Flat Stanley

Ethan Reid (whose family were our friends and neighbors in Moraga) sent us a "Flat Stanley" request from Alpine, Utah.  For those who don't know what that is (I didn't exactly know before we got it), it is when a school class sends a blank paper doll to friends all over the world.  The friends dress / decorate the paper doll, take photos with it in their city, and then send it back to the school class.  Nathan and Elise (with some help from Mom) had fun decorating Stanley and writing a letter back to Ethan's class about Switzerland!

Our Little Climber

Meredith loves the stairs!  We had no stairs in our house in Moraga, so we never had to worry about it. Here in Switzerland we have a big flight of stairs going up to the playroom.  Meredith found it and was so proud of her climbing (and sneaking up a few stairs before we caught her).  We now have a gate at the bottom of the stairs so she can't "practice" by herself anymore!

Barcelona for Two!

Yes, it's true!  Dave and I took a 4-day vacation to Barcelona on our own.  We had an amazing time!  Barcelona really is one-of-a-kind!  The architecture is beautiful and the food is incredible!  And it was such a treat to be there over my birthday weekend.

We left on Thursday morning during Sportferien (sport holiday), and flew to Barcelona.  Our friends Meg and Nathan came to stay with the kids again.

We stayed at 1898 Hotel on La Rambla, the main street in Barcelona, near the old town.  We spent the afternoon walking around the old town, eating at a tapas restaurant, and visiting the Boqueria market.  This was definitely the most beautiful market I have ever seen!  You can't believe how nice and fresh the fruit looked (and it tasted good too!).  And there was plenty of fresh fish!  We found a little crepes stand and had a wonderful crepe there as well.

We also visited the cathedral, even going up to the roof for a view of the city. And we walked to the Palau De La Musica, which is a very beautiful old concert hall. Thursday night we ate at a restaurant on La Rambla across from our hotel, that was also amazing.

Friday (my birthday) we walked around the city and saw more of the Gaudi architecture and did a bit of shopping. We walked up Passeig de Gracia where Dave found some European shirts and a good deal on a Spanish leather jacket. We saw Casa Battlo and La Pedrera, two of Gaudi's famous buildings. We made our way to La Sagrada Familia, a massive cathedral where construction began in 1882, and it is still under construction (for another 20 years or so)! It really is amazing.

We ate lunch at a very funky / creative restaurant, where they even served us gold-covered macademia nuts.  In the evening we took the metro to see the Magic Fountain of Montjuic.  It's a huge fountain where they have a synchronized lights, music and water show each evening!  For my birthday that evening, we went to a country music concert...Kevin Costner and his band Modern West at la Palau de la Musica.  Yes, it actually was Kevin Costner!  Who knew he is now touring Europe with a country band!

Saturday we walked down to the ocean where we went up Colom, a monument to Christopher Columbus, and then walked along Rambla de Mar and Port Vell.  The ocean was beautiful, and the weather was great for February.  We stopped at the Desigual shop in Port Vell.  When I asked to try on a skirt they took me to this dressing room - with a wall of windows - and told me (in Spanish) not to worry, that people can't see in from outside!  We took a few pictures with the amazing street performers on La Rambla.  That evening we went to a Spanish guitar concert in a small church not far from our hotel.  It was a guitar duo - very authentic and fun!

We really had a great time, and it was so fun to discover the city of Barcelona together!  Now we want to go back with the whole family...