Barcelona by Geek Girl

This is a guest post by Geek Girl, with minimal edits by Daddy Geek...

We are in Barcelona. We have done several things. Here are some pictures:



This is me with the lizard statue in Parc Güell.




This is behind the lizard statue.




I climbed a tree under some arches that are also
in Parc Güell.




These are the arches.




This is the curvy bench in Parc Güell.




This is a museum in Parc Güell.




We also went to a beach.




There was a rope pyramid by the beach.
After a while, I got to the top.

We walked up a hill and found out there was a castle at the top.




In the center of the castle there were some people
singing.




On the way down the hill, we passed a fountain
with stepping "stones".

We took the aerial tram down the hill.




This is a view from the tram.

We saw a wavy building. Here is a picture of the wavy building.



See above.

These are some pictures from my trip to Barcelona.

Geeks...In...SPAAAAAAIIIIINNNN

(Jim Henson, please forgive me for the title.)

The Geeks are on holiday in Spain, a destination we have had in mind for a long time.

So far, the trip has been pretty good. Short overnight flights are never that fun, but ours was relatively empty, so Geek Girl got a set of two seats to curl up in alone, and Mama Geek scored another set that she and I traded off. Arrival in Spain was easy and after a short Metro ride, we arrived at our first hotel of the trip - and lucked out, as the room was ready for check-in well before noon. Quick showers, and then we headed out to explore Madrid.

We had a late morning snack at Las Mallorquinas, a famous bakery/cafe on Puerta del Sol, before wandering to the Palacio Real, where I snapped Mama Geek and Girl Geek





before she returned the favor:





We found a small playground nearby, where Geek Girl could burn off some climbing energy





and then we got to see some kind of procession with lots of horses with well-clad riders, and eventually a coach





I'll let Geek Girl blog the final thing in the procession.

We found a quick lunch in a local place -- all the other patrons were Spanish -- and then wandered around to get some light and help battle jet lag. After a quick siesta, we headed out in the rain to find a tapas place we had read about, but we must have had the wrong opening times, as it was closed. Instead, off to have a quick bite of bocadillas con calamari and bocadillas con lomo before heading off for our new favorite dessert: chocolate and churros.

How do I know it is our new favorite? Just ask Geek Girl. I did, tonight in Barcelona: "What would you like for dessert, ice cream or churros?". She replied, with a tone I can only characterize as "enthusiastic pity" (for the idiot even suggesting there is a choice to be made), "Churros. Lots of churros."

On that note, buenos noches, amigos.

High Water

Geek Girl started 3rd grade this week and it's been raining all week.

Today the water got quite high:


There's a sidewalk behind that tree. Luckily the water's gone down and I"ll be able to go pick her up from school, but I was worried for a while.

Edited to add 5 hours later...

Another storm came through. This time the water was even higher than last time.


Here's what it looks like now that the water has gone down.


Daddy Geek is riding his bike home. Hopefully he hasn't been struck by lightning or drowned...

And another update, this time from Daddy Geek. Yes, I rode home in the storm. I had to detour around some flooded areas on my usual route home, but it wasn't too bad. I sang "Row, row, row your bike" with one of my fellow commuters today; it was good for a laugh and to alert the crazy runners that two crazy cyclists were coming up behind them.

Now, as long as the little seep of water coming into the basement stays a little seep, and assuming we don't lose power like all of San Diego, we ought to be OK...

What you need to build a fort...

Two of the neighbor girls are over to play and one has suggested building a fort. According to Geek Girl, "You need tension and teamwork to build a fort."

A Visit to the Beach

A couple of weeks ago we decided to take a quick trip to Virginia Beach. We left late on Thursday morning and were in Chesapeake, VA five hours later. We checked in to the hotel and then headed out to Sandbridge Beach -- just south of Virginia Beach.

Here's Geek Girl happily digging in the sand.


The next day we went back for an all day visit. Daddy Geek practiced his open water swimming, I went for a long walk, and Geek Girl continued digging when she wasn't dragged into the ocean by Daddy Geek. At the end of the day, Geek Girl and I had dug a large "dinosaur nest," but the incoming tide washed it out. However, Geek Girl recruited some new arrivals to help dig a smaller dinosaur nest safer from the waves.


Geek Girl would have loved to stay a couple more days. Hopefully next year we'll plan a longer beach vacation. On Saturday morning, there were a lot of people at the hotel breakfast who were headed towards the Outer Banks. Maybe one year we'll visit the Outer Banks, but we were pretty happy with Sandbridge Beach.

On the way home, we decided to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and go home via the Delmarva peninsula. Yes, this added several hours to our return trip, but it also meant we were able to stop at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Reserve. We went on a short walk amongst the mosquitoes and were able to see the wild ponies way off in the distance.

In the mid afternoon, we stopped at The BBQ Joint in Easton, MD for some barbeque. Daddy Geek and I enjoyed the barbeque. Geek Girl wasn't too crazy about the smell. But she did enjoy the large chocolate chip cookie in a pan (which is also available with sauces and ice cream).

At the beginning...


All done.

Growing like a weed

I am 61.5 inches tall (but I like to tell people I'm 5'2"). Geek Girl is now 8.5 years old and we measured her at 53 inches. She's grown over an inch and a half in six months! Now the question is, how old will she be when she catches up with me? She has 8.5 inches to go. I'm guessing she'll catch up with me when she's eleven, hopefully not ten.

How to Make Dumplings

Another guest post from Geek Girl:

Yesterday I made dumplings for dinner. Here are some pictures:

Starting.

How to make the dumplings.

The finishing touch.