We took our children on a surprise trip to Barcelona. We packed their bags and left them by their beds with a note that said “Put on a collared shirt. An adventure awaits you. Stay tuned for instructions.” The boys knew right away this surprise entailed a plane since they needed to wear a collared shirt. What? You don’t dress nicely to fly?
Bird and Deal did not know where we were going until Mac Daddy printed our boarding passes at the airport. When the boys saw the airport code BCN they were clued in. Their eyes positively lit up, second in brightness to their smiles. We enjoyed a bevy of fun on this trip. It’s a luxury to spend 10 days in just one city. We rented an apartment and made ourselves at home. There was no rushing tourist agenda for this family. We spent our time eating, meandering, window shopping, and indulging. We stayed up late (dinner in Barcelona is at 9:00, well past the boys’ regular bedtime!) and slept late (thanks to the fantastic sunlight blocking doors at our apartment).
Mac Daddy and I enjoyed sangria daily, while the boys had orange or lemon Fanta (a treat since we are a no-soda household!). Barcelona sangria is slightly sweeter than what I normally make so it was a nice day time treat that we enjoyed with a long, laid back tapas lunch. The food on this trip was fantastic. I swear, I have more photos of the meals we ate than the sights we saw. Bird ordered cuttlefish for every meal. Deal ate his weight in carpaccio.
I’ll have more to write about our culinary adventure. What fun it is to travel with open minded eaters who relish food as much as we do! For now, I’ll share my take on a Barcelona style sangria. Remember, the beautiful thing about sangria is that you don’t really have to measure anything, and winging it is just fine.
¡Salud!