European holiday, Part 5

Barcelona is a wonderful city. We left London on Wednesday morning and flew to Barcelona for 2 days. J served his mission in Madrid and had never visited Barcelona so we dedided to see it.

We spent the first day visiting the Plaza Catalunya, walking up and down Las Rambles, and shopping for souvenirs. Las Ramblas is Barcelona's most famous street that supposedly never closes. We tired out by 11pm, but things seemed to be going full steam even then.




I loved the feeling of Spain and could tell a marked difference from the London streets. First, it was much warmer and sunny and we were grateful to have short shirt sleeves. The people were also more relaxed and leisurely in their pace and seemed to enjoy just relaxing on the streets. There were cafes filled with people and many plazas and benches that provided good resting spots. Spain also reminded me of living in South America and I loved the colorful buildings with beautiful iron balconies.



We ate a great lunch of Spanish tortilla and ham sandwiches and a salad. Eating seems to be very important to the Spaniards. They eat 4 times a day and close their stores from 2-4 for lunch. They eat a small breakfast in the morning and have their main meal in the afternoon. This is followed by a merienda or small snack at 5:00 and then they have dinner between 9 and 10 pm.  Seriously, there were families with small kids, elderly people, and everyone in between out on the streets at 10:00 just sitting down for dinner. They have a great national menu and seem to love their food. Traditional menu items are paella, tortilla, salad, cured meats like chorizo, bread, white beans, and chocolate and churros.

The second day in Barcelona we saw the stadium for the Futbol Club of Barcelona (FCB) called Camp Nou. it was an impressive tour where we went from the ground level to the press box and through the locker room. We then saw Gaudi's famous cathedral La Sagrada Familia and were impressed with how light and airy it was inside, especially compared to the dark cathedrals we had seen. We walked by La Pederera, another famous Gaudi fascade, and then walked through the Gothic neighborhoods of Barcelona.




 

The Gothic streets were some of my favorites because they were built in the 1500's and so narrow that they were only open to foot traffic and small motorcycles. They seemed to wind around forever and I felt like I was was walking through the scenery of an exotic movie except it was real. There was a real charm to the buildings and a mix of small shops with living spaces above.

We then made our way to the Mediterranean sea and sat on the sandy beach for an hour. It was a full moonlit night and we loved cooling our tired feet in the water. We were offered drugs several times along the beach making it a definite memorable experience.


Barcelona was an interesting city and is kind of its own country. They speak Catalan, as well as Spanish, which is a mix of French, Spanish and other romance languages. All of the street and subway signs were in both Catalan and Spanish and the influence of the Catalan government is prevalent.  I was glad we were able to see this city and warm up our tongues for speaking Spanish full time in Madrid.

European holiday, Part 4

We spent our first Saturday on a wonderful bus tour of Kent county with J's parents. We had a very funny guide who told us about the sights we saw along the route and interesting stories and anectdotes about the places we visited. It was wonderful just hearing someone speak in an English accent all day.
 
We started out with a tour of Leeds castle. It has an interesting history in that it was the palace the kings gave their queens as a wedding gift for centuries. It then fell into desrepair in the 20's and was eventually bankrupt in the 70s when an American woman bought it and refurbished it for use and for tours. It is now part of a trust and in wonderful condition.



It also happened to be that they day we took our tour they had a flower festival in the castle, so every room was literally filled with wonderful floral botuets and displays to match the setting of each room. It was a real treat to see a castle and we enjoyed exploring the aviary, the maze, and the tennis lawns that were on the grounds.

 
 
The English countryside is really enchanting and it was amazing to see how green and beautiful everything is. You can tell that they really know how to take care of their plants and agriculture and the views offered in every setting are amazing.

After Leeds castle we set out to see the cliffs of Dover. It turned out to be the perfect weather day and we were actually able to see across the English channel to France. We put our hands in the water and collected some rocks from the beach while appreciating the "white cliffs of Dover" and Dover castle above us.
 

Following Dover we stopped in Canterbury for lunch and to see the Canterbury cathedral. The town was quite charming, and crowded on a Saturday afternoon, and we enjoyed walking along the shopping plaza. The cathedral is the head of the church of England and it was a magnificant structure with parts dating back to the 1100s. We loved walking all through the building and there was even a choir practicing at the time so that we could hear the wonderful acoustics of the building.
  
After our tour of Canterbury we boarded the bus back to London. As we were still recovering from our trip the night before, both J and I passed out until we reached Greenwich. We passed the line of "Greenwich mean time" where time originates and then boarded a boat to take a ride up the Thames. It was a beautiful evening and wonderful to see the city from the river.
 
We stopped off at Embankment and then walked up to Covent garden, a charming shopping plaza, where we ate dinner at a lovely restaurant Le Pain Quotidien. It was a sight filled day and I think we all appreciated being with the tour group as it allowed us to see more than we could have alone.  It was wonderful to spend the day with my in-laws and see these amazing sights together and we were grateful for their expertise in arranging the expedition.

