Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain - (Week 1)

Hello Family and Friends,

We have two very special guest joining us on our first month in Europe: my god daughter, Sarah-Corrine, and her older brother, Ian Luke. We had Sarah with us for about 40 days last summer when we were exploring national parks and she has decided to join us again. I guess we didn't scare her too much. Well maybe just a little because she brought her brother as back-up this summer.

Waiting to board our plane at the Atlanta airport.

I put Sarah, Atlas calls her CeCe, and Ian to work on the flight to Canada. Brett and I sat in business class while the kids sat in coach

A Boston cream pie with with a Canadian maple leaf on top.

On our long leg from Canada to Barcelona, Brett bid to get upgraded to business class and we got it! It is my first time in business class and Brett's second. Brett and Atlas have previously ridden business class when they ditched Bruce and I in coach. (Refer to "Santiago. Chile - Week 1"). The best part about first class is that the seats lay flat to sleep, you have a complete pod to yourself (not even Brett could touch me), and they keep the bathrooms clean.

We opened the division between our pods so we could see each other for this photo.

Upon reaching our hotel in Barcelona, we ran into a slight problem. We booked two hotels rooms that we thought had two beds each. However, the rooms only had two beds total. We made due with Atlas sleeping in a bassinet.

I think he liked his little cage, I mean bed.

We were pretty tired when we reached our hotel in Barcelona, but I have a rule about staying up until normal bed time when going through a major time zone change. Barcelona is six hours ahead of Atlanta. We showered, grabbed some food and then headed to the beach.

These beautiful green birds eating out of this man's hand at a park between our beach and the hotel.

The beach isn't as pretty as Destin, Florida or almost anywhere else, but the boardwalk was a really great feature. There was even a fitness area with some equipment. We had a fun time figuring out the different machines. People were participating in a mobility class, a yoga class and a run club. The run club was the most fun. There was a guy riding a bike while another guy was DJing with turntables and huge speakers on the back. There were like 30 or so people in this run club.

Brett, Danielle, Cece and Ian sitting on the dock of the bay (Brett made me use this reference).

Even though we successfully stayed up until about 8:30PM, Atlas and I were wide awake again at about midnight. I was getting a little hungry so we left the hotel and went to "Supermercat" (This is Catalan for Supermarket). Catalan is very similar to Spanish, but isn't Spanish. We are able to communicate quite easily as most Barcelonians speak very good English and even when they don't we can converse in Spanish without too much trouble. I'm honestly surprised how much of their Spanish I understand. Four months in South America really improved our Spanish language skills. Even Brett is understanding a lot. Anyways, The "Supermercat" is less of a supermarket and more like a gas station convenience store. It doesn't have a hot bar, but it has snacks and drinks. After filling Atlas' stroller with snacks, we headed back to the hotel, turned on some TV and chowed down. I was pleasantly surprised to find various channels in English, German, French and Arabic. Honestly Barcelona is probably the most diverse place I have ever been. People are from everywhere and everyone looks very different. Walking down the street you can't tell who is from Spain and who isn't. It truly is a melting pot. We finally did get back to sleep at about 4AM. The next morning we successfully woke-up in time for breakfast with the help of the alarm. The best part of the hotel breakfast was the warm soft fresh bread. The bread definitely lived up to the European standards that we were expecting.

After breakfast we headed out to "La Rambla" which is an iconic shopping street. However, it isn't just one street, it is an entire area. It had so many side shops and side streets. I would need an entire week just to walk past all the stores and years to see everything.

Cece and I taking a photo along one of "La Rambla's" side streets while enjoying some gelato.

While shopping we came across "La Boqueria" which is an outdoor food market that was on my list to see. We got there a little late in day, but were still able to enjoy Spanish empanadas. Unlike Chilean empanadas, there are no olives in Spanish empanadas which pleased Brett (he hates olives).

CeCe, Ian, Brett and Atlas in front of La Boqueria.

Upon leaving La Boqueria we continued along La Rambla and headed towards the water. We ran into a huge statue of Christopher Columbus, meh.

An example of mess up move up on display.

Once at the water we booked a last minute sunset cruise.

Ian, Cece, sleeping Atlas, Danielle and Brett.

We all love being on the water, especially Atlas. However, he slept through the entire cruise. I guess the jet lag is affecting him as well. He woke up the moment we got off the boat, looked at the boat and said "Yo quiero un barco" (spanish for "I want a boat" and meaning he wanted to ride). Brett and I didn't have the heart to tell him that we had just gotten off the boat. We told him maybe some other time we could ride.

Atlas asleep on our sunset boat ride.

We got back to the hotel sometime after 10PM and the next morning the jet lag hit all of us. Every single one of us slept right through breakfast. However, that gave us a reason to get a delicious breakfast in town.

Atlas is chowing down on some blueberries and didn't feel the need to stop eating to take a photo.

We then headed up to Montjuïc castle. We first took the metro, to the "funicular" (a type of steeply inclined cable railway), and then to the "teleferico" (a cable car). It's always fun to take Cece up high as she is terrified. Brett gives her a really hard time and talks a big game about shaking the cable car.

A view of Barcelona from the cable car with Sagrada Familia looming in the background.

I have always wanted to visit a castle and was very excited to see a European castle up close.

Atlas really wanted to take a photo with this cannon once we reached Montjuïc castle.

In front of Montjuïc castle.

In it's history Montjuïc castle was used as a jail. We put Atlas behind one of the old jail doors. I have never seen someone so excited to be in jail.

The maintower at Montjuïc castle that has been used as a lighthouse and then a communication tower.

One of the views of Barcelona from Montjuïc castle where the city meets the water.

Heading back down the hill from Montjuïc castle we saw this beautiful water fountain.

As we were headed back to our hotel we passed by this imposing old building. It is the national museum of Catalunya. It was a palace before it was a museum.

Museo de Catalunya.

We didn't go inside but the view of the city from the museum is awesome.

The next morning my alarm was not so successful in waking me. I slept right through. This is a first for me and of course at the wrong time. We had non-refundable tickets to "Basilica de la Sagrada Familia".(or so I thought) This is a church designed by Antoni Gaudi. He is a spanish architect who is known for his over the top designs. His name Gaudi fits his gaudy designs quite well.

 Basilica de la Sagrada Familia from the front.

Sagrada Familia has been under construction for the last 150 years. They say it is almost done, which could mean another six years. However, we didn't actually get to go inside. The tickets I thought I had to Sagrada Familia were to another church. Essentially, I bought the wrong tickets. I was so disappointed! I pouted for about half an hour. Meanwhile, Brett and Ian were being interviewed by a New York Times reporter who was seeking public opinion in advance of the new pope's visit in just a few days. Based on her questions I gathered she was doing a piece looking at an aspect of whether tourism cheapened the religious experience of the church.

 Basilica de la Sagrada Familia from the rear and dare I say best side.

I eventually got over booking the wrong tickets and we went shopping!

Atlas trying out bikes with Ian.

Hanging out at the hotel pool after shopping.

The evening ended much better than the day started. We were able to see a water show at The Magic Fountain of Montjuïc. The fountain is in front of Museo De Catalunya.

The girls at the water show.

The boys at the water show.

The whole area gets wet because there is so much water!

Museo de Catalunya at night.

In summary, Barcelona was fun. The water isn't pretty, but the beaches are busy with activity. Shopping along La Rambla was tons of fun. The weather is hot and humid and the air conditioning doesn't keep up. The buses and metro are a great way to get around. The people are nice and most speak English. Flying into Barcelona from the east coast of the United States is one of the more economical and culturally interesting way to enter Europe.