will WE play in Peoria?

The plan today was to somehow wash the sand off Kaitlyn, grab a quick lunch, then drive into Barcelona to enjoy some outdoor time and an early dinner back at the Hard Rock.

I don’t know what came over me, but I actually suggested eating at the hotel. (Different restaurant.) We walked in and stood for what was beginning to be an eternity being completely ignored by the wait staff. Then Bill spotted last night’s waiter behind the counter of the coffee bar. That was it… we left. We drove up the street to town. There is restaurant after restaurant along the street across from the (sand) beach. None opened until 1, which gave Kaitlyn about a half hour at the playground.

Lunch was very good. Who knew food in Spain could taste that good? Proof that our hotel considers its restaurant patrons trapped like travelers stranded in an airport waiting on a delayed flight.

Too bad the pouring rain kept us from eating in town before. Too bad I didn’t just book us a hotel there, too. Live and learn.

I opened my eyes this morning and saw the most wonderful sight: blue skies.

Once Kaitlyn finally woke up (the late nights are going to make the return to a normal schedule very difficult)… she wanted to go to the beach.

I didn’t have her put on her bathing suit. The idea was to go play her new Barbie paddle ball game. (another great find at that stupid mini-mart in the hotel) She put on a skirt, t shirt, sweater and flip flops. I put on jeans and a jacket. It was sunny but hardly very warm… and still very windy.

We walked down to the sandy beach via the rocky stretch. Bill and I both thought we’d find a lot of shells washed up in the storm yesterday. We found a diver’s mask, a shoe insert, some can tops and lots of seaweed. Oh, and some pretty shells, too.

At the sand, Bill and Kaitlyn tried to play the paddle ball game. It didn’t last too long before Kaitlyn was digging in the beach bag for her bucket and shovel.

I shot some video of the two of them building a sand castle, then I wandered off to take video of the waves, the town, the runners along the promenade taking part in a triathlon. When I wandered back to the construction site, I found Kaitlyn sporting a soaking wet skirt and sweater… drenched as she ran squealing into the freezing cold waves. Bill said “what? You don’t have her bathing suit on under that?”

She had a great, sand-covered morning. That made staying outside Barcelona worth the hassle.

Dinner tonight was one to remember. But not for the reasons one hopes to remember a night out of vacation.

We drove back to Sitges from Barcelona since Kaitlyn was in no state to go to a restaurant and the nap she took in the car did her a world of good.

We had planned on driving down the mail beach street in town to see if anything looked good. But it was blocked off. Neither of us felt like wandering the street in the pouring rain, so we just went back to the hotel. Besides, pizza from the pizza place there sounded fine.

Getting a table wasn’t easy. Oh, the restaurant wasn’t full. And we were about to find out why. The waiter successfully ignored us while we stood there waiting to be seated. We should have taken that hint; we didn’t. Kaitlyn had me read her the menu and when I got to the second thing, her mind was made up. Shrimp tortellini.

We closed our menus… the international signal of one’s desire to order… and waited… and waited… and waited. People who’d come in after us had their food and the waiter hadn’t so much as nodded his head at us. We asked Kaitlyn if she’d eat something else at another restaurant. No way. Shrimp tortellini. After about 45 minutes of waiting, Bill walked up to the bar where the water was attempting to ignore several people trying to pay their bills. The waiter acknowledged our existence, so Bill came back to the table. Then I stared in disbelief as the waiter actually left the restaurant. Kaitlyn stood fast to her refusal to leave and after the display of screaming after the gift shop incident, we were not ready to see if she’d do that again. So I left the restaurant to find a solution. I walked across the hall to another restaurant to beg them to bring Kaitlyn shrimp tortellini if Bill and I would order from their menu. I couldn’t get that waiter to notice me, either. So I went to the front desk to complain. The response was barely above “so?” I stomped back into the restaurant to see the waiter at our table. I heard him say he’d come back to take my order and I actually hollered across the restaurant “Oh no you don’t! You aren’t leaving my table after taking 45 minutes to go to it!” As I sprinted past the other diners, I realized I probably looked pretty stupid. But, then again, none of them appeared to be having fantastic service and maybe were secretly happy that someone yelled about it.

As we waited for our food we noticed the cook was so fed up he had started delivering meals to the tables himself, rather than let food get cold waiting on the waiter. The French family at the table next to us got up to find the waiter so they could pay their bill. In France you can wait all night for the check to arrive and even they thought he took too long.

When the food did finally arrive, Kaitlyn’s didn’t look right. I cut one of her tortellini open and there was no sign of shrimp. It was something green. (Which if that was shrimp, shouldn’t have been eaten.) I tried it… no shrimp. She tried it and said “It has a good flavor.” And she ate it. And we never pointed out to her that it was wrong. Although it was frustrating since we’d only sat there as long as we had so that she could have shrimp tortellini.

After we paid, Bill questioned the wisdom of giving the waiter our room number. I don’t think that waiter is smart enough to do anything to get back at us. We’ll see who’s right.

