This is the first of a two-part post catching-up on our last week in Barcelona. I’ll be covering July 18-20 in this post, and Swathi will finish up July 21-24 in the next one.
Our final week in Barcelona has come to an end and we still feel like we just arrived! Although the stay was only two weeks, the experience of discovering the real Barcelona was one of the highlights of the time. In fact, we now style ourselves to be connoisseurs of what is really to love about the city.
Here are a few things we ❤❤:
– Tapas: High expectations were exceeded. Plate after plate of flavor-packed morsels for dinner? Yes please.
– Vichy Catalan: Slightly fizzy and lightly salty mineral water. Perfect after a hot afternoon walk.
– Churreria San Roman: Slung Soren-approved chocolate churros downstairs -from our apartment. Owner was super friendly.
– Jamón ibérico: cured ham from wild Iberian boars left free to gorge on acorns.
– The 59 bus: After an unfortunate initial encounter (ie Swathi’s stolen iphone), this bus line seemed to appear and whisk us home every time we were worn out.
– Siestas (nothing more to add)
– Shady Avenues: The city is full of tree-lined boulevards and vertiginous apartment building that offered much-needed relief from the sun.
– Playgrounds: Fenced in play areas are pretty much everywhere in the city. Even had one behind our building that you could see from our terrace.
A few things we 👎 ❤:
– Paella: Maybe we were doing it wrong, but we all agreed that paella is basically a lesser version of biriyani. Open to being proven wrong.
– The British: Lots of British bro (and hens) packs coming here for sloppy party weekends. Get it together people!
– Sangria: So sweet it hurts. Probably did it wrong, but we are scared to try again.
On to the run-down…
July 18: Arc de Triomf & Parc de Ciudad
Late brunch at a place near our apartment followed by naps and putzing around the house. Finally re-launched late afternoon to head to the beautiful Parc de Ciudad. We got a little distracted en route and stumbled across Barcelona’s Arc de Triomf:
The park itself was nice too:
July 19: Montjuïc
To Soren’s delight, there was AMPLE public transportation today. Started off with a Metro/bus combo to get us to Montjuïc (huge hill overlooking the city). The castle on top has a great view:
We then took the first of two cable cars down to a little park cafe for lunch. Found some big slides for sliding:
After checking out a scenic overlook, we took a second cable car down to a funicular train to get down the mountain. Like I said, lots of public transit.
July 20: Maritime Museum and Boat Rides
Headed out in the morning to see the historic boatyards of Barcelona which are now a maritime museum for the city. Apparently Barcelona first established itself as a navel power back in the 1200s by building warships and trading vessels. Who knew?
From there it was a brisk walk across the street to take a 90 minute harbor cruise. I donned my boating hat in anticipation. The boat ride itself was very relaxing. Meera especially seemed to enjoyed sitting at the front of the boat:
