Bowling

Bowling with Jaume and Julia

Today we went to school again. When it was done we went out to a restaurant at Barceloneta Beach called Agua with my dad’s work friend. At Agua we got fries, fried rice and fish.  We were there for a looooong time! When we were finally done we came home and went bowling with Jaume and his family.  When we were bowling I got a strike and three spares!  It was really fun. Then we went home and had dinner and went to bed.

Mutt Art Gallery

Cool art at Mutt

Doing handstands in the secret courtyard

Rei de la Magica

My photo submission to Punto y Rayo

Today we had school like usual. When we were doing school we entered an abstract photography contest where your picture had to only show dots and lines called Punto y Rayo.  Later we went to the Mutt Art Gallery. It was  the opening of an art show that night but the man let us take a look.  At the gallery we bought a “kawaii” book with really cool animation.  It’s great ! When we were walking around we stopped at a magic shop from 1886 and got a zombie in a box prank to scare my mom and Auntie Karrie when she got here. When we got home we scared my mom. It was funny.  When Auntie Karrie got here we tried to scare her but she was smart and guessed it was a pop-out zombie and she was right L.  It was getting late so we ate some pasta and went to bed.

Pizza party

Canadians + Americans :)

Today in school we learned about  the art of Pablo Picasso.  After school my dad went to work so we walked around Gracia and went for a drink at a little café where they gave us hot chocolate that was really hot chocolate pudding.  It was gross. When we got back from walking we had Kayla and Jonathan over for dinner and a play.  They just got back from London.  When they were over we made movies and when they left we went to bed.     

Let's go to the zoo!

Awwwww....baby orangutan

Monkeying around

Someone else wanted in the picture!

Dolphin show

See you in Costa Rica!

Elefante

Today we did school in the morning as usual.  Then after school we went to the zoo! First we looked at all the gorillas and monkeys and other primates. They were awesome!  Then we went into a dark room that had a bunch of cool looking lizards and komodo dragons and alligators and huge snakes including a gigantic boa constrictor that my dad said would crush you alive!!  Then we saw the hippos and the giraffes and the elephants. I really liked the giraffe and one even came in a picture with my mom and Mia and me. Then it was time for the dolphin show where these two dolphins would jump sooo high in the air and do 360 degree flips and touch a ball wayyyy up high.  They did all sorts of other tricks like jumping over a rope and the trainer talked to them by blowing a whistle!!!  Then we went to see the rhinoceros and then we went around looking for the lions and the red panda and on the way we saw jaguars and cheetahs which were amazing! At home we had dinner and then my parents went out to a restaurant which they said was rated #1 of 3734 restaurants in Barcelona!!  They loved it and said they ate something really weird there called “Szechuan Buttons” that made their mouth tingle!? When they got home we were already in bed.

Link to Con Gracia

El Corte Inglés

Just before we got the fries!

This morning we had more school. For school we did the usual! After school we went to El Corte Inglés to go shopping for shoes for Costa Rica.  Even though we didn't get anything we found real French fries and Mia even had a milkshake (I had an orange Fanta) at the top floor cafeteria.  When we got home we had tacos for dinner then went to bed. It was a bit of a quieter day because yesterday was soooooo busy! Bye!

Art in the city!

MEAM workshop

I made a unicorn!

El Born

Sidewalk

I found more conkers on the way to the Piknic!!!

After party 

This morning we went to the Museum of Modern European Art and made art. I made a unicorn out of clay. In the gallery there were all these pictures of naked people.  After the art gallery we walked around in the Born district and found a street that had a fair going on. At the fair we made more art! I made a cool color by mixing all the colors together. After the fair we went all the way up to Montjuic and the Piknic Electronik again!!!  At the piknic I played soccer and had a huge water fight with these kids we met. We used water balloons and they had water guns. I got soooo soaked and I had to wear my mom's sweater! When we were about to leave we went on the bouncy castle because all the kids were jumping off the stairs and bouncing so high!!!!! After the picnic we walked to this secret restaurant that was in the woods.  The restaurant was cool.  It felt like we were camping!  We had cheese crepes and my dad had barbecue chicken and we sat outside.  While we were there they put on a flamenco show!  When it was over we had to walk a loooong way back to the subway. 

Caldes de Estrac

We made it to the beach!

