Park Guell

What a lazy day we had today. I've started waking the kids up early in preparation for our official back to school routine starting in 10 days. Of course, early on vacation means 10 AM; not really early, but at least it is before noon. We took a walk to a local market for groceries and then a leisurely train ride to Park Guell. It was a wonderful day spent together just walking and talking. I can not even express how much I appreciate this time with my kids.

While we are enjoying Barcelona, it certainly is not being ranked as one of our top vacation spots. Our rankings still are Kenya, Rome, and Jordan. As I write that I can't help but think about how lucky we are to have been able to take such wonderful vacations over these past three years. I'll save that comment and my thoughts about that for another day though.

Back to Barcelona.....It is an interesting city. We wonder if it would be a big vacation spot had it not been for Gaudi. Seems everything is tied to his works. We've wandered along the streets of the city freely and without worry. Our tour books advise to really watch for pick pockets, so Jim actually bought a fanny pack! I didn't think we'd be buying one of those until we retired and traveled alone, but since we don't have much to carry, we decided now was time enough. I am using a small but useful purse that I received from my friend Barbara for my birthday. It is perfect for my small items that I want to keep close.

After another dinner at Hard Rock tonight, we headed back to the apartment to watch the one show on the single English channel.....you guessed it ....Columbo AGAIN! It is hard for me to just relax and spend time sitting around the apartment, but I'm also spending some time preparing for our schools' wonderful Orientation Day. There is a teacher at the school who has organized this day for all new students. He was new from a school in Russia last year and found that this type of program was missing. I am so excited to be helping him with this event. It has taken lots of time, but I love this kind of "stuff"!

So, it is 11:00 and we are all ready for bed. Another get ready for school exercise. Time for my prayers which always start with a Thank You for this wonderful day.