Easter 2020

Well this Easter sure looked different than anything we have ever experienced...

I had to giggle as I read back on last year's post about our Easter since I mentioned a few times "our Easter was different this year" -- how naive I was back then.  I meant it in the way that we were not around for the processions that occur throughout Semana Santa or Holy Week and instead traveled most of the week.  You can read about our past Easters -- here (2016) and here (2017) or here (2018).

However, this year we weren't given a choice to not see the processions as we are in an estado de alarma or state of alarm thanks to the coronavirus pandemic that is currently affecting the entire world.  And this year we weren't given much of a choice as to how we spent our Easter as well -- with only those in our household as the entire country of Spain is on very strict lock down orders.  You can read more about our weeks in lock down -- week one here and week two here and week three here and week four here and the start of week five here.

Knowing that we would be confined to our houses for Easter, Trevor and I talked early on and decided to not make a huge deal out of it.  We knew that Serafina (and us) needed as much routine as possible.  But we would still do a few activities mainly because they are fun and to break up the monotony of our day to day in lock down.  I attempted a spring stamp activity using paper towel rolls for stamps -- and while it didn't turn out the way I had planned, Serafina sure had fun and that is all that matters.

We have two very close friends here who had bought egg dying kits to do with Serafina but of course we weren't allowed to do that (which bummed me out) but we decided to do a virtual egg dying event.  And we all had SO much fun -- Serafina was so excited to show off her eggs and she just wanted to keep dying all the eggs.

Every year the base does a big Easter Egg hunt and Color Run but obviously this year it was cancelled (and because everything is ordered so far in advance, they already had ALL the eggs).  The base put together bags for families to pick up full of pre-stuffed eggs so we could do our own hunts at home.  So in addition to Serafina's Easter basket, we also did a little egg hunt.  We typically do more practical items from the Easter Bunny but this year I raided our toy stash and extra art supplies to give us some more entertainment for our lock down!

Serafina loved her Easter basket and had a blast hunting for the eggs.  We had a low-key day of chatting with our families, playing with the toys the Easter Bunny brought and Trevor and I started cleaning out our basement storage area (Serafina sure liked it because we still haven't gotten rid of her baby toys so she had fun playing with those too)!

Overall it was a great day.  Did not feel like Easter at all, but it was a good day.  We did make a nice dinner of pot roast, mashed potatoes and carrots -- Trevor and I enjoyed a nicer bottle of wine, but we also didn't change out of our pajamas all day, no Easter outfits over here.  Hopefully next year we will be able to celebrate with family and friends!

Christmas + Holidays 2019

Our holiday season in Spain has (finally) come to an end -- I know I am a little late to the post holiday recap but for us it only ended two weeks ago and I am finally getting our lives back in order.  After our trip to Florence, we hit the ground running with Christmas ballet recitals, school performances, parties and more --

Serafina had her first ballet recital and she freaking ROCKED it.  This was the first time on stage where she didn't completely freak out from stage freight and I am not sure who was more proud, us or her!  Then a few days later she had her Christmas dance performance at school and she ROCKED that too -- again just having so much fun on stage dancing!

For Christmas we spent Christmas Eve with friends at their house with of course no pictures because too much fun was being had. We rushed home late to put out cookies for Santa and get to sleep... Or Serafina went to sleep and Trevor and I played Santa which is seriously so much fun!

Christmas morning was amazing.  Serafina had been asking for a Barbie Dream house for months so we went all out and got her a HUGE doll house!  She had a blast and in true Serafina fashion, she was more excited about the presents she got for Trevor and I than the ones she got.  It was the sweetest thing.

best we could get!

We also had our very good friends over for brunch -- a waffle and mimosa bar.  The kids had so much fun playing with all their new toys and the adults had fun just hanging out.  It was a wonderful Christmas.

Then we had a relaxing week (with Serafina of course being sick) before we celebrated New Years and this year we had the party at our house!  We had our close friends over, ate and drank and the kids ran wild -- then around 11PM we made our way to the main plaza in our town to ring in the New Year!  And yes all the kids came with us, this is Spain -- kids come to every big event and party and stay up very late!  The parents ate their grapes at midnight and toasted with champagne while the kids ate M&Ms and toasted with sparking fruit juice (called Magic).  Serafina thought it was the most fun night ever and loved celebrating with all of her friends.

We then had another few days to recover before the next (and final holiday) -- Three Kings Day (read more about it here).  This is the big holiday for Spain.  The Kings enter the cities on January 5th, usually in the morning and kids have a chance to tell them what they want and talk with the Kings.  Then in the evening there is a parade through each town -- each King has a float and throws candy and toys to all the people along the route.  It is crazy and fun and wild and seriously one of my most favorite days of the entire year.

