Recamper

 

Posted by Elizabeth. Those of you who are Camper shoe fans will understand this story. We discovered that the only Recamper store in the world is just outside of Barcelona. It's an outlet store for the greatest shoes ever. Sort of a cult trip and, as you can imagine, we had to go.

I found a dedicated "shopping bus" that leaves from downtown Barcelona every hour and goes to the outlet mall about a half hour away. Griffin and I got up early and hoofed it down to the stop (getting lost on the way and running up to the stop just as the bus was about to leave). Along with dozens of Japanese tourists we got off the bus at the Spanish outlet mall and headed right to Recamper. 

Wow! We had made it to Mecca. Discount Camper shoes from this season and last. We spent a couple hours trying on every pair in the store and came home very happy.

City bikes

City bikes in Barcelona



City bikes in Seville



City bikes in Seville

Posted by Elizabeth. There's a lot I love in Europe but one of my favorite things (after the bakery on every block) is the city provided bike service that exists in every city. All kinds of people from businessmen to students to elderly use them to get around. We used them in Seville and look forward to riding around other cities on the continent. 

It really makes sense in these packed cities with so many people. The traffic is crazy and parking even worse. I know we have city bikes in Seattle and I hope they become as well used as they are here. 

Parc Guell

Posted by Beth. We had a fun day at Parc Guell. It is home to several Gaudi masterpieces. The house he lived in for 20 years is located in the park. It was very magical, ginger bread houses and fairy tales. Gaudi befriended Guell and Guell funded many of Gaudi's projects. They were friends in politics, religion and art. Originally the park was intended as homes for wealthy people. When that didn't work out Gaudi moved in and the rest became a park.

Barcelona waterfront

Beach volleyball in Barcelona

Posted by Elizabeth. Not only is Barcelona a modernist mecca it also has a great waterfront. Miles and miles of sandy (albeit man made) beaches with volleyball games, joggers, children and people enjoying the sun. We love the fun sculptures and the Palm trees waving in the breeze.

Mobile World Congress is happening here this week (anyone in town?) so on Sunday all of the beach front restaurants were full of guys in suits. We escaped the crowd a bit and had lunch in Barceloneta which is an old fishermen's neighborhood down the way. 

We have another week in Barcelona. I finally feel adjusted to the time and another language (just as we head into Italian). Being together as a family 24/7 is a bit trying but we're figuring it out and trying to separate a bit more. 

Probably my favorite thing about Spain is the vibrant night life. Beth and I walked around our neighborhood late and there were so many people in cafes and walking with friends. They live in small apartments and getting out is a great way to feel part of their neighborhood. 

My least favorite thing might be the sound of the European police siren. When we got here I thought it was so cute, now it just hurts my head. :)

 

Barcelona

Posted by Leo. In Barcelona people don’t dress as well as in Seville nor do they have fancy hair and tuxedos on 24/7. It's  mellower here people are nicer and don’t care about fashion as much. Even though they house FCB (Barcelona’s football club) not many people I have seen wear their jerseys or accessories. They also have smaller cars here. There are not as many bikes and most of the people walk and take public transportation. The subway and underground transportation is the best. It stretches all over town.

What I’m looking forward to most here in Barcelona. I ook forward to going to a FCB game and seeing them play for real instead of watching them play on TV.

Gaudi

Leo at Sagrada Familia Barcelona

Posted by Leo. The Sagrada Familia was designed by Antonio Gaudi. First let me tell you about Gaudi known as a mad man or a genius. Anyone called by those names turns into a legend. Gaudi was inspired by nature and he followed the rules of nature even if it meant recreating his architecture. To this day many of his buildings still stand and our famous.

The Sagrada Familia towers 200 feet above street level and has 18 pillars including one pillar. Each pillar represents a different person. For example, the tallest one in the center represents Jesus Christ and the smaller one behind him (smaller than the others) represents Mary, his mother.

The inside is massive. The pillars instead of being like normal pillars spread out like branches of trees. He got this idea from the Sequoias. I thought the inside was cool and spectacular. With a ceiling towering 200 feet you can see forever. There are also stained glass windows which reflect different light inside. For example, in one part it was half blue and green.

There are some other Gaudi buildings that looked like icicles dripping from a roof. He hated squares and angles. He wanted all organic shapes. On one building, the roof is scaled like dragon scales and the chimney looks like sword stabbing the dragon representing St. George and the Dragon. We saw a lot of St. George on other buildings. 

Modernism is alive and well in Barcelona

On our Modernism tour of Barcelona

Today we took a tour of modernism in Barcelona. But first a shout out for the sharing economy. Our tour was through a Spain-based company called trip4real that's like airbnb for experiences. They're mostly in Spain but are expanding to other European countries. Our guides were great! Two local guys Marc and Albert who love Barcelona and knew a ton about the architecture and art.

We started at the Block of Discord where there are three of the most beautiful buildings in Barcelona. It's called such because the original home owners were trying to outdo each other with their home designs. One is Gaudi's Casa Batllo with the scales of a dragon being slayed by St. George on the roof. The other two were homes designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner and Josep Puig i Cadafalch.

We then learned about Gaudi's La Pedrera or Casa Mila which looks like a giant petrified wave. After a few more stops we ended at the mothership of modernism, the Sagrada Familia. My greatest impression is of a feeling of mortals ascending to heaven -- the soaring vaults, colors and light work seamlessly to evoke a quite religious experience. 

I mentioned earlier that we look out at the Sagrada Familia from our apartment so we can enjoy the fantastical exterior every morning and night. 

View of Gaudi's masterpiece

Just got into Barcelona. This is the view of the Sagrada Familia from our front deck. Stunning.