For some reason, I never wanted to go to Spain. Now I know that if you speak to some Barcelonians (not actually what they’re called), it isn’t actually Spain, but you know what I mean. Turns out, I loved Barcelona! It made it to my Top 4 Cities of Europe I’ve Visited So Far list. Number 3 in fact.
Travelling
Same drill applied. Cheap flight. AirBnB. Flew from a lovely little airport this time though – Southend! Didn’t even know they had an airport. Well quiet, perfect with kids! The accommodation was quite expensive this time, in comparison. Took ages to find a decent one, with 2 beds, close enough to the centre etc etc. We spent a bit of time trying to find it too. Taxi dropped us on the right street, but map he sent put us in a different place to where it was showing on the Google map. Landed quite late, so was dark and that. Finally found it, and got in, and we were less than impressed. Not very much like the photos, small, dingy. Slept.
Next day, we went to the centre. Bus and trams are ace, if you know where to get them from, which with Google Maps in me pocket, it’s blinking easy! Found an ace place for lunch – Circus Pizza or summat. Huge pizzas! Ate it in a park, and they had a little play and that.
Walked around a bit and found a statue of Christopher Columbus. It’s like Nelson’s column, but not as impressive. So, Columbus was Italian, but the Spanish Catholic church paid for all his little holidays to America. Well, defo the first one, not sure about the rest. Best thing about this statue is, he is pointing the wrong way! Turns out, this points towards Algeria or somewhere, and not America. Guess he got lucky, or hadn’t updated his sat nav or summat. (Just did a quick Google, and turns out this one is actually 8 metres taller than Nelson’s. Whatever.)
We then had a walk along the harbour, which was nice. Palm trees and that. Folk strolling around. Sat down on the side of the harbour, and luckily took a lovely photo, which half a second later would have been very different, as Amelia leant forward and Char panicked and grabbed her back! She wouldn’t have fallen in or anything. Probably.
A bit more walking, and we ended up on a beach! Amazing. Barceloneta. It’s a lovely sandy beach, which is literally next door to the city, a little stroll away in fact. Had a nice little play there. Only annoying thing was the amount of people trying to sell us blankets! One or two street sellers is a normal amount, but there were about 15 of them man! We didn’t buy one.
A short stroll away is Parc de la Ciutadella, or Park Ciutadella if you can’t speak Spanish. There’s loads of stuff going on here. The main thing is a massive fountain, which was nice. I think Gaudi had a bit to do with it. He did loads mind. He probably built the beach too. There’s a lake, and a zoo, and a museum and stuff. The Catalonia Parliament is in there somewhere too apparently.
Just outside the park, there is a walkway thing, and an Arc de Triomph. Not the French one. This one is smaller, not as cool, and not on a well busy roundabout.
A further wander and we found Barcelona Cathedral. It was really nice. Gothic, and the seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona. I had to Google that. Loads of people wandering past. Some older ladies sat next to us, and Stan went to flirt with them or summat. They were nice. Went to Catalunya and got a tube home. Slept.
Next day, we went to Park Guell. This is the main park in Barcelona, famed for all it’s Gaudi architecture and that. Had to book tickets online, including a time slot, as it gets well busy, as we found out. We walked some of the way there, and the hills were so steep, they’ve got escalators outside! Thanks Barcelona. We had just gotten FitBits, so were loving all the walking and extra steps. Char doesn’t wear hers any more mind.
At Park Guell, had to queue a fair while, even with the time slot tickets. It was all organised nicely though. Was really nice in the Gaudi bit. The Park is huge, and you don’t have to pay for most of it, just the Gaudi bit, with the buildings and that. Had a good couple of hours in there, exploring and seeing all the architecture, and mosaics.
After that, we went for some ice cream, and then went to CosmoCaixa, an ace science museum. It’s like a staple visit for us! We do love a bit of science. This was a lovely building, modern, with loads of stuff inside. Different areas and zones, a rain forest with animals and that, and lots of ‘hands-on’ experiments. I enjoyed, the kids enjoyed. Win.
Next day, Char wasn’t feeling very well, so I took the kids to Bunkers del Carmel. They used to have anti-aircraft guns up there, during the war like, not just on Saturdays and that. It’s an amazing panoramic view over the whole of Barcelona. The only bad thing was, despite having 2 days of lovely sunshine, today, it was blinking overcast! The views weren’t as good, but still pretty special.
Took a bus to the bottom of the hill, and then walked for quite a while. Kids did ace, as always. Had a mooch around on top, took some pics, and a couple of snacks, drew a pic, and came down. Would be lovely to have a nice picnic in the sun up there. Wasn’t busy, but a fair few people up there. Would happily go up there again.
Got Charlotte, and headed into town. Saw a few of Gaudi buildings, like Casa Mila and Casa Batillo. They were cool. Went up and down Las Ramblas. Some people said it can be dodgy, pick pocketers and that, but we didn’t see any of that. Had some lunch and went to see a massive building. Sagrada Familia. It’s a church, built by Gaudi. He get’s around a bit! Basically, it’s not finished. They have been building it for years! We didn’t go in, as Char wasn’t a fan of churches at this time. Maybe next time. Kids weren’t too impressed with it.
We then went back to Park Guell, to have a look around the rest of it. Mainly because we saw the ‘free’ park, but didn’t get to enjoy it. Had a nice walk around and that.
On the last day, I took the kids to another museum thing, but this one had dinosaurs. Who doesn’t love a dinosaur!? It was at Museu Blau, which is in The Forum building, which looked ace from the outside. The main exhibition there, which they were excited about, was a spinosaurus. I think it did the rounds, and was living there for a little while.
Took a while to get there on a bus and a tram, and it was raining. Had a nice walk around the museum. Loads of dinosaurs and that. Was ok. I think the building outside was better than the stuff on the inside! Was really quiet around there. Went back, got Char, and headed home.
I really enjoyed Barcelona. Will go back and see the things we missed, like inside Familia, and Tibidabo, a fair on top of the hill. Lots to see and do, nice food, family friendly, a beach, culture, the lot. Thanks!