Catching some waves

Caldes de Estrac

Beachside cafe

In the village with Mom and Mia

Today we went on a big long train with all of these stops just to get to a cool beach.  We were trying to get to a village called Caldes de Estrac which SHOULD be about a 50 minute train ride total.  But the first train didn’t go all the way there (even though we thought it did) and we had to get off and transfer and then it took FOREVER for the other train to come!!  It was frustrating because we had already passed tons of other nice beaches!  When we finally got to the beach we went straight into the water.  The waves were only sort of big! I would run with my eyes closed into the water but sometimes I would jump too early or late and fall into the water.  I found a bamboo stick that I played with the whole time. I pretended I was a dog and my mom would throw it into the water for me and I would doggy paddle over and put it in my mouth and bring it back to her.  I would also play a game where I had to put the stick in the ground everytime a wave touched me. Then my dad and I made a sand castle to fill in with water. It didn’t work out so well so then we made a volcano which we destroyed. After playing at the beach we walked around the village looking for somewhere to eat and found a place right on the water.  When we went there we got fried eggs and patatas bravas.  The fried eggs weren’t that good. I also got an orange Schwepps to drink.  After that we went to explore the town and look for ice cream but we ended up finding the best ice cream right back where we started at the beach.  I got stracciatella flavor.  Then we went back on the train around 8 o'clock and when we got home it was about time to go to bed. 

Chillin'

"Using my mom's phone to check my math answers"

Today we had school again in the morning and then got caught up on our blogs (like the ones you’ve been reading!).  It was a kinda quiet day and we chilled and practiced soccer.  We also went to the park with Marcella and Arturo and had a water fight, played pass with humongous water balloons and had to watch as the same people hogged the pingpong table.  We also saw the two dogs we really liked from before including the one that will go and fetch things you throw for it.  Then after that we went home and chilled out some more in the house while my parents went for dinner at a place around the corner called El Greco (they said it was crazy nice) and then we went to sleep. BYE!!!

First day of school

Graffiti outside our front door  1

Graffiti outside our front door 2

Graffiti outside our front door 3

So this morning we had our first day of school here at the flat.  At school it was kind of weird because I couldn’t remember anything but my Mom told me the basics.  We did math and science and all these cool things and practiced our Spanish.  My Mom was “so-so” as a teacher (just kidding she was really nice and fun).  Then after school we just played in the house but then when my dad got back from work we played some soccer and practiced some juggling.  My mom and sister went out for a girl's date where they went shopping and had tapas and my dad and I played more soccer and then we walked around the Gracia neighborhood just watching people and looking at more of the cool graffiti.  I’ve got a plan to put together a whole book of all my favorite graffitti that I’ve seen in Spain.  When my mom got back she had a video from my teacher in Kelowna, Mr. Meier, showing all the kids in my class back home singing happy birthday to me!!!  It was sooooo wonderful! It made me feel good. Buenos noche!     

Happy Birthday to me!

With Dad

Making a wish

The bridge to the secret party room

Tirar de las orejas

I took this picture of everybody at my birthday party!

It’s my Birthday!!  This morning it was my birthday – YAYyyy- YAYYYY!  In the morning we woke up and I played on the computer while Mia made the best and biggest pancakes ever and Auntie Christa and Uncle Craig made a tower of French toast.  In the morning we were acting more like it was in the night because we wanted to celebrate with Auntie Christa and Uncle Craig because they were leaving later in the day to go back to Scotland.  So on my pancake there were nine candles on soccer holders. It was really cool!  Also for breakfast my dad got orange Fanta for everyone and we had straws like the umbrella toothpick things, but the umbrella was on the straw. After everybody sang happy birthday and I blew out the candles we walked upstairs and before we could enter a secret room my dad played "Feliz  Cumpleaños " on the computer.  Then we walked into the room. And in the room my sister turned on a song called Gangnam Style which was really weird and there was a table that had a Smurf tablecloth on it and there were streamers that said happy birthday and twirling disco balls were hanging everywhere!!!  On the table there looked like there was a ton of presents with princess wrapping as a joke!  Some of the presents were nine Dunnys since I was turning 9. We got one kind of rare and one rare mystery Dunny.  Then there were seven left.  Five of them were series 1 Dunnys!  Some of the rarest ever and the first made.  One of them there is only 250 of them in the entire world and you can’t find it anywhere anymore!!  I also got cool pig headphones from my sister and a massaging soccer ball to also relax. Then as part of the Spanish tradition everyone got to pull my ears nine times (kinda hard)!!  When Auntie Christa and Uncle Craig left everybody was crying so we decided to go to Madagascar 3 at the movie theatre.  It was funny!  Then we walked around the park and then went to the kinda fancy restaurant next door called Gut and they brought me a piece of chocolate cake with a candle on it and sang happy birthday.  Also when we got home my neighbours sang me happy birthday on Skype. It was such a fun birthday!!
Link to Gangnam Style video

"In-depenc-Indepedencia!"

Ready for the march

With Mia and Jaume

Indepedencia!

