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On Tuesday, I had an intercambio session, my fourth in what may be a long series.  Here’s how it works:  on a local website, I post a simple bio including my level of Spanish speaking ability and my native tongue.  Then I search the site for people who want to trade Spanish for English (rather than Spanish for French, etc.).  Actually, there has been no need for me to spend time searching, with English speakers in high demand—I receive a request each day.  Yesterday’s setting was across the street from the Sagrada Familia; try to ignore the scaffolding as, after all, it may be there until completion, estimated to be in 2026.  It felt pretty good to enjoy a cup of high quality Spanish coffee in front of this unfinished masterpiece.

And, just when I thought life couldn’t get any better, I strolled by this wonderful pastelerí­a on my way home.

Montserrat is 48 km west of Barcelona and, while only 4,055 feet high, the mountain really stands out with nothing like it in the vicinity.  The name Montserrat means “serrated mountain,” and one look at it makes you understand why.  We have driven by and looked up a few times, on ventures to San Sebastian and Madrid, and visiting Montserrat was certainly a planned activity during our Spanish conquest.

On Friday, Max was very content to head off to school, alone for the first time here.  Tired of travel, he was pleased to miss our excursion on a day when the girls had a break for parent-teacher conferences.

We journeyed with our friends the Nelsons (their daughters match up in age with ours) on the one-hour train ride from Barcelona.  A short walk from the train station put us at the 1930 vintage Montserrat cable car, on which we ascended the mountain during a steep 5 minute climb to 2,400 feet.  This is a smaller and much older version of the Squaw Valley cable car, and the voyage itself may have been the day’s highlight for the youth, a rapid ride in a small old cabin hanging from a narrow cable seemingly 1,000 feet above ground.

This left us at the monastery, but an additional funicular upward allowed for even more breathtaking views of the Mediterranean and Barcelona surroundings from 4,000 feet, not to mention a discussion of the lifestyle of hermits, who were but are no longer present on Montserrat.  The funicular also gave us the opportunity for necessary exercise with an almost complaint free 30 minute descent back to the monastery.  Here we entered the basilica for the 1:00 p.m. boys’ choir performance.

The basilica was built in the 1850’s.  From a distance inside the church (above the singing boys), we could see La Moreneta, the small wood statue of the so called Black Virgin (translation is “Tanned Virgin”) that was discovered in “the Sacred Cave” in the 12th century, and allegedly carved by St Luke.  Full disclosure:  we truly had a limited view of La Moreneta, which to some purists would be similar to visiting the Sistine Chapel and failing to stare at the ceiling.

In terms of history of the monastery, hermit monks apparently began building chapels here in the 9th century, with the monastery officially founded in 1025, and the first record of a boys’ choir here in 1223 (oldest children’s music school in Europe we are told).  Word spread, even to America, as one Montserrat hermit joined Christopher Columbus on his voyage, and this became a popular pigrimage stop.  In 1811-1812, Montserrat was devastated by Napoleon’s army, and later the monastery was down to one monk (after the 1835 Land Acts left it without property); but in the middle of the 19th century, the monks began returning and Montserrat was rebuilt.  The 1936-1939 civil war and the Franco years were not good to Montserrat but the Catalonian government protected it like a baby.

There are about one hundred monks who are based at Montserrat Monastery, and they follow the Order of St. Benedict.  According to the Montserrat tourist guide, “their life is devoted to prayer and work…the Monks can be distinguished from other orders of Monks by their philosophy that there is an importance to everything that every person is.”

Tags: Barcelona, cable car, Christopher Columbus, hermit, La Moreneta, monastery, Montserrat

Valencia sits 350 kilometers or a 3 hour drive south of Barcelona.  Back in a rented Kia while making our way down the AP-7 and in between conjugating Spanish verbs in my head, I had scary visions that my first glass of orange juice in Valencia would not be fresh but concentrate.  Still, orange trees flank the highway on the approach to the third largest city in Spain (population almost 800,000), so my concerns were mitigated.  And, I was satisfied with the beverage I sampled the next morning, but did learn eventually that the Valencia orange was developed in California with the variety named for the city of Valencia, Spain, later leading to the name of Valencia, California.

