Zipping Thru the Trees

One of the new perks of having a car is that when the kids are invited to events outside the city I no longer have to rely on other parents or, as I often did, just RSVP no and not tell the kids they were even invited.  Avoidance at it's best.  I'm not proud.  But now when the kids are invited somewhere I'm the first to respond yes (assuming they want to go) and now volunteer to be that parent to take other kids.

Today was one of those days.  Aidan had a birthday party outside the city, about a 40 minute drive.  It was being held at a place called Jalpi Aventura (http://www.jalpiaventura.com/).  Now I've been checking out this website and the place looked very cool.  Set in the woods outside of Barcelona where the kids could not just be one with nature but climb and swing through the trees.  What a perfect way to spend a Sunday.

And lucky for us, the rain that plagued us for the last week and is looking to rear it's ugly head again this coming week, gave us a reprieve and there was not a cloud in the sky as we made our way to the park.  And as promised, I brought other kids in the car as well.  It's been so long since I've had kids other than my own in a car, 3 years really.  And it was so interesting hearing the conversation between Aidan and 2 of his friends on the way there.  It went something like this "video game, video game, poop, video game, poop, video game".  Ah the joys of being 8 years old.

The park was amazing.  Set up in the woods, it just felt good to be outside and involved in something that is totally new for Aidan and I.  And no, I did not zipline.  Ha!!  But I definitely would like to go back and bring Josh and Liam because they would love this too.  Aidan was in his element.  He's so athletically inclined to begin with and combine the outdoors, his friends and climbing and you've got a happy kid.

As we are getting ready to leave Barcelona to head to the country!

The instructors were really good.  They were young guys who might as well have been monkeys the way they scaled the trees to help out the kids.  They spoke a little English but rather than take a chance with a misinterpretation, they actually had one of Aidan's friends who speaks both Spanish and English, do the translation when they were going thru how to be safe - using the carabiners and making sure that you always have one carabiner hooked to a line.  I was, admittedly, a little nervous when the kids didn't seem to be getting the whole, do not remove both carabiners at the same time, thing.  But eventually they got it.  Without intentionally planning it, the parents that were there picked a group and just followed them the whole way through making sure everyone was being safe and that no one needed help.  It worked out really well.

Aidan getting his harness on... and he's sooooo excited!!!

Aidan and his best bud, Max...

Learning the rules....

Aidan learning how to hook his carabiners the right way

The kids did the blue course which is for anyone over 130cm.  Basically the kids were able to do pretty much any course at their height but this was the starter one for them.  And it was tough!!  And it was high up!  And there is no way I could even imagine doing this.  Hell, I thought jumping one meter into the Mediterranean in Menorca was like jumping off the Empire State Building - you want me to walk across tiny wood planks being held up by ropes or walk along a tightrope??  I don't think so!  So I was glad that the parents weren't participating, only watching!

I took a few videos of Aidan when he would zip line... On one of them, I admit to not being good about looking ahead to see if Max was clear before telling Aidan he could go.  As you'll see, there is a bit of a scramble to get Max down in time!!  Here they are:

http://youtu.be/RBcqPl9OOF0

http://youtu.be/qrbejjMayUo

http://youtu.be/wl1CuGr2ofQ

http://youtu.be/ArSGEZXJ7Bo

 http://youtu.be/tLQorkM8G5g

Aidan taking his first steps on the course - pretty high up but this part is simple

The first platform

Walking the tightrope... um, no thanks!

They had to climb up this rock wall even higher and then climb across the ropes - not easy!

Finishing up the first course... 

After finishing the first course, they moved on to the next one.  This one was definitely more difficult and at one point Aidan slipped and fell.  I think we were both pretty thankful for the harness and the safety ropes and carabiners.  He was a little frustrated when he couldn't get back up but in the end he let it go and moved on.  The instructors came over and pulled him back up and it was back to normal.

