Changing Plans Worked in My Favor

On Thursday, October 24th, we headed to Plaza de Cataluña to catch a direct bus that drives straight to the top of Tibidabo Hill (Bus T2A).  After searching around the square without any luck of locating the bus, we then finally sought help at the Tourist Information booth.  We found out during winter months the bus only runs on Fridays and Saturdays.  Bobby and I contemplated for awhile about getting as far as we could by public transportation and then hiking the rest of the way to the top.  The two girls in the booth advised us that it was not a good idea and very steep (especially lugging up two little ones).  In addition, it would be 3 transfers (metro, tram, and then funicular).  After deciding that we did not feel like making such an effort, we headed to the center of the square to allow Amelie and Liam to chase pigeons.  Well, actually Liam escaped his stroller while we were finishing up our conversation and had already begun chasing the pigeons before we technically gave them permission. :)  

Being at the top of La Rambla we decided to go for a stroll while enjoying the nice weather.  We decided to walk by the Güell Palace since we were nearby and it was something I wanted to see before we left Barcelona.  After deliberating with Bobby for a while about whether we wanted to pay to go inside, we decided that Amelie (who was free) and I would go inside while Bobby and Liam would do something else for an hour and a half.  It was not our original intention to split up, and I was very hesitant about spending 12 Euros for the tour.  However, I am very glad that Bobby encouraged me to go ahead.  As I stated in a previous post, I have been really interested in architecture especially regarding to Gaudi.  

The tour included a free audio guide for me, and kid version for Amelie.  It was awesome to have descriptions and details in English as we walked around the palace.  Before we took the tour, I had read that one of the special features of this palace built in 1888 was that it had stables in the basement.  In addition, it had an entrance and an exit that the carriages were intended to use which can be seen in the picture below.

Amelie and I were very interested in the basement stables so that is where we headed first.  The round mushroom shaped pillars were important for allowing the horses to move around without getting hurt.   I will not bore you with all of the details, but we loved our experience touring the palace together.  Amelie loved pointing out everything fancy and I enjoyed the dialogue about Gaudi and his designs.  I felt like by doing this tour I could justify not going inside any of his other works.  This was the most cost effective way to learn about Gaudi and his works in my opinion.

This stainglass window was designed by Gaudi with inspiration of the Catalan flag.  

We have noticed the Catalan flags being flown from balconies all over the city.
We had even thought about bring home a Catalan Independence Flag as our representation of our time in Barcelona, but we never found one small enough that would make sense for us to carry around with us.
In the end, we actually didn't buy anything in case you were curious. 

We both loved seeing the pictures of how the rooms looked when inhabited.

Another favorite part of our experience was the roof.  On Casa Batlló, there are a number of really neat chimneys.  I was a little bummed that I didn't get to see them.  However, when I stepped out onto the roof at the palace I was delightfully surprised that there were amazing chimneys!  The sun was setting over the city as we walked around rooftop.  We had so much fun looking up close, admiring the mosaic tile work for each chimney.  The sunset over the city was also beautiful.  Overall, this was a super fun experience!

National Art Museum of Catalonia can be seen in the distance.

After about an hour and a half, we met up with Bobby and Liam.  Our meeting spot was the McDonalds on La Rambla.  You will never guess where we ate for dinner. :)  Dinner was fun as we both shared of our fun experiences from the hour before.  Bobby and Liam had walked to the harbor area and through the local market, La Boqueria, to munch on food.  We ate at the outside tables directly on the Rambla so it was also fun eating at dark when everything gets busy.

So, a change of plans ended up working in our favor today!  I am continually reminded how important it is to be flexible and to go with the flow.  It is a little against my nature as I am a planner and like it when things work exactly the way that I plan them.  This trip has been good for me in that I have had to relax on of my stronger personality traits.  I still have to work on my attitude at times when things are going amuck, but one way to improve is to practice.

Rambling on La Rambla

Would you consider yourself an introspective person?  If you had asked me this question 9 months ago, I would have emphatically told you no.  One of the qualities I love about Bobby is that he is naturally introspective.  When we were first married, he would ask me what I was thinking about and I would tell him nothing in honesty.  He would counter with how many thoughts per second the average person has, and I would insist that I really wasn't thinking about anything.  In education I have learned there are different types of intelligence with intra-personal being one.  I do not naturally have the capacity to understand myself and my thoughts and feelings.  I remember in high school when things weren't going my way I would counter with "just don't think about."  So over the years between training myself to not think/process my feelings as well as not having much of the intra-personal intelligence, I generally have a blank slate going on upstairs.

