smittykelbel

[smittykelbel]

BARCELONA - DAY 9

Our final full day in Barcelona started out so cold and windy, so of course we went to the beach for a stroll.

The waves were crashing and there was a huge line of surfers enjoying the big swells. I honestly have no idea how they were in the water. Even with wetsuits (or dry suits?) it looked pretty miserable.

The girls found a huge rope play structure to play on so while Ryan watched the surfers, they climbed. Of course Eden and Noah decided to go straight up right over a massive pile of dog poop so I held my breath for a full ten minutes pleading with God to not let them fall into it. Because let's face it; kids covered in random poop in the freezing cold 25 minutes from the apartment sounded like pure hell to me :)

Thankfully everyone stayed on the ropes and avoided my nightmare. Eden made it all the way to the top and while Noah begged to go all the way as well, I coerced her down with the promise of looking for seashells together. And we found some really cute ones!

From the beach we decided to walk to where we stayed when we were in Barcelona about twelve years ago; it was a super cute rambla with tons of shops and restaurants and not too far from the water. We made the trek and found a really quaint lunch spot where Ryan and I enjoyed a lovely lunch and the girls turned their noses up at broccoli soup and quinoa salad; I guess one day they will realize all they missed out on...

The weather started to turn while we ate; and the sun started to peak out just a bit. By the time we walked back to the apartment (about 45 minutes) the sun was gloriously out and everyone breathed a sigh of relief that the polar vortex hurricane was gone. We happily played on the playground at the Ciutadella Park and plotted what our Thanksgiving meal should be.

We decided on paella and knew of a restaurant about 15 minutes away from the apartment to try. It's always interesting traveling/being abroad on big holidays. Especially 'food' holidays. In Argentina we ate hot dogs for Thanksgiving, in Thailand we had 'steak' and fish. I still question if that was really steak :)

Anyway, we decided on paella and stuck to it! Ryan and I went with the server's recommendation of monkfish, cuddlefish and clams. It was pretty tasty! Eden preferred the olives and Noah preferred the ice cream sandwich but at least we tried. We ended the evening with more chocolate churros and tried to pack a bit knowing our morning would come soon.

All in all; a great end to our time here. Thanks, Barcelona!

#seeitsmiths

[smittykelbel]

BARCELONA - DAY 8

Well, our hopes and wishes for better weather today were not well received. We awoke to more cold and more rain with pockets of drizzle and decided to make the best of it!

We decided to walk to the Aquarium, which is about 15-20 minutes from our apartment in order to have an indoor activity because the weather was just relentless. Ryan and I are trying to determine if it's some sort of hurricane or cyclone or what. The system just keeps rotating over us and dropping tons of moisture!

The aquarium was a pleasant surprise, for sure. We typically would not do this while here, but the kids loved it. It was so interactive and hands-on and even though we have an amazing aquarium in Atlanta, I think this one in Barcelona may actually have more activities and fun for kids our age so it was definitely a highlight.

There was a submarine the girls could have played in all day; an interactive rays exhibit, penguins and the seahorses were my personal favorite.

From the aquarium, we ventured to our annual stop at McDonalds (every trip has one nugget break) and from there we walked back through the marina area only to be hit by another storm. Almost on cue, we found a cute spot for a stop and then headed back to the apartment to dry out before trekking out for pizza.

The restaurant we ate in for dinner was super cute; and they tucked us away near the pizza oven so we were able to get dinner and a show. Although Eden was pretty disappointed they don't toss their pizza crusts here and instead just laid them out. Haha.

We ate squash blossoms, pizza, pasta and ended the evening with some limoncello. The girls loved hearing about one of our favorite nights in Spain pre-kids, which was in Alicante and also ended in limoncello! That night ranks as one of our all-time best travel memories for me.

Another late night out, with the kids staying up again past midnight. Hoping our final full day in Barcelona will be met with better weather. Fingers crossed!

#seeitsmiths

[smittykelbel]

BARCELONA - DAY 7

Well, today was the day we've been waiting for; we knew the rain was coming and wow, did it come!

We started our morning by taking our required covid tests for re-entry into the US. Thankfully our airbnb host gave us a recommended place and we were in and out in less than ten minutes. I swear healthcare in other countries is so much easier than the US (anyway, I digress)...

