Little Bug

The airplane ride was simple, and Arlo even slept a good bit. He loved that there were pillows and blankets for each passenger. He said it was like we lived on the airplanes, and when the food came he was over the moon. I didn’t sleep though, just a little anxious and sweating through my clothes, like I always do on airplanes. So we got to the airport me tired and stinky and him punchy. Customs was easy but finding the bus to the hotel was hard, and I had to focus on that and try to keep him close to me. When he’s tired he just wanders and spins around too close to cars, traffic and people. It’s a little horrifying when you’re in a new city and confused yourself.

We made it to the hotel ok, which is across from the metro and on the same block as La Pedrera, a famous Gaudí building. In the hotel I showered and he bathed and then took a good 2 hr nap before I forced him to get up so we wouldn’t be awake all night (i am, still, as of this writing). We had an overpriced donut and cappuccino at the Gaudi cafe just to get something in our bellies and then set out in search of an umbrella in a chilly drizzle, we found one and some gummy bears and then took the metro to Sagrada familia, where we had an overpriced sandwich and pizza while waiting in the rain for our timed ticket. The church was so spectacular. Gaudí is amazing, unbelievable in fact. So modern with texture and pattern and so clearly devout. To have that kind of vision and follow it through when everyone must have found him so so different and possibly somewhat insane, how do you get that kind of inner strength, to follow a vision? I’m still waiting to find it, which feels the same as it may never come. Arlo liked running around in the building and liked the space and the way it amplified and dampened sounds, but didn’t really understand what we were doing there and why. Tourism is maybe kinda weird when you’re five.

After Sagrada Familia we went back to the hotel and Arlo put on pajamas and watched horrible tv while I goggled kid- friendly restaurants for nearly forever. People have weird ideas of kid-friendly – Arlo is not going to go for tapas, I can tell you. Finally i found a place that we could walk to, wasn’t expensive, and had indian rice and curries, kebab plates, “queso pizza” and “nuggets de pollo”. So satisfying to have good food and a cheap glass of wine in my belly, and Arlo finally stuffing his face after eating almost nothing (ok, donut and gummy bears). We walked back on the Passeig de Gracia and saw more Gaudí and all the big shops and had most of the wide sidewalk to ourselves. Near La Pedrera we walked through three kids just a bit older than Arlo playing soccer on the sidewalk, which was at lease 25 feet wide and had the room for it, at 11 o’clock at night. Somehow seemed so natural. Could that even happen in an American city? It felt like a pretty good first day. Highs and lows, but overall not bad.