Heaven is a place......

So it was a really great time, and the team are all well after it, all seems a long time ago now we have got back to normal. The great thing was feeling so at home there. A chance to relax and be together, and not have the imperatives of everyday life driving us. There must be many versions of this sandcastle picture in our history now, it's been a great thing to make sandcastles wherever we go, and lets hope there are many more variations to enjoy.
Likewise, chasing pigeons is a universal imperative, and although it got younger sibling a shouting at by a slightly eccentric Spanish lady outside Sants station it still counts as harmless fun in our book.

Lots of happy memories and of course the best bits you get to bring home with you.

Play it all night long

One of the very nice things about the holiday was the pool, well the two pools. A bit too chilly for mother in the main, and the brisk breeze could bring the goose bumps out in the hardiest athlete, but generally it was a good afternoon entertainment to splosh around. Yes, younger sibling is about to lick the sole of her foot in that one.....probably best not to enquire.
They also did some boule, which was quite good, but the badminton was rather less successful.
There were also some bubbles, which are a perennial favourite, the elserly parents endeavoured to read books, and for the first time in quite a while, they got quite a lot of reading done. Anna Karenin is not quite finished yet, but there are hopes.

Play it once again

Here we are again in Tarragona, not at all what we expected, but very rewarding. It has a very nice rambla, which leads round the corner to this amphitheatre, then round another corner to a big castle bit. "Can we go in here?" says younger sibling, seeing an opening in the wall of the big castle bit, it turned out to be the fabulous remains of a very big roman circus, with tunnels and panoramas, all very rewarding for 2 euros admission.

The offspring gamely trudged round it all and had a rather good time, they have reached a developmental stage where ancient ruins are becoming possible. Younger sibling is developing stamina for walking, slowly, and first born is a natural long distance type. Good thing really as pater familias' back can't take the 'upp-ies' any more. Younger sibling is just to darn hooooge.
This rather groovy catherdral got stuck on top of the roman bits when the medieval builders remodelled. We all enjoyed a wander round there too.

Plays my favourite Song

Here we are in Sitges and Tarragona, they were lovely places.


We managed to do some museums and younger sibling's nose for adventure lead us to a fabulous Roman circus which had some amazing surprises, like big tunnels and panoramic vista, more of those later.
Offspring did really well, both walked miles and managed not to moan about looking at artefacts, so we treated everyone to a ride on the bus touristica round Barcelona. Younger sibling found it so restful that she fell asleep.

The Band in Heaven

Can you guess where we have been?


OKay, not very hard, but here are the pictures from our latest odyssey which was to Catalonia, a place which we enjoyed very much, and find it has many similarities with another favourite place of ours, Northumberland.
As you may guess, there will be more.