From our covid tests, we decided to walk back to the Chocolate Museum because once you promise kids a chocolate museum, you better deliver! As we were walking down one of the beautiful ramblas, it started to really rain. We decided to hail a cab instead of getting drenched (even more) and off to the museum we went!

The museum itself is rather small, but has a good bit of history about chocolate (which the girls were not very interested in) however there was a large selection of chocolate art the girls found to be very entertaining. Noah's favorite was a white chocolate piece from Chicken Little and Eden's favorite was Sagrada Familia.

I think in non-covid times this would have been such a fun stop to make our own chocolate treats but the test kitchens are currently closed. So we wrapped up the museum by stopping the gift shop for chocolate treats. I should have known not to buy one for Noah (she doesn't really like chocolate) but oh well, there goes 3 euros. At least Eden really enjoyed hers!

We had bundled back up to leave only to discover it was really storming outside. I suggested staying for a cappucino but I think Ryan was over the museum and insisted we go. Well, about 3 seconds into the storm we both looked at each other and ran into the restaurant across the street for cover.

As we sat down, they informed us they were closed. Most restaurants here are open for lunch, close for siesta (an afternoon break) and then re-open around 8pm for dinner. However they took pity on us with the bad weather, let us come in and have a few beers while the kids quietly played games on their tablets. We were not the only ones that took shelter, as a few more tables filled around us.

Once the rain slowed to a manageable level, we left the restaurant and headed a few blocks over to see some ruins as another indoor activity; only to find the whole place closed due to the weather. So we turned around and headed back to the apartment to dry out a bit.

It was just so gross out that Ryan took one for the team and went out to grab Chinese food while the girls and I stayed in, nice and warm (and dry!). Thanks, Ryan!! I will admit that this apartment is so well equipped for the kids; they have toys and games and it's been nice to have something for them to build with and play with while away from home.

Hopefully we'll have better weather tomorrow...

#seeitsmiths

[smittykelbel]

BARCELONA - DAY 6 (v2)

A friend asked me about how many pooping Christmas ornaments we had seen and I thought she was crazy. But you know what? Today we saw them everywhere! Apparently it's a Catalan tradition (more details below, copied from the site sourced)... Look no further than the 'caganer', the figurine of a peasant in the traditional red Catalan hat known as the 'barretina', with his trousers around his ankles and mooning while he relieves himself of yesterday's dinner - presumably roast turkey with all the trimmings. A 'crapper' in the stable While the idea of the Christmas 'crapper' is weird enough in itself, where it gets really bizarre is that the traditional place for the caganer is in the nativity scene, alongside the newborn Messiah, his holy parents, and an adoring cast of shepherds and wise men. “It’s not a provocation, it’s normal in Catalonia to have the caganer in the nativity scene,” explains Dani Cortijo, a historian who specialises in Barcelona and Catalonia. No one knows who had the brilliant idea of putting a defecating peasant among the characters called on to witness the Son of God's entry into the world, but one can only imagine that it was someone with severe mental problems. “You can be very religious in Catalonia but if you don’t put the caganer in the nativity scene, you cannot have good luck for the next year,” warns the historian.

THE MORE YOU KNOW :)

source: https://www.catalannews.com/culture/item/why-do-catalan-christmas-traditions-involve-poo

[smittykelbel]

BARCELONA - DAY 6

Happy anniversary to Ryan & I! Thirteen years ago I'm pretty sure neither one of us imagined our lives like this. Two cute kids, a sweet pup and countless travels later, it's safe to say it's exceeded our expectations.

Today we slept in (again) and sweet Eden ran into our room this morning to wish us a happy anniversary. She then wanted to make us 'breakfast in bed' so requested I get up to help her reach everything. She proceeded to put two apples and some animal crackers on a plate for us to eat in bed. Haha, good thing Noah ran in to help us eat those animal crackers :)

After our luxurious breakfast, we headed to the Mercado de La Boqueria, a huge market filled with tons of vendors of fresh fruit, seafood, meats, cheeses, etc. You name it, it's there. Eden's favorite stall was the one with whole rabbits and ducks (gross) and Noah loved desserts (of course she did). We all grabbed food to snack on, shared it and then decided to top off our glutinous day at the Chocolate Museum.

