Life Is All About Adventure: June 2013

Our last morning in the hotel. We slept in and then spent it trying to pack up. As much as we said we were not unpacking for the 3 days we were here. Thanks to a certain Little Ladies eye for making messes we had some packing to do. We checked out of our hotel around 12 and took a cab to the cruise terminal. It was 20 Euro but well worth it. We did not have to figure out 3 huge suitcases, 3 backpacks, and a stroller with baby up and down stairs again. Plus the driver took us right to the terminal which the metro never would have. A baggage guy met us at the car and took our luggage and it was gone! We did not even have to check it in. (bonus we were there so early it was one of the first on the ship and was delivered to our room by 3 pm). We went into the terminal where we were escorted to a special quick entrance line because of the baby and we were on board! We went to the room first. It had a fridge and the crib was being delivered later. Then we headed to lunch. The service was great and we enjoyed our Club sandwiches. Little Lady enjoyed the ketchup and looking out the windows. We then wandered the ship for a bit and eventually figured out how to get our soy milk delivered to the room. It was a great easy going start to our cruise.

ready for her first cruise!

So much room to run

Checking out the deck

love looking over the rail

too cool in mommy's shades

lunch time

this kid loves ketchup

the view of the harbor

Party on deck!

found her favorite spot on vacation

Today we had more of a plan. We got up and hurried to La Sagrada Familia ( the Holy Family) Church. A few Metro stops on the Blue Line and we were there. The line was already around the block to get tickets and to get in and at it was only 10 am. We decided to skip the tour inside and just take pictures from the outside. We then walked around the neighborhood a bit and headed back to Las Ramblas. We walked the street again, said hello and goodbye to the bunnies and went to Mercado de la Boqueria. This was amazing!. They were selling fresh fruits, vegetables, candy, meat, pasta, seafood. All sorts of things! We bought some juice and fresh fruit to eat while we shopped. We then had some empanadas and pesto pasta from one stall for lunch. We ordered it and then sat on the steps of another building to enjoy it. It was delicious. After we left the market we walked further down Las Ramblas where we found a playground and let LL run around for a while. She loved it but actually was ready to leave when we did. There was no complaining! We then went back into Las Ramblas where we found this guy and had him paint LL' s name in the cool letters. So basically what we found is that Las Ramblas starts out with tacky souvenir shops and cafes. Then the flower and fruit market part starts and then it ends with an art gallery, that includes living statues. As we walked further down the street Las Ramblas ends and we were to the harbor and the statue of Christopher Columbus. We stop for S for a few crazy pictures involving a lion and then we headed to the aquarium. It was a bit pricey for what we got. It was a few tanks of fish which LL loved. She never stopped yelling "fishy" the entire time we were in there. and then a tunnel with a moving sidewalk. LL was thrilled with the tunnel and kept watching overhead for the sharks and sting rays. She would get very excited every time there was a stingray. The aquarium suddenly came to an end so we went back through again because we paid 20 euro each and we were done in 40 minutes. After the aquarium there was a carousel in the park so we had LL take her first carousel ride. (pardon the picture quality our battery died on the one camera and we were using our old point and shoot that had to have a rice bath just before we left. lol) She was not sure at first but she soon got into it and even said "Wee" a few times. After the carousel we had tapas for a snack and then went to the large plaza, Plaza de Catalunya. There are pigeons everywhere in the plaza and people feed them. We let LL run around like a crazy women in here. She laughed and laughed. She kept trying to catch the pigeons and would get surprised when they would suddenly fly away. She also like to pick her target to catch. She would single out one bird from the flock and go for it. It was great watching her have so much fun. Just as we were about to leave a guy started making huge bubbles. We went over to watch and LL said " bubble" for the first time. It was perfectly clear and S and I looked at each other in complete shock trying to make sure we heard her correctly. We finished our day with dinner in an Italian restaurant on las Ramblas (there was not a wait ) where we had delicious pizza and spaghetti (LL's favorite) and then took the Metro back to our hotel. All in all it was a very exciting day for one little lady in the family.

La Sagrada Familia- Masterpiece of Antoni Gaudi began construction in 1882. As you can see it is still not complete and is not expected to be completed until 2041. Gaudi died in an accident and he is buried in the Crypt here.