Adios Costa del Sol, Hola Barcelona

March 26th--We successfully survived another travel day yesterday. We left the apartment and took a bus to Malaga where we caught the train for Barcelona. We actually decided to break up the trip so we took a 2.5 hour "fast" train to Madrid and then had a 50 minute layover before the 3 hour "fast" train to Barcelona. We probably could have done without the stop, but there is only one direct train from Malaga and it doesn't leave until late in the day. We've decided that we don't like arriving in new cities after dark if we can avoid it. We all made the train ride fine. The kids have totally adjusted to travel and are really good at this point. It helps that they can move around a little on the trains as well. We arrived in Barcelona around 5:30 and took a taxi to the apartment. The sister of the lady who owns the apartment met us and let us in. It is a very nice, quaint apartment in the Eixample district of downtown Barcelona. It is small but very "homey" feeling. We made our normal run to the local grocery store for the basics after we got settled in. We got up this morning and decided to walk to the Placa de Catalunya, the very central square that divides old and new Barcelona. The square is only a few block away from the apartment and has a information office where we were able to pick up some maps and local guides. We then began walking down the Ramblas. This grand boulevard is full of various pedestrian activities including an outdoor bird market, flower market and various street mimes and artists. Its non-stop people watching. Along the way, we stopped off for lunch at La Fonda, a local restaurant with a great Spanish and Mediterranean cuisine. It was recommended to us by the guys we met on the trip to Morocco. The Ramblas leads to the port where a wooden pedestrian bridge extends into the harbor and leads to the Maremagnum (a big mall). On Abby's suggestion, we sat down for a while on the dock overlooking the water to "sunbathe". After relaxing at the port, we turned around and walked back up the Ramblas towards the apartment. Along the way, one of the favorite street mimes of the kids was a guy sitting on a toilet (imagine that for Austin). It sounds weird to spend a day walking a street, but believe me the 1 mile stretch is filled with tons of activity. Plus it was a beautiful, sunny day. After our long day of walking, we came back to the apartment and fed the kids dinner as they were tired and hungry. I went downstairs to an Italian restaurant next to the apartment and got takeaway for Amy and I to enjoy once the kids fell asleep. It was awesome food and the lady that owns the restaurant, Sam, was super nice. She spoke great English and was very helpful and full of local suggestions. Something tells me we will be back there again.