As we were walking to the museum, I received a Google maps alert that the museum may be closed but we decided to give it a go anyway. Welp, Google was right this time! The girls were slightly disappointed, but we assured them we could try again tomorrow.

From there we headed back to the Ciutadella Park to run around and play on the playgrounds. The girls made fast friends with a little boy on the slide and soon his mom was yelling at him for teasing the girls. The whole thing ended with her ripping his shoes off and taking him home. I have no idea what he said or did but his mama definitely didn't like it!

We then strolled past the massive fountains, played with the ducks (that were huge, by the way) and then ended up walking home so we could get ready to go out to 'fancy dinner.'

We decided to splurge a bit and go out to Casa Rafols, and yes, we were the only ones with kids (yet again) but it was delicious! We ate scallop ceviche, stuffed calamari, steak, pasta & a chocolate torte. The wine was also incredible (I wish we had taken a photo of the label or the wine list, it was so, so good). We ended the night by walking thru the Arc de Triomphe and celebrating another fun day together.

More tomorrow!

#seeitsmiths

[smittykelbel]

BARCELONA - DAY 5

Ryan's favorite day; family picture day! Every year on our trip (for the past few years, at least), I book a local photographer so we can remember the places we travel but also so I can be in a few photos. This takes the pressure off of us to constantly be taking photos and also the angst of Ryan never taking pictures (ha).

We were actually supposed to do photos tomorrow but with the forecast looking pretty iffy the next few days, we moved the session up to this morning. Ugh. We have been staying up late and sleeping in so the early morning wake up for photos did not go over well with anyone. I resorted to bribing with promising ice cream for breakfast if everyone made it through the pictures. And guess what, we did it!

We started with pictures in the Born neighborhood, filled with churches, small streets and wandered to the Park since that's so close to our apartment. I wish we had done a few more photos in the park, but fingers crossed we got some good ones because everyone was OVER pictures by the time we hit the park.

From there we headed straight to the ice cream/gelato stand and Starbucks (for Ryan!). The girls then wanted to go home for a quick break before we had reservations for Sagrada Familia. Ryan and I visited Barcelona about ten years ago and were unable to get inside the basilica due to the crowds, so we lucked out with Covid, advance ticket sales and a tip to visit late afternoon for the best light.

As we were walking around looking for the entrance, a security guard pointed to the stroller and a hidden door around the side so we walked that way. We quickly went through security and boom, we were in with no wait whatsoever. It was so nice!

Eden immediately asked for her camera so she could start taking pictures. And I'll be honest, it was kind of overwhelming. We've done a ton of churches over the years and this one was definitely unique in that it seemed more like an architectural feat than a spiritual experience. Although the stained glass windows were stunning (and that afternoon/sunset light was perfect), it definitely felt different than any other church we've been to.

The girls thought it was cool but bored after about thirty minutes, so we decided to take the long walk back to our apartment and hit up a playground to break it up a bit. The girls played, Ryan drank a beer and I contemplated why there are not playgrounds all over the US like there are in literally every other country. It would make our lives so much easier!

From the playground, we ventured back to the apartment and spent some time on the rooftop enjoying the nice fall evening weather and then went out for another late night dinner. The girls were pretty exhausted as this was our longest day (outside of travel) yet; hoping tomorrow the weather holds out and so do the kids :)

#seeitsmiths

[smittykelbel]

BARCELONA - DAY 4

We slept in again and think it may be best to start late and end late, based on how dinner here works. Most restaurants don't even open until 8pm and don't really get busy until 10pm or later.

We decided today would be a good day to ride the cable car to the top of the mountain where there's a castle (Telefèric de Montjuïc). So off we went! We decided to walk the 3km to the base of the cable car and wound through the Born neighborhood, Gothic neighborhood and down Las Ramblas too, down to the water.

Upon arriving at the marina, and seeing the massive yachts, we discovered that there are indeed two cable car set ups in Barcelona and this was not where we were supposed to be. Ooops! So we ate a snack, Ryan grabbed a Starbucks, and spent a few minutes watching all the big boats and regrouping before hitting the pavement again.

