"Half-Way" Meet-up

So, Barcelona may not be quite half-way between Indy and Doha, but it was pretty close when comparing our flight times.  My parents, Mark and I officially decided last summer that we would meet up for a vacation this year, and decided upon Barcelona. I honestly don't remember what all went into the decision making, but boy am I glad we chose it.  Barcelona was a fabulous city and would highly recommend for people to travel there.  It ranks as one of my top cities we have visited, as it is a beautiful city with lots to do.  It didn't hurt that we had great company there as well.

This marked our last vacation before moving back to the States this summer and feel as though we ended it with a "bang".  We had a great week with my parents exploring Barcelona.  This was my first time traveling with my parents, other than our beach vacations, and couldn't have asked for it to go better.  We all enjoyed similar activities and exploring the city together. :)

The sunrise while flying over Iraq

Barcelona's Cathedral...people were waiting for the Good Friday procession

We had a recommendation from a co-worker to check out the cat bar...we enjoyed having the beer from Indiana.  (#1 ART)

First night - enjoying the local cuisine (paella)

Mark had rabbit... 

Good Friday procession...very interesting, but didn't fully understand everything

Christopher Columbus monument

I learned over this trip that my dad likes to knock on random doors

This time someone answered...woops ;) 

Easter Service

Getting ready to tour the Sagrada Familia...an absolutely gorgeous church!

We went up one of the towers to enjoy the views...it was here where I began to learn of my dad's utter fear of heights

Fear of heights had not kicked in yet at this point...

dad's fear of heights kicked in and began quickly going down the stairs

My dad's reenactment of him quickly coming down the stairs

Went to the amazing light show...I can't believe they host these a few times a week!

Our only glitch (minus when my parents flight was delayed 24 hours on their return flight home, yikes!), was on Easter.  We managed to lock ourselves out of our apartment, and no we did not forget a key in the apartment.  The problem is we left a key in the lock and didn't realize it was there.  The key in the door on the inside prevented us from turning the key on the outside to get in.  We unfortunately didn't realize our mistake until 11:00 at night on Easter.  Keep in mind, everything is shut down, we don't speak the native language, and we have no phone to use for help.  We were in quite the pickle.  We found a small convenient mart open and some very nice Pakistanis allowed me to use their computer to contact the woman's place we were staying in (we did Airbnb) and then ran into other friendly women, one of which spoke good English, who called the police for us. The police came and tried to get in, with no luck of course.  Luckily, they were able to call a locksmith who came out within 15 minutes.  They pulled out their high tech piece of cardboard and slid it through the door to unlock it.  All of which took about 30 seconds, with a grand total of 200 euros! YIKES! We were just glad to have a place to sleep that night... I luckily was able to document some of the action (two photos below)

Mark using his HS Spanish skills to talk to the cops

The picture is blurred because I was trying to quickly snap a photo during the 30 seconds it took them to open the door.

Park Guell - amazing and interesting park, which was designed by the famous Antoni Gaudi

Dad is going to take a quick nap while we hike up a hill for some better views

My mom typically takes some rocks home from places she visits, but this one was unfortunately too big for their luggage

This sign was seen a little too late...the plant was already in the bag at this point. ;) 

Enjoying some Catalan dessert 

Roman Ruins

More sweets...enjoying some afternoon churros 

They are pretty excited about some fresh bacon!!

Enjoying a late afternoon snack/drink on the balcony (the views were nice!)

This place was AMAZING!!! 

We went to Montserrat for the day

My dad conquered his fears and rode the cable car

Taking a bit of a break with mi momacita while at Montserrat 

Candy store

This was an unforgettable trip and feel so fortunate to have been able to go and explore Barcelona with Mark and my parents. I hope to go back when they finish the Sagrada Familia. :)