There's Auntie Christa and Uncle Craig ahead

Today is Independence day for the Catalan region.  We made flags with crayons and a straw for the holding on part and we coloured one side the Catalunya flag and the other the Canadian flag.  Auntie Christa and Uncle Craig had the Scottish flags on theirs too.  We went to the rally with Auntie Christa and Uncle Craig and our friend Jaume from camp and his parents and little sister.  During the rally (which was supposed to be something close to 2 MILLION people!) we waved our flags around and chanted and sang and people banged drums and made lots of noise.  It was SO crowded and there was so many people and it took FOREVER to even walk a few steps.  I started feeling really tired so during the rally my dad and I went and got an Orange Fanta and some waters for everyone else and somehow amazingly we found them again in the gigantic crowd!!  I think it would be kinda weird if Catalunya leaves Spain because how will they get all their food supplies!?  It definitely seems like most people here want to be independent and my parents say it is similar to the situation with Quebec and Canada.  

Some croissants are not tasty

Café

Beetle game

Today me and my mom went out for a walk in the Gracia while Mia and my dad went out. When we were out we went to a café. At the café there were no plain crossiants but there were chocolate crossiants so I got one. They were soooooooooo chocolaty that they were gross. After the town I went home and played soccer with Uncle Craig. We practiced for a long time.  Then we went in and had dinner. For dinner we had mussels. Then after dinner we played a round of Mexico and I won €.  We also played a game Uncle Craig taught us where we rolled a dice and drew a beetle. There was no gambling in that game but it was still fun.  After we went to bed. Adios.

Piknic Electronik

Taking the Telerifico up to the top of the mountain

Getting my groove on

Bounce

Finished project 

Tired on the subway

Today we went on a big adventure where we first walked to the subway and then we took the subway and then we walked to a funicular and then we took the funicular and then we walked to a cable car that flies up in the sky and took it up to near the top of Montjuic!  When we got to the top we met Auntie Christa and Uncle Craig at a statue of people holding hands.  We did all this because we were going to Piknic Electronik, an outdoor music festival.  At the picnic we played lots of soccer and there were also a bunch of bouncy castles.  We met this kid who was really cool and around 4 years old and knew English. I would sit on the side of the bouncy castle near Crusty Crab (from Spongebob) and go “Grrrr grrrrr, I am the Crusty Crab” and he would try to pull me down.  Everybody started dancing to the music and I went in and started dancing and everybody was watching me. It was kinda weird!  Then we did some “walking art” and I drew a picture of random colours (it’s abstract).  Then we left the picnic at like 10 o’clock to go back to the Magic Fountain again!!  At first we were way at the top of the hill, but we walked alllllll the way down to meet Auntie Christa and Uncle Craig.  We had so much fun dancing and watching the amazing colour fountains.

Here's a link to the Piknic Electronik

Flamenco...olé!

Going to the beach?!?!

Port Olimpico

Playing frisbee with Frank Gehry's fish in the background

Palau de la Musica

Outside the Palau

Today we went to the beach at Port Olimpico.  At the beach we made a huge sandcastle.  It was really cool...it even had a big moat.  Also at the beach we went swimming and we also played Frisbee. When we played Frisbee I wasn’t thinking straight and I buried the Frisbee and then we couldn’t find it!!  I felt bad because it was my auntie and uncle's Frisbee. Then after the beach we went for a walk and then went all the way on the subway to the Palau de La Musica where we had been before but this time we got to go through a big door into a humonguous room that we’d never been in!  In the room some dudes started playing flamenco guitar –it was so cool!  Then when they got into a tune a man and a woman came out and started doing flamenco dancing.  It’s like tap dancing and like swirling around.  There was lots of that and even some singing.  It was so amazing!  After we went for a walk to Placa Reil and got an ice cream.  I got stracciatella flavor, which is kind of like chocolate chip.

Final day of camp :(

Uncle Craig made me a peach in the shape of a donkey!

At Parc Poblenou

Today was our last day of camp.  We were so sad we had to leave all our friends and we were never going to see them again unless we saw them walking on the streets.  At camp we had a field trip to a cool garden called Park Poblenou.  At the garden there is a big pillar thing that goes up so high and is round (like a tube)!  Hector brought his ball and he drop-kicked it so high that it would go to the top (super high) of the pillar thing and it would come flying down and people would have to dodge out of the way not to get hit and it would make a big “ploom” noise. It was really funny!  Then it was Arnot’s turn to drop-kick the ball all the way over the tube and around back to the ground.  This was really impressive. 

Then after camp Jonathan (the American boy) came over and played.  We had a little circus and had a great time.  My sister and Jonathan’s sister Kayla went shopping with the moms.  When they got home we went to their house and played x-box. Jonathan was really good! Then we made a really funny movie.  For dinner we had pizza and pink lemonade.  Then after that we went home with my parents and uncle and auntie and went to bed.  Ciao!