Wade and Melody visit August 10th to the 14th

Our last visitors of the summer were Wade and Melody Kitagawa and their twin daughters Maddy and Grace.  Wade is my mother's cousin, and growing up, I don't remember seeing him very often.  By coincidence, Wade and his family decided to spend a year in Avignon, France the same time that we moved to Barcelona.  In February 2014, Wade and family made a trip to Barcelona and we all met up for dinner.  It was strange, because I didn't really know anything about Wade or his family and it was the first time I had ever seen his daughters.  But we had a nice time catching up on the last 20 years and all the kids got along really well.

Fast forward to May 2014.  Based on the success of our first meeting, we decided to meet up again, this time in Costa Brava which is sort of mid-point between Barcelona and Avignon.  We all stayed together in a restored Medieval era house, with a tower and everything in the tiny village of Cruilles.  We had a great time hanging out with Wade and his family in Costa Brava.  It's ironic that we had to move to Spain in order to get to know them.

The cool house we stayed at in Cruilles

A windy boat ride at L'Estartit

Melody, Roxy (dog), Wade, Maddy and Grace

Flashback is over.  I got a surprise e-mail from Wade at the beginning of the summer.  He and his family were going on a month-long road trip around France in August and they wanted to stop off in Barcelona for a few days.  It worked out that Amber and Cassidy were leaving the day before they would be arriving and I had just booked our trip to Pais Vasco for the day after they were leaving.

Since Wade and Melody had already been to Barcelona once, they had already seen the must-see sights.  We thought it might be fun to take them to Catalunya en Miniatura so that they could do a rope course and see all the major monuments of Catalunya.  We also happened to have 2 free passes from Rylan's Super3 birthday card. (On your birthday all Super3 club members receive a card with free passes to different attractions) My kids were very excited to do the rope course, Wade's family had never done it before, but they were very adventurous and decided to take on the most challenging course.  The course did prove challenging for them, but they all made it back safely.

In the midst of all the miniature buildings, they have a giant Doremon statue.

I think this is Maddy on the zip-line

I believe this is Grace on the zip-line

I can thank Melody, Grace and Maddy for Ciara's new-found love of shopping.  The following day, we proposed going to a beach, but they preferred to hit the stores downtown, and given the option, Ciara preferred to go with them.  Maybe for the first time, Ciara experienced the joy of shopping for the fun of it, which is much better than functional shopping like I do.  That evening we took them to Tibidabo because as we discovered when Amber and Cassidy were here, it's much better to go at nighttime when it's cooler and less crowded.

On Thursday morning I took them to the outdoor market in Sant Ildefons.  Wade and Melody went through the market thoroughly and found some cool deals. Then we went downtown to have lunch in Barceloneta and of course a little more shopping in Port Vell.  The next morning they were off to their next destination in France, and we had a day to get ready for our road trip as we were leaving the following morning for San Sebastian.  

With Maddy and Grace and Don Quiote on La Rambla

Amber and Cassidy Visit July 30th to August 9th

Let's keep it coming, more visitors from Vancouver!  We were so excited to have my sister Amber and her husband visit us in Barcelona this past summer.  They were even able to leave their kids at home with grandma and grandpa Iwaasa and Cassidy's mother.

There are a few Gaudi buildings that we had never visited, one of them being Colònia Güell.  It's actually pretty close to where we live in the Baix de Llobregat, but kind of off the beaten path for most tourists.  We bought a combo ticket for 18€ that included an audio guided tour of Colònia Güell, Torres Bellesguard and also the Gaudi Experience which is a 4D movie.  Tickets can be purchased through www.clorian.com.

It was the middle of summer, the height of the tourist season, but when we arrived at Colònia Güell we were the only people there.  First we visited the crypt which is the only part of the church that is finished.  It's quite spectacular, and it's a shame that there doesn't seem to be any plans to finish the church.  I guess that all the resources are being spent finishing the Sagrada Familia.