And then the Kings deliver presents that night (much like Santa on Christmas Eve), so Serafina was excited to leave out some treats for the Kings and wake up to find they had left her a few gifts on the morning of January 6th!

And then after three holidays in two and a half weeks, we were all exhausted and ready to get back into our routine of school, work and life.  But we had another wonderful holiday season in Spain!

Weekend Adventures {Barcelona, Spain}

For Thanksgiving this year, we took a longer weekend away to Barcelona with two other families -- and we had a blast!  We did some stuff on our own and some with our friends, it was a perfect to see what we all wanted to see while also enjoying some time with the other families.

We stayed here and while the location and room were amazing, we had some unpleasant neighbors which really was not fun to deal with.  We used public transportation (the metro) a lot and it was so easy to navigate, one of the better systems we have used.  If you plan on using the metro, then I recommend getting a day pass (or multi day pass) -- very easy to buy at the automated machines in the metro stations, but we did take a taxi to/from the airport as it was easiest and not that expensive.  Also, Barcelona is a big tourist destination, I highly recommend getting tickets in advance for the popular sights.  While we went in a more off season time, we were still happy to have tickets in advance, especially for Sagrada Familia and Park Güell.

Barcelona has a lot to do and because we wanted to see as much as we could in three full days, we packed it.  So here is all we did and my tips/tricks as well -- 

Casa Batlló

Casa Batlló is a Gaudí designed house on the Block of Discord (known for the three houses with colorful facades) and was actually very fun and kid friendly.  We did buy tickets in advance, but probably didn't need to.  We checked the stroller, got our amazing audio-guides and explored the insanely weird but cool house.  The audio-guide was interactive which entertained Serafina (who also loved all the the crazy colors and tile).  The roof was very impressive and we all really liked the house.  Serafina is still talking about it -- this might have been one of her more favorite museum type things we have done.

Museu Picasso (Picasso Museum)
Pablo Picasso spent quite a few years in Barcelona and mastered his realistic painting style in the city.  The museum doesn't have the famous Cubist works but you will see many of Picasso's work from his earlier life/career and we really liked the museum.  And so did Serafina.  I can't remember if backpacks were allowed but we did check ours -- we did bring the stroller throughout the museum as Serafina was pretty tired and wanted to rest (there was an elevator that required someone to take you up and down).

Park Güell 

Another Gaudí designed part of the city -- this time it was supposed to be an upscale housing development, but now a gorgeous park overlooking the city.  Serafina seriously loved the park, she could run, explore and there was always something fun to see.  Part of the park requires a timed entry ticket and I highly recommend going into the Monumental Zone -- while crowded, it really was cool to see.  You can spend as long as you want within the Monumental Zone but once you leave, you can't return.  And while it is a park, there are no playgrounds but plenty of spaces for kids to run (and sort of stroller friendly -- lots of stairs).

Sagrada Familia
Antoni Gaudi's masterpiece and probably one of the most well known churches in the world (and with good reason, it was amazing).  The church is unfinished so it will constantly have scaffolding and work being done -- but also means you can go each year and see something new.  Advance tickets are a must (buy here -- and note that children under 6 aren't allowed to go up the towers, so we could not do that this trip).  The church also has a long (and strict) check in process, so be prepared to go through bag checks and x-ray machines.  And speaking from experience, don't bring large bottles of liquids (like beer you plan on sharing with your friends later) into the church).  The church was gorgeous and dramatic and unreal -- just spend time walking around and taking it all in.  We stayed right by the church and got to see it from the outside quite often and Serafina just loved it, our true church loving gal was so sad we only got to in once!

Las Ramblas
The gorgeous and famous boulevard running from Plaça de Catalunya down to the water.  The boulevard has a gorgeous and wide pedestrian strip in the middle making it a very easy (and worthwhile) place to walk.  And of course you must stop into La Boqueria Market -- the most famous market hall in Barcelona (and most central).  It has so many stalls with different types of food.  We grabbed a wide range of treats and more to have as a picnic up at....

Montjuïc
Montjuïc is a large hill that overlooks the port with a large castle/fortress as well as the area that has hosted the world's fair in 1929 and more recently, the 1992 Summer Olympics.  To get to Montjuïc, we took the metro from the end of Las Ramblas (near the Columbus Monument) to the closest metro station to the Teleferic de Montjuic (the cable car) and road that up the mountain -- which was quite fun and the kids loved it.  We went straight to castle and while not a lot to see, the views were gorgeous (but do remember that this castle/hill was used as the place of many political executions during the Franco area).  We also had a lovely picnic up near the castle.

