Sunday, May 08, 2005

Festa de la mammas

Its a beautiful day again here in Barcelona. We are really loving this city as a tourist destination. It has many sites, very pedestrian friendly with a quick, efficient metro (we never wait longer than 5 min. for the next train, usually less than 2 min.), lots of tasty reasonable food - what´s not to like?



How about being away from my children on Mother´s Day. I realized shortly after we booked this trip that we´d be gone on this holiday, but I tried not to think too much about it. I did hear both the kids´voices today, and that was good. They´re obviously thriving under the care of Auntie Emily and Nana. At least its not Mother´s Day in Spain, too ( I think they celebrate in a week or two).

This morning we went to the Picasso museum. Picasso spent his teenage years here in Barcelona, and this museum has many of his early works. Forget what you know as typical Picasso - we saw paintings and drawings where he studied the classical style as well as experimented with impressionism, art nouveau, even caricature. Eventually he created his own style, cubism - that´s the Picasso we all know, angular with split faces and strange anatomy. As Anthony said, it gives you a much better appreciation for his art, even if cubism isn´t our favorite.

We saw a lot of street performers in front of the Barcelona Cathedral (the large Gothic one, not the one under construction we saw yesterday). There were stringed instruments, puppeteers, and tango dancers, all performing for tips.



After lunch, we took the funicular up to Mt Juic, where there is an old castle and incredible views of the city. We wandered down through the beautiful gardens. Back in the city, we stopped for cafe con leche (basically cappucino) and pastries. That really picked us up.

After dinner tonight, we´ll take our last stroll through Barcelona, then ride the Metro one last time to the train station. Just a few more days of vacation, then we´ll be so glad to hug and kiss our babies again.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't commented for awhile, Jenn. You know how it is when life gets in the way of computer time. I actually Chose to be away from my kids on Mother's Day. Sinda (yes, the other one) called me on Wednesday and suggested that we go to Houston with Kristina for a Mom's weekend away. I said "Hell Yes!" and thought lovingly of shopping at Ikea sans children. So we left early on Saturday and got home yesterday just after 8pm. It was blissful but, of course, what am I thinking? It was crap compared to your getaway. Well, you do what you can, right?
So, last Tuesday I totally spaced out COOKING CLASS! I remembered it at 5:30 that day. Then I had to fess up and tell Ruby that I forgot to take her. She was very sweet and forgiving about it. But we are planning on going tomorrow. Is Anna going? If you want, you could send an e-mail to messymama1@yahoo.com. SO when do you get in tomorrow? Late? Call me when you can. I can't WAIT to hear ALL about everything, but esp. the food. And wine. xoxoxo!

Sinda said...

I don't think it was crap at all!!

Hey, Jennifer - I've been following your travelogue with interest -thanks for all the great posts. I'm curious - would you choose a cruise again, or recommend one?

Travel home safely - I missed my girls after one day, so I can imagine how happy you will all be to be reunited.

Sinda

Unknown said...

Wuhooo you are coming home soon. I'm sure you're all homesick for eachother.

I'm just mad that your buddies were here in Houston and didn't call me to join them at IKEA. We were just there on Wednesday of this week and I need to go back for something that was about to be restocked. It is fun with or without kids, and there is that little detail that if you don't bring them, well, then there is 0% chance you'll have to deal with a meltdown at the back of the furniture maze. But oh how they love the swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and gravy. Yes, my usually-organic-fed kids step out at IKEA!!!