Trips 2013: Spring Break Part II - Barcelona!

Can I repeat again how fantastic this trip was? If any of you would like to travel with the Hayes Family Five, we will welcome your buffer and your help with the apartment costs - because we scored a FANTASTIC apartment in Barcelona. I went through airbnb.com for the first time and it was a great experience. Our owner was SO helpful. Stuart had given up coffee for Lent, so we needed a kettle to make tea. But sadly, no kettle. I mentioned it to her and the next day she had purchased a kettle and delivered it! Not to mention, she had a cool apartment in a great location. Barcelona is a beautiful city, and the Catalan people are so friendly. From the shopkeepers, to the restauranteurs, to the average Joe on the street, we really only experienced a wonderful friendly and open vibe. Sadly, we did not get to practice much of our Spanish here (because they speak Catalan - which sounded a bit like a mix between Portugese, French and Spanish), but the language barrier was not an issue. Smiles, nods, pointing and more smiling was the universal language. But because words just cannot do this trip justice alone, I will let the photos do the talking.

A table for 8 - yes, please! (One of my favorite parts of the day - where we all sat down together.)

Beautiful tile - everywhere. Original and just stunning.

Silas agrees - this apartment is the BEST! (yes, of course we had wireless)

Someone's room - I can't remember who - mine and Stuart? (not Luke's, for sure) - should have taken a picture of our windows and little balcony!!

Our first day involved a bike tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours again. I have to say, thus far, our least favorite of the Fat Tire tours. It all hinges on the guide, and I thought she was good, but not great. Our Paris was the best, and later that month we did the London tour - he was second. However, I would still repeat the experience. One of the best ways to get a flavor for the city. Poor Suzanne had caught the illness the night before (the one we ended up sharing so nicely), and had a rough go of it on the hills of Barcelona - but she persevered! I would have been out of there - well, I probably wouldn't have even started the tour!!!

Zee & Stuart get their tandem bike.

Clearly Zee thinks you are all something special!

Really Mom - another picture??

Group picture in front of the Arc de Triomf

The Cascada, in the Parc de la Ciutadella

Always with the Tiger rag. (Gina, Monica, Suzanne)

Some good eats at Barcelonetta Beach  - our lunch stop on the bike tour

That night, we ate in and then decided to head out to the Magic Fountain light show. We were pretty sure we could walk the entire route from our apartment. It turned into a decent 25 minute walk (remember, we have little ones with us), but was well worth it. A fun night at the Magic Fountain music and light show!

Those probably speak for themselves. The next day, because you ALWAYS need a beach day, we did just that and headed for Barceloneta beach. This beach was built just for the 1992 Olympics that Barcelona hosted and is actually a really nice beach. It is also a European beach. Know what I mean? And it was a good weather Sunday - which meant it was packed with people. Some of them not fully clothed. Well...when in Barcelona! KIDDING KIDDING. We maintained our American sensibilities and kept ourselves fully clothed (I didn't really think it was warm enough to be topless or bottomless at any point in the day - and trust me, we saw both!)***

 What do we see here?

 For Stuart's pleasure reading, he re-reads books we had to read in middle school/high school. HUH?

 Gina and Stuart were obviously discussing something really interesting!

 Luke is buried.

 Zee has to join in the fun, too.

 Football on the beach (not the American kind)

 Playing on the beach!

Silas and Zee made this awesome double chair for themselves.

This post is already so long, I will need to make a part III - we saw SO MUCH in Barcelona. I haven't even touched on Gaudi!!! 

***A note on how we handled the nudity - so, there were several topless women, including one very pregnant bouncing up and down, splashing her stomach with water. (We were wondering if there were specific health benefits to the Meditteranean cold water for the baby?) We handled it by not making a big deal out of it. This is typical here - in Germany, you can be nude on any beach you would like - the whole family, playing beach volleyball, in the nude. So we just did our best to not make a thing out of it. We also employed distraction techniques to keep them occupied. And we didn't get hung up on it. We had a great day at the beach!