Wheeeee!

There were many reasons we chose Spain for the sabbatical but one reason was that it was great for kids. Lots of beaches and sports. Interesting things to look at. And there seem to be more theme/water parks to include in the itinerary than many other countries. I actually thought we'd go to more of them--I'm still intrigued by the one called Terra Mitica that has a myth theme (the Demeter rollercoaster? the Medusa bumper cars?), which we missed--but the kids pretty much took every day as an adventure. They'd done a little more show-off arguing in front of the Setzer kids than usual so we knew they probably needed to burn off some kid energy in our 2nd week in Barcelona. Which is where Tibidabo, an amusement park on top of a mountain in Barcelona, came in. Nate had spotted a castle on the top of the Tibidabo mountain when we were at Parc Guell and we said we'd try to get to it but we didn't mention the rollercoasters, etc. After Sagrada Familia, we said we were going to Tibidabo (involving metro, another train, another small train, and then a funicular) but it wasn't until we got off the top of the funicular that we let them know we were going to an amusement park. The 2nd picture here pretty much sums up how happy and surprised they were.

It was a pricey park so Ed and I opted not to pay for rides but the boys got 5 hours of sheer joy (and lines). Ed and I stood around a lot--somehow we missed the cerveza stand until the very end, dang it!--admiring the amazing views and seeking shade. It's definitely an old-school park, and its symbol is the funny little red plane that rotates out over the side of Tibidabo. Just as thrilling for Ben and Nate as all the rollercoasters they went on. Well, maybe not, but still fun, especially without Mom and Dad telling them to keep their hands inside...