Bon Nadal!

The weather has obliged us by turning beautiful, so we have been getting our fill of sunshine and warmth here while France is apparently taking another walloping. Yesterday we went to the Park Güell, designed by Gaudí (the same architect who created most of the designs of the Sagrada Família) with amazing mosaics made of broken tiles and buildings that look like they belong in a Dr. Seuss book. Here we are at the highest point of the park:

(That's the Sagrada Família in the background behind Jeff)

Afterwards we went out and ate an absurd amount of seafood. As Midwesterners, we feel it is our duty to eat as many fishy and crawly things as possible when near the source, even though we are not sure how to do it elegantly or if some parts of it will kill us. We wished for the camera to document the giant mess of shells for you, but you can imagine.

Today we visited some of the many gardens on Montjuïc, a hill in the southwestern part of the city. Unfortunately the camera battery died, so we don't have much proof, but rest assured that the sun was shining gloriously, the sky was perfectly clear, the views of the city and the Mediterranean were amazing, and we had a great time.

We did get these photos in the awesome older botanical garden, which is built into this weird little gully on the hill. You will unfortunately have to rely on the internet for more pictures of this area.

In honor of Christmas Eve, there's a choral rendition of Christmas carols on TV, and right now a special message from the King (he looks very serious, I think he is talking about how much he likes Spain even if the economy's in the tank, or something like that), and we are having a big dinner. At the Boqueria Mercat off La Rambla, we got some gorgeous steaks and local "bloody milk cap" mushrooms (so-named because a red liquid seeps out when you cut them, not because they are poison), and Jeff is going to work his magic upon them pretty soon. Here's the before shot:

Tomorrow we're off to San Sebastian, so we'll be spending most of Christmas on a train, thinking about how much we miss you all, no doubt. Happy Christmas, joyeux noël, feliz navidad, bon nadal (catalan!), and much love to everybody.