above). Pamela, who claims to be afraid of heights, was fearless.

Ethan, Atli and Logan near the end of our hike.

Cooling down after the hike

We opted for the boat ride back to our base instead of paddling another 7km against the wind.

This was our second hike in Aigüestortes and Lake Sant Maurici National Park. It is a two-hour drive from our house in Sant Llorenç de Montgai, but the scenery and drop in temperature made the trip worth it (twice).

Logan under a snow pack.

You can find Matthew above if you look closely.

Above is our lunch break stop.

Ethan managed to scramble up a boulder for a pic (above).

On the plateau, we discovered that all the poo on the trail that we thought was due to a horse trip belonged to a herd of cattle. We were happy we did not drink from the waterfall.

We arrived in Spain two weeks ago and were happy to meet Gaby, Itai, and Madison for dinner in Barcelona.

The next day we headed to our Airbnb in Sant Llorenc de Montgai. Below is the view from one of our balconies.

The town feels quite hot coming from Brașov but has some nice views.

It is in Catalonia. By the number of yellow ribbons and signs in town, it appears to be pro-separatist. The sign below says “free political prisoners.”

Below are photos from a hike we took nearby.

Matthew turned 49 in Ecuador at the beginning of our adventure. He turned 50 here in Spain. When I ordered the cake, the baker asked me if I wanted to pick it up at 8:00 in the afternoon. The schedule of meals (or life in general) in Spain does not easily mesh with our families’ habits. Happy Birthday Matthew!