Because our goal was not history immersion on this trip, the recommendation to stay near the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences) proved to be perfecto.  Sleeps5.com doesn’t cover Valencia (and not sure I would have used it after the inadequate Rome experience) but we found availability at the AC Hotel, run by Marriott.  Rooms were fine, not fancy as was the buffet breakfast, with fresh orange juice.  The hotel was just a 5 minute walk to the City of Arts and Sciences complex and the Turia River.

An important aside, the City of Arts and Sciences sits right in the Río Turia, a former river that is now 9 kilometers of gardens, walking/cycling paths, playgrounds, ponds, sporting fields, parks (skateboard for one), cafés, artwork, climbing walls, and total outdoor enjoyment, surrounded by a fairly old city.  Historically, the river could and did flood, and after a bad flood in 1957, Valencia decided to divert the stream.  Now, the dried up Río Turia is the Jardín del Turia, an important component of the city, and it was crowded with locals and tourists alike during our 3-day weekend visit.

Within the City of Arts and Sciences complex (opened between 1998 and 2005) is the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum (middle building in above photo), similar to the Exploratorium in San Francisco, simply due to its focus on interactive science.  We spent about 90 minutes exploring the museum, performing mannequin surgery, testing our balance,  and allowing a computer to measure our distance in the standing long jump  Then came the real highlight of the day, if not the trip.  Outside this museum sits the shallow pool of water (above), and as per below, MEM had the opportunity to experience the pool like a hamster pedaling in his play ball.  This was the best 5 Euros (per person) I spent in Valencia.

As with Madrid, and anywhere, I am convinced, bringing scooters was the right call, and perfect for Jardín del Turia.  A walk could have been filled with “I’m tired”, “I’m hot”, “I’m thirsty”, but with scooters these complaints were much more limited; and, the lack of repetition allowed us to ignore these minor issues, all because of the pleasurable scooter method of transport, much better than the pure walking method.  Inside the riverbed, we made our way to Parque Gulliver, a jungle gym in the shape of a massive Gulliver, with children and parents alike enjoying the structure; in fact, the ropes that hold down Gulliver are climbable and his clothes form the slides and ladders.  The picture doesn’t do it justice.

*Restaurant Alert*  For lunch, we drove 30 minutes south to Casa Salvador in the town of Cullera.  Valencia is the home of paella, and I was tipped off that this is the best paella in the region.  Casa Salvador has been around for 60 years and it probably hasn’t changed much over time, nor have the proprietors; sweet stache. 

The deck, where we dined, sits on a picturesque lagoon, and it should be required to eat outside if the weather is decent.  Most important, the paella didn’t disappoint; our two varieties were duck and leek (on the left) and vegetable.  “Paella” is the Valencian word for frying pan and the three key ingredients are rice, saffron, and olive oil.  While paella is served all over Spain, we are told that the Valencia variety is unique for its socarrat.  The socarrat is the crispy (some say caramelized) toasted bottom that is considered a delicacy.  “To achieve a socarrat, one either needs to time the evaporation of the water properly with the completion of the rice being cooked or turn up the heat to high and listen to the bottom of the rice toast. Once the aroma of toasted rice comes from the pan, but before the rice burns, the heat is removed.”

After lunch we spent some time on the beach; Casa Salvador sits between a lagoon and the Mediterranean, and it was worth the short walk to the beach to stretch our legs, swim (in Ella and Maggie’s case), and play hangman in the sand, after the long and tasty lunch.

Before dinner, we visited Horchateria de Santa Catalina, in the old quarter of Valencia.  Horchata is the drink that looks like milk but is made of water, sugar and tigernuts and tastes almost like a soft drink.

*2nd Restaurant Alert*  If you like Benihana, Shintori Teppanyaki in Valencia will more than meet your needs, and seems to have at least a modest following, with its Trip Advisor rating at 214 out of 1,475 Valencia restaurants.  All dishes were tasty, although it was bit unsettling to some, when, after the waitress first showed us the live lobsters we would be eating, the now sliced in half creatures were placed on the burning grill, with some of the legs still kicking.