Since we ended our trip to the aquarium at the snack bar (and, of course, gift shop), we couldn’t exactly go to dinner next. Most of what was left on my to-do-in-Barcelona list was outside. But that was out of the question. I’d completely forgotten about the flier I’d picked up for the Olympic Experience Museum, which Kaitlyn probably would have liked. Instead, I remembered the maritime museum. So that was where we went.

We got there by taking a bike taxi. It was dropping two people off at the aquarium as we were walking out. It didn’t look dry, but it didn’t look as wet as walking. The kid stuck pedaling people around said the ride would cost us 6 Euros, so we got in. Water poured off his little roof, onto the plastic bag on my lap, which funneled it into a puddle at my hip. By the time we reached the museum my entire butt and most of my left leg were soaked. I went into the ladies’ room to attempt to dry off using one of those obnoxious hand driers. Another woman was already using it to dry a pile of jackets and hats. None of which were stuck to her body. Since I couldn’t win the showdown over the warm air, and because I’m so short I probably couldn’t have gotten my butt dry anyway, I left the bathroom.

This museum was also very busy. They were out of audio guides. We didn’t bother to try to wait for one, since it’s normally not that successful an endeavor anyway as you run past exhibits to keep up with Kaitlyn. But once we got all the way inside we realized they’d have been handy. All the signs were in Spanish. The few in English didn’t provide any real insight. (“this is a fishing boat.” well, no shit, I figured that out by looking at it) Almost everything in the museum was a model or a drawing. Kaitlyn quickly got tired of it. Bill and I weren’t far behind, really, but we could hear the rain pelting the roof and with that raging outside we were in no hurry to leave.

At the gift shop on the way out Kaitlyn picked up a toy periscope and said she wanted it. We said no. She had a meltdown. From the gift s h op to the car she screamed and repeated “I want that toy.” over and over. It was horrible. Once we got to the car, she fell asleep before we were even out of the parking garage. There was no winning in that situation.

We got into Barcelona (by car) just before 2 and quickly discovered a lot of people had the same rain-avoidance plan we did: go to the aquarium. The line to buy tickets zigged and zagged away from the ticket window. At least it was under cover. Luckily, the aquarium had the good sense to fully staff the ticket window and despite the horribly long line, the wait wasn’t too bad… only about a half an hour.

As you’d expect, it was packed inside and Kaitlyn got frustrated by the crowds making it hard to see the displays. We all found it frustrating, but she was the only one complaining about it.

There were some displays worth pushing through the crowds to see: a tank of octopi actually swimming, cuttlefish who reproduce non-stop until they actually die of exhaustion. Kaitlyn found every fish from Finding Nemo. She wasn’t very impressed by the tube you walk through so that sharks and other fish can swim over your head.

I’d read online about the aquarium’s kid area… touted as being hands on. Touch a starfish! The map you get when you go in had a picture of a kid petting a starfish. But every tank in the kids area had a sign on it telling you not to put your hands in the water. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I saw a single starfish in there! I was more disappointed about it than Kaitlyn was. I think she actually forgot about it. I certainly wasn’t going to remind her.

I wish I could understand Spanish or Catalan or whatever they speak on tv here so I could know what they’re saying about the weather. The wind is so strong the tops of the palm trees are perpendicular to the trunk. The rain is coming down in buckets. It’s got to be like being in a tropical storm.

That didn’t stop us from going to the beach this morning. Oh, no, quite the contrary. Kaitlyn couldn’t fathom weather bad enough to keep one off the sand and out of the water. So we went to show her that, yes, sometimes the weather is that bad. Instead she showed us how stubborn she is.

The wind blew so hard, I could barely walk. I don’t know how Kaitlyn wasn’t blown right over. She and Bill walked ahead of me. When I caught up they were tucked into a corner by the stairs leading to the sand. Even back there the wind was shipping. Kaitlyn didn’t seem to notice as she played in a big hole someone else had so thoughtfully left there.

I walked out toward the water to see what it was like. I was very quickly very sorry. Sand pelted my legs; it stung. A lot. I had to turn my back to the wind because it was impossible to face into it. Back at the hotel, I had a heck of a time getting the sand out of my ears and hair. Bill kept complaining about the sand in his mouth. Very gross.

Guess who had a good time? Kaitlyn. Although she didn’t go into the ocean. And even she didn’t last long in the hurricane-simulator.

We’d seen a Starbucks across from the tourist bus stop outside Sagrada Familia and just couldn’t leave the city without going there. Especially since we were sopping wet… a hot drink sounded pretty appealing.

Now, you have to understand: Kaitlyn can turn any experience into a retail experience. We hadn’t even deciphered the Spanish on the menu when she started handing us pink travel mugs and begging for them. I refuse to buy anything else that won’t go in the dishwasher. Besides, where is she traveling that she needs a hot cup of coffee?

Instead of the not-needed travel mug, I convinced her to get a special drink. Since she doesn’t drink coffee or chocolate, this took some quick thinking. I ordered her a cold milk (impossible to find in Europe) with whipped cream on top. (so it would look like the pictures in the store) Gross? Maybe. But she was thrilled.

