Eating grapes at midnight

Ready for the grape countdown to 2011

BARCELONA - It's fun to travel around to different countries in Europe and learn about their local traditions. On New Year's this year, we visited our friends Gary, Karen, Emma and Abby (and their new dog Sancho) in Barcelona. It seems in Spain, it's customary to eat one grape per second during the final countdown to the new year at midnight.

Blowing in the new year

So Karen dutifully stocked up on grapes and we popped them in our mouths as the TV anchor lady and the Spanish version of Dick Clark counted us into 2011. Afterward, fireworks lit up the sky and we watched the different neighborhoods celebrate from the top floor of our friend's apartment, while the kids ran around like crazy blowing horns. Staying up til midnight is one thing, but getting to scream your bloody head off, too, was just over the top for the four girls.

Chico escapes from his new Spanish pal

Chico and Sancho were not amused.

The trip to Barcelona was a great one. We had been there in August but the family had been less settled in then, having only moved in July. Now, they were much more familiar with the city and Barcelona was still in holiday mode so it was a lot of fun. And the girls got to compare notes on what their first few months of international school were like.

Picasso. For Free

We did some typically tourist things like a taking tour of the city, with an emphasis on Picasso. The great Pablo is like a god there even though he didn't live in Spain very much because of his opposition to Franco (ironically, despite his Spanish roots Picasso spent a lot time in our neck of the woods in and around Aix, and his final home is located here). We visited his museum in Barcelona and saw the only outside display (read: free) of his work, which is on the side of a school in the middle of the old city.

Picasso's watering hole: 4 Gats

We even had dinner at the famous 4 Gats bar, where Pablo hung out and got drunk from time to time.

Culture overload on New Year's Eve

Outside of the Palau de la Musica

After soaking up that bit of culture, you would have thought we would have had our fill. But, no, we took it up a notch on New Year's Eve with a bona fide classical music performance at the Palau de la Musica. It was an evening of Johan Strauss, the Waltz King, and to be honest my first real classical music performance. We had reserved a little box up in the balcony, which made me feel like the two old guys in the Muppets. But the views were great and the music was really enjoyable. The orchestra mixed it up with Strauss tunes -  fast and slow, waltzes and polka and marching songs -  and the big Russian soprano lady broke things up, too. Of course the only one I recognized was the Blue Danube, which apparently is a New Year's Eve tradition. I only recall it from the Caddy Shack sound track.

Cirque - sorry no cameras inside!

One of the other highlights of this trip was a chance to see the Cirque de Soleil performance that was touring through. We saw Varekai, which had the usual assortment of jaw dropping acts by the troupe's incredible performers. Fantastic light show and music, and really just amazing stunts and acrobatics. There was even a Turks & Caicos connection - the daughter of our friends the Balls (of North Caicos via Liverpool), is a trapeze artist in this show.

They eat alot of ham in Spain

We spent four great days in Barcelona catching up with our friends, seeing the Catalan sites, eating good food, decompressing from Christmas and ringing in the new year. It opened our eyes to the difference between European big city living and our more bucolic life in France. I have to say I like them both.