Barcelona: Part Two

Day 9: Friday, June 21^st

What we did: Breakfast at nearby café, a fennicular ride up to Montjuic to tour the castle (with Cora peacefully napping in the Ergo) and then a metro ride to the coastline and La Barconeleta for another recommended tucked away restaurant. 

Then more walking along the beach before back to the hotel for naps (which did happen!)  At this point, we’ve more than adjusted to the “European schedule” of late rising and late dinners. Tonight’s dinner was our first Trip Advisor fail (good quantity but not good quality), although interestingly, it was the first meal of the entire trip where Cora gorged herself. We had some conciliatory gelato to finish off the day.

What was most memorable: Barcelona has been a great opportunity to spend time together. 
 

We’ve covered a good deal of the city on foot or metro and that has given us a lot of time to talk and to just enjoy spending time together.  Jacob and I like to laugh about how many miles we’ve covered in foreign cities on foot, partly due to the economic factor (it’s free to walk), partly due to the exercise it affords, and partly due to the fact we feel it’s the best way to really see a city.  We’ve seen Paris, Munich, Berlin, Victoria, B.C, and Vancouver this way, and now we add Athens and Barcelona to that list.  We were supposed to be going to Athens, Rhodes, and Istanbul on this trip, but we pulled the plug on visiting Turkey due to the protests that seemed to be escalating in the weeks before our trip.  Jacob was already in Greece so I somewhat randomly switched the last half of our trip to Barcelona.  Even though several people we’ve encountered on our travels have led us to think that visiting Istanbul would have still been fine despite the protests, Barcelona has not disappointed.  It’s cosmopolitan, historic, beautiful, Mediterranean, friendly, exotic, balmy, and very interesting.  It also makes us REALLY WANT to spend time abroad with our family in the next few years.  

Day 10: Saturday, June 22^nd

What we did: It was obvious this was the last full day of our trip.  We were slow to get out of bed, my hip was hurting from the walking and baby holding, and karma was not on our side as we had to turn back to the hotel twice for forgotten items.  But when we finally got going, we had a lovely day!!  We went to the Monestir de Pedralbes, a monastery in the hills surrounding the city.  Cora fell asleep again in the Ergo so we leisurely toured the quiet monastery. 

We had lunch at a unique bakery where I had a goat cheese tart and Jacob had a fish tart, followed by individual pieces of pie (which almost never happens as Jacob always makes me share.)  Back to the hotel for naps and packing and then we went out for one more night, all three of us dressing up for the occasion. 

Our hotel room with cool glass enclosed shower and remote control shades

We went to the market to buy treats for our trip home and then to our favorite restaurant of the trip, Teresa Carles, for more inventive vegetarian cuisine (and more dessert – back to sharing again). 

What was most memorable: Jacob was happy to make a morning detour to Carrefour, the large European shopping center (with bigger stores than Walmart).  We both like checking out grocery stores in new cities and this one was definitely different.  I remember shopping at Carrefour a few times when we lived in France – it’s where I got everything I needed for my little apartment.  Today, I needed batteries for my new pump since Cora was still on strike (now she is back to nursing at night and in her sleepy state post naps, but while awake? ... absolutely not!).  Jacob took the opportunity to take pictures of the store (which I told him was definitely not allowed and a little embarrassing, but he insisted.)  He was especially impressed with the alcohol section, the whole aisle of yogurts, and the Spanish hams hanging in the aisles.

Firetruck spotting