the dark crystal

Dad went to the markets at Placa de les Glories, a large open bric a brac and antiques outdoor market that runs a few times a week. He bought some pieces of agate, some quartz as well as some ammonites.

The ammonites are crustaceans that lived millions of years ago and their fossils are like beautiful snail shaped stones.

The mountains in Catalunya are very rich in minerals so we have seen a lot of crystals, quartz and ammonites since we came here. We visited the Museu Blau de les Ciències Naturals (Natural History Museum) to see their collection of fossils and crystals too. There was a lot to see.

Afterwards in the museum shop we bought our own crystal Christmas tree set so we could grow our own crystals.

The cardboard tree slowly drinks the special crystal food and the crystals begin to grow on the branches.

It takes a full day for the crystals to grow. When we woke up the next day, this is what we saw..