All in all, we probably should have taken a taxi because the climb up the mountain was quite a feat. At one point, there were probably a hundred (maybe more?) stairs and as Ryan and I climbed them carrying the stroller one man said to us, 'wow, that's really tough'. I thought Ryan (or I) may punch him for a second ;)

Upon arriving at the cable car, Ryan determined he had earned a break so we all stopped and ate snacks (nachos, patatas bravas and ice cream) while overlooking the old Olympic swimming pool (from the 1992 games). The pool was filled with seagulls. Hundreds of them were swimming and flying around, it was so bizarre.

From there, we walked over to the funicular, took the cable car up and upon arrival decided it was way colder at the top of the mountain than at the bottom. The girls played on some cannons, we walked around and then decided to head back down to warm up!

We made the long trek back to the apartment (this time with no detour) and decided to hit up our rooftop patio for some more ice cream and drinks before dinner. It's such a cute spot to decompress after a long day. More to come tomorrow!

#seeitsmiths

[smittykelbel]

BARCELONA - DAY 3

After not sleeping for who knows how many hours of travel (we think it was close to 30) we all slept so hard and didn't wake up until almost noon on Friday. We had a bit of a slow start; dressed and decided to venture out into the beautiful weather. It's cool, but sunny and perfect for exploring the city.

Our airbnb apartment is located right across from the Ciutadella Park, so we started by walking through there to orient ourselves a bit. We then went straight to the water, ate lunch at the marina and spent the rest of the afternoon at a beach bar lounging on beach chairs while the girls played soccer and ran around in the sand.

Once the sun started to set, we walked back to the apartment and decided to try a tapas place in the Born neighborhood, situated right next to our apartment. It's about a ten minute walk and the neighborhood is known for its labyrinth streets, great food and bars. We definitely were the only ones with kids out in this hipster area at 10pm but the girls adjusted well and at least tried some of the tapas. We also discovered that Noah hates sourdough bread :)

Eden has really embraced the Spanish food, and loved the beef and caramelized onion pintxos, the olives and begged to try some wine. Haha, maybe one day, kid. We ended the evening letting them pick a toy from a small stand and to my surprise, Eden chose a rocket pop-it and Noah selected a stuffed octopus. We'll see what tomorrow brings us!

#seeitsmiths

[smittykelbel]

Barcelona (er, Paris) Day 1 (that turned into Day 2)

This trip has already had so many ups and downs. We booked two weeks in Sicily back in June, only to have our flights canceled and covid protocols shifted for Eden's school.

So we opted to shorten our trip abroad and pivot to Barcelona, one of our favorite cities because the food is delicious and the weather is fairly consistent. We were supposed to leave Atlanta around 8pm for Paris and have 2 hours to make our connection to Barcelona and arrive in Barcelona around 2pm.

We divided the kids between us and prepared for a long night sleeping on the plane. Little did we know that was the least of our worries!

After sitting on the runway for about 45 minutes, the captain informed us there was an issue with the steering and we were heading back to the gate. We were flying Air France and knew they didn't have another plane for us so would have to wait for the repair. About 90 minutes later, we ended up taking off which would put us into Paris right at our connection time.

There was a security strike also going on in the airport in Paris, so we crossed our fingers and hoped for a delayed flight from Paris to Barcelona. What was supposed to be a nine hour flight turned into almost 12 which then turned in 13 because upon landing, we missed a bird strike and the plane had to go back up into the sky and then re-enter the landing pattern.

After all of that (everyone always asks about the kids; they are wonderful on the plane, no drama this flight at all from them), we finally landed and hopped off to figure out what was next. Ryan knew from checking on board that our flight to Barcelona was on time, and we indeed missed the connection so we were forced to be rebooked on a later flight. There was a flight to Barcelona a few hours later but they insisted it was full and due to our checked bags, they would not put us on standby. Which meant we'd have to wait until a 9pm flight to get to Barcelona around 10:30pm.

Ugh.

