Feeling the Love

We arrived home and it almost feels like we never left. One thing that reminds me that we were away is the warm welcome I receive when I see people I haven't seen a year. Arriving in time for the big local holiday celebration was a great idea since we got to see so many people in one day.

A sign on the garage welcomed us home.

This cake was in our frig and another neighbor left fruit, milk, and fruit for us. A friend left cookies at the door and the next day we found peaches in the same spot.

We didn't sleep much, but 5 a.m. was a good time to set out a blanket for the parade and to talk the person delivering a newspaper in English right to our house! A friend picked me up so I could swim with the team, which is one of the things I missed most.

Good to go and good to come back!

Cruise

We had our first visitors!  We met about eighteen years ago when their kid was playing water polo and we would take our kid to games because they got us out of the house and nobody cares if your baby makes noise when everyone else is making noise, too.  We have kept in touch and one parent joined D. on his trip through the Grand Canyon.

There were about 100 people on their cruise, but they toured in groups of about twenty.

They were on a cruise that stopped in Barcelona for a bus tour and lunch. Afterward they had a bit of time before their next event so we headed to the docks.  It was easy to find and gave us a great view of the city.

We did not have much time so we walked to the Maritime Museum, which
is housed in the former royal shipyard, used in the 13th to 18th centuries.

In the window of the museum you can see the aduana, or customs, building.

Our friends brought us persimmons (called sharon,
different from the pointed caqui persimmon) from their tree!

After we said good-bye we took the scenic route back to the train.
This cat had been in different spots around town but has settled in the Raval area.

This is enclosed garden was part of a hospital and now houses institutes and a library (where we checked out seven books for free as long as we return them to a library that is part of the city's system).  It was a nice sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of the area.

I tried to capture the beauty, only to be distracted by the graffiti in the center of the picture.

One of the institutes in the building is Institut d'Estudis Catalans,
which was having a microscopy neuro-images exhibition.

What really caught our eye were the tiles.
I think if you click here you it will take you to a link that
you can scroll through a whole 360º of the room.

We were mostly wandering by shops at this point and this caught our eye, too!

chök was in a beautiful old building with a bakery in the back.

And then it was time to head home.  Another good adventure!