Spring Break Part One: Molly!

This is my first chance to sit down and write since I got back from Italy, and it has been a fabulous 2 weeks of Spring vacation.
Last week, Molly arrived in Barcelona, and I giddily picked her up from the Terminal 1 of BCN airport. She was all set with her new backpacking backpack, and an excited smile on her face, ready to explore Barcelona!

Picking up the trusty traveler at the airport! She looks surprisingly un-phased by the 20 hours of travel that proceeded this photo. 

We hopped on the bus, and then the train to get to my apartment. Once we got there, I let her settle in a bit and move her things in, before we headed to the grocery to get set for the week, and then began exploring the city. First, I took her to the Gothic Quarter and Borne, the oldest parts of Barcelona, to see the small streets and cute shops. We stopped at an attractive outdoor cafe for the first of a string of Cafe con Leche's that seemed to be the theme of the week!

The face of a cafe-con-leche addict! :)

I took her down La Rambla, and to the Boqueria, where she picked up a fresh fruit juice, and I, a kilo of strawberries. Then, unintentionally but luckily we stumbled up onto the Arc de Triumf in our walk, and happened to be there during the International World Fair.

We walked around the stalls for a bit admiring Catalan artisan goods, and delicious food vendors from around the world. We ended at the Parc de la Cuitadella where we sat on the park bench watching the boat pond and just generally being goofy, taking time to catch up and take in the fact that she had finally made it to Barcelona, and was sitting by my side in the park as we munched on strawberries.
That evening, we went back to my apartment before heading out to Plaza Espanya to watch the magic fountain show. First, we went to the top of the new super-mall in the Plaza, where you can go to the roof for a view of the Plaza and Montjuic.

The next day, we slept in a little bit, since we were both exhausted: her from jet-lag and me from staying up the entire night before out of excitement. But, once we arose from bed, we headed to La Sagrada Familia. Since she came right around the week before Easter, and Spain is a Catholic country, almost everything was closed for an entire week surrounding the holiday, including the cathedral, so our views were limited to the outside.

After that, we headed to Parc Guell to take advantage of being comfortable outside in the amazing weather.

That night we went out for tapas at a place near by, where Molly was more than willing to try all of the local treats and traditions.
The next day, we made the trek to Mt. Tibidabo, the giant figure that hovers over Barcelona, but that which I had previously never visited. To get up there you have to pay for about 5 separate tickets, and 4 types of transportation, but once we got to the top, the views were absolutely unbeatable.

On the funicular to Tibidabo

The very next day, we hopped on the night bus to get to the airport at 5am to head of to Mallorca for 3 days! The flight was gorgeous, and arriving at sunrise, the view couldn't have been better.

The last time I was in Mallorca, I went to the primarily touristy side, in Palma, so this time I wanted to take Molly to the less-touristy side, up in Alcudia. Unfortunately, there were still a lot of tourists, mostly English this time, and the hotel was more like a mega-plex mini-city than a hotel, but we put our stuff down and then headed to the water to lay on the beach.

The view of our hotel from the stairwell

It was too chilly to actually go in the water, but we found a pretty dock into the sea that looked particularly appealing, so we walked to the end and then took a snoozer for the next 40 minutes or so.

We headed back to our hotel, and had a low-key dinner in our kitchenette, and ate out on our balcony looking out over the water.
The next day, after haggling with the car rental lady for a while but ending unsuccessfully, we decided to rent bikes for the day.
It was 8 euro for the day, and with a little map,w e headed off. First, we arrived to this small town a few miles down the road. It was a few days before Dia de Sant Jordi (Catalan equivalent of Valentine's Day, celebrating their patron saint), where all of the girls buy books for their significant other, and and boys buy the girls roses. The town was filled with little stands of flowers and Catalan books, and school children on a field trip picking out souvenirs. We walked around the town for a while, admiring the quaint cafes and tiny alley-ways.

Buying books and roses

Next, we crossed through the Northern part of Mallorca to get to the coastal towns on the opposite side. The bike ride was long, but beautiful, and gave us a nice chance to see part of Mallorca that are still quite untouched and home to people who have lived there for generations.

Once we got to Port de Pollença, we laid on the beach for a while to relax, before heading to an Italian cafe, where we rewarded ourselves with quite a decadent and delicious meal.

That night, once we got back from our bike ride, we found a cute English bar where we ordered cider and watched the Barça/Madrid game, la Copa del Rey. (they lost, but won last week, and play tonight in Barcelona, it'll be a huuuuge game!!!)
The next afternoon, we were out of the hotel, and headed back to Barcelona. When we got back, I took Molly around town to the neighborhood Gracia where we tried tapas, and Molly had the Menu del Dia, which proved to be enough food for a small army. We shared delicious Tarta de Santiago, and had a mellow night catching up on stories and sleep. The next day was very peaceful, whether we had planned it that way or not, because it was Molly's last day in Barcelona, and the day before Easter, so EVERYTHING was closed. We stayed in and watched movies and just hung out for a while, but in the evening made our way with my friend Catherine to the Gothic Quarter to watch the processions. Here are some pictures:

All in all, Molly's visit was a nice mix of seeing new things and parts of Barcelona, and re-visiting the areas that I hadn't ventured to in quite some time, all the while enjoying the always fun company of my amazing cousin. Having family here for a week, and really one of my closest friends, was just what I needed, and gave me even more unforgettable memories from my year in Spain.