Day 4: Full day in Barcelona
/We scheduled in a full day (2 night stay) in Barcelona. Our plan this morning was to get out the door as soon as we could gather ourselves up and head to the tire shop that is right smack in the heart of the tourist loving area of the city. And this is tourist time of year, ya'll. For reals! We drove the same 10 or so city blocks for a good hour and a half looking for the entrance to an underground parking garage where the tire shop was located. We got a really good look at the heart of the city. It's gorgeous. Beautiful fountains, monuments and a lot of wonderful attractions for the thousands of tourists we saw.
Josh stopped the van, parked illegally (if there is such a thing here) and asked for directions 4 different times before we decided to pull over at a random tire shop we were about to pass. The guided us into the garage and we were setting up to unload the boys while they repaired or replaced the back tire when they informed us that no tire our size was available. We backed out of the garage and gave one final, and finally successful, attempt at finding the place we'd originally planned on going. Down the ramps we went into the belly of the city, only the be told, once again, that no tires were available in the size we needed. Of all the vans and trucks and car in this ENORMOUS city, not ONE requires tires in our size?!? Josh walked out of the office and toward the van looking utterly dejected. I haven't seen that look on his face in a very long time. It takes quite a load to get him down, but he was just so down today. All day. We both felt clueless about what to do next. On the way out of the area Josh decided to head to the first shop we'd stopped at and ask them if they could order our size of tires in. THEY CAN! They won't be in until 4 pm at the earliest tomorrow, but at least we can get out here tomorrow (Lord willing!) We are experiencing all sorts of unfamiliar circumstances that are testing our trust. But trust we do. Because our God is sovereign and he will provide, whatever that may look like.
I'm going to move on here and cut this short, because I NEED to sleep. Very much need to.
Today was Elijah's birthday, and while the boys were SO good in the back of the van, almost ALL morning, we felt just absolutely awful. We'd had this whole fun day of local events planned to do with them for Elijah's birthday, and by the time we got our tires ordered and out of the middle of the city, it was lunch time. We let him choose from a few different things we'd found and he chose to ride cable cars up to a castle that sits high on a hill, overlooking the city and the Olympic complex. The view was stunning and he was very mature and grateful about the whole experience. I sit here and type this and my heart sinks to think that in the midst of all the stress and chaos and discouragement that these two boys may not have felt all that special or important on their birthdays. We told them over and over again. They know they are loved. sigh. Josh is usually the one to carry the weight of stress, and he just couldn't today. There was simply too much. We have no option but to continue this trip, and for a good chunk of time there it looked as though we were going to have to backtrack to Madrid just to MAYBE find a tire that would fit our van. Anyway, that's not happening.
So, we did the cable car thing and ate lunch at the strategically placed, high priced cafe at the top and were delighted to have slushies, food and shade. We came back down on a cable car and headed back to the apartment for naps. Everyone laid down but naptime didn't last as long as we hoped it would. Boys were up and noisy just an hour or so in. After some discussion and research we decided to load up and pray our way in our gimpy van, to a pool that is a bit of drive from where we are staying. This place was INCREDIBLE! It's all shallow and it made to look like a beach. It sits down beneath high cliffs that are adorned in an abundance of vines. There's palm trees, a sandy play ground and cool water to refreshen weary heat worn bodies. It was perfect. We swam for about two hours and dried off to head back to the van. I could tell Josh either had something heavy on his heart or wasn't feeling well. He had a migraine and asked me for tylenol and zofran. I know it's bad when he asks me for meds instead of waiting for me to suggest them. Elijah was complaining of stomach pain, as well. We drove to the "Magic Fountain" after a bit of a drive and got out to see the incredible show that they put on in the evenings, once again though with my go to phrase these past couple of day, "only to find" out that it only runs on weekends. We'd decided to skip it last night and go tonight because we were too tired. :/ Bummer. Apparently it is a site to see!
We came back to the apartment, put boys to bed and now I'm here typing this. I'm down. I'm out. I'm going to bed. Love you all dearly. Thank you for your continued prayers. Again, please continue. We would prefer to not battle through the next two solid weeks this way. But we are confident that God will be glorified. We are running to Him in all of this and he is proving faithful, as he always does. Blessed be his name.
Good night, sweet friends and family. Pictures hopefully tomorrow.