Spain - part 1

Barcelona

The thought of one day living somewhere warm, coastal and European has been a lingering dream for my husband and me.  Spain was one country neither of us had seen, so we packed up the three kids and five suitcases and off we flew.

We spent six days in Barcelona, staying at the Roger de Lluria Hotel.  It was a lovely hotel and centrally located.  The hotel clerks were always helpful, especially Hakim!  We were in walking distance to La Rambla, Passiage De Gracia,  the Gothic quarter and the Cathedral, as well as many of Gaudi’s famous buildings like La Peddler and Casa Batllo.

We didn’t get to do all the things we would have liked, based on the fact that we had an 8 year old, a 10 year old and a 12 year old to feed, transport and entertain.  Being that there were five of us, taxis were only an option if we wanted to take two and pay a fortune.  The busses and subways were fairly easy to navigate and buying a ten ride pass made it much more manageable.  Mainly, we relied on walking, and walking we did!

Highlights included spending the day at Montjuic: taking the gondola (or Funicular) up to the fortress at the top,  finding a playground in the park with gigantic slides (the kids favorite part), and visiting the Olympic Stadium and grounds.  

Museums were not really on our list, due to the amount of walking we were doing everyday.  It was a balancing act of keeping the kids busy and moving, but not getting too worn out. 

We also had fun visiting the waterfront areas called La Barceloneta, Port Vell and Port Olympic, and enjoyed a sunny lunch on the beach.  

Visiting one of the many markets was high on our list so we stopped at La Boqueria for snacks.  The fresh fruit smooties were a hit!  

There were other sights that we did visit but not listed here, and even more that we didn’t get to.  Keeping the troops happy required a laid back and flexible approach and meant seeing a little less.  Just one more reason to travel to Barcelona again!  

Next we headed to Grenada… Spain Part 2