After all that, we bought the girls a box of Ladurée macarons and decided to make the best of our day at the airport. Thanks to our status with Delta, we at least were granted access to the Sky Lounge, and found a spot to make camp for the day. There are only so many free snacks, drinks and walks around the club you can manage...I ended up taking the girls out into the main airport to buy some toys. Thankfully Nana (Craig's mom) had sent the girls some money for their birthdays and they were able to pick out two new 'buddies' each. We brought the new stuffed animals (two pandas for Eden, a cat and cheetah for Noah) back to the Sky Lounge where they proceeded to play make believe and (most likely) annoy the other patrons. In all seriousness, they travel so well. They understand they are the only kids in a lot of situations and therefore act respectfully. For the life of me, if only we could get Noah to stop giggling so loud :)

Anyway, we ate more snacks, watched some shows on the tablets and finally made our way down to the gate. We had our boarding passes checked (covid vaccinations, QR codes for Spain) and then received the dreaded word that our flight crew had not yet arrived and our flight would be delayed an hour.

Blargh.

We spent the next hour wondering if the flight crew was actually going to arrive or not. Then when that hour was up, we received another notification that the flight would be delayed again. So instead of a 9pm departure, nor a 10pm departure, it would be an 11:40pm takeoff.

Yikes.

I immediately messaged our airbnb host who had arranged for a taxi from the airport for us and she assured me they would still have someone there to pick us up and meet us at the apartment, no matter what time we arrived.

Well, from there things went pretty smoothly. We had a super quick two hour flight to Barcelona, arrived, breezed through customs, grabbed our bags, hopped in the cab and arrived at our airbnb just in time to shower and get in bed (at 3am).

Can you believe the girls survived that long?! And with smiles on their faces. Good gracious, we are lucky. And resilient. And hopefully that will be the last time we take a connecting flight for a while...

#seeitsmiths

[smittykelbel]

Noah getting a bit braver (when she's not giggling like a maniac & drinking all the pool water).

[smittykelbel]

ST. MAARTEN - DAY 6

All good things must come to an end. Such a quick trip but a wonderful break from what's been a really tough summer. We spent the morning swimming in the apartment pool together, packed up and then hit a restaurant right outside the airport to watch the airplanes land one last time.

The biggest thrill/event of the day was driving aimlessly to get gas to fill up the rental car only to arrive at the airport for the biggest line we've ever seen. We arrived about 2.5 hours prior to takeoff and literally ran to the gate after being in line after line (Delta, covid checks, security, etc). We ended up making the flight, only to arrive home and have another massive line awaiting us at customs. Needless to say, it was a wonderful trip but a long final day.

#seeitsmiths

[smittykelbel]

ST. MAARTEN - DAY 5

Today we decided to venture out a bit and drive about 15 minutes away to a private beach. You're supposed to be able to ring the security gate, say you want to visit the beach and roll up to a beautiful beach next to million dollar homes.

So...that's what we did.

The guards didn't seem too pleased with my French in order to let us in the gates, but they finally opened them. We ended up driving down the main road filled with these beautiful (very private) homes and coming to a small parking area.

Once we parked, we walked down the path to the beach to find the only other people on the beach were four police officers. We were like, um, did we do something wrong?!

It was obvious this was an expensive area but the beach is listed as public so we acted like we were supposed to be there, the police waved at us and we set up our stuff. Fortunately or unfortunately while the beach was really gorgeous it was not great for kids. It was super rocky and Ryan was worried about the girls crashing into a boulder. Just as we were deciding if we should move to a different area of the beach (since we were still the only ones there) it started to rain. Totally out of nowhere. Rain, rain and more rain. Downpour rain.

That made our decision pretty easy. We threw everything back onto Ryan's back (he's such a good sport), and the girls and I ran the 100m back to the car. We brushed as much sand off our feet as we could and got going. I then had to beg the security guards to open the gate again to let us out. Sheesh.

We decided to drive back to the apartment and spend some time where we knew we were allowed! So we swam in the pool for a bit to wait out the rain and then ended up just going back to the beach by the house. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the waves (the girls favorite thing by far) and then showered and went to dinner on our last night here.