We then chose to walk down the hill so we could go see the various sights of the 1992 Summer Olympics.  We didn't go to the museum, but walked into the Olympic Stadium which was so cool to see (this was the sight of the amazing lighting of the Olympic flame by an archer + arrow).  We then made our way to...

Plaça d'Espanya
While mostly just a large roundabout -- go to the bullring mall, called Las Arenas, to the top floor and look back at the esplanade with the Magic Fountain -- this was the sight of the World's Fair in 1929.  The fountain puts on a huge lights/music show in the evenings, just be aware of the times and such (because we went in the off seasons, we didn't get a chance to see the performance).

Monserrat
We also took a day trip into the mountains to Montserrat which is famous for its monastery sitting on the mountain top.  Getting to Monserrat from Barcelona is quite easy -- the trains leave hourly from Plaça d'Espanya and it takes about an hour.  We opted to get off at the first stop for Monserrat and take the cable car up to the top (which was quite high and scared the crap out of me!).  I recommend getting the train/cable car combo ticket when you buy your train tickets in Barcelona -- will save you a little time because you don't have to wait in line for the cable car ticket.  We took the rack railway back down the mountain which was also very easy (again get the combo ticket and you'll switch trains to head back to Barcelona at the second rack railway stop).  And Monserrat is a huge tourist destination so be prepared for crowds so matter when you go.

Once at the top, everything is fairly close together -- we didn't bring a stroller but we saw people who did.  While on a hill, it was easy to get around. There is a large cafeteria and a restaurant buffet place, but we opted to bring our own snacks to have a picnic.  We went into the monastery and joined the line to touch La Moreneta -- the famous tanned Virgin Mary (that has darkened over time).  She is behind a glass, but you can touch the royal orb (or as Serafina calls it "the ball").  We also took the Sant Joan Funicular to the actual top and hiked down.  We hiked the steep but easier path back down (very wide and concrete -- hard to miss or get lost).  The views at the top and the walk back down were amazing, especially since the clouds cleared!

So -- eating in Barcelona.  We did not eat any Spanish food, not once.  We can get Spanish food anytime we want and since we were in a bigger city, we went with food we knew we couldn't find easily in our part of Spain.  Breakfast was typically in our apartment, lunch was on the go (picnics or take away food).  We had Thanksgiving dinner at La Taqueria (Mexican food) and it was amazing.  It had actual spice -- like make you cry and sweat spice.  We were all in heaven!  We ate (and drank) at Barcelona Beer Company, the food wasn't great (typical pub food) but the beer was amazing.  And finally we loved Via Napoli (Italian), such good food and a great kids menu.

I can't believe it has taken us this long to get to Barcelona but we loved it and now need to figure out how to get back before our time here in Spain is up!





Quick note about safety -- Barcelona (and Catalonia) have been in the news lately (2017 Las Ramblas attack, the vote for independence and then the arrest of those leading the pro-independence movement (just this past October)).  There have been many protests and marches -- it hasn't always been the safest place to visit recently.  However, we never felt unsafe, never saw any protests and thoroughly enjoyed our time in Barcelona.  Like any trip/travel we do, we follow the State Department travel warnings which are usually very helpful and accurate.  

Easter 2019

We had a slightly different Easter this year that in years past.  Becasue Serafina goes to public school, she had all of Semana Santa (or Holy Week) off of school -- spring break essentially.  And we decided to travel (post coming soon, I promise).

Semana Santa is the week leading up to Easter, starting with Palm Sunday or Domingo de Ramos and every town in Spain celebrates with processions -- read more about the celebrations here (2016) and here (2017) or here (2018).  So instead of going to all the processions, we spent the week traveling around Portugal.

But we did arrive back in time for Serafina and I to catch one procession, the one on Viernes Santo or Good Friday.  This processin starts usually very early in the morning (like 2am) and goes until noon-ish, so the whole procession is walking for 10+ hours.  Serafina and I saw the procession towards the end.  It was amazing to see and we even saw a few of Serafina's classmates who had been walking for part of the procession as well!

Trevor and I also had a date night this evening and went to some of the processions that occur later in the evening on Good Friday.  These processions are much more somber than many of the others because they are depicting Jesus dying on the cross, so while it is a more quiet atmosphere than a typical Spanish event, it is still amazing to see.

We also went to the Easter event on base -- a huge color run and an egg hunt.  We skipped the color run (we did it last year) and just went for the egg hunt which sadly was a little disappointing for all of us. Serafina was in an age group with four to six year olds and she just got ran over by the older/bigger kids and couldn't get any eggs.  It was really sad to watch -- but she did love seeing her friends and playing in the bounce houses.  No pictures because it was pretty caotic...

