This was Nicole's 3rd trip to Barcelona, and our 5th trip to Spain in the last five years. The country itself is not new to us, so we never intended for this to be a very "touristy" trip. Rest assured, this doesn't mean we skipped out on the big sights. We certainly toured La Sagrada Familia, walked around Park Guell, strolled down La Rambla, and sought out all of the best "churro con chocolate" locations. Did we take an obscene amount of selfies to prove to the world that we've been to these places? Absolutely not... you're just going to have to take our word for it. Did we load up our suitcases with overpriced souvenirs? Heck no... we opted to fill it with several pounds of good pork and cheese instead (and some coveted IKEA merchandise because stuff is way cheaper there than in Morocco).
Upon arriving back in Morocco and reflecting on our week in Barcelona, we both agreed that the highlight of our trip was the supermarkets. When you choose to live abroad, in a country which lacks so many of the food luxuries that you are used to, walking into a huge supermarket like Walmart or El Corte Ingles is exhilarating. Overwhelming. Sensational. Every single aisle is filled with the treasures that you have not seen in months! We probably spent hours meandering through the aisles of the Spanish supermarkets, and it wouldn't surprise us in the least if literal drool didn't fall down our chin when we walked through the pork section. Those giant legs of delicious, dried ham were just taunting us. We had our fill of quality Iberian lomo, jamon serrano, cheese, blueberries, bacon, and real granola bars. Even Aliyah developed a love for Spanish cheese and blueberries (the later of which had some pretty daunting color-changing affect on her... TMI). Whatever we couldn't eat, we stuffed into our suitcase. It won't last long...
We know we shouldn't brag...but in order to make our 6 a.m. flight out of Casablanca we had to leave our house at 3 a.m.. We transitioned Aliyah from her crib to the carseat, from the carseat to the stroller, and then through passport control/security. She never woke up. Best baby. Ever. (Also, filling out customs forms gets real old when you've done it a hundred times...so we decided to have some fun)
Yes, that's the famous Montjuic Magic Fountain Show going off in the background. No, we did not get to enjoy it. Biggest mistake ever trying to take this little one out for a 9:00 p.m. fountain show on the same day that we arrived in Barcelona. Can you see her screaming face behind that pacifier? Her amazing sleep habits do have their limits...
These pictures demonstrate Aliyah's 11-month personality in a nutshell. She was so ecstatic to wave/smile at every stranger she saw in Barcelona. She referred to most of them as "mama" since she still hasn't entirely figured out what that word means. She simply knows that it means something important. She has learned how to give high fives, and also how to clap when you chant the infamous soccer "oh-lay oh-lay oh-lay oh-lay". The nannies at the creche played a big role in helping to teach her these skills, in addition to teaching her how to butt dance to Moroccan music.
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| Park Guell |
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| Camp Nou |
La Sagrada Familia
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