Before heading home, we parked at the Torres de Serranos, translated into Towers of Highlands or Door of Highlands, with the name due to its location as the entrance to the city from the mountains.  The structure was built at the end of 14th century, with its original purpose to serve as fortification.  But, the Torres has apparently been used mostly for ceremonies and is informally considered the city gate.  This is a perfect monument for kids, due to its climbing potential, and the fact that it is a fortress.

To summarize, during a 2-day trip to Valencia, stay near the Science complex, spend time inside and have your kids roll in the plastic balls outside in the pool, walk and scooter on the Río Turia, climb on Gulliver, scale the Torres de Serranos, taste the horchata, and venture down to Casa Salvador in Cullera for some of the best paella in the world.

Finally, on the drive home to Barcelona, we stopped in the town of Gaudí’s birth, Reus, near Tarragona.  Unfortunately, the Gaudí Centre was closed, as it was Sunday, so we were not able to expand our Gaudí knowledge; but we were able to consume gelato.

Tags: Casa Salvador, City of Arts and Sciences, Cullera, Gulliver, horchata, Kia, paella, Río Turia, Shintori Teppanyaki, socarrat, Torres de Serranos, Turia River, Valencia

They study history in school, you prepare them for the trip ahead of time at home, Michelangelo and Cesar Augustus are finally becoming familiar, they see the wonderful sights, and what really makes it all worthwhile and memorable?  A few guys carrying toilets down a street in Rome.

Rome is a difficult city to navigate and even the cab drivers really don’t have the system down; so, we were dropped off about a mile away from Gladiator School on day 2 in Roma, and we made our way up the Appian Way, perhaps as a warm up to prepare for battle.  Our large and fearless instructor, Ulfhgar, who claimed to have had some related movie roles, offered gladiator history, explained the weapons, and taught us offensive and defensive moves, after which we were tested in the ring.

Not sure if the Spanish Steps are a must, but we felt it would be a good stop after surviving Gladiator School with no cuts or bruises.  Ascending isn’t easy on a hot day and then Maggie insisted on descending for a traditional “Where’s Maggie” photo.  Can you find her?  (I can’t.)

Fontana della Barcaccia (Pietro and Gian Lorenzo Bernini), Piazza di Spagna, below the Spanish Steps

Villa Gregoriana above Spanish Steps

Back on top again, we were all rewarded with an unexpected pleasure nearby.  Villa Borghese Gardens is 3 square miles of trails for walkers, bikers, scooters, and pedal carts.  We’ve all observed pedal carts, and when you see people riding in them, you generally think to yourself or out loud, who are these people that actually rent pedal carts?  And why?  Why?  Because after an hour in a pedal cart, your kids will want to keep going, and going.  What happens after an hour in a museum?  We all know the answer.  Cruising through Villa Borghese Gardens in a pedal cart is a must on your trip to Rome, and it is a nice way to connect your journey from the Spanish Steps to the Piazza del Popolo.

As often happens, our final dinner was the most highly recommended, but the least appealing.  Actually, the food was pretty good, but it was difficult to make ourselves believe this when there were only 10 other people in the restaurant, Le Volte, which seats about 100.  Still, Stanley Tucci was our waiter (wish I had a photo) and we were able to enjoy pleasant weather on the terrace.  I had an urge to see the Pantheon again, and it was nearby;  so, we found gelato there, and then headed for more live art performances in Piazza Navona for the girls.

On day 3, we met Giancarlo in front of the Sistine Chapel, thus avoiding what looked to be a 2 hour line; this was the second time we saved significant time and stress due to our guide, the first being at the Colosseum.  Giancarlo gave us a 20 minute pep talk to prepare us for the ceiling, painted between 1508 and 1512, explaining Michelangelo’s various scenes including God’s creation of Adam and the relatively recent finding that God is positioned inside a brain, implying that he is passing on intelligence to Adam.  Giancarlo also informed us of a Cardinal Carafa who objected to all of the nudity in Michelangelo’s Last Judgment, and asked for the artwork’s removal, with no success.  For payback, Michelangelo decided to paint the cardinal’s likeness into the form of a judge of the underworld, not pleasing this cardinal.  Still, the Last Judgment was indeed altered after Michelangelo’s death, and you can see that the genitalia are painted over with drapery.