Then we had a very lazy and family filled Easter Sunday.  Serafina enjoyed her goodies from her Easter baskets (one from us and one from my parents!).  We had a wonderful brunch with just us and then went to the beach later in the afternoon -- again no pictures because we were too busy enjoying the moments!

So while our Easter looked very different than in years past, we still loved celebrating together as a family.  I hope you all had a wonderful Easter however you celebrated!

Christmas + Holidays 2018

I know it seems like we are well past the holiday season, but here in Spain it just ended last week!  I wrote about how Spain does the holiday season here which typically starts around the first weekend in December but it doesn't end until Dia de los Reyes or Three Kings Day which is January 6th.

My parents were here during the entire holiday season in Spain which made it so much more amazing and fun to have them with us!  We started our holiday season off in Germany going on an epic Christmas market trip.  We also took my parents to Arcos for their Live Nativity event (which is simply amazing and should be seen at least once). 

On Christmas Eve we had a wonderful dinner with very close friends of ours, starting off the evening by having drinks at our favorite beach bar (called a chiringuito).  We didn't have too late of a night because we all had to get home to go to bed so Santa could come!  Serafina was totally into Santa this year and it made it that much more fun -- she wrote a letter, happily sat on his lap telling him what she wanted!
Santa does come to the kids in Spain but much less. maybe just a small gift.  There isn't a Santa at the mall where you get your picture taken and tell him what you want (we do all of that on base)... Kids aren't talking about what Santa is bringing them or what they got from Santa.  Christmas is still a large holiday in Spain, but it is not typically celebrated with all the presents.  

Christmas morning was so much fun!  Serafina was so beyond excited to see that Santa ate the cookies she left out (and drank the milk) and to see all the presents that were left under the tree.  She was completely into opening presents and helping everyone else open presents -- it was so much fun to watch her!  We then had some good friends over for a big Christmas brunch, everyone still wearing their pajamas.  It was a lot of fun and we loved every minute of it!

My parents were still here for New Years so Trevor and I were able to hit the town (of Rota) to experience the big huge street party and group grape eating!  We started out at a good friend's house and then made our way to one of the main plazas in town.  At midnight as the clock was striking we all shoveled grapes into our mouths, laughing and trying not to choke!
I seriously love the Spanish traditions -- eating grapes at midnight to signify luck/wishes for the coming year.  Some say each great represents a month of good luck, others say your wish(es) for the year will come true if you eat all of your grapes.  At each chime of the clock (at midnight), you eat one grape, in theory eating them all.  We cheat and get the small/seedless/peeled grapes.  My Spanish teacher tells me that is not the fun way to do it :)  Serafina's school had a party on the last day before vacation and the kids had their own new years countdown and ate these corn puff things instead of grapes -- so adorable!

And the season is not over yet -- because on January 5th is easily one of my most favorite events in Spain.  The cabalgata (parade) of Los Reyes (the Kings) coming through the city in anticipation of leaving gifts for all the children that evening to open the next morning.  This is Spain's big huge holiday -- Dia de los Reyes on January 6th.  Children write letters to the Kings, sit on their laps telling them what presents they want.  Everyone wishes you a happy holiday and that they Kings bring you many gifts and all that you want!  The Kings even go to each school (at least in our town) and the kids get to visit with them and write letters -- Serafina was SO excited to come home one day before vacation started and tell me all about her visit with the Kings!   

So on January 5th, we went out into town with everyone else and to watch the cabalgata parade through the city.  The parade is not long (maybe 8-10 floats and it moves fairly quickly) but it sure is fun.  Each float throws hard candy (and by throw, I really mean chuck, pelt, throw very hard) at the crowd.  Each King has their own float and they throw toys in addition to the candy -- typically big blow up balls, stuffed animals and other soft-ish/random stuff.  It is pure chaos and so much fun.  Everyone is flying for the toys and candy, you're ducking and covering your head to protect yourself from the hard candy being thrown because it does hurt when you get hit.  And so much laughter.  Serafina freaking LOVED it -- was so so so into it.  Because our town is small, you tend to go to a few different spots along the route which makes it so much more fun.

how adorable are my parents :)

Then we all woke up on January 6th with more presents -- the Kings came to our house!
You leave your shoes out so the Kings leave the presents next to/in your shoes, just like Santa leaving presents under the tree.  The Kings get all over Spain using camels. no magical flying reindeer and sleigh for them so you can also leave out treats for the camels who are making a long journey across the country.

Then finally (or sadly) the holiday season is over... Kids go back to school and life resumes.  But don't forget that rebajas (or sales) start January 7th :)

And for fun -- a little throw back to the past two cabalgatas for los Reyes

2018

2017