rewind: project EU, part 1.
i know it’s been almost two months since our family vacay in europe ended, but i haven’t blogged a word about it yet. actually, i have been hinting about this trip in my past blogs (see here and here) and tweets, but chose to not fully disclose anything about it for fear of jinxing the whole shebang. so now that it’s over and done with, allow me to settle some “unfinished business” here (in four parts or less), and simply share some highlights from the trip…and then some. * word of caution though: expect picture-heavy posts ahead, starting right about now. *
» LAYING OUT THE BLUEPRINT
i think it’s only fitting to tell how this trip was even conceptualized in the first place. i often joke with my siblings and tell them that the trip probably wouldn’t have happened had i not opened my mouth, to put it bluntly. let’s just say, my “in-passing” remark to my dad happened in the right place, at the right time. it was some time in february, during a drive back from a job interview in the CBD that i had one of those random conversations with my dad. as we were navigating through some traffic, i made a comment about how i would love to get the chance to see spain (since i’ve never been there before), and visit france again (for obvious reasons). admittedly, my dad’s reply to that was unexpected, but came as a pleasant surprise, nonetheless. little did i know that my innocent remark would snowball into one of the greatest adventures our family would ever take, and also one of the most amazing gifts our parents would give us, for which we will forever be grateful. long story short, my dad proposed that our family plan a european tour while we’re all still blessed with good health and resources to travel. this year also seemed like the best time to take this trip since it was going to be the first time in years that our family would be complete — with me relocating back from LA, and my sister’s family temporarily in manila for a few months before they migrate to the land down under. once they’re in australia, who knew when we’d find ourselves all in the same place at the same time? besides, a family trip has been long overdue since the last time we traveled as a family was back in december 2007 when we celebrated my mom’s 60th birthday in iloilo. for this european sojourn, however, my mom and dad decided on having an “adults only” vacay — the grandkids were temporarily sidelined because the pace of the tour would’ve easily worn them out. * thought bubble: i guess this gives us an excuse to plan another family trip. perhaps, next time, with the gremlins in tow? ;) * and so, “project EU” was born…and months of planning and virtual meetings on skype soon followed.
» THE ITINERARY
from september 3-11, we joined a tour of spain and portugal via cosmos tours, which began and ended in madrid. since we were already in spain, we figured we might as well stop by barcelona for a few days and sightsee on our own before the tour started — after all, we’ve heard so much raves about this city. we also planned on visiting france for a few days after the tour to explore the “city of light”. since it was the first time for monty, millie & pippo to go to europe, it was ideal that they got to see one of the world’s most popular cities; for the rest of us, we were just happy to get a second dose of paris (our last was in 2004), especially me. how could i not have been excited for this leg of the trip? it was like hitting two birds with one stone — family vacay in europe & rendezvous with philippe at his hometown. yowzah! :)
» BARÇA: THE HOP-ON, HOP-OFF EDITION
waiting at the barcelona airport for the second group to arrive: our family played it safe and split into two groups, taking separate flights out of manila and arriving an hour apart in spain
first stop was barcelona, capital of catalonia and second largest city in spain (after madrid). on our first full day there, we took a hop-on, hop-off bus tour that drove us to the city’s more well-known attractions. i think going on a bus tour is a smart move (and is highly recommended) for travelers who are first-time visitors to a city. taking this route worked perfectly for our family — not only did we get to experience first-hand the rich culture, amazing architecture, and wonderful sights (and sounds) of barcelona, but we also got to sightsee at our own pace, allowing our bodies to slowly ease into traveling mode.
(1) our hop-on, hop-off bus: let the sightseeing begin
(2) enjoying some sun with my sister, pinky, on the double-decker bus
(1) viva espana: flags of catalonia, spain and barcelona
(2) national art museum of catalonia
(1) torre agbar, designed by french architect jean nouvel, marks the gateway to the new technological district of barcelona
(2) trunk-stand: sculpture of an upside-down elephant
(3) estadi olimpic: site of 1992 summer olympics
works of famed catalan architect antoni gaudi:
(1) sagrada familia has been in construction since 1882
(2) casa mila in the eixample district
(3) casa batllo is locally called “house of bones”
(1) park guell, a municipal garden sitting on the hill of el carmel
(2) token shot of the family by the entrance, with the hall of columns at the back
(3) siblings: pippo, rina (me), monty & pinky
(4) colonnaded pathways
our first real spanish meal: fish, paella and veal
» UP THE MOUNTAINS & THROUGH THE GOTHIC QUARTERS
on our second day in barcelona, we took a half-day trip up the mountains of montserrat and visited the benedictine abbey of santa maria de montserrat. taking this trip was the brainchild of my sister, pinky, who diligently did her own research about the monastery — which wikipedia describes as “catalonia’s most important religious retreat.” apart from its la moreneta (the black madonna), the abbey of montserrat is also known to be home to one of the oldest boys’ choirs in europe, l’escolania. luckily for us, we had the chance to hear the montserrat boys’ choir perform while we were visiting the sanctuary.
(1) it was a bit nippy up in montserrat
(2) montserrat derives its name form its jagged, serrated mountains
(3) kiddos enjoying some time with the tripod :)
inside the shrine to our lady of montserrat (santa maria de montserrat)
(1) honey, anyone?
(2) trying out the local cheeses
following our half-day trip to monsterrat, our family headed back to la rambla — possibly barcelona’s busiest and most well-known street — to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the area around our hotel. this time, it was my brother-in-law, keith, who had the brilliant idea of doing our own walking tour of nearby barri gotic (gothic quarters). keith was obviously prepared for this activity since he came armed with a map, complete with detailed routes to help us navigate through old city bareclona’s labyrinthine street plan. the walking tour wonderfully capped off our last day in barcelona.
(1) which way to go?
(2) sisters take on barri gotic
(1) i am lovin’ barcelona!
(2) statue of ramon berenguer III
(1) it sure was distinctly, and at times, eerily gothic all over the old town
(2) never saw such clean alleys before
(3) the bridge of sighs
our family absolutely fell in love with barcelona, and it instantly became one of our favorite cities in the world.
next stop: the spanish capital of madrid. ¡vamos!
