Tuesday, May 5

Our first visitors arrived today, my parents.  In preparation, we'd had our apartment cleaned while we were in Barcelona.  I'm terrible at keeping up with housework.  I'm lucky if I can get all of the clutter out of the way.

After I dropped the kids off at school, I stopped at my usual coffee spot (I go there about 2x/week) for some coffee.  I just stand outside and sip at the bar.  While there, I saw these music students down the street.  This is a common scene in our neighborhood, with a big music school (or schools) here.

My parents flew in from Dublin and took a taxi to our apartment.  They arrived a little before lunch, and then we set off to meet the kids.  We ate inside at Taberna Coloniales.  It was a big success for everyone.  Rosa probably had 5 servings of quail eggs.  I think Cody had 4.  My parents enjoyed trying various tapas.  And I was excited to try out the restaurant for the first time.  Scott and I had only had a drink there before.

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After lunch the kids played at the nearby playground.

Lots of poses on the "balance beam".

Here's Grandpa Fred giving besos (kisses) to the boys before it's time to resume school.

And Grammy trying to give cuddles.

Jacaranda trees are in full bloom now.  It's gorgeous seeing these pops of color all over the city.

After lunch, it was time to move my parents into their apartment.  They're staying just a few blocks away.  Their apartment is the top floor of a private home.  The owner (Angel) bought it about 20 years ago when it was very cheap.  He's an architect and over the past 20 years he's been fixing it up to his dreams.  It's an amazing and interesting home.  To help make ends meet, he's now renting out the top floor (where my parents are staying) and the 1st floor.  He lives on the 2nd floor.  And he's still working on renovations on the ground floor.  The home is curved and the interior wall is part of the old church behind it (built in the 12th century) and a little bit of Roman underground pipes.  I'll try and find pictures of this home.  It's such an interesting place.  And my parents are really enjoying the rooftop terrace.

For dinner, we ate at El Serranito on "the main street", Calle Alfonso XII.  We call it the main street, though it's curvy and changes names multiple times.  This was our second time at the restaurant, and a place that we enjoy.  Plus, the kitchen is open at our early dinner time (6pm).

After dinner, the boys all went to a store to have a copy of one my parents' keys made.  And us girls went to a photo/printing store to have a picture of an iguana printed for Rosa's homework assignment.  We're thankful we found the store as it was the 3rd place we'd tried for getting a picture printed.  It's hard without a printer here when there's a one night turnaround with homework assignments.

That night Grandpa Fred had fun reading books to Devon and Cody.

And Grammy joined in on the snuggles.