Gaudi's crypt 

On top of the crypt, you can see the unfinished bell tower

Inside the crypt

Front door of the Crypt

Since we had the audio guide, we decided to explore other parts of the Colònia.  It is a little village with very interesting buildings.  There is also an interpretation centre where you can learn more about what life was like in the colony.

Then we headed off to the Gaudi Experience which is a small attraction just outside of Parc Güell.  It is a 4D movie about the inspirations behind Gaudi's most famous works.   It's actually really fun and exciting.  I think that the kids really enjoyed it.  The only drawback is the price 9€ to watch a 10 minute movie.  Fortunately we had bought the combo pack so we basically got one attraction for free.

Waiting for our Gaudi Experience to start

Here we are with Gaudi to finish off our Gaudi Experience

The next day, we took Amber and Cassidy downtown for a tour.  We walked all over Barri Gotic and El Born and ended up in Barceloneta for a delicious lunch.

Enjoying some fresh fruit at la Boqueria

Amber and Cassidy pose with the jamon

Waiting for our paella

Amber and Cassidy enjoying their first Spanish meal

The paella was good

The kids sure enjoyed having Cassidy around because he likes to play just as much as they do.  He and the boys built a block tower up to the ceiling.

The tallest Webby Block tower ever! in our house.

Bob had the day off on Monday August 3rd and took the Tuesday off too, so we all drove up the coast to spend a couple of days in Costa Brava.  First we took Amber and Cassidy to Cala Belladona where we spent the afternoon snorkling in the crystal clear water.  Cassidy loved the Easy Breath snorkel from Decathlon so much that he bought a couple before leaving Spain.   We should get some kind of endorsement cheque from Decathlon, because we have really been doing our part to promote the Easy Breath snorkel.  By the end of the summer four of our visitors had purchased the snorkels to take back to Canada.   You're welcome Decathlon!

Next we drove into a the small village of Montagut in the Garrotxa region where I had rented a house for a couple of nights.  The house was owned by the same family that owned the house we rented in Castelló d'Empúries http://calafelacastello.blogspot.com.es/ when Christine came to visit.  This house was called Ca la Manela http://calamanelamontagut.blogspot.com.es/.  I highly recommend both places as the price was very reasonable, there was enough space for 8 people and the host, Esteve, was very nice.  The houses themselves are completely renovated but retain an old world charm so it feels like you are staying in an historic home.

That evening we decided to explore the neighbouring town of Olot.  There wasn't "Olot" to do there, but it is a very pretty town and we climbed up to the top of one of the volcanos to get a nice view of the city.   We could have explored some of the natural parks around Olot, but as with every trip we take, there is so much to see and so little time. 

Climbing down the volcano in Olot

Walking around the Volcan de la Garrinada y Montsacopa

Of course we have to stop and play at a park

The next day, we planned to go on a short hike to a waterfall called Salt del Brull in the Alta Garrotxa natural park.  What should have been a 1.5 hour hike ended up a 3 hour hike, because we made the mistake of following an elderly couple who said they knew where they were going, but in the end they were not going to the same place as us.  The kids were pretty good and despite our lack of food and water, we made it to the famous Salt del Brull, took a dip in the freezing cold water (but refreshing after our long hike) and then made our way back.  It is a beautiful area, and I would totally do it again, worth every step.  The area is called Aniol d'Aguja and you can see from this article that it is in the Top 15 Natural Pools in Spain.

El puente romano de Oix or Devils Arch

Standing on one of the oldest bridges in Spain, built by the Romans, but still sturdy

 A pretty little waterfall along the way to our final destination.  We really wanted to swim here.

This is when we realized that we had climbed up the mountain for 1hour in the wrong direction and we needed to turn around and go all the way back down.  The best time to take a picture with my sister so that I can remember this frustrating moment always. 

Old church in Aniol d'Aguja

Bridge near Aniol

Lots of neat little canyons along the way

Here we are, we finally made it to the Salt del Brull

One of the best natural swimming pools in Spain.

All of us except Amber did enjoy a dip in the pool, although my swim was pretty quick. 