Upon entering St. Peter’s, it is impossible not to think about the size of this church, and it brags of this by showing the lengths of other churches worldwide, none even close, on the floor.  Inside, Giancarlo spent a fair amount of time in front of Michelangelo’s Pietà; I would have taken a glance with little interest if not for our guide’s passion for this work.  It was pretty simple and powerful—he wanted us to think about the great emotion that the Pietà expresses, of a mother holding her dead child, Jesus.  30 minutes in St. Peter’s and a final pizza lunch at a restaurant not worth mentioning, and we were on our way to the airport.  Ciao!

Tags: Borghese Gardens, gladiator school, Sistine Chapel, Spanish Steps, Vatican

Our new hometown has a Roman past, so it was time to visit the motherland. Not all discount flights lead directly to Roma but Vueling presented us with a reasonably priced straight shot across the Mediterranean. A 3-day weekend made it all worthwhile, not to mention the easy 20 minute cab ride from home to the Barcelona airport.

Cheesy pasta lovers take note; if you like a good spaghetti carbonara, with this one served in an edible bowl built with crusted cheese, please dine on the terrace of Ristorante Terme di Diocleziano. The overall meal and experience were good, and it was an easy walk from our hotel, Hotel Borromeo on Via Cavour, which was not so good. Sleeps5.com failed us this time (we have found it to be helpful for families of our size looking for bargains), not owing to the suite itself, which was fine, but because of the lingering smell from the bathroom, attributed to mold. Also, I think an ideal Roma locale is in the area of Piazza Navona, at least given our personal restaurant and touring preferences.

Saturday commenced with Giancarlo meeting us at our hotel to guide us through the old city.  Hiring a guide is not cheap but without the exceptional Giancarlo (giancarlo.schettino@gmail.com), child boredom would have set in about 10 minutes after walking down into the Forum. This was our first stop, and highlights included the story of Romulus and Remus, observing how the newer city was built on top of the older city (in the form of the Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina), seeing where scavengers cut into buildings to steal stone or marble, and glimpsing the spot where Julius Caesar’s body was apparently burned after his assassination.

Note the doorway, clearly indicating one structure on top of another, as well as the holes in the stone (under the columns) from scavengers.

En route to the Colosseum (Colosseo), our van stopped briefly so we could look at the Baths of Caracalla, remarkable due to massive size and age (3rd century AD).

After recently watching a futbol game in Camp Nou, spending time in the Colosseo, a stadium almost 2,000 years older (opened in 80 AD) was spectacular, and here we heard about gladiator fights, prisoners battling lions, and the myth that this stadium hosted water battles.

Giancarlo and MEM

A short break at Circus Maximus, and then we toured the Pantheon, my favorite of the day’s monuments, built in about 120 AD by Emperor Hadrian. Giancarlo pointed out the massive single-piece columns outside the building that came from Egypt, and we stared in awe at the 142 foot high and wide dome. Just understanding the meaning of Pantheon (all gods) and its apparent purpose of allowing for the worship of many deities made me feel good about being here.

The rain started falling when we arrived at the Trevi Fountain, Giancarlo mocked his pal who was hosting a tour on bikes, and then told our kids to toss coins over their left shoulders to ensure a return trip.

Post-tour, we were dropped off at Dar Poeta for a fine (but not delicious) pizza lunch, followed by great gelato. I think we sampled 5 different gelaterias in 3 Roma days and all were good; even after tasting some recommended “best gelato in Roma” on a couple of occasions, none really stood out more than others. In fact, the best gelato we have had in Europe is right in our Barcelona backyard—Gelateria Italiana, in Plaza de la Reolución, Gràcia, at least if you like dark chocolate as much as I do.

The afternoon ended with a tired walk across the Tiber to reach Campo de’Fiori, the perfect spot to buy t-shirts and see the statue of Giordano Bruno, who was burned on this spot in 1600. Dinner is worth mentioning, as Osteria del Pegno served some appetizing fresh pasta dishes, with Ella enjoying her normal caprese. However, what stood out may have been the simple raw, grated zucchini salad, with olive oil, shaved parmesan, and salt, pleasing Max in particular, to his and our surprise. Piazza Navona was bustling after dinner, and we could not pull the girls away from the spray painting street artists—worth watching.

Tags: Baths of Caracalla, Circus Maximus, Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, Roma, Trevi Fountain