Another tightrope

This is the part of the course where Aidan fell.  these planks are not connected to one another, so they swing quite a bit!

Feeling defeated...

This is a serious workout!!

Done!!!

The kids finished up the day with lunch down at the chiringuito at the bottom of the hill where they then proceeded to play and I mean play hard through the fields and woods and even climbed a few trees.  When Aidan went to bed at 7:30 tonight, I would say he was out within 5 minutes.  Perhaps this should become a weekend tradition ;)

Climbing trees!

Besos,
Julie

Changing with the Times - Sant Medir 2013

Now, normally I should be writing about the Festa de Sant Medir in real time.  In case you've forgotten or maybe I haven't told you before, in Spain (and I believe most of Europe), holidays are actually celebrated on their actual day - not observed on a Monday or Friday.  So since today is March 3, the Festa de Sant Medir should have happened today.

But it didn't.  Instead, much to our surprise it was yesterday, March 2.  At first we thought, hmmmm.... maybe it wasn't on the 3rd the last few years.  But then I looked back on pictures and my calendar and yup, it's been March 3rd year after year.  The good news is that this made it easier to get out of my street today when Aidan and I had a birthday party to go to.  The bad news is my Saturday shopping was a bit miserable with the tons and tons of crowds!!

And that, my friends, is exactly why the festival was changed.  Yes, someone finally made the connection that having a festival on a Saturday is a great way to boost the economy, at least here in Gracia (it's only a festival held in this part of the city).  How did I find this out?  Well, I was doing my weekly shopping at my "other" stores (other meaning stores other than my grocery store and fruit and veggie stand - this means my American store, the cheese store, the butcher, the Italian store, etc etc which I do while the kids are at tennis on Sat with Josh) and when I was chatting with the woman who runs the Italian store, I asked her... isn't Sant Medir usually on the 3rd?

Her response?  Yes it is, but since last year it was on a Saturday for the first time in 7 years and the merchants were sooooo pleased with the extra money in their pockets, they decided that instead of having the festival on Sunday which would have been the 3rd (on Sunday EVERY shop is closed here, even the grocery store), they decided to move it to Saturday in the hopes that more money would be made.  Smart move Gracia...smart move indeed.

Now I'm not saying we have to move every festival to the weekend and in fact, I wouldn't like that.  I like that tradition is held near and dear to the people in Spain.  However, I think there needs to be a happy medium.  In a time where there is 26% unemployment, people need to think outside the box as well as on occasion, bend in their traditions just a little bit for an end result that will hopefully in the long run help turn things around.

So to get back to the festival.  We heard the booms of fireworks around 8AM and thought....hmmmm, no way they could be doing this today.  And then Josh went out running and said there were horses on some of the street getting ready.  Um, ok, so maybe it is today????  The kids were bummed that they had to go to tennis but now that we have a car they don't have to leave until 10:40 and the festival starts around 9:30.  And so Josh took them out for a little bit before tennis so they could collect some candy.

Oh yeah, I should probably remind you what Sant Medir is in case you forgot from years' past.  Sant Medir is considered the "sweetest festival" here in Gracia.  We have parades running up and down all different streets during the day (with the exception of siesta of course) - often times running into each other at varying intersections.  During these mini parades, there are horses and batucada (percussion band) and "floats" (I use that term loosely as they are trucks with the sides pulled up) where the people on board don't just throw but hurl candy at the crowd.  Hard candy mind you.  And it hurts when it hits!

Walking around doing my errands I caught a few shots and then when the kids got home from tennis there happened to be part of the parade finishing up near our square and as we walked to lunch.  So we grabbed a tote and started catching candy.  The only downside to the festival being on a Saturday...the night time parade.  This is a collaboration of all the individual street parades that do a specific route and ends down Gran de Gracia.  Last year since it was on a Saturday it was beyond jam packed with people... to the point where Aidan said he didn't care about the candy and there were too many people and can we please go home.  So this year, since it was Saturday again, we didn't even bother with the evening parade.  Slacking a little bit on our festival attendance, perhaps a little bit of laziness as well, but I can't help but say I wasn't disappointed to not have to shove our way through the crowds.

