In November 2016, we took a weekend trip to Marbella, Spain with two other families that are very good friends of ours. We originally planned it because the town has a huge ceremony  when they light up their town square for the first time for the holiday season. Unfortunately the weather had a different plan. It was cold and rainy the entire weekend, so although Christmas lights were not an option, we got out and explored where we could! We had an amazing 5 bedroom airBnB that we all stayed in together! We went to a nice hibachi dinner (which they don’t have these in our area of southern Spain) and walked around when we could in between the bouts of rain.

The highlight of our trip though was to the Mariposario de Benalmadena. It is basically a huge butterfly dome!! We got to see the process of the worm in its cocoon before it becomes a butterfly. There were butterflies bigger than my hand, some that had clear wings, and others with vibrant colors. They would land on you at times and just flutter all around you. They had a fish pond and a kangaroo as well. We spent hours in this place which was a great escape from the weather outside.

Although I didn’t really get any pictures of the city itself, it really was a beautiful town! Mother nature had a mind of her own that weekend and we made the best of it!!

In August 2016, we met my parents in Barcelona for just under 4 days before they continued on to their Viking cruise and man was it an awesome time. Barcelona is huge and 3 full days was definitely not enough time to see everything, but we sure as heck tried. We did a lot of eating, some drinking ;), and a LOT of walking (we averaged over 20,000 steps each day).

We started out on day one by riding the hop on hop off bus so that we could just sit on the top of the double decker bus and take in the entire city while listening to the audio about it all. This is always a good way to figure out what you want your game plan to be for your trip. After that we just did some exploring and walked the streets of the city near our Air BnB. Enjoyed the views of the stunning architecture and buildings designed by Gaudi. He had such a fluid and distinct vision that was so neat to see.

We started out on our first full day in the city by going to Montjuic hill at the National Museum of Art of Catalonia. This building itself is stunning but the views are to die for. It over looks the city center and almost all of Barcelona. You can also see Mount Tibadabo (yes the one referenced in Friends lol) in the background. From here, we made our way over to Olympic park where the 1992 summer Olympics were held. This was a nice place to just explore and let the kids run off all their energy for a bit.

That night we enjoyed some Asian cuisine and an evening stroll through the streets. Just like here in southern Spain, there are playgrounds or parks all over the city that makes it sooo easy to travel with kids.

The next day we toured La Sagrada Familia!! Words cant even describe the magnificence that is this church. Every single aspect of the design and build is tied to the story of God. From the work on the outside telling the story of Jesus, his disciples, his death, his resurrection…. to the inside being lined with pillars and spiral staircases that all lead to heaven, stain glass that starts orange like the sunrise and gradually gets darker until it is blue like the night sky. Being in this holy place of worship somehow makes you feel humbled, blessed, and like you’re just one step closer to our Lord just by being there. It was beyond amazing!

I also loved this street that led directly straight behind the church that had little restaurants on either side with seating all down the middle. You could sit and eat, drink some tinto and just admire the view of La Sagrada in the background. It cant get much better than this.

Well besides having pictures of your kids playing on a playground with this beauty as the backdrop 🙂

The last day we did some walking around the city a bit more and made our way over the parc de la ciutadella. This is just a big open park with huge fountains, playgrounds, a zoo and pond with row boats. we walked through this park and immediately just felt so relaxed. There were people doing yoga, walking tight ropes, dancing, and just enjoying time with friends and family. This was a nice way to take in more of the culture and lifestyle and make it easy to travel with little ones.

All in all, Barcelona was amazing!!! It is definitely a place I would love to go back to seeing that we didn’t even get to see half of the city in our short time there.

 

 

 

Well I have been seriously sacking on keeping up with this blog. Between two toddlers, a home business, and the craziness of life itself… it unfortunately has been low on my to do list. So now it’s time to play catch up and post what I can remember from this last year.

 

Since it’s now time for Feria again this year, here is our experience last year at our first round of Feria in Spain!

 

Feria is exactly what its translation into English means “Fair”. It is a huge celebration celebrated for a days to a weeks time in several towns throughout southern Spain. It began in 1847 that originally started as a livestock fair due to an agreed upon proposal granted by Queen Isabel II. By the 1920’s, it had become the spectacle that it is today. When you walk into Feria you are surrounded by casetas, loud music, women of all ages in their flamenco dresses, and beautiful horses. Rebujito is the special feria drink that can sneak up on you… I recommend two at max lol. There is tons of food, games and rides for the kids, and just an amazing atmosphere and vibe throughout the entire thing.

Our first year here, I took the kids along with some of our friends, to Feria in Rota. Jayson was working, but it was half price rides for the kids so of course us moms were in! The kids played, danced, and we all had a great time!

 

A few days later, we went to Feria in El Puerto as a family. Lyla and I both wore our pretty flamenco dresses, we ate tons of food, admired the beautiful horses, and just soaked in every second of this lively occasion. It was such a good time and we are definitely looking forward to enjoying year number two at Feria this month!