We'll always have Barcelona...

There's nothing like traveling to a beautiful local with...your MAMA. And, being that mine is the best, it was of course the best trip ever! Part of what made the trip so great was the fact that we saved mucho dinero by renting an apartment for the week. To all of you travelers on a budget out there, this is definitely the way to go. It was a little over 80 euro a night and slept three. Which means, for instance, if you have three of your friends, you're paying less than 30 euro a night. AND the best thing of all...you have your very own kitchen so you save mucho dinero again by not eating out as frequently. That's not to say there weren't a few snags (the toaster broke, the curtains kept falling...sometimes on us...and one day the power went out AH!--thankfully the technician came pronto, so it actually wasn't a huge deal). Brilliant idea. Wish it were mine. Alas, my mama is also the smartest.

La playa en Barcelona

The beach: although the sand isn't quite as soft as in Jersey, is beauuttiiifful! Warning: this beach is X-rated haha. But seriously. Women have no problemo going topless (I fear I would seriously burn, and perhaps get kicked off the beach) and men, well they go in their birthday suit. Quite the experience. My mom has it on video. I'm not sure why we'd want to relive a 65+ full frontal naked man...but just in case we do...it's forever recorded on camera along with our other adventures.

Spanish men playing...dominos and cards (I think?)

Row, Row, Row your boat

The teleférico was an interesting experience because mom was pretty convinced we were going to plummet to our deaths.  This was not the case, clearly. We made it safely to the other side and were able to see amazing views of the city and beach.

Waiting to go on the teleférico aka gondola 

I think what I loved about this trip was that it was so relaxed. We ate when we wanted, we went to the beach when we wanted, we did absolutely nothing if we wanted. Don't worry! That doesn't mean we didn't see some great sights. The Sagrada Familia was incredible, as was the gothic cathedral. The Gaudí buildings and monuments were eclectic and "fantastical" just like everyone says. Oh, and as for Parc Güel, also super cool. Weird? Can I say that? Ohh....another park that was great was Parc Ciutadella! It was a short walk from our apartment and so lovely! We rowed boats (did not fall in! 100 cool points!) and watched some true hippies do circus acrobatic stuff (the only way it can be described...) in the park, too. By that I mean trapeze artists "trapezing" is that a word? between two trees on some sort of apparatus that was likely not safe.

¡Teleférico!

MA was a bit scared...

Just walking around on the narrow streets was fun, too. We came across a great bread shop and a great shoe shop. What more does one need in life? Hm...I can answer that...a bike tour!!!!

That darn curtain rod kept falling...I was determined to conquer it!

Oh yes my friends, a bike tour. Helmet-free I might add...and through the streets of Barcelona. Not sure how Kosher that really was. But we did it! It was probably my favorite thing about the trip. We were the only Americans and our guide was Canadian. There were two women from Holland and a mother with her three daughters (I think?) from Belgium (that could be the other way around) and one 20-something from Australia who's parents had immigrated from Vietnam to escape the war. Talk about cross-cultural. So fun!

Having fun inside the history museum 

Plus, we really did learn quite a bit on the trip and saw mucho too! I don't think we would have seen that much without Nicole the Canadian guide to show us around. Seeing as I LOVE bike riding, nothing could be more perfect :)

Mom was better at getting on the horse than I was--somehow I forgot about a little thing called a stirrup

Apartments by Gaudí and...Andrew...an Australian chico on our bike tour

I almost forgot to mention on of the funniest experiences. Okay, so mom and I were determined not to spend too much, so we decided we'd eat out one nice dinner one night and cook the rest of the time. Which we stuck to. Go us! My mom had researched this veggie restaurant (gotta love her!) called Sésamo. It was in a super cool neighborhood full of Middle Eastern restaurants (many of which, therefore were halal and/or veggie for those interested). There were only three employees hahahaha The chef, the sous chef, and the bartender. The sous chef and the bartender  were both from Argentina. The chef actually came over to our table to explain the menu! Too funny. And the kitchen was totally open so we could see him cooking. At one point a blow torch was used. Quite the experience.

La Sagrada Familia 

Anyhoo, I guess what I learned from this trip is sometimes less is more. My mom and I didn't try to see a million monuments and hit up all of the famous museums. In fact, because it was so nice out most of the time we didn't want to be cooped up inside the whole time. No worries, though, we did go to, well...one museum haha. Actually, it was quite interesting--the history museum. It was HUGE and very interactive (as the pictures will tell...). I'll admit, we did not go to the Picasso Museum or the Miró Museum. But, you can't do it all. And I don't think running around trying to makes much sense because in the end, you're just exhausted! It's better to see the few things you really want to see than try to see those few things + a whole bunch of other sites because people say you should, ya know?

We all survived the bike tour yay! (Mom and I were the only Americans! There were....4 Belgians, 2 Dutch, a Canadian (the tour guide, below on the left), an Australian, and of course... 2 lovely Americans. Very multicultural if I do say so myself.

So, to conclude. Great trip. Great people. Great fun. I'm a very blessed girl. Oh wait!! I forgot to mention the nicest metro worker EVER helped my and and me so very much by giving us directions etc. He was so great! He even knew where an internet café was! Okay, now that's all :)

Mom, Crazy chef, Me 

Crazy chef's restaurant (he was from Argentine, but spoke with a cockney accent when he spoke English, too funny...He also came out to explain the menu to us...super personal, great veggie restaurant!)