Here is some video I took from my iphone as I walked home from the grocery store.  Notice the cars being pelted in the street with hard candy... glad I have a garage!!  Also notice the wheels on the wagons - they are COVERED in candy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ9drPCuAOw 

Batucada near our square

Collecting candy from the street

Waiting patiently

Ok band move along, we want candy!!!

Some of the people on the street were handing porrons of wine to the people in the parade - a porron is a type of wine pitcher with a spout so you can pour it right into your mouth.  Click on the picture to see it larger.

More horses

More drinking... seeing a theme here?

These two horses were less than happy and were jumping up as best they could on their hind legs.

More batucada

Mmmmm.... candy!

Traditional "float"

Aqui, aqui!!!!

Waiting in the street for more candy

But in the end, it was a fun way to spend part of a Saturday, enjoying the traditions of our neighborhood, collecting some candy and then trekking our way thru the sticky streets of Gracia back towards home (this must be the street cleaners worst nightmare).

Besos,
Julie

Our Final Day - London Aquarium

We were incredibly lucky with the weather in London pretty much the entire time we were there.  We had temps in the upper 40s during the day with sun (yes sun, in London!).  However, as we knew, this couldn't last.  And our last day the weather was... blech.... it started off with some rain (surprise!) and temps in the lower 30s with a promise of only improving by a few degrees.

Our last token shot by Big Ben...

And the London Eye (the aquarium is the building right in front of it)

This made our choice for our final day in London all the better - the Aquarium.  Situated near Big Ben and the London Eye, we figured we would also try the latter if we had enough time.  Similar to every museum we have been in so far, the Aquarium was equally busy with a lot less space to put everyone in!  It was the first line we had to wait in since we actually had to pay for the aquarium unlike the museums in the city.  But it went fast and before we knew it, we were in.

As far as aquariums go, it wasn't too bad.  It wasn't the best nor the worst.  I would say it has less species than the one in Barcelona but it is a whole lot more kid friendly than the one we have here.  The aquarium here in Barcelona is more formal feeling and kids can't just be kids - they are expected to be silent.  But here in London, the setup was more like a pirate ship which oozed kids.  There was a shark tank which you could actually walk over - a pretty cool experience.  And of course, lots of places for the kids to sit and watch the fish swim by.

Walking over the shark tank... I will admit, for me, a bit nerve wracking!

Kids playing on top of the shark tank - yup, a little more nerve wracking... can we move on already???

Touch tank!  Unlike at the New England Aquarium, there was only 2 things you could touch in this tank, but the kids were happy nonetheless.

Of course, because it was so crowded it was hard to sit and just watch the fish.  And Aidan, like myself, isn't a fan of crowds.  So we worked our way through the aquarium a bit faster than I think we normally would have liked.  But it was fun regardless and we had a good time checking out all the fish!

Seahorse looks like he's dead but I assure you he isn't... he's just holding on to the seagrass.

We waited to see if he would attack any fish below him but he just kept sitting there... BORING...

Watching the turtles

SHARKS!!

After the aquarium we had a few hours to spare before having to head over to the airport.  We grabbed lunch nearby - sadly it was not the most impressive lunch and I really hate leaving a city on a "bad" note.  But we were all in good moods and so we didn't let it keep us down.  I think overall we covered pretty much everything, well everything except the London Eye which that day didn't have any availability til 3PM when we had to head to the airport.  So I guess we'll have to save that one for our next trip ;)

All in all, London was more than I could have hoped for it to be.  It was a little taste of home and yet, totally and completely different from home.  It was fun, educational and a really great family trip!!  Up next month for the fam... Malta!!

Besos,
Julie