London and Daffodils!

Just another quick post to show some of the pictures from our London trip with Dale and the daffodils that are blooming all over Cambridge now.

The very start of the daffodils in Cambridge

More early Cambridge daffodils

Dale and me in front of Tower Bridge

Fields of daffodils in St. James Park

Barcelona

Dale flew in last Monday, so we spent Monday and Tuesday in Cambridge and then Wednesday we flew to Barcelona. We had a late afternoon flight, so we didn't get into Barcelona until 9ish. We took the train into the city, found our hostel (the nicest one Ryan and I have stayed in!), moved in, and went walking in search of late dinner. Then we pretty much called it a day and turned in for the night.
Thursday morning we started out by visiting the Temple Expiatori Sagrada Familia. It is a cathedral (still under construction) designed by the Spanish architect Gaudi. There are several buildings and structures designed by him throughout the city and all stand out from their surroundings. The cathedral was unlike any other cathedral that we've seen. The embellishments and even the structure are all based on patterns and objects found in nature. Quite unique.

La Sagrada Familia

We went from there to see the outside of another Gaudi building. Then we walked along Las Ramblas, a main street in the town with lots of shops, markets, and plenty of buskers. We made our way through the Gothic district and to the Picasso museum. The museum was cool to see because they had so many of Picasso's early works before he developed his trademark style. From the museum we went to see another cathedral called La Seu, which was a much more typical cathedral. We made our way to the beach and after putting our hands in the Mediterranean, we had some good Paella at an outdoor restaurant.

Paella at an outdoor restaurant

Friday we started the day with a long hike up to the highest point in Barcelona, the Montjuic Castle. Before reaching the castle we first took in the outside of the National Gallery, the Font Magica, and the Olympic Stadium used in the 1992 games. Then we climbed up up up and finally made it to the top overlooking the Barclona Port. The castle itself was actually more of a fort that has been on the site since 1640 and has had several different uses.

Up in the castle overlooking the Port of Barcelona

After taking in the view from the top we went down down down and took the Metro to the Boqueria, the main central market in Barclona for some lunch. The late afternoon was mostly spent a little way out of the city at the Parc Guell, an entire park designed by Gaudi. It was another steep climb up to the park but thankfully was punctuated by escalators along the way.

Resting in Parc Guell

After taking in the park we went back into the city, walked the rest of Las Ramblas, and found a tapas bar in the Gothic district to eat at. Then we made one last metro trip out to La Sagrada Familia to see the cathedral lit up at night.

Tapas bar where we ate

Saturday morning we didn't really have time for any sightseeing, just made our way back to the airport and said goodbye to Barcelona. Saturday afternoon when we got into the airport we went straight to the Duxford Imperial War Museum and stayed there until they closed at 6. We rested in the evening to prepare for yet another day of walking when we went down to London on Sunday. Dale hadn't been to London before, so we spent the day (after a sung Eucharist service at St. Paul's cathedral) making our way around to the major London landmarks.
Unfortunately vacation always has to end, so now we are back at work and this pregnant lady is recovering from extreme amounts of walking in the past several days! Lots of Barcelona pictures in the link on the side bar.

The Bump 24 weeks

For those who are interested, here is an update on the magic growing bump