A Return Visit to the Sagrada Familia

Buenas dias, Barcelona! We walked down to the beach Sunday morning and found a cafe that had just opened for brunch. I imagine this place in a scene in the summer, but we had it to ourselves on this cloudy, off peak-day. 

Found a discarded rake buried in the sand- big win

Can we do this every morning for breakfast??

The one place we had to return to was the Sagrada Familia. One, because it is so breathtaking, we had to see it again. Two, because the kids had never seen its magnificence. And three, because we wanted to see what had changed in 9 years. This is Gaudi's masterpiece and has been a work in progress for nearly 140 years! It is difficult to put into words what it is like and the photos do not do it justice, but here she is! 

Great playground in front while we waited for our entrance slot. Adding this to the "ridiculous playgrounds" montage. 

The drip castle entrance

Again, completely nature inspired with animals on the doors... 

"tree trunk" pillars

The light from the stained glass was what I remembered most about this place

The kids enjoyed it, but did not want to stay. Each stained glass panel had the names of a few saints. We set Jude on the task of finding his saint name to try to prolong our time inside (we didn't find it).

These angel statues will eventually go on top of the outer towers that are still being built. Maybe if we return in another 9 years, they'll be there! 

Back outside. So colorful and fun! 

I found a hole-in-the-wall taqueria for a great lunch around the corner from the cathedral. 

We were all tired from our sightseeing so we spent a good portion of the late afternoon at the hotel. We were eagerly awaiting the arrival of Gaby's babysitter who we hired to stay with the kids so we could have a night out. We walked downtown and into El Born for dinner. Afterward, we wandered the medieval streets by night. 

Back in Barcelona!

9 years ago, Pete and I had a wonderful pre-kids trip to Barcelona. We'd always wanted to go back and we don't know why it took us so long! I found ridiculous airfare ($70) for a weekend in early October and then held my breath until we were actually on the plane (fears of COVID canceling plans, a tear in my passport that I glued back together... shhh). 

Having been before and seen most of the big sights, I wanted to keep this trip mostly child-friendly. I also didn't want to spend too much time traveling all over the city, so we stayed in a hotel near the beach just North of the main downtown. 

First up, a stop in a cafe for breakfast (hot chocolate that was the consistency of chocolate pudding!) and a local playground. 

Buenos dias! 

We met fellow expats on our trip to Madrid a few years ago. They had traveled the world in search of the best place to live and had settled on Barcelona. We exchanged contact info in case we ever found ourselves in each other's cities. So I reached out to Gaby and while they weren't around when we were there, she sent lots of recommendations for kid-friendly places (and adult places, too). She recommended the Casa Batllo Gaudi museum for their kid-friendly interactive tour. We hadn't been on our first visit so I was excited to see it! The kid's guide was like a phone that they pointed around the rooms, and things became animated on the screen. It was really cool. Those around us without kids seemed pretty jealous ;) I was also excited to see the roof and the view. We had considered booking an early evening concert on the roof, but waited too long to book tickets. 

Gaudi designed this house for a wealthy family.

He was inspired by nature. The staircase invoked a spine. 

Mushroom fireplace nook with small benches for cozy encounters

Unique stained glass. Kids finding the magic. 

Feelings of being in the ocea

Elegant servant quarters on the top floor.

Freixenet rose.

I'm a sucker for a 6 euro photo of everyone smiling! This was taken on the uppermost baloncy on the street side of the building.

Chainmail art installation going down all of the stairs.

Cool multimedia black box

Back out in the city, we walked towards Plaza Cataluyna and then down the Ramblas to the Quim de la bocqueria market. Pete and I had a fun experience there in the past, sitting down at the food stall of the infamous Juanito Bayen and posing with his "thumbs up." Imagine our great joy in seeing that he was still there- now 87 years old. He's been working there for 70 years! I hope that man gets a break soon! 

The market is really best enjoyed when you can leisurly stroll and sit and try new, adventurous foods. Not for when you need to find kid friendly food stat! I'll keep the memories of our first visit and try to forget eating various fried things on a slab of concrete by the garbage bins. 

We continued through the Gothic quarter and el Born, taking in all of the amazing architecture. 

Our final destination was La Ciudadela Park. I had remembered thinking that the fountain there was the most beautiful I'd ever seen. 9 years and countless European cities later, that is still true! The color of the water, the gold statue on top, the cascading waterfall and sculptures. I could stare at it all day! And I nearly did because the kids were entertained for what felt like hours by a man blowing large bubbles in front of the fountain. Anytime it looked like he was going to pack up, the kids would drop him another euro and he'd continue entertaining them! 

Kids (and Pete) down there somewhere with the bubble man

        

Our mode of transit on our last visit was the metro. This time, we used Cabify (no Uber) all over the city to save these tired little legs. We cabbed home, rested a while at the hotel and then walked down the street to a delicous pizza spot to end the night.