Barcelona and a Whole Lot of Chaos

WOW… can you believe we are already almost through the month of March? Because I truly cannot. So much has happened since my last blog, so let me catch you up.

February was insanely busy, and then we rolled right into March, where Mark left again for work for a couple of weeks… so we were back in our #SoloParenting era and doing all the things.

Just before Lincoln’s birthday, we took a trip to Barcelona, Spain, and the kids had an absolute blast.

This was the first trip where Naomi really got it. She’s been learning about different countries in school, so she was fully invested in everything we were doing. From the airport to the city, she wanted to understand it all.

Because of our credit card perks, we had access to the airport lounge, and Naomi declared it the best food she has ever had. From that moment on, she proceeded to rate every meal on the trip against the lounge food… which, for the record, was basically a hotel breakfast buffet. But in her eyes? Five stars.

Once we arrived, we took a long stroll along the beach. The sun felt amazing, the breeze was salty, and the kids were fully invested in their seashell hunt. We grabbed dinner at Internacional Bar & Restaurante where I had the best margarita and some delicious tacos. Then, of course, we had to stop for gelato before heading back to rest for the night.

The next morning, we headed out for an e-bike tour of the city. I had signed us up for a 1.5-hour tour… but we somehow ended up on a 2.5-hour one. And honestly, it turned out to be better than we could have expected. We weren’t sure how the kids would do, but they loved every second of it.

We started at the Arc de Triomf, which was built to welcome visitors to the 1888 World Fair and symbolize openness to the world. From there, we rode to Parc de la Ciutadella, home to a stunning waterfall fountain that had design input from Gaudí. Fun fact: this park was once the only green space in the city for decades.

Speaking of Gaudí… Barcelona is filled with his work, and his designs are anything but traditional! They are colorful, creative, and completely unique.

Next, we visited the Sagrada Familia, which was absolutely breathtaking. One of my favorite details is that Gaudí intentionally designed it to be one meter shorter than the tallest mountain in Barcelona, because he believed nothing man-made should surpass nature. When completed, it will have 18 towers and stand as the tallest church in the world.

After the bike tour, we visited Casa Batlló, also known as the “House of Bones” because the exterior looks like fish bones. Inside, it was filled with vibrant mosaics, curved walls, and nature-inspired designs. It truly felt like walking through a piece of art.

After taking in all of Gaudí’s masterpieces, we stopped at a cathedral where there was a very detailed figure of Jesus on the cross. Link looked at it and very confidently said that Jesus “looked at the sun and turned into a statue with blood,” while Naomi followed up with the actual story of how he ended up on the cross. So between the two of them… we got the full interpretation.

That night, we found the best taco spot! Bonus; the tacos were only 1–1.50 euros each, and our biggest regret is not ordering more. The strawberry margarita there was also incredible.

On our last full day, we started at the Corgi Cafe! Which I have to say, this was some of the best breakfast we’ve had in over four years of living overseas. The food? 100/10. The coffee? Perfect. The corgi “manager on duty”? The real star of the show.

After breakfast, we took the kids to the zoo to keep them busy for most of the day, then headed back (yes, again) to the taco spot for a late lunch before ending the day at a flamenco show. The live Spanish music, singing, and dancing were incredible, and the dresses were absolutely stunning.

We wrapped up the night early since we had a morning flight, but of course, we made one last stop at the airport lounge. This one actually had better food… and Naomi was not impressed.

Standards have been set.

At this point, any future person trying to impress Naomi has some very big shoes to fill, because this girl has lived. And the best part is, she knows how lucky she is to experience