We were met with torrential rains during our time in Barcelona of September, 2014. The one sunny day we had was spent sauntering down the most famous street in Barcelona, Las Ramblas. We encountered artists of many variances, it was sweet eye candy for the lovers of people watching.
These guys grabbed the attention of us and many others with their gymnastic/dance talents and a catchy tambourine tune. After they had the masses surrounding them they began by telling us not to be shy about clapping, cheering and donating in to their buckets. Their abilities were astonishing!
Next, down the street were several artists doing caricatures of different styles. After the girls scouted out their favorite flare they took the hot seat, one at a time, as on-lookers stopped to watch and their siblings took turns giggling at the creation being advanced onto the page.
Ireland and Indi getting hysterical over Annie’s picture being created.
The girls with their chosen artist.
The final product.
Raleigh was quite pleased with the muscles portrayed in his picture.
This man was also offering to do caricatures. He did not have a long line at his station…..actually he didn’t have a line at all, come to think of it, he didn’t have paper and charcoal either, hmm?
It’s very common in the bigger cities of Europe to see people dressed in elaborate costumes. As you come close or put money in the offering cup they move in a way that can be quite startling but they have all been very gentle and considerate of Raleigh’s young age. As you can imagine, some of these get-ups must take quite some time to put together. It’s fun to come across them all set and ready to entertain but it is also interesting to watch them in the process of getting ready, right on the street.
You can see this guy is putting on his make-up and a very large dragon type costume in the background.
One of my favorites because of her sunny disposition. After Raleigh put money in her cup she mimed for him to get on the bike.
The following are a few of the decorated streets as we got closer to the ocean. As we understand, the neighborhoods take great pride in their streets.
So this is a common site down by the port. These men and women come up from North Africa and sell all kinds of items such as cell phone covers, purses, watches, jewelry, sunglasses and clothing. It must not always be legit. Ireland was in the middle of a transaction and her guy grabbed up the four corners of his sheet and whoosh, he was gone! She was chasing him down trying to give him her money. We figured at later that he saw a policeman heading his way and decided to scat.
Indi and Ireland using their Spanish skills to translate a lost pet sign.
Ireland and Raleigh snuggling on the beach.
Indi and Annie keeping cozy as the evening chill sets in.
When we finally made it to the beach it was a bit chilly to get in the ocean. We were just sitting on the sand but Raleigh was getting bored and then out of nowhere this beach ball literally dropped in our laps! I stood up to return it to any one of the many families around us and no one came after it. I stood with it for several minutes more and still no one came to claim it so Raleigh became the new owner. That kept it him occupied for a nice long time so we could completely relax!
We loved our sunny day strolling Las Ramblas!
Our Bold Life 