Greetings from Barcelona!
I have been saving to take my daughter on a trip to Europe (originally it was just Paris) since I read an article in our local paper when she was 4 years old. Now she is 12 and we made it!
We arrived yesterday and put in a full day. We are staying at Hotel Praktik Bakery. Yes! That means there is a full fledged bakery when you walk in! We tried it for lunch and it was quite yummy! Here I am:
To push through our jet lag, we took the hop on hop off tour bus which we didn't really just stayed out on. It was a great way to see the WHOLE city and learn some interesting facts, too. I had out the route map, circled where we want to explore more and even jotted down some notes. I found out the Barcelona Futbol Club was founded in 1899 and the stadium can hold 100,000 people. There are more than 100km cycle lanes here and more mopeds are registered here per capita than any other city in Europe. You see them everywhere! It's really cool to see the women ride them! We need to get to the Jardins because all the gardens are names after poets who wrote in Catalan.
Speaking of poets, we got off the bus a little and explored the Barri Gotic neighborhood and stopped by the Museu de la Xocolata. Delish! Your entry ticket is a dark chocolate bar! Too bad we can't bring home any souvenirs from there. 
And why did I say, "Speaking of poets?" because I'm crazy and bought an extra copy of "The Crossover" with me and will be posing with it throughout. Here I am with it in front of a chocolate Louis Armstrong:
Not only am I a leaping librarian, but I am crazy, too!
We saw some great views of the city from our bus:
Tari has a real camera with a great eye for photography and is taking much better pictures than these with people's feet and heads in the way!
Later, on real Barcelona dinner time at 10:30, we enjoyed a delicious meal of tapas here, recommended my cousin, Josh, who lives in Barcelona. We can't wait to see him tomorrow!
Stay tuned for more leaps today!
Adios!
I am so envious. I have never been to Barcelona, or anywhere in Spain for that matter. It is on my bucket list though as my friend just went and had a seriously amazing time!!! Enjoy this incredible experience, your daughter will never forget it!
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