The Quick & Dirty

Our alarm clocks are set for 3:30am, so I’m taking a different approach to this long-overdue post. The skinny in record time.

Tom did such a great job describing Cinque Terre that I barely need to add anything except to say that I thought my camera was going to spontaneously combust from overuse. Wow. Go there. Now. And the fooooood. Gah.

After leaving Cinque Terre, we headed to Tuscany and settled into a fantastic spot, half way between Florence and San Gimignano. Best moments in no particular order:

A super fun pizza & gelato making course in Florence
Street buskers
The Duomo, duh
Leonardo Da Vinci Machines Museum – totally hands’ on for the kids
Listening to 39 Clues on audiobooks (for hours)
The Tuscan countryside
Finding an English bookstore. We went back every day. For hours.

Least favourite moments (in no particular order):

Lucy getting nailed by a pigeon while eating gelato (she was not impressed. Maybe you heard her in Vancouver?)
The crowds (Ponte Vecchio, ouch)
Listening to 39 Clues on audiobooks (for hours)
Leaving Italy

After Italy, we drove back along the French coast towards Spain, stopping for 4 days in beautiful Languedoc, near Carcassonne. We stayed in our favourite spot yet – a wonderful getaway run by a couple of expat Brits, Tilly & Will, and their 2 young sons. http://www.domainedecapies.com . It was peaceful and lovely and we had to tear the kids (and ourselves) away – there were chickens and rope swings, impromptu soccer games and pool, tons of space, a hammock grove. Really, truly magical spot and a great place to recharge and rest. And don’t even get me started on the outdoor ‘Barn Bar’.

Fast forward one week and here we are in bustling Barcelona.

We spent Halloween riding the coasters at Portaventura – the original EuroDisney-turned-Universal-turned-private, about an hour south of Barcelona in Salou. It smacked of Disney, however, with its themed lands (Mexico, China, Polynesia, etc) and glitzy hotels. Fun, clean and gorgeous but crazy busy and so expensive. Our hotel included breakfast, so like the classy Griswolds that we are, we made the kids eat until they nearly perforated their stomachs and then refused to feed them for the rest of the day. I think we may have broken Tom that day. Good times.

Our first 2 days in Barcelona were spent running errands – fixing a smashed iPhone (Jean), getting haircuts (Tom & Mike), going to the chiropractor, twice (sigh..Mike) and doing laundry, paying bills and all that good stuff. Henry and Lucy stayed in their pj’s all day and, I think, watched 3 movies back-to-back. In between movies, of course, they did all sorts of schoolwork. Loads. Ahem…

My mom and Nancy arrived yesterday morning and it’s been a whirlwind reunion. We’ve wandered the Ramblas, eaten at the Boqueria, toured Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia and wandered through Parc Guell.