I think Johnny was most excited about Barcelona as he came her 25 years ago and just loved it. We arrived in the afternoon and were anxious to check into our apartment and then explore. Barcelona is a very expensive city, but we wanted to be right in town so we could walk every where. We decided to stay for a week as we knew there would be tons to do and we did not want to rush, so we chose a place that was quite cheap, compared to everything we looked at, but it had no reviews on AirBnb...uh oh...that should have been our first clue. Just before we arrived I received a package from the owner outlining the area...I made the mistake of looking it up and here is what it said...
El Raval Neighbourhood Controversial area in Barcelona, probably more suitable for seasoned travellers. Raval is an interesting and exciting area in Barcelona however it also has its darker and seedy side that you ought to be aware of. It is certainly not the safest or the cleanest area in Barcelona...
Double Uh OH! but hey, we ARE seasoned travellers...we could do this! When we arrived we saw a pretty sketchy looking entry, and had to walk up a very steep, very narrow, LONG flight, of dark, slightly urnine smelling stairs.
When we arrived we tried to stay positive for the girls sake, but the place really was gross. I wasnt sure if AirBnb would agree with me and give us back our money so we were not sure what to do....after a long phone call and several mad emails later, we decided to stay one night in the gross place and move to a much nicer and MUCH more expensive apartment (AirBnb refunded us ALL our money! yay!). The $150/night for our new place was WELL worth it. It was amazing, and in the perfect area, El Born Barrio, right next to the Arc de Triumph. Now we were ready for Barcelona!
While we were there, Anneka and I met some new friends from California, for such a brief meeting we hit it off right away (hi Alana and family!) I started reading her posts and she quoted something about Barcelona from a poet Joan Maragall
,that resonated with me...I could not think of a better way to describe this city,
Barcelona is like a dark enticing enchantress that lures and seduces people in and leaves them wanting more.
The Gothic Quarter was a short stroll from our apartment, almost every time we went out, we would walk through the narrow streets, feeling familiar with all the different lane ways and public squares by the end of the week. Once again I was in awe of all the pedestrian areas, with very little car traffic and people milling about on every corner.
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| Ally next to Barcelona Cathedral |
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| Placa Reial (a beautiful square) |
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| One of the many streets in the Gothic Quarter |
We had such a ram packed week. Enjoying our little apartment, finally having some routine and getting out every day (even fitting in a few 5 k runs- I am so out of shape ugh!). Luckily there are no shortage of bakeries that sell the most delicious pizza to keep us going for hours. From the Mercat de la Boqerie (the indoor food market, reminds me of St Lawrence Market in Toronto), to the Basillca De Santa Maria Del Mar and Barcelona Cathedral (unbelievable churches), to Placa Del Rei, (The kings square, next to the royal palace), to the kids favourite square- Placa de Catalunya and to our favourite park Parc de la Ciutadella (that happened to be right next to our apartment). Our first few days were so full, I knew we had to slow down a little.
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| Barcelona Cathedral |
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| Placa de Catalunya |
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| Parc de la Ciutadella |
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| Parc de la Ciutadella |
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| Mercat de la Boqerie |
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| Santta Maria Del Mar |
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| the Barcelona Cathedral |
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| Columbus monument |
We spent one day doing a self guided Gaudi Tour- even if you are not a fan of the famous artist/architect, you cannot help but be in awe of his spectacular buildings- Lonely planet describes the Gaudi experience as a fun filled Disney style look at the life of Barcelona's favourite son. I totally agree, so incredible that these buildings were designed over 100 years ago, We started off our tour visiting the impressive Sagrada Famillia, and then headed Casa Mila and Casa Batllo, Being wowed by all the other buildings we encountered on our way.
The rest of our week in Barcelona sped by. We hiked up to Montjuic Castle for a wonderful view of the city, Anneka and I went to a Flamenco show (we loved it) and walked around the city every day. Finishing off with dinner on the very touristy La Rambla- a pedestrian avenue full of shops and taverns.
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| Monjuic Castle |
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| the view from Castle |
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| surprisingly beautiful beach in Barcelona |
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| La Rambla |
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| so many random pretty little parks in the city |
After a week we all felt very comfortable navigating around the city, sticking close to the old quarter as there were so much to see, discovering new nooks and crannies all the time. Johnny's views were reaffirmed- he STILL wants to live here...after spending some time here I can see why.
