We took a cab from the airport to our hotel. Our hotel was about a 10 minute walk from Las Rambalas. We checked in our room, left our luggage there and hit the streets. We stopped for some coffee close to our hotel, spent sometime at the university square. It was dinner-time now and across the street from our hotel was a restaurant which was highly recommended and it did live up to its reputation. The seafood paella and the patata bravas were exceptional. The ambience was simple but the atmosphere was vibrant. The Spanish are a lively lot and Barcelona is one of most kid friendly cities in the world.
Day 12: We visited Park Guell. Sitting on top of a hill, you get great views of the amazing city. It is very colorful. The house that Gaudi lived in actually looks like it is out of a fairy tale. We had an option between the Gaudi park and Tibidabo amusement park but we opted for the Gaudi park as our kid was too small for the amusement park. We spent almost half a day there and returned to the lively Rambalas in the evening. The next day we took the double decker hop on hop off sightseeing bus. Its very convenient as it takes you all around the city and you can choose your pace. We went to Sagrada Familia.The highlight of the day was visiting “Mes Que Un Club”. I bought a miniature stadium souvenir and my boy got a small football signed by all the players. They have a small museum there as well. We went to the magic fountains of Montjuic, amazing
Day 13: We went exploring the city, there is great mall at the waters. It was a family day for us, we had ice cream and went on a carousel and played games.
We took a rickshaw to get back to the rambalas in the evening. Its quite amazing how the street transforms at night into a vibrant and lively party district. My son had turned in quite a social animal by now, interacting with almost everybody at the Rambalas. We stopped to get a cold beer for me and you should have seen him.
Day 14: So it arrives then, the last day of our holiday. It was 9 am in the morning and our flight was late at night. We took a cab to a car rental close to the airport. We had a reserved a convertible for a day. My son was tightly strapped in a car seat in the back. We wanted to drive the Costa Brava and be back for our flight. We went to a small little beach town called Blaine. It was summertime, so the beach didn’t have a spot left. It was a lovely sight. We took a quick pit stop and were on our way, the idea was to find some nice spots along the coast and stop there, but before we knew it we were close to the French Border and at a town called Roses. We had our lunch there, spent some time, sharing a laugh or two, admiring the beautiful sights while my son could get the wheel of our parked vehicle. It was evening already and we had to make our way back now. So we started our journey. By the time we reached to our rental to return the car, it was already shut. We tried calling the helpline but no one would answer and I am not too sure if there was a drop box. The situation was managed well by my wife, she had an idea to leave the car at a nearby hotel and leave the key at the lobby; it all ended well but was one hell of an adventure.
So there it was, from the alps to the lakes to gelato and tiramisu to the ramblas, it was a great family trip, Sunny all the way!
Luminous Trips 