We had planned to go back to the coast that afternoon and visit one more beach, but it was getting late, and the beach I wanted to visit was insanely crowded by the time we got there.  It is called Cala Bramant near Llança and was recommended by a Catalan friend because it was supposedly very secluded and not well known.  Well I guess the word is out, so we had to quickly find another beach and settled on Platja de Garbet because there was parking nearby.  Bob had to head back to Barcelona because he had to work the next day.  After swimming at the beach we were all starving and so we headed into Llança to find something to eat, not always easy when it's 7:30 and all the restaurants open at 8pm.  So we had to wander around town until the restaurants opened. 

To make the most of our trip, we decided to go home via Andorra because Cassidy really wanted to visit Naturlandia.  He had seen the famous Tobotronc on YouTube and was dying the try it.   As the kids all have their Super3 cards they are always free at Naturlandia so why not.  

The first time we went to Naturlandia was in April, it was low season and there was virtually no line-ups for anything.  When we arrived to Naturlandia on August 5th, the woman at the ticket counter basically told us that we should come back another day because the line-ups were so long.  It was posted a 2.5 hour wait for the Tobotronc (alpine coaster) and a 2 hour wait to go on the Airtrekk (rope course).  Well, we had driven 3 hours to get to Andorra, so we were not going to leave without going on the Tobotronc.  We decided to wait and see if the wait time decreased as people started leaving for the day.  After doing most of the other activities, Cassidy and Amber lined up for the Tobotronc, they took Nathan and Cole with them.  They were just in time, as the line closed soon after they got in line.  They had to wait more than an hour, but at least they were guaranteed to get on.  Rylan, Ciara and I did all the other activities as we really didn't want to wait that long and it was really hot.  Cassidy was completely happy with his ride down the mountain on the Tobotronc, so it was worth the wait.  The kids had fun so it was a great day all around.  

Good Time at Naturlandia!

Let's see, I am trying to remember what we did for the rest of their visit.  I know that Amber and Cassidy went to the Sagrada Familia, saw the fountain show near Plaça Espanya, Cassidy took the boys to Tibidabo, I took them on a mandatory shopping trip to Decathlon, and we spent an afternoon in Sitges.  It was really great having Amber and Cassidy visit, that about sums it up.   

A series of selfies at Tibidabo

I'm glad he didn't lose his phone

The pirate ship, glad I'm not there, this ride makes me ill

Frank and Donna visit Barcelona July 21th -25th

After Sandrine and family left, we had a couple of weeks with no visitors and so to keep the kids busy, I enrolled them in local summer camps.  Nathan and Ciara did two weeks of art camp at the local art school, and I enrolled Rylan and Cole for 4 weeks of soccer camp at the Can Vidalet soccer club not far from our house.  They only went for the morning 9am to 1pm so they still had the rest of the afternoon free.  At the beginning it was difficult especially for Cole and Rylan who were not used to playing soccer in Spanish, the kids were a bit rougher, there was some bullying and they learned lots of new Spanish swear words.  I didn't have high expectations for any of the camps, but I think it was a good experience for the kids at a very reasonable price: 36€/week for Ciara and Nathan's camps and 27€/week for Cole and Rylan's soccer camp.

My aunt Donna (my mother's older sister) and her husband Frank arrived on Tuesday July 21st.  They stayed with us only a few days on their way to the Shetland Islands where Frank is from.  Frank and Donna were planning on serving a mission for our church in September and they were called to the Toronto, Canada Mission, but a few weeks later they got a call from church headquarters and their call was changed to serve in the Vancouver Temple presidency.

Frank and Donna arrived during an extremely hot and humid week, temperatures in the mid 30s and with humidity it felt like the mid 40s.   We wanted to take them all over Barcelona, but the heat took its tole on Frank and he was not able to manage long outings in the sun.

