Barcelona, Day 4

One of the things Matt really wanted to see in Barcelona was La Sagrada Familia, a Catholic basilica designed by Gaudi. Construction on the church began in 1882, and is still not complete to this day. We wanted to tour the inside, but the website stated that there would be no loud noises, or running and horseplay. Our kids wouldn't be as sedate as that, and I am not going to be THAT parent. But we could still walk around the outside.

So we grabbed a few pastries and ate them on the way to the Metro station. The train dropped us off right next to La Sagrada Familia, and it was the most crowded landmark we saw the entire time we were there. I would definitely recommend buying tickets in advance if you ever plan on going. The outside is beautiful and intricate, and I would love to go back sometime to view the inside. And it's interesting to see the yellowed facade of the oldest parts, compared with less weathered sections of the new.

There were lots of souvenir stands set up in this area, and Matt and I decided that our souvenir would be a small piece of art. We didn't mind that it was mass produced; we just wanted a little something we liked as a memento.

After circling the church, we wanted to do more exploring, so we started walking in the general direction of our hotel. We stopped at a small restaurant for lunch, and that helped keep us happy.

Making shadow puppets

Hey, look, I was there too

After lunch, Matt led us to Placa de Catalunya, which is considered the city center. There were a few vendors selling snacks, water, and bird feed for the thousands of pigeons. (I'm really bad at estimating, but it seemed like thousands to me.) The kids chased the pigeons, and it was by far their favorite part of the entire trip. 

Clara had to get in on the action, too.

Then Matt bought a bag of birdseed for the older kids. They got a bit nervous when the birds flocked around them.

She kept shrieking, "Pidgey!"

Miles said he wanted to hand feed the birds, but did this immediately upon receiving the food

Placa de Catalunya is at the north end of La Rambla, so we just wandered down until we found La Boqueria, which is a large public market. There are various stalls selling fruits and vegetables, meats and fish, cooked foods and treats. We didn't see everything, because the kids were getting tired and wild, but it was a cool place to visit.

The kids had ice cream here, and Matt and I each had a snack (I had an empanada, he had some kind of fried chorizo ball). We took home a couple more empanadas, and some cactus fruit for the kids.

We rested back at the hotel for a while, then ventured out to let the kids pick out souvenirs.  Lily chose a flamenco dress, and Miles chose a stuffed poo. We tried to encourage a different choice for him, but he did not want anything else.

On the way back to the hotel, Matt grabbed some takeaway (some kind of Turkish wrap or something), and we settled in for our last night. The kids were pretty wound up, and didn't want to leave, so bed time was horrible. We were worried that no one would sleep well, since it was Saturday night and Carnaval was going on. And there was much more noise on the streets, but somehow the kids slept.

Barcelona, Day 3

This day we made plans to visit Park Guell, which was designed by Antoni Gaudi. We grabbed a quick pastry at a nearby cafe and set out for our first adventure on the Metro.

It was chilly and gray when we left, so I bought the flimsiest umbrella I've ever seen, just in case. And it was the best €5 we spent. By the time we exited the Metro, there was a light but steady rain. Plus, the nearest Metro stop was still 1.4 kilometers away from the park entrance, and it was up a very steep hill. If you want to make this trip with a baby, I definitely recommend a carrier over a stroller.

Seriously, zoom in, because you have to in order to see the bottom.

The first entrance to the park is free, then there's an inner entrance that you pay to get into to see the bulk of the mosaic work. And it's still raining.

Still in the outer park, there's an elevated area with three stone crosses, and it had phenomenal views of the city. I assume. I started up the stairs, and halfway up turned right back around.

I mean, look how close she is to the edge, on slick stone steps. Nope.

Of course, Matt and the kids had no problem going up there, so I just stayed with Clara. And we could still see the city.

After this, we made our way down to the inner entrance (more stairs). It was still raining, and the kids were really whining at this point. They kept begging to go back to the hotel, and we really debated about going any further. Since we didn't want to miss seeing the artwork and architecture, we pressed on. We're going to experience art and culture whether the kids like it or not!

This picture pretty much sums up our outing

More stairs. There was a path that was stroller friendly, but I think Matt was used to carrying the stroller by now, and stairs were quicker.

We hung out in this area for a while, since we were out of the rain. Lily chased the pigeons, one of her favorite activities.

Poor Clara didn't have an umbrella

Into the "dragon," as the kids called it.

"Dragon"

And down to the bottom, where the rain finally stopped.

Once the rain stopped, the kids were much happier. We walked to a different Metro station to get back, and thankfully there were no more major hills. On the way to the station, we stopped and had lunch.

Yes, she was asleep. But she perked right up when the food came.

I had the menu del dia, which had salad, pasta, a little chicken leg, fried potatoes, and tortilla (the tortilla was like a potato pie, not the kind you put on a burrito). It was very good, and we had dessert here, too. I ordered a chocolate mousse that was in a pie, and it was heavenly. We ate it too fast for a picture though.

We made it back to the hotel so the kids could dry out and rest. And poor Clara's jacket was soaked again. When we ventured out for dinner, we bought her a touristy sweatshirt to keep her warm, and that was her souvenir.

We wandered around some side streets to look for a place to eat, and found Los Toreros. I ordered a steak and a liter of sangria. The steak was so-so, but the sangria was good. Matt had oxtail something on mashed potatoes. His was excellent.

After dinner, Matt dropped the kids and me off at the hotel. He then went to get dessert for the kids and a couple of drinks for us. I think the kids got dessert because they had behaved so well, but I don't recall (probably because of the sangria).

Matt brought back a traditional Catalan dessert called Coca de Vidre. It's a sweet flatbread with pine nuts, and to me it tasted like burnt sugar. The kids didn't eat much of it.

And that was the end of day three.