However, with our traveling and slowing down the pace at which we live life I have been growing my intra-personal intelligence.   Of course I talk to my kids and Bobby throughout the day, but without family and friends nearby I have way more conversations in my head.  (Don't worry, I have not gone mad yet!) 

Bobby and I share with each other our reflections from time to time, and they usually come out most when we are strolling.  We don't necessarily have an agenda of things we are trying to see, but just being out seeing life in the city.  We reflect on our travels, our future, how we've grown, how we want to grow...well you get the point.  

One of the biggest areas of growth for me is recognizing qualities about myself that I never chose to admit were present.  Friends of ours moved to NYC around the same time we moved to Paris.  She wrote a blog post that completely knocked me dead between the eyes.  I am not a writer and have a hard time expressing what I am feeling (low intra-personal intelligence, remember).   She includes a quote from C.S Lewis that I have been reminded of over and over again:

“we begin to notice besides our particular sinful act, our sinfulness; begin to be alarmed not only about what we do, but about what we are. This may sound rather difficult, so I will try to make it clear from my own case. When I come to my evening prayers and try to reckon up the sins of the day, nine times out of ten the most obvious one is some sin against charity; I have sulked or snapped or sneered or snubbed or stormed. And the excuse that immediately springs to my mind is that the provocation was so sudden and unexpected; I was caught off my guard, I had not time to collect myself. Now that may be an extenuating circumstance as regards those particular acts: they would obviously be worse if they had been deliberate and premeditated. On the other hand, surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in the cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not creat the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. The rats are always there in the cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily they will have taken cover before you switch on the light. ”     

Traveling is awesome.  Having the chance to be with my family, not just as a stay-at-home-mom but being with my husband too, is fabulous.  But there are days when I am exhausted from it all.  There are moments when city life gets to me.  I am working on the anger that rises within me so quickly in these moments.  I am thankful for a Savior that helps me one moment at a time, as well as forgives me when I refuse His help. I find myself being reminded of His presence more and more as I lean on Him.  If you would like to read my friend's blog post for a more eloquent explanation click HERE.  

I share with you the thoughts above so you can understand more fully our experience, especially on days that it doesn't look like we are doing much.  On this particular October day with highs in the mid-70s and a few scattered clouds present, we decided to stroll down La Rambla.  La Rambla is a tree-lined pedestrian street that runs straight through the center of the historic old town of Barcelona.  

We exited the metro to a wide-open square filled with pigeons and fountains.  Amelie and Liam thought they hit the jack-pot as they ran through the square moving the herds of pigeons from one area to another.  

Midway through our stroll we stopped for a lunch break.  We grabbed our traditional picnic (baguette, turkey, cheese, sausage slices, cherry tomatoes, and pears) from the grocery store and began searching for a bench.  We walked for a couple blocks until we came to the realization that there are no benches on La Rambla.  We started walking on the side streets hoping to find something and came across a church foundation that would work.  The front of the church had spikes set up on the steps so that you couldn't sit in the front.  We enjoyed our meal while watching a house be gutted.  The usable scraps were taken off by whoever had a cart large enough to carry the goods.

This was not posed.  I was hoping that she wouldn't notice the picture she is pointing to, but she did!

Our favorite part of our stroll came at the end when we saw many street characters dressed up.  Amelie and Liam would drop change in their buckets and then pose with some.  Liam would say more times than not, "Liam scared!"  Don't worry, he was giggling and having fun.  He just didn't want to be too close. ;)

This was our favorite as when you put change in his bucket, he stood up and then would make noises with his mouth as he moved his body around.  It was comical.  It's hard to describe the noise, but Amelie said it's like a bird chirp almost.  It was a mixture of a whistle and the sound you make when you shoot a gun. :)

We ended our walk at the large Christopher Columbus Monument.  Both kids loved the large Lions surrounding the monument overlooking the harbor.

It was just starting to lightly sprinkle as we reached the end of our walk so we jumped on the Metro and headed home.  When we got off the Metro, we had just missed the down pour and walked home on wet streets without becoming wet ourselves.  It was a good day.  We will definitely have to come back to stroll down this street again!