Barcelona!


When it comes to trips we are pretty hard core travelers. We were not planning on going to Spain on this trip, but we were right next to the Spanish boarder and they did not check your passports. That meant we were going to do some traveling in Spain! Barcelona was only 2 1/2 hours away from Andorra which to us meant day trip! We woke up early and got ready, which is a big deal for us because we are not early risers. We got to see a lot of the Spanish country side on our drive to Barcelona. Beautiful, beautiful city!

We got to see quite a bit of Catalonia as we drove to Barcelona. Such beautiful country! We could not help ourselves and had to stop to take some photos. 
Made it to Barcelona!


Our first adventure in Barcelona was to take a boat ride around the harbor. It was such a beautiful day. The warmest weather we had experienced of year. It was absolutely glorious to be on the water feeling the sun shine down. Cosette loved the boat ride and the accordion player that serenaded us on the short trip about the harbor. 
 We meandered down La Rambla, Barcelona's most historic avenue. Beautiful street with all sorts of flower markets, restaurants, street performers, etc. In front of the Mercat de Sant Josep aka La Boqueria, the biggest food market in Barcelona. Oh, I wish we could have spent more time here. So much we did not get to explore. It was basically a walk through of the city with a look over there and a look over here so we could cover all of our bases. And let me tell you we sure did. I do not think much was missed. 
The largest gathering of pigeons I have ever seen. Lyndon says to not watch The Birds before you go to Barcelona. 

Lyndon has been to Barcelona once before and already seen some of the sights including The Barcelona Cathedral. He let me go in and explore the Cathedral while he watched the kiddos. What a good good man! I was able to go up on the roof and examine the Cathedral from above and see the bell towers. It is such a beautiful cathedral.
View from the top of the Barcelona Cathedral. 
In the Cloisters of the Cathedral there is an area where they keep 13 geese.
In front of the remnants of the Roman wall. 
Palau Reial. 
We spent twilight at the Parc de la Ciutadella Barcelona's Central Park. It even has a zoo.
Hanging out by Parc de la Ciutuadella. 
 
We tried some arroz negro which turned out to be seafood paella. Barcelona is known for this type of paella. Not my favorite, but it was something interesting to try. Lyndon ate it up no problem. The tiny whole squid made me kind of lose my appetite. 
 
The best caption for these pictures is that we are travelers. Cosette was happy to take the subway. She spent the whole time running around one of the poles on the train. She can keep her balance pretty well on the Metro which means she is a total city girl. 

 
The one thing I would change about our trip would be to have seen more of Gaudi's work. We barely made it Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's beautiful unfinished Cathedral. One of the beautiful facade was under construction so we were only able to see the nativity and passion facade. It is done in the neo-gothic style and Lyndon was in heaven. We did not have enough time while walking about to visit the Casa Batilo, the home he designed, so we drove by it on our way out. Still beautiful, but not the best way to enjoy his great works. 

 
Me and the kiddos in front of the Monument a Colom (Columbus monument). So similar to Columbus Circle back in NYC. On the right you see Cosette chasing the bubbles which is also a fun NYC activity. It is fun to find similar things to home abroad. 

My baby looking over the menu. I thought it was cute how she intently went through the menu looking at what there was to order. Soon enough she will be ordering her own food, even if it might be French fries. Those are her absolute favorite.



The architecture in this city is stunning! Flower market on La Rambla. You cannot visit Barcelona and miss La Rambla.

Barcelona's Arch del Triomf. 

 Lyndon was happy to show us around the city. His first time here he had quite the adventure, and was very happy to bring us back and show us all the sites he enjoyed. Day trip success!

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