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Hola Barcelona!

10/11/2016

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It's been a month since our visit to Barcelona. Here are a few of the favorites from our weekend getaway to meet up with some of our dearest friends from Los Angeles. 
  • ​Spending two days with awesome people that fill our hearts with joy and love. We stayed right in the heart of the city (Gothic Quarter), which made it easy to fill ourselves with great wine and good food. We always seem to eat really well when we get together. 
  • Seeing the famous Sagrada Familia. Sadly, I don't have any of my pictures that I took. I lost my phone later that day. 
  • Visiting Park Guell. We didn't have time for the whole thing, but the free access part of the park was plenty. There was a playground for the kids, some live music for the adults, and plenty of benches to sit down, which made our tired feet very happy. 
  • Visiting the Gaudi Museum, which was very conveniently located at Park Guell. I wasn't too impressed, but I am glad we stopped by and took advantage of the air conditioning to cool down a bit. It was a hot weekend. 
  • Tasting amazing churros from a little bakery around the corner from Sagrada (http://www.xurreriasagradafamilia.es/) They were so BIG and filled with CHOCOLATE or CARAMEL or BOTH.  I highly suggest ordering one and sharing it with at least four people. Unless you want the biggest sugar rush of your life, don't have it all by yourself. But WE all got one each of course. Don't judge. 
  • Fantastic lunch at a cafe near Park Guell, where we had the biggest size beers and delicious spanish tapas while chatting about nothing and everything. 
  • A treat for the kids and adults alike was the Aquarium. It is in a beautiful location, right on the water with views of the boats in the harbor. It wasn't too big, and just perfect enough to enjoy one of the best glass tunnels we've seen with sharks (and other fish)  above your head. Feeding the gold fish was a highlight for the kids. 
  • Being there on the weekend of Catalonian Independence protests was a surprise, but it made it even more of an adventure. There were masses of people and dancing giant dolls in the streets, helicopters buzzing and loads of police. A positive side is that we got educated on what the protests are all about, and that Barcelona is actually in Catalonia, not Spain (in historical terms).
  • A quick stop over at the Ciutadella Park and our short trip was complete. Only two days, but so much was experienced! Thank you Eliza, Sam and Kimie for all the memories. 
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Camping like royalty in France

10/10/2016

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We went camping in Southern France for the first time. And it was glorious. We have gone camping many times, with kids and without, in summer and in fall, but this was hands down most impressive campground we've been to. We've been told that camping is very popular in France (and Europe), and people take two or even four weeks off to go and camp. I can see why! HOT TIP: go camping in France. 

We got to the campground in the evening. The plan was to stay one night to break up the 3.5hour drive to Barcelona, where we were going to meet our friends from LA on Saturday. We set up our brand new tent and had a picnic style dinner. Kids loved it! The night was a quiet one, no partying or loud music around us. I was so impressed by the bathrooms too. They were so clean! I even took a picture (more on that later), and marveled at how good they smelled. 
The next morning we woke up, and went to the bakery to get a fresh baguette (of course), and coffee. Fresh, from an espresso machine coffee! For 1.50eu each. For coffee snobs that we are, this was the best thing that could happen. Stereotype no.5 proven right - coffee in France is 1000000 times better than United States. Then, the kids and I went to the playground while daddy put together the tent and packed up the car. The genius planner that I am, I picked a campground with the most awesome pools. So, the next three hours were spent in heated, children appropriate (ie. very shallow) pool where we all played and swam, and had the best time. It was hard to leave, and we promised to come back very soon, and stay for at least a few days. Sadly, I found out that camping season is only until mid October, so it looks like our second visit won't happen this year.  

So, how did I find this magical place? GOOGLE. I pretty much just google everything. The only downside is that most companies here don't use any keywords and have terrible websites, which makes it is very hard to find what you need. In general, it is very difficult to get information. It's a different way of doing things, and you can't just look up something online and have all the facts within minutes. The preferred method of communication is face to face or word of mouth whether it's business hours, menu options, or school information. 

If you want to see all the other cool things that exist in this campground, here's the link to their website - http://www.brasilia.fr/en/. I just saved you 6 hours of googling. Oh and did I mention that it was 30 euros for the night to set up tent. You can also rent cabins or come with your camper. 

I assume you can't wait to see pictures from this fabulous adventure. Well, I don't have any. I lost my phone in Barcelona. Or as I like to look at it, I left it there so I can come back soon! You know that saying, right? "If you leave something behind, it means you will be back soon." I guess I  will be back very soon.. 

​I didn't back up the pictures either. Yay me. Let's just leave that story for another post. But you if you follow me on Instagram (@indraja), you can see exactly ONE picture from the camping adventure and two boomerang videos! (I was practicing being cool with this technology stuff).

With love and adventure,
Indraja

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Thankful Monday.

10/3/2016

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​​I am thankful for a restful weekend at home. We were all sick, and taking the time to rest, sleep in and take care of ourselves was just what the doctor ordered. 
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​Beyond thankful for this girl. She is so funny and animated, so caring and sensitive. She doesn't usually like kisses, but loves her brother more than anything in the world. She feels the safest and happiest when all of us are together, in one place and preferably within sight. She is our troublemaker. 
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And for this amazing boy who is so emotionally mature and smart. Who is so active that we can barely keep up with him. Who is also creative and kind. He is my trainer and motivator. He is daddy's right hand man in everything that they do. His teacher recently mentioned that he talks a lot about his sister at school, and that he sounds like he is a very protective brother. She is right. He is one awesome brother. However, they still fight, and don't always want to share toys, and chase each other around until someone cries (or mama gets mad). And that is all how it should be. Perfect chaos. 
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I am oh so thankful for my husband who puts up with my craziness, my short temper, my wild ideas and the never ending planning of our next trip/adventure. He is so patient and kind, and he (usually) goes along with it all. He also says that he still loves me. 
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Thankful for all our friends (old and new) and family (close by and far away) For all the visits. For all the impromptu dinners. For Facetime sessions. And Skype calls. For surprise packages and cards. We are so lucky to have amazing people in our lives that inspire us, and love us so much. 
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*** All pictures were taken on  a gorgeous Monday (in Port Marriane) when we escaped the house from being sick for the last four days. Dominykas fell off of his skateboard, hence the "one arm of the jacket hanging lose". He said it hurt to get fully dressed. At least he didn't break his arm. And Liepa's hair tie broke, so poor girl had her messy hair in her face the whole evening. At least it looked good in pictures. And I am thankful for all of that! 
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    Lithuanian-American-Canadian family on an adventure in South of France. Daring to live and creating our story. 

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