so that's why!

we've visited Barcelona twice over the Christmas/New Year celebrations and have been puzzled by the little figures having a poo which are placed at the side of the Nativity. We've tried for years to find out what they are and why they are so carefully placed on the edge of the Nativity, with no success so far.
But now I know!

They are called caganers which is Catalan for *ahem* shitters (sorry, some sources cite it as "fertilizers") and are to bring good luck and a prosperous harvest next year,
or they might be to symbolise Christ's humanity,
or they might represent all mankind, in that Jesus is for everyone,
or they might represent the fact that God will manifest Himself when he is ready, whether we are ready or not.

Or, it might just be the Catalan's earthy sense of humour.

Traditionally they would be dressed in traditional Catalan costume, but often now they are famous figures, such as the footballer Lionel Messi as in the photo and have become collectible figures.

I'm not sure if I would want to collect lots of little figures with their pants down, but I'm glad I know what they are now!

radar love

Since I started knitting & crochet I have developed a yarn radar, which I didn't have before. On our 4th trip to Barcelona we found yarn shop , Lanas El Globo, which we visited on our last day.

(Amazingly enough it on the same road as a wonderful comic shop Norma ,which the rest of the crew visited while I indulged myself with the lana).

The staff were very friendly & helpful, and with my beginners Spanish I managed to buy some fine Egyptian cotton, Moises, which is spun in Spain (one of the few things that are, most are spun in Italy as are most UK wools), some soft pretty baby wool to make some fingerless gloves for me, and some fantastic locally made artisan buttons , based on Gaudi's designs.






I have no idea what I will use these buttons for, but I love them, they are so interesting, and very specific to Barcelona.

I'm struggling to adjust the Cassie top to suit my shape- the original pattern was for a size 10 (it's many, many years since I was a size 10!) . So, it's going to hibernate until I've developed enough skills to make huge increases around the bust. The pattern is fine, it's just that I was over confident that I could adjust it by guessing. ( duh!).

So I'm going to tackle Crazy Waves instead, where the shaping has already calculated for me. Cassie will be revisited when my skills improve.

Barca #4 savoury & sweet

One of the joys of Barcelona is the fabulous range of places to eat, which means we can satisfy the kids tastes and our own at a reasonable price.

I will try any food at least once, which has caused the kids to complain when they were young, but they are getting more tolerant now and my son is even joining me on my quest to try the greatest range of foods. We dined on salted anchovies, chorizo sausages in sherry, salted cod doughballs, calamares (much tastier than squid rings in the UK), crabs' legs, tortilla and the most delicious of all escaroles (snails).

I can't quite believe that I have waited until now to try snails: they were so delicious- served in a ratatouille type sauce with small pieces of chorizo and bacon included, J1 and I scoffed 17 snails. Yum! and Yum! again.

J1 also had a paella to himself one night and scoffed mussels, shrimp, prawn and crayfish (as well as chicken and spare rib). That's my boy! J2 is getting better- she loved the cod doughballs, enjoyed the chorizo and scoffed a bit of my catalan sausage (although she resisted the haricot beans served with it.) & she was quite taken with with catalan bread with tomato/oil spread on it too! Result!

We had thought about about going out of Barcelona to the big theme park- Port Aventura- but faffing about on a hot train seemed like hard work, so instead we went on the funicular to Parc Tibidabo which is a over 100 years old and has a delightful sweet charm about it. We loved the plane ride dating from 1928- we felt like Indiana Jones on it!

There are more modern rides there, but only the skywalk ( the oldest, highest level of the park) was open. We'll go for the shrieks next time!

Another delightful taste sensation was a lager shandy Estrella Damm Limón- Estrella beer mixed with old fashioned cloudy lemonade- fantastico & much more tangy than a normal lager shandy!

Barca #3 the family that plays together stays together

I didn't finish the Cassie top before the holiday and there wasn't enough space in the cases for any crochet so I had taken some cross stitch with them for the chillin' out time.

But the cross-stitch was ignored in favour of playing Pokémon with the rest of the gang. Even though J1 had managed to leave his rucksack at his Grandma's we still had 2 Gameboys and 2 Nintendo DSs between us and a ton of games to play.

Just perfect for when we all needed to unwind before we went out to dinner! I'm not such an experienced trainer as the rest so I haven't finished my game Fire Red just yet....

Barca #2- ancient & modern

We were amazed & delighted to see The Treasures of Tutankhamen exhibition was in Barcelona, it was an absolute must-see.

The caskets and sarcophagi are astounding and there was a lot of historical detail about Lord Carnavon & Howard Carter's archaeological dig.

I would love to see the Valley of the Kings sometime, the pyramids must be an astounding sight.

I love going around Barcelona on the open top tourist buses, the buildings, old and new, are amazing.

I was particularly taken by the top of this casino down at the seafront- there seems to be a giant roulette ball precariously balanced on the edge of the roof and a giant fish make of woven wood. It's totally bonkers and very eye catching. I'm sure the same building would cause a mass hissy fit if it was built in Britain.

Barcelona- like a jewel in the sun

we're just back from a fab week in my favourite city, Barcelona. The weather was fab 28-30C, the food was fab, the company was great and we had lots of fun together.

We went to see the dancing fountains by the Palau Real on Sunday night, it was fantastic, thousands of people were stood on the steps leading to the palace watching the free show, which of course begins with Barcelona by Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé.

This is our fourth visit in six years and we always manage to see new things, while still appreciating our old favourites. We rented a flat near la Sagrada Familia, the church designed by Gaudi, and still under construction.

There's always something new for us to admire on the building, and the completion date is always 20 years away! The first afternoon there we sat in the park cafe across the road from the Passion facade, drank cold beer, ate fried corn nibs and gazed in awe at this immense act of faith. Most nights we ate at cafés on Av de Gaudi so we walked past La Sagrada Familía every night and often dined facing it. Very inspiring!

Barca!!

it's been fantastic to be be able to watch a decent football match tonight and for my team to win.

I've followed Barcelona for years- I like the way they play, I like that they donate to UNICEF, I like the fact that during the most repressive times under Franco the ground was the only place where the Catalans were able to speak Catalan without reprisal.

D has promised me that when we no longer have to support the kids or fund their education we will see a few matches at the Nou Camp (he's desperate to go there too! We've seen the ground but not watched a match there yet.)

Last year's Champions League final was played on a cold rain soaked night in Moscow, this year on a balmy evening in Rome.

Barcelona beat Manchester Utd 2-0, Barca played better, attacked more and were fabulous to watch. For once Man Utd were outplayed.

I made great progress on my monkey sock too, (when I could tear my eyes off the screen) I'm just about at the toe stage, one more round then start the shaping.

Now there's just the FA Cup final on Saturday to enjoy. C'mon Everton!!