La familia
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After such an extended period of relaxed living, it was almost inevitable that things would speed up again. I had already created big plans for the beginning of May, so I need to “waste” some time. With seven weeks of time to waste, it felt like the most inappropriate length of time to fill.
With Europe as my oyster, I was struck with a paralysis of decision. I could go anywhere, and this made it difficult to choose where. As the end of my time in Morocco approached, I knew I’d have to start making decisions and quickly. But the paralysis was strong, as was my procrastination.
In the end I let desperation win and simply surrendered to the flow.
Thankfully my first destination was already decided for me. Eli and his partner, Emma, had been plotting and planning a trip back to Europe for a bit. Once their tickets were booked for Barcelona I knew where I was going post Morocco. And I couldn’t be more excited. It had been more than a year since we’d seen each other and I was looking forward to spending time with my favorite person. Getting the chance to finally meet Emma, and her sister Abby, was just the cherry on top.
Barcelona has inadvertently turned into one of my most visited cities. This was now my fifth visit to the Catalan capital and arriving felt so familiar. For the last three visits, I’ve stayed at the same hostel. It’s not my favorite one ever, but the familiarity that it provides is comforting. It gives me a strong base from which to orient myself in this massive city. I know the streets, the metros and the cafes.
This familiarity also allowed me to play guide for our first few days in the city. I let the kids tell me where we were going and then I’d take it from there. Yet much of what we did was still all new to me, which is amazing. Barcelona is that big that you can always find new stuff to explore.
Before their arrival, I was able to sneak in a session for another tattoo. This one was extra special as the artist is my friend Hannah. We met in Fisterra, at the end of the Camino last year. The timing hadn’t worked out for me to get a tattoo from her at that time, although several of my friends were able to. I was pretty bummed about that for a long time. But life always knows best, and fate had us in the same place at the same time once again. Seizing the opportunity, I met up with Hannah and received one of my favorite tattoos yet.
After their arrival, we spent the first few days exploring the city. Lots of “Flory boys” style wandering, but a few targeted sights as well. We sauntered the Gothic Quarter, gazed at the Sagrada Familia and wander through Park Güell. Each night we enjoy post dinner cocktails at an array of excellent bars. Hands down the favorite amongst the four of us was Tandem, a quintessential speak easy. Bowties, suspenders and excellent cocktails.
No trip to Barça is complete without a sunset from The Bunkers. This spot is definitely one of my favorite sunset spots in the entire world. A glorious view of the enormity of the city bathed in pinks and purples. My third visit and it still blows me away.
After a few long days exploring Barcelona, the main attraction of the trip for the kids arrived. Piling into our rental car, we made the short drive up to the mountain country of Andorra. The drive up to our stay in Canillo was nothing short of breathtaking. Honestly some of the most epic scenery as we made our way into the heart of the Pyrenees mountains.
On the way, hunger struck so we made a few stops in an attempt to find somewhere to eat. This lead to one of my favorite parts of traveling and living the way I am … random locations. After our first stop left us empty and still in search of food, my misreading of the map had us on the wrong road. Still headed in the right direction but definitely not on our original route. But this lead us into a tiny little mountain town, where we enjoyed a delightful lunch. Spread amongst refreshing afternoon drinks and a hearty lunch was wonderful conversation. Definitely one of my favorite moments from the trip.
Their goal in Andorra was to hit the slopes and shred some spring time runs. On arrival that goal looked in doubt, as we found sunny skies and green grass. To their absolute joy, they awoke the next morning to find one of the top five snowfalls in Andorran history had occurred overnight. From all accounts, it sounds like one of the most epic days of snowboarding Eli has ever experienced.
Our next adventure came about because of another little snafu. Eli had purchased tickets to see a La Liga match, Girona v Osasuna. The league had moved the match up by one day, from Sunday to Saturday. We knew this ahead of time, but in looking at the time of the match, Eli had not made the time zone change in his head. The match was a night match. We had planned to go to Girona, watch the match (in the afternoon) and then return to Andorra where we still had accommodations. Given it was a late evening start time, we wouldn’t have arrived back in Andorra until 1 or 2 am. That didn’t sound appealing to anyone. We called an audible, deciding to skip the last night in Andorra, and just get an Airbnb in Girona for the night instead.
We arrived in Girona in the mid-afternoon, took our time to settle in and then went out for a little pre-match dinner. After dinner, we headed to the Estati Montilivi, a tiny little stadium packed full of passionate fans. We watched a thrilling match, ending in a 2-0 victory for the hosts. Back at the apartment, the kids rallied for a night out, while I called it an early evening.
The following day we explored the beautiful city of Girona, walking its old ramparts and narrow streets. This city, while not unknown, is definitely a hidden gem of Spain. It had a charm that is hard to put a finger on, but I would love to come back and spend more days here in the future. Upon returning to Barcelona, we spent our final few days together exploring more parts of the city, getting tattoos and taking it pretty easy.
It’s always hard to say goodbye to those you love. I’m so incredibly proud of the man Eli is becoming. Sometimes I think I should feel bad for being so far away from him. But the reality is that he’s an adult now, and even if I was still in Minnesota, he would be out living his life and making his own way. Yet, somehow this time felt different from the other goodbyes we’ve had. It was both easier and harder. It felt easier in the moment, maybe because we’ve done it so many times now. But it was so much harder in the days that followed. His energy fills me with so much joy and I can feel it draining from me as soon as he is gone. And I spent my final day in Barcelona in a haze.
Yet life goes on. As the sadness faded, it was replaced by gratefulness. So blessed am I to have him in my life, and so blessed am I to be living the life that I am. As I sat in Turó Park, my favorite neighborhood spot, sipping vermouth, I reflected on it all. The time we had these last weeks, the other adventures we’ve shared and the thought of all the future adventures we will have. I was overcome with joy and excitement for that future.