{"id":867,"date":"2010-05-02T23:38:13","date_gmt":"2010-05-03T06:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/westfamilyblog.com\/?p=867"},"modified":"2011-11-13T22:46:03","modified_gmt":"2011-11-14T06:46:03","slug":"barcelona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westfamilyblog.com\/?p=867","title":{"rendered":"Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barcelona was one of the main stops on our tour of Spain, and we enjoyed a six-day stay in this lovely city on the Mediterranean<\/a> that is the capital of Catalonia<\/a>. We rented a nice big apartment<\/a> in the Gothic Quarter<\/a>, site of some of the original settlements of Barcelona over two thousand years ago, and launched into our by-now-usual routine of sightseeing via long stroller rides,\u00a0making friends at playgrounds,\u00a0and eating at outdoor\u00a0cafes on squares where the girls could run around.<\/p>\n

One fun thing we did, thanks to Grandma Judy’s babysitting generosity, was go on\u00a0a tour of the city on Segways<\/a>, the\u00a0geeky two-wheeled one-person electric vehicles<\/a>. Turns out they are actually perfect for tour groups, as you can move around quickly but everyone regardless of fitness level can keep up. We had a great guide, Edgar, who among other things taught us a few local traditions including the centuries-old Catalan addition to traditional nativity scenes<\/a>. He also helped clear up a mystery from one day in\u00a0San Sebasti\u00e1n, where we saw groups of people in white clothes with bright red scarves gathered in squares piling up on top of each other while crowds cheered. \u00a0Turns out that was the day when two of Spain’s biggest soccer rivals,\u00a0Real Madrid<\/a> and\u00a0Futbol Club Barcelona<\/a>, played each other. \u00a0Fans of the Barcelona team showed support for their team — and some Catalan cultural pride — by demonstrating the\u00a0Catalan tradition of forming\u00a0human towers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other highlights included:<\/p>\n