2 came so fast

This sweet little girl is now a 2 year old.

I can't believe how fast the time has flown.



She had a great birthday opening presents (with a lot of help from her sisters), hanging out with Mom, having a little Elmo party, eating cake and ice cream, hearing guitar songs from Dad at bedtime, and being the star of the day.







She is the little darling of our family and we are so grateful for our sweet Ada girl.

European holiday, Part 3

LONDON!

I think I've wanted to visit London ever since I can remember. It lived up to all of my expectations.

The poet Henry Van Dyke stated, "Oh, London is a man's town, there's power in the air;" and it is so true.  It is organized, clean, full of people, interesting, diverse, stately, educational, and vibrant.

We loved being with J's parents and having their help to navigate the city. They know their stuff! After living in London for 9 months they are adept at walking the streets, riding busses, switching underground trains, and everything else you need to know to survive in a huge urban metropolis. We just followed them around like puppies and were never led astray.

We spent Saturday on a bus tour to Kent county, which I'll highlight later. Sunday we spent with my in-laws going to the Stratford ward on the east side of London. As part of their missionary service, they are assigned to attend and help members in a ward on the east side of the city. First, they take a 45-60 minute train and bus ride to the building, where they arrive early to help with any set up needs. Then my mother-in-law attends Primary where she is the pianist and great asset to the presidency members who arrive at church at varying times. My father-in-law is the instructor of the gospel essentials class where each week he gives a lesson on gospel principles to individuals who are investigating the church or are new converts. They people of the ward really love my in-laws, and they love the people they serve. Finally, we attend the sacrament meeting where my mother-in-law generally helps with the piano and again they serve as a steady influence on the members there. I can see how their presence is a great benefit to the members of the ward and was so grateful to attend meetings with them and see them in action.  We took the same route home, but stopped for a glimpse of the new 2012 Olympic stadium.

Stratford ward building

2012 Olympic stadium

The whole process of getting to church, attending church and getting home takes a good 6 hours and we were all exhausted afterwards. We rested and then ate a wonderful English crock-pot dinner together. That night J and I went on a walk and passed by the Hyde park building, which is being renovated, and past the V&A museum, natural history museum, and Prince Albert Hall. We strolled along Hyde park and enjoyed the chilly evening air.

Monday we were busy touring the city together. We saw the British museum with its amazing artifacts from all over the world. Then we went through the Cabinet War Rooms, which highlight Winston Churchill's life and leadership during WWII. Then we toured the Tower of London and heard the story of all the history that has taken place there. They house the crown jewels and the royal armory which were interesting to see too. We ate fish & chips for dinner and then J and I stopped to browse at the famous Harrod's department store before we headed in for the evening.

British museum

Posing at the War Rooms

Tower of London

Tower bridge

Tuesday, as I mentioned, we slept a great deal and then shoved off on a bike ride past Buckingham palace and through St. James park. We took a train to the National Gallery and saw some famous Monet and Picasso art work there, then walked through Trafalgar square on our way down the street to see Parliament and Big Ben. Unfortunately, Westminster Abbey was closed for tours by the time we got there, but we went around back and got a peek in the naive. We then walked across the jubilee bridge for one last look up and down the Themes. Then we met up with J's parents in the posh Apple store in Covent Garden and ate a Byron Burger before heading over to the Lyceum theater to watch the Lion King. The show was completely fabulous and the costumes were superb. 

Buckingham palace

St. James park bike ride

Trafalgar Square/ National Gallery in the background

Trafalgar square lion

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

Our front row balcony seats for the Lion King

European holiday, Part 2

Jet lag is the worst.

I'd never experienced it before to such a degree.  We went 8 hours ahead on our way there and lost 9 hours on the way home.

Passed out on the bus

We got to London at 1:30 pm and tried to stay awake until 8:00 that night. As we rode the bus around town J didn't quite make it home awake. I fell right asleep, but then woke up at 4:00 am and could not go back to sleep.

Trying to stay awake until nightfall

 The following few nights I took some benedryl to help me stay asleep and it worked like a charm.

Waking up was a different story.

Most days we had J's dad to depend on to wake us up. He runs a tight ship on his mission and always leaves ample time to arrive at destinations so that he is never late. It was a good experience for both of us because we are never on time.

However, on Tuesday, the day my in-laws went to back to work at the Family History center, we didn't arrange for a wake up call from my father-in-law and both stayed asleep until noon. We won the prize for worst visitors of the year, because instead of accompanying them out to see the National Archives that morning, the temporary housing facility of the family history center,  we were passed out asleep. By the time we got up and moving it was 1:30 and we spent a few hours seeing some of the famous landmarks before we met for dinner at 5:00.

Coming home was an easier transition, although some nights we were racing our kids to bed as we were wiped out at 8:00 pm from waking up at 4:00 am.  I think we are back to normal though, and I would take jet lag any time for spending such fun days abroad.

Together again!