Barcelona really can not be captured in photographs.....

While we took a couple hundred photos & short video clips in Barcelona, this media just does not do justice to convey its extraordinary buildings.  The most famous of the builders / designers was Gaudi..... and he did some significant "out of the box" thinking.  To mention just ONE, he was the first to ever produce a fully naked, anatomically correct (in every way) Jesus hanging on the cross (a picture is included if you look carefully...)  This was at the Sagrada Familia which is a church that has been in the construction phase for over a century.... is still not done.... and they are not sure when it will be done!  Other pictures include a typical street in the Gothic area of Barcelona, Ilea resting on a bench at Guell Park, and a stray cat we ran into on the street (they feed them well over here!)

What's for Dinner?

Apparently, tonight tonight for dinner....it is just some more......

Roosters complete with FEET & HEADS, some calf heads..... AND....

How about some yummy BRAINS, TESTICLES  & PENIS for a well  rounded meal?
No kidding- these treats are for sale EVERY DAY in the Barcelona famous marketplace off of the Rambla!!  We have eaten VERY well during our 6 days in Barcelona, and are excited to be heading off on our 12 day Medit. cruise tomorrow, the 26th.

Barcelona !!!!!!!!! Beautiful !!!!!!!

We have again embarked on another journey.... this time EUROPE for two months.  First stop is Barcelona, Spain for 6 days. Shown is a pix at the Arc de Triumph on an overcast day....

 

One of the primary reasons for the trip to Spain, as some of you may know- was to partake in their celebration of DEVIL DAY, seen below....

 

CRAZIEST MOST INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF OUR LIVES... WE ARE GRANDPARENTS!! LIAM IS BORN ON 6/1/2013 - THE FIRST DAY OF HURRICANE SEASON.

WE WERE SO VERY FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO TRAVEL OVER TO THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA TO BE WITH JESSICA AND GARY WHEN LIAM WAS BORN... LIAM HAS AN OLDER SISTER WHO WILL BE GUARDING OVER HIM- THAT BEING VIVIAN, SHOWN IN A PHOTO. GRANDMA SCHNEIDER WAS REWARDED WITH SOME EXTRA SPECIAL LIAM TIME WHEN JESSICA AND GARY TOOK A SPECIAL TRIP TO VISIT HER ON LIAM'S 6TH DAY AS AN "EARTHLING."

Anniversary Trip to PEURTO RICO's Secluded Island VIEQUES...

AFTER AN UNUSUAL LONG DRYSPELL OF NO TRAVEL... WE TREATED OURSELVES TO A 30 YR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO A LITTLE KNOWN ISLAND OFF THE COAST OF PEURTO RICO....VIEQUES. THIS HAD BEEN USED FOR BOMBING PRACTICE BY US NAVY FOR MANY DECADES- UNTIL THEY GOOFED AND ACCIDENTALLY KILLED A RESIDENT. FOLLOWING THE EXPECTED OUTRAGE FROM LOCALS, THEY STOPPED AROUND THE YEAR 2000 AND SINCE THEN IT IS SLOWLY EVOLVING INTO A ROMANTIC GETAWAY DESTINATION. THERE ARE SPECTACULAR BEACHES EVERYWHERE ON THIS ISLAND SITUATED ABOUT 10 MILES OFF MAINLAND PR (A 20 MINUTE PLANE RIDE.) IN THE PICTURES, NOTICE THE WILD HORSES THAT ROAM FREELY AT THE BEACHES AND RIGHT ALONGSIDE THE ROADS. THE PICTURE WITH THE JEEP SHOWS SOME OF THE 100'S OF ABANDONED MILITARY BUNKERS WHICH HOUSED THE NAVY FOR OVER HALF A DECADE. THE PICTURE OF THE TWO BATS WHICH WE FOUND HANGING INSIDE ONE OF THE BUNKERS... STILL JUST HANGING OUT AFTER ALL THESE YEARS (SORT OF LIKE ILEA & BILL!!) THE PHOTO OF THE BILLBOARD CLEARLY INDICATES THE NOTION THAT THE BOMBINGS WERE NOT APPRECIATED BY THE LOCALS. THE SHOT OF THE PIECE OF WOOD ON THE ROCK IS SYMBOLIC FOR US.... WE FOUND THIS VERY WELL WEATHERED WOODEN BLOCK WHICH HAD JUST WASHED UP ON THE SHORE AND WITHIN IT WERE TWO RUSTED NAILS. THE NAILS, DESPITE SHOWING THE SIGNS OF ITS JOURNEYS - STILL CLUNG STEADFAST TO THE WOOD WHICH ITSELF HAD BEEN SMOOTHED OVER IMPRESSIVELY FROM THE MANY MILES OF RIDING THE BIG OCEAN. (AGAIN... KIND OF SAW IT AS WE OURSELVES WERE THOSE NAILS HOLDING ON FOR LIFE'S UPS AND DOWNS VENTURES.) OUR OCEAN FRONT ROOM WAS AWESOME AT THE "W" RESORT WHERE WE ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE!

Adventure ONGOING @ 30 Years Anniversary Celebration Trip to VIEQUES, PR!!!

Our Trip through life continues... with a long awaited extended visit from Jeff! Shown is 2012 trips to the Keys & Universal Studios...

NYC Trip 2010.... We try out for new Broadway shows.....

Summer of '10 during our NY trip, we did the touristy double-decker bus site seeing trip around Manhattan ..... it was terrific!!

Our "Gran-dog-ter" Vivian

Here is our Gran-dog-ter, Vivian lounging in her pool in Cape Coral. She goes into the pool by herself on hot days, and climbs aboard her flotation device to take naps.

Over one year now in ONE STATE... the STABILIZATION of BILL and ILEA!

Bill posing at the Coast Guard Station in West Palm.


Moon hanging with Venus over John Prince County Park in W. Palm. Plans to head back to Orlando for part of the summer to determine what to do with the house ('home') we have there…………


A genuine leatherback turtle track where it has made a nest! Their track actually looks like a huge truck tire's track.



The green 'gator' we utilized to do our beach patrols.

This is the tranquil path to the ocean at John MacArthur.

One of our neighbors, an armadillo , just outside our RV at Wekiwa Springs State Park.

Entrance sign to the park … note the turtle!

One of our neighbors, a momma gator, just outside our RV at Savanna Preserve State Park.

It has been about 10 months since the last post! Since that last post, we finished our volunteer time at Bahia Honda in the Keys, moved on to Savanna State Preserve near Port St. Lucie where we worked for a short period before moving up to Wekiwa Springs State Park near Orlando in September of 2008. While volunteering there, Bill secured a teaching position down in Palm Beach County at Boca Raton's Omni Middle School teaching 6th grade Science. After commuting for a month and a half, we again moved the rig down to Palm Beach county's only state park, John MacArthur State Park (November 2008) , where we literally were neighbors with Jack Nicklaus off of PGA Blvd. Across the bay we could see Tiger Woods's yacht. While there, Ilea worked in the nature center store, while Bill continued teaching and on weekends, we both would clean up the beach and watch for turtle nestings. In April, 2009, we relocated to John Prince County Park in W. Palm so that Bill would be able to cut his commute time to Boca in half.