We did take them downtown on the 22nd and we showed a few famous sights and then took them to the Museum of Ideas and Inventions http://www.mibamuseum.com/en/index.  This is mainly because the kids could get in free with their Super3 cards and we had never been to this museum before.  It was actually pretty fun.   The kids each got to draw a picture of something they would like to invent and then enter a contest to see if they could win a prototype and patent for their invention.   They had all kinds of crazy inventions on display, it was very interactive, but kind of small.  Not sure if I would pay full price for my kids 6€ and adults are 8€.   Frank and Donna enjoyed it, and at least it was air-conditioned inside.

Later that evening we took them to a local festival.  La Festa Major de Santa Magdalena, in honor of the patron saint of Esplugues.

People dancing with large heads

Watching the festivities.  Next to Bob is a Gigante, or giant, not a really tall woman.

Castellers

The following day, I took Frank and Donna shopping at the open market in Sant Ildefons.  Donna seemed to enjoy it a lot, Frank was fading quickly with the heat.  So in the afternoon, I proposed to take them to Decathlon.  Frank had a great time in Decathlon and bought all his gifts there to take back home.  All of our visitors so far have enjoyed shopping at Decathlon and every time I bring someone there, I always mange to find something that I need to buy.

The following day, we drove to Salou, near Tarragona.  Frank and Donna were going to meet up with Frank's niece who was staying at a resort near Port Aventura.  While they met together, I took the kids to one of the many beaches in Salou.  We settled on Platja Llarga which wasn't very busy and had some nice waves.  Later we met up with Frank and Donna along the Passeig de Jaume I, a very beautiful boulevard beside the main beach with parks and fountains and lots of tourists.   We had a nice lunch at a restaurant on the beach before heading back to Barcelona. 

We wanted to squeeze in just one more sight, so that evening we took them to the Magic Fountain show near Plaça Espanya.  It was a really busy evening, but I think Frank got some good pictures and then we headed over to Las Arenas, the mall that was built from an old bull fighting ring, to grab a bit to eat.

Platja Llarga, Salou

Lunch on the beach

The next morning Frank and Donna flew to London and then on to the Shetland Islands.  When they landed in the Shetlands the temperature was 12ºC, so between Barcelona and the Shetlands the temperature dropped more than 20º.

Visit with Sandrine and family July 3rd to 6th

Time to go back and finish writing about our summer.  A few days after Christine and her kids left for Germany, Sandrine and her family arrived.  Sandrine and Eric are originally from Marseille in France, but live in Brampton now with their 3 boys.  Their oldest boy, Alexandre, was best friends with Nathan, their middle child, Quentin, is the same age as Ciara and they got along very well too and their youngest, Tomas, was best friends with Rylan.  We spent a lot of time together when we were living in Brampton.  They always spend their summers in Marseille with Sandrine's family, so last summer we spent a few days with them up in Marseille which was really fun.

This summer they decided to do a road trip around Spain, so naturally they planned to spend a few days with us in Barcelona.   They arrived on the evening of July 3rd from Granada.  The next day, we took them downtown to see all of the typical famous sights of Barcelona.  It was really hot and we did a lot of walking.  The highlight of the day was swimming in the pool in La Mallola.

The following day was Sunday, so we advised them to go to the Sagrada Familia in the morning and then we would meet up with them in Parc Güell in the afternoon.   Sunday was an even hotter day, and everyone was hot, tired and thirsty in Parc Güell.  Fortunately we found some public fountains so that we could refill our water bottles.

Melting in Parc Güell

Gaudi's famous dragon

Funny faces at the summit of the park

They had to be back in Marseille on July 6th, but since they would have to drive up Costa Brava to get to France, we took them to a beach near Playa d'Aro, called Cala Belladona.  It was a beautiful day and we brought our cool Decathlon Easy Breath snorkels so that they could try them out.  Eric is a very resourceful guy.  He caught some sea urchins, cut them open and all of us got to eat uni sashimi on the beach!

Rylan with a sea urchin

Eric cutting open the sea urchin

It doesn't get any fresher than this!

Maybe my new favourite beach in Costa Brava

Cole and Quentin trying to catch fish

Rylan and Tomas

Nathan and Alex, guess who's had a growth spurt

Ciara playing in the sand