Another old friend

I had two groups of friends in Geneva. The Anglican church craft group and mommies and toddlers that lived in the same apartment complex.
Gabi was the one that I stayed close with, so I really wanted to visit with her, too.

We walked along the little stream in our old village. (it is much bigger now!)


We sent notes to some of the other people from that time and best of all, heard back from them. So then we took some pictures to send
The two of us


Tim (15 1/2), Carolin (18 - she was two when we first met and I became Oma Joan), Nelly the dog and Gabi


Gabi teaches kindergarten in the German school. They are moving into a brand new space so we went to see it
The upper school


The upper level will be the reading nook. The underneath part is for playing house. It has the normal play stove and fridge, but also has a microwave and dishwasher


They have a nice room for playing inside in bad weather which they share with another room


The bathroom. They call this the kindergarten, but it is from 3 to 5 years


Gabi and I talked, drank tea and talked - just like old times.

I had a fabulous time visiting with all of my friends. The time was too short, but I am glad to be going home. It will be good to sleep in my own bed and be in my own house.

I will try to post some of the movies - especially from the wedding.

Visiting in Geneva

Chuck and I were supposed to visit Geneva this spring. Sadly, this was not to be. So I took this opportunity to visit with friends that I haven't seen in ten years.

Annemarie is still the head of the craft group. She and her husband, Alec picked me up at the airport and took me to their house. They gave a little party for the current members of the group that night. I still knew three of them and the rest had heard about me.
Annemarie


Louise


Joyce, Winifred and Maureen - Winifred is 92. Geneva is good for old ladies.


Annemarie made this tart with raspberries from their garden.


On Sunday we drove to Yvoire, a medieval town on the lake for lunch.


Alec with Jill, another member of the group.


Our table was right on the lake


We had fillet of lake perch, frites and salad and lots of good conversation.



That evening we were sitting in the garden after dinner and the hedgehog came for a visit.


This is what started my hedgehog collection (probably his ancestor). I was really glad to see him.

Leaving Barcelona

I put them in a cab at 7:30 and went down the street to buy a Starbucks latte. This was the only thing open. Took it back to the apartment and sat in blessed silence.

When the department store across the street opened, I visited the supermarket in the basement. Big signs in many languages saying "Don't touch the produce."



This ENTIRE display was white asparagus


The fish counter goes around the corner


Cured meats - or PIG PARTS as Alec would say


Would you like a whole cured ham?


Taxi to airport and off to Geneva.

Barcelona day 3

The kids are sleeping later and later. They are staying up late for dinner and also they are pretty tired by now. (I know I am.)

While Alec and the kids slept in, Jef and I cabbed over to the Sagrada Familia.


We brought back breakfast and started the day by walking down Las Ramblas, which is a very touristy street but lots of fun and interesting things to see. A store front


One of the many "statue people".



We toured the Palau Guell, which was the first Gaudi redo for a wealthy industrialist. It was a fabulous mixture of arte deco, craftsman and beginning Gaudi. The toilet


The ceiling


The chimneys on the roof


Branwen posing next to the snake motif on the gate


Jef chose someplace to go for lunch, but it only had pastries, but they recommended someplace a few blocks away that wasn't so touristy. We were really pleased with the place. We started with the tray of little sandwiches.


A platter of best cured pork in the world


Fried potatoes


And one order of paella which I forgot to photograph. We went back for dessert to the first place and then continued down the street to the harbor and the aquarium.


After a fine time, we headed over to the Font Magica. In the guide book, the dancing waters show was supposed to start at 8. They lied! It was 9. Too late for us. They had to get the cab for the airport at 7:30. We went bak to the apartment. Alec and I went back to the ham restaurant and bought "take away". The best ham again. This was Calder's favorite


Assorted other pig parts and bread


There was one more kind, but Branwen ate it all up before its photo op.

Really pleased with our last meal in Barcelona we packed up and went to bed.

Barcelona day 2

This was Alec's day to explore by himself. There is a lot for an architect to see here. He mapped out his route and off he went. (He said that he walked for miles and miles all uphill. There was a 5 hour wait to get into the Sagrada Familia, which is the famous Gaudi cathedral. He decided to keep moving and went to the Parc Guell where everything is outside.



When the kids finally woke up, Jef and I took them to the zoo. Yes, folks - 4 countries - 4 zoos, and we enjoyed every single one of them.



This one was shady and had a lovely reptile house with lots of snakes - Branwen's favorite.

After the zoo, we walked to the beach and dipped our toes in the Mediterranean.



The water was cool, not cold and very refreshing. It also sparkled.


That night we ate in a place that specialized in ham. Guess how we knew.




Each ham had its own little drip catcher.


Again we had an assortment of stuff that we all shared.
Toasted bread with olive oil


Tomatoes and olives


Gazpacho - it had bacon bits on top, but I ate those before I remembered to take its picture.


Croquettes


Mushrooms with frites


Pork cutlet with ratatouille and frites


Special cured pig assortment 4 kinds


Cheese


Desserts


Went back to the fan shop. This time they bought.

Since there was no game, we could go to bed when we got home.

Barcelona

We finally made it. The last stop in our trip together. We had no trouble finding the apartment, it is right next to the big square in old Barcelona. Alec parked the car under the square while we got settled in. The kids are in love with this place. They picked their beds and room and just made themselves at home.

http://www.you-stylish-barcelona-apartments.com/B305_Barcelona-Apartment-for-Rent-plaza-catalunya-lux-14.html is the web site so you can see pictures.

Alec and I returned the car just a little way away. In Paris, the agent had said that he thought that particular office was closed - but he was wrong. (I had assured him that I would take the car to an approved place, not abandon it on the street.)

We walked back, finding a place for dinner, where I made reservations, and the Barcelona team's fan shop. (glad I made the reservations, we got the last big table!)
An assortment of fried sea food. The kids both liked the squid tentacles.


Sausages, fried peppers, chicken wings and croquettes.


Potato assortment- the french fries had a garlic sauce.


Salad assortment under the pinkish sauce were little shrimps - Branwen's favorite


Bread with tomato smear


We were stuffed. The fan shop was stuffed also. There was a game that night between Barcelona and Madrid. It was starting at 11 pm so everyone, his brother and his cousin were stocking up. We decided to wait till another day.

OUR TV DOSN'T GET THE GAME. THIS IS CALDER'S FAVORITE TEAM. Good news, Alec can get it on the computer. He and Calder stayed up to watch, the rest of us went to bed.