Oh Sophia, we barely knew you...

Baylie is a shopper. She loves gift shops, swap meets, cool little boutiques, and all manner of markets. We have had a discussion multiple times about the nature of this trip and the unchanging reality that our bags are SMALL! We agreed repeatedly that our keepsakes would have to be memories, photos, and journal entries. Shipping things home sounds good in theory, but the cost and hassle just make it unrealistic. So our last evening in Barcelona we were strolling past a swap meet type market and she became fixated on this little mirror covered in "jewels". It looked very "Spain-y" and oh-so-Baylie. I repeated my speech about our limited space and how even the little things add up. As we crossed the bridge back to our neighborhood she finally wore me down. I gave her the money and told her I would wait on the bridge. Off she ran. Ten minutes later she reappeared with a look of panic on her face. Before I could even see her clearly through the crowd she was saying "I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened!" She kept babbling about how she just asked a price and before she knew what happened she had somehow bought this BEAUTIFUL doll!! This was no Barbie, this antique looking, porcelain faced doll would fit right in with Baylie's growing collection. Where it would NOT fit is in our luggage. There were tears in her eyes, but my practical little girl understood we had to fix this and take Sophia back (yes, she got a name during her trip across the bridge). Back we went to the nice old man and explained that her suitcase was too small and she couldn't keep the doll. He was very understanding and gave her the money back, which she promptly took to the next stall and bought the mirror. As we walked back across the bridge she observed that souvenirs are better when they have a story, and the mirror now has more of a story.