Post dinner, we actually ended up coming back and all falling asleep together in the girls' room watching the Olympics. (is there anything more wholesome than that? haha) Then I moved rooms and was awoken by poor E getting sick. She's been battling reflux for awhile and we really never know what triggers it. After a shower and another set of pajamas, she was ready to fall asleep and the rest of the evening was uneventful. Just keeping it real, sometimes you gotta roll with it. Parenting on the go at it's best :)

#seeitsmiths

[smittykelbel]

These birds 😳

[smittykelbel]

ST. MAARTEN - DAY 4

Have you seen the movies Rio or Rio 2? They are super cute films about a family of blue macaw birds in Brazil and our girls are obsessed with both of them. So when looking for things to do here, I saw a post about Parrotte Ville and knew we may need to make the trip.

IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT.

Eden and Noah totally freaked out from the minute we walked in. Like, freaked out. Eden in a good way. Noah in a bad way. Ha!

Eden thought it was amazing; they give you cups of food for the birds to land on and eat and Eden was trying to 'catch' as many birds as she could. Noah, on the other hand, was terrified they kept trying to come at her, spilled her cup of food, cried when they thought her curly hair was a bush/tree/object to land in and after a really rough few minutes in the sanctuary, begged Ryan to take her outside to the playground.

That left me inside with Eden, the bird whisperer. She ran all over the place. Up the steps, under the bridge, around each path. Looking at each bird, and commenting about how many she could get to land on her at once. I think her record was four birds. At one point one started to eat her cap, which was a major no-no, but other than that, she had a great time.

From there, we went to the infamous airport bar to watch the planes land right on the beach and the girls had a lot of fun seeing planes big and small. Eden even took a few photos. After we were beach barred out, we went back to the apartment, threw on our swimsuits and hit the little beach area right by our airbnb. It's a quick walk and not busy at all, which made for a perfect way to end our super fun day.

#seeitsmiths

[smittykelbel]

ST. MAARTEN - DAY 3

Today we were tourists to the max! We started the day again swimming at the villa; then the girls begged to go back to the beach where we saw the sunset on our first night. We knew it would be crowded but were not prepared for how busy Mullet Bay is. Tons of tourists; tons of beach chairs for rent and one (meh) overpriced beach bar to boot. Next time, we'll veto the kids' request :)

They had fun, though, and we compromised by leaving the tourist trap to shower and go out for 'fancy dinner'. I found a really cool spot on the French side and upon arrival; we couldn't find it. Like, the parking lot had a sign but there was no restaurant to be found. Ryan walked around. I walked around. We mapped. Then we got back in the car and found option #2.

Our back-up plan ended up being really good. It was another French restaurant right on the water and they were very accommodating with the girls, even though we didn't have a reservation and there were zero other kids in sight. Ryan and I had a fabulous dinner and the girls raved about their pasta (literally with olive oil, salt & pepper). Not many 'kid menus' or options to choose from here.

Dinner was pretty long and Eden actually ended up falling asleep at the table; she goes so hard during the day in the water, it's hard to not force her to take a nap during the middle of the day. We had another late night + early wake up. Here's hoping they sleep a bit later tomorrow!

#seeitsmiths

[smittykelbel]

Soundtrack #2 of the trip; Sweet Caroline :)

[smittykelbel]

ST. MAARTEN - DAY 2

Despite our late night, the girls were up bright and early this morning (wake up time was 6:30am). This is WAY earlier than they wake up at home! 

But that's ok; we spent the morning swimming a bit at the villa and decided to spend the day over at Anse Marcel. It's a semi-private beach on the French side of the island in a protected cove with easy swimming for the girls and beach service + restaurant + bar for the adults. Win-win all around.

We ended up arriving around lunchtime and snagged two of the last beach chairs and umbrella set which turned out perfect. William (our beach service friend) took good care of the four of us all day long. Water, snacks, drinks, he was really great. And the girls stayed in the water all. day. long. We had to beg Eden to take a fifteen minute break to eat something. Think she loves the ocean even more than food!

We ended up making the drive home back across the island (about forty minutes) and both girls crashed in their carseats on the way back to the villa. We did a quick change of clothes and headed out for Italian food for dinner. Coming as no surprise; the girls ate pizza, we had pasta and they ended up meeting some other kids from just outside Atlanta to run around with for most of the meal. It's always easier when someone else does the entertaining for a bit :) Nothing too crazy today; more to come tomorrow.

#seeitsmiths