Hola a todos! We are now settling in as true barcelonés and starting to fall into the pace of life here in the city. That means late starts to the day (wake up ~10AM), siestas in the afternoon and then staying up until midnight following a late dinner. Even the kiddos are getting into the act with bedtimes after 10PM 😱😱. Soren seems to be adjusting fine with mile long hikes (sprints?) home after dinner:
We all agree that the Barcelona life is great. I was actually in this city three times prior to this trip: once in 2006, once in 2008 and two short trips in 2009. It has been interesting to revisit some of the places from my previous forays to the city. For example, here is me on Monjuic in 2006 and then 2018:
Notice how the second picture includes two additional children and one additional wife. I’ll be interested to see what the next photo looks like in 2028.
On to the rundown…
July 14: Beach Day
Our lazy/leisurely habits rubbed off on Tony/Robby/Ashley (henceforth T/R/A) and we got off to a very late start. Got to the beach around noon and it was HOT ☀🔥! We rented some beach umbrellas and proceeded to claim as much real estate as possible. Meera and Swathi took the opportunity to nap while Soren got into the sand.
We somehow don’t have photographic evidence, but this was also Soren’s first time in the ocean. He LOVED it. We do have photographic evidence that Meera’s first beach visit resulted in many naps. The day ended with us heading home for order-in sushi while T/R/A got dinner at a renowned paella place in Barcelonetta.
July 15: Churros, Park Güell and Gracia
After a failed attempt at a Mercat de la Boqueria breakfast (closed Sunday) we stumbled upon a classic Barcelona breakfast: churros and hot chocolate 😋! We spent the remainder of the morning wandering around the Gothic Quarter before splitting with T/R/A while they went shopping for gifts. Soren enjoyed running the automobile-free alleys of the Gothic Quarter:
We then regrouped with T/R/A and headed to Park Güell. You pretty much have to visit the park if you are in the city. We had to box out some V aggressive tourists but we got the mandatory photo along with some other good ones of the park.
After that, I took the crew on a classic stroll (maybe a death march) through the Gracia neighborhood of the city. It is a really nice residential area with lots of quiet squares, shady avenues and parks. From there we got tapas that won a big award for a foie gras tapas last year. I can confirm that it was delicious.
July 16: Science Center and Gracia again
T/R/A parted ways with us first thing in the morning. Soren was a bit confused and was asking about Tony after they left😢😢. To make up for the loss, I took Soren to the Barcelona Science Center:
We then went back to Gracia and bought Meera some European toys. Came back and kept our tapas kick at a nice local place nearby.
July 17: Pool day (after a failed Modernism tour)
Started the day off super ambitious with a planned walk of some of the famous spots showing off the modernism architecture of the city. We got lazy after about 45 minutes and hopped on a bus to a fancy hotel with a nice pool. Meera loves the water almost as much as Soren!
Nothing much else to report here as we pretty much just lazed about for the whole day. The kids finished swimming and got cozy with their towels:
Soren promptly proceeded to pass out in his towel. We went out after the pool for more tapas. Tapas is a theme now. A very good theme.
All righty, until next time!!