Barcelona, Spain

I did not like Barcelona - not even a little bit. Even when we were still an hour or so outside the city, I felt a pressure on my chest, the air seemed thick and heavy, and I couldn't breathe easily. The outer beltway around Barcelona was filled with ugly industrial companies, and the traffic was congested, with the pollution hanging in the air like a huge filthy canopy.

While we were stuck in traffic, we saw an interesting cemetery built into the hill. Maybe someday my punishment in hell will be to be buried there, to permeate my soul with the nasty Barcelona air for all eternity.

Once inside, Guy took us to an historic place called El Templo de La Sagrada Familia, designed by architect Antoni Gaudi. I simply could not find an ounce of apprection for his style anywhere inside of myself. I thought the building was disgusting and not beautiful in any way.

We found an Italian restaurant in a hurry, as once again dinnertime was almost over. The shops were closing quickly all around, and we really had no time to look around at all before it was time to return to St. Cyprien.

Driving South on the Motorway

The drive to St. Cyprien from Paris was about 10 hours. The scenery was so beautiful... the farms on the hillside looked like giant quilt squares with different patterns and textures and shapes.

Huge round hay bales dotting the fields... enormous white cattle roaming around in big groups... acres and acres of bright yellow sunflower farms with their heads turned toward the sun...

Paris, France

Paris was just 2-3 hours from the farm. We stopped there first and stayed 2 nights at a darling hotel called Grande Hotel Magenta. The photo above is the view from our window. It had a tiny little elevator that would make the bravest soul feel a bit nervous. Ana and Niki practiced their French by asking for the room key in French at the clerk's insistence. (He was a teacher.)

We saw the Opera House, which was on Niki's "must do" list, and the Eiffel Tower, of course. Musée du Louvre was on my list, and we got to see some amazing art, including the famous Venus de Milo, and the Mona Lisa. In the crowd in front of this spectacular painting, the guards ushered us around to the front, inside some ropes, when they saw we had a small child. There I was, face-to-face with her. It was more beautiful than I ever could have imagined, and the whole experience moved me to tears.

Joey was adorable to watch in the marble sculpture gallery. He looked at the written description for each piece (of course he can't read that well, especially not French) and then he stood back to view the art like a real pro.

The girls seemed fascinated too. Ana especially liked a piece that was set on a quilted mattress, made completely of marble. She could not get over the fact that it was stone because it looked so soft and inviting. I loved this gallery also, and I was amazed at this beautiful art and talent from so many years ago.

I talked to the girls about how Michel Angelo used to sneak the cadavers out of the morgue so he could study the inner anatomy of humans - how the muscles looked and worked underneath the skin - so he could create more life-like images. My mind escaped to one of my favorite books of all time, by Irving Stone, called The Agony and the Ecstasy, about Michel Angelo's life. Someday I must get to Italy to see his famous works.

We stuck to more simple places to eat here, because of the kids, and because we always seemed to be a little "off" the normal eating schedule, rushing for a place to eat because we were all starving. We tried a Greek place, where Ana had lamb, and one day we had pizza in a great little Italian joint.

Joey and Niki each chose small Eiffel Tower figurines as souvenirs. I bought small silver charm versions for the girls and me to put on our charm bracelets. They weren't so easy to find. Joey loved his tower, and he played with it quite a lot.