I got a chai tea latte. Bill got a cafe latte. And we topped it off with cheesecake, a blueberry muffin (no, not the “skinny” one, please) and two packages of caramel cookies.

Silly homesick Americans.

After nearly two hours on the stupid tourist bus, we got off and walked half a block through the rain to Casa Mila… an apartment building built by Gaudi.

There were signs indicating how long the wait is from certain points. The line was around the 30 minute mark… out of the rain and a heck of a lot better than that stupid bus. While we were waiting, an employee came out to warn everyone that the terrace was closed because of the rain. Would we rather come back tomorrow? We’re here… I’m not leaving.

The line conveniently winds past the big windows of the gift shop. Kaitlyn and I went in to pass some time while Bill enjoyed some quiet in the line. Kaitlyn picked out a small foam lizard made to look like a famous Gaudi statue in Barcelona. We haven’t seen the statue yet but she likes the lizard and that’s good enough for me. I bought it.

Once we got inside, we could see this Gaudi fellow had a serious problem with straight lines and right angles. We took an elevator up to the apartment you can walk through… after the elevator operator gave us one last chance not to use our tickets and come back tomorrow because the terrace is closed. I was beginning to think this terrace must be damn spectacular.

In the apartment, Kaitlyn dashed from room to room. She thought the sample of the bathroom was quite funny because the tank for the toilet was way up high. Otherwise, she didn’t stop to look at much for very long. I hope Bill took lots of pictures.

What I think was supposed to be the highlight of the tour was the attic. The audio guide was trying to explain to me what made it so special, but Kaitlyn wasn’t interested in standing still or even walking slow enough for the guide to make sense. “you’re now looking at the blah blah blah” which I’d passed 5 minutes ago. At least the audio guide was included in the ticket price.

Down the street there is an apartment that Gaudi renovated. It’s roof is supposed to look like a dragon. We used that to lure Kaitlyn to that building. We hadn’t planned on going in but there was no line, so in we went. Both Bill and I thought it was far more interesting than Casa Mila. The audio guide told me at one point that I was standing in the most magnificent room I’d ever seen. Quite a bold statement. I mean, that audio guide had never even met me before today. Oh, and we were allowed on the terrace of this building. I’m not sure why the other one was closed. But at least now I know it wouldn’t have been the most magnificent thing I’d ever seen.

I had made notes on some guide book recommended restaurants near some of the stops on our route today. Of course, none for near Sagrada Familia. There was no shortage of places to eat…. just a shortage of suggestions. So we chose pretty much at random. I figured wherever we chose had to be better than the McDonalds just out of Kaitlyn’s sight on the other side of the church.

I talked Bill into ordering some tapas to share. I mean, how can you go to Spain and not eat tapas? We got some fried shrimp, crab, chicken and beef. I don’t think Bill liked any of it. He seemed to eat a lot of Kaitlyn’s chicken nuggets. Well, at least we tried it.

From the restaurant, we walked through the pouring rain to the stop for the tourist bus. As we stood there getting soaked, we considered scrapping the bus and just taking the metro to the next Gaudi building we wanted to see. Normally it would have been an obvious decision. But in an effort to save time today, yesterday I stopped at a tourist office booth on Las Ramblas and bought the bus tickets. It was hard to just throw away 53 Euros. While we were debating the value of not standing in the rain, the bus arrived. We didn’t get on that one, too full. But moments later, two more buses pulled up… empty. Someone apparently realized the miserable rain necessitated extra buses. The dry ride put an end to any debate.

The bus was, indeed, dry. It was also packed, hot, stuffy, and had fogged up windows so you couldn’t see out very easily. It’s also a double-decker open top bus… allowing for great viewing in good weather if you sit up top. No one sat up top. No good viewing happened.

The bus was, also, going away from where we wanted to go. The stop we wanted was the last stop before where we got on. That meant we got to ride the entire two hour circuit to get to our destination… probably two stops away on the Metro. Ah, the best laid plans….

Bill has given up on taking the train into Barcelona. I’m already regretting not just staying there. This morning we drove from Sitges into the city. Thanks to the GPS, Bill found a parking deck right by Sagrada Familia. From there, we could take the touristic bus, avoid the train, and see the Gaudi sights.

The parking garage was just a couple of blocks away from the church. We spotted the church right away; it is too huge to miss. But we had more trouble figuring out where to go in. I had the description of the entrance for people arriving from the Metro or the tourist bus. It took me a couple of minutes to figure out we were on the back side of the building. I should have just looked for the line; that was a give-away. It wasn’t too bad a wait in the drizzle. I’d decided to drag along my guide books to help me get the most out of the sights. It did help me point out small details to Kaitlyn to try to keep her interested.

Inside, you can take an elevator to a platform between two spires. The line was about 2 hours long (so said the sign). The sign also said the trip isn’t recommended for anyone who is afraid of heights. I don’t really know why I even considered riding in the elevator. The long line spared me from that.

The church is a work-in-progress. That means it is a construction site. They would never let people walk right by a hard-hat area with welding going on in the U.S. Here, it’s just part of the appeal. I guess.