Celebrating with Friends

Hola y Feliz Ano Nuevo!!

On December 27th we were invited to the Barcelona home of our Landisville neighbors Henry & Maite for a WONDERFUL Catalan lunch. We had such a fun time visiting with them and celebrating the holidays. Henry was great at entertaining the kids (even played chess with Luke) so that Maite and I could catch up! We really enjoyed our time with them. We left their house and drove straight to the BCN airport to pick Brian up.

The next day we were invited to a Christmas tea at the home of our friend Miss Annette. The kids loved her tree which was covered with little wooden German figures.

Miss Annette with the kids.

Caroline wanted to take a group photo.

Caroline was "reading" the pirate book that Miss Annette gave Luke for Christmas.

That night Tarheel finally showed interest in the pink pig we had gotten her for Christmas - a little too much interest! She went over and dug it out of the toybox, it was hilarious.

Poor pig.

Snout-less pig! The kids got the biggest kick out of it.

Also on the 28th, our friends Chad & Lisa Groff arrived from the US for a birthday, anniversary, New Years celebration! I took them to Sagrada Familia on Monday, and as we were walking around the cathedral I saw these snails on the exterior for the first time. There is always something new to discover on this amazing piece of architecture.

From Sagrada Familia we went to Parc Guell (sorry, don't know where those pictures went!), and then down to Placa Catalunya to see the beautiful lights.

Lights on La Rambla.

Lights on El Corte Ingles.

We walked through the Barri Gotic and were able to go inside the Barcelona Cathedral.

These peaks were on the back of each chair of the choir members.

From the Cathedral we went to Placa Sant Jaume to see the nativity scene there.

We then walked to Calle Petrixtol for Maite's recommended xocolata amb xurros stop! YUM YUM.

I think they liked it. :)

Back out on the street we saw more pretty lights.

The next day (30th) we took a walk into Sitges.

We walked in town and the entire way down the paseo to my favorite spot to have lunch in the sun. :)

Lisa ordered what we thought was a provolone and herb sandwich, which turned out to be a bowl full of provolone cheese with bread to dip in it! She loved it.

Thought my goat cheese salad was worthy of a picture too. :)

After lunch we ran into neighbor Mya on the paseo, who was trying out her new rollerblades that she got for Christmas.

She took the kids for a stroll.

On down the paseo the lights came on and it was very pretty. Luke had fun picking on Chad.

And Chad & Lisa had fun picking on Luke!

Chad & Lisa by the church.

The following day (31st), I took Chad & Lisa into BCN again to show them the Montjuic and Port Vell areas. We first stopped at the National Museum of Art.

And then stopped at the Olympic ring.

On down the hill we hopped on the cable car up to the Montjuic Castle. It was a bit hazy, but I was struck by the view of the city with Sagrada Familia standing tall and a view of snow-capped mountains in the far distance.

The castle moat looked very pretty filled with gardens.

Cool design made by flowers.

Inside the castle we saw this knight helmet that I had to take a picture of for Jackson.

From the very top of the castle you can see an outdoor cafe in the courtyard and a view of the city in the background.

Chad & Lisa looking out over the city.

Chad in the look-out tower watching for bad guys.

From Montjuic we went down to the Port Vell area, and into the El Born district looking for a place for lunch. After Lisa's provolone lunch in Sitges it was really funny that we ended up at a restaurant called "Cheese Me".

From there we walked by the Santa Maria del Mar cathedral, and since it was open we took a peak inside. We then headed back to Sitges to get ready for New Years Eve!

There really wasn't much going on in town (we were told that it's more common for people to have house parties or go to hotel galas), so we made reservations for us, Chad & Lisa, and our neighbors Mark, Maresa & Mya to have dinner at La Nina and then meet up with other friends on the paseo by the church at midnight. Happy New Year!

Our German friends had some fireworks and sparklers that the boys LOVED.

The one tradition that we heard about was that you were supposed to eat one grape with each ring of the bell at midnight. So I had plastic cava glasses with grapes for the grown-ups and plastic cava glasses with sweeties for the kids. The funniest part of this whole night was that our dinner was so late and the service was so poor (although the food was great!) that we were running down the paseo putting our hats on, throwing confetti and passing out our plastic cava glasses right at midnight. So we were late for New Years and didn't even get to do the grape thing. HA HA!!

On New Years Day we all took a trip to Montserrat. We rode the yellow cable car and tried to catch the boys' choir, but found out they were off for Christmas holiday. Here's a view inside the cathedral.

Jackson and I sat in the back of the cathedral while the others took the tour up through the area where the statue of Mary and Jesus is displayed. Here you can kind of see Luke, Lisa, Brian and Caroline.

Kids posing, and Jackson wearing my scarf. :)

View of cathedral entrance and twelve disciples with Jesus.

Group photo outside of the Abbey.

We stopped at the cafe for lunch, and Chad had fun teasing Caroline.

Jackson was happy to chill out for a while.

We then headed up the trail to the big cross. Here's a nice view across the way, with the kids posing with their toys. Caroline got a stuffed duck there that she named "Quackie".

She wanted to take a close-up of her new friend Quackie.

Going on a hike! Jackson pretended to be a toll booth and we had to pay him euros in order to pass.

Along the path is a gate that you actually have to go around.

Luke & Caroline showing the way.

Caroline and Jackson got tired, so I sat with them while the others continued on to the cross. We could see them when they got there.

Here they are waving to us!!

The morning of their flight we did some last minute shopping in town at the Barca store. :) I'm sure their kids were thrilled with their gifts!

While Caroline, Jackson and I were waiting for the rest on the hike at Montserrat, we made up a new 12 days of Christmas song:

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me: a Savior born in a manger (Lisa thought it should be "a monastery on a hill" since that is where this song was created. But Luke fought for his choice, since it WAS Christmas he said. :))

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me: 2 Jacksons jousting and a Savior born in a manger.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me: 3 soldiers fighting, 2 Jacksons jousting, and a Savior born in a manger.

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me: 4 Quackies quacking, 3 soldiers fighting, 2 Jacksons jousting, and a Savior born in a manger.

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me: FIVE CHEESE BALLS! etc.

The following refrains involved:

6 Carolines dancing

7 Chads teasing kids

8 Lukes setting off fireworks

9 Daddies flying

10 Moms going to the beach

11 Tarheels howling

12 Trips to the bathroom :)

It was a memorable week!!! We had a great time catching up with Chad & Lisa, and it was nice for Brian and the kids to get to know them better. Happy New Year to all of you and many warm wishes for a memorable 2009!

Con mucho amor,

Tonya