This trip to Spain was another exciting week filled with fun time, fun people, and fun places!
On Friday we boarded a train bound for Barcelona, Spain. Right from the beginning it was an adventure! We took the ICE train to Bern, Switzerland where we switched to an overnight train. Having never taken an overnight train before, we weren’t sure what was in store for our evening. The chairs in our compartment folded down so that there were two sets of bunk beds. There was such clever engineering crammed into such a small space. Needless to say, it was a cozy night! Ever the sleep lover (or "Queen of Darkness" as my family prefers), I was out like a light.
The next morning we arrived in Barcelona. We were off right away. We jumped onto the metro and walked to our short-term rented apartment. We had the most magnificent view! Our accommodations were located less than a block from the sparkling blue Mediterranean Sea with a beautiful view of the water from our balconies. It was splendid. That evening we enjoyed some delicious seafood and pizza from a local restaurant.
One of our first stops the next morning was the Barcelona Aquarium. On our way there we stopped for some of the most delicious local food and then made our way to the fishies. I had the most wonderful time! We saw all kinds of sea life. We saw Dory, Nemo, and all of their shark friends. In one area of the museum they have a moving walkway (similar to the walkways in airports). The walkway winds through a tunnel beneath the "Oceanarium". The animals were all around us! Sharks and stingrays and other types of fish swam right over our heads. It was magical.
After the aquarium we made our way back to our apartment where we had a short siesta and then decided to hit the beach. The water was cold, so I wasn't brave enough to dive in. However, sitting in the sand with a good book and relaxing was as dreamy as it sounds. That evening we stayed in with a movie and made dinner with some ingredients from the local "Al Campo" grocery store.
The gothic/historic part of town was on our itinerary for the next morning. We had tried to visit this part of town before, but it had been closed due to an Auto Exhibition. It had ended the day before, so were hoping that we'd finally be able to get in—no such luck. The hustle and bustle of the exhibition getting closed down and cleaned up still prevented access to that part of town, which was a bummer, but we pressed on. Instead we walked about a block to a bus stop and went up Montjuic to the Olympic Stadium. We went in, took pictures of the stadium, bought some post cards and tried to go to the adjacent Olympic Museum. Foiled again! The museum was closed.
In lieu of going to the museum we walked through the beautiful Montjuic gardens. The garden was filled with fountains, art, beautiful plant and floral life with stunning panoramic views of Barcelona. Afterwards we once again took a city bus to La Rambla. As we meandered down the city street we encountered many street performers, vendors, and interesting people. We also stopped off at a local open air market; it was bustling!
After our venture down La Rambla we took the Metro to La Sagrada Familia. What a beautiful work of art! The Sagrada Familia was designed by Antonio Gaudi and is still under construction. It is gorgeous! I would love to be able to visit again once it is finished.
The next morning we packed up all of our things, cleaned up after ourselves and dropped our backpacks at the bus station. From the bus station we went to the Picasso Museum. What lovely art there was to see! I wanted to snag a few snapshots but got busted by the Picasso Police. It was wonderful to see so much incredible art.
After the museum we had the most beautiful afternoon at the Barcelona Zoo. I always love visiting the zoo. Barcelona has a wonderful zoo. The signs and maps are clear, which is important points for any animal park. On top of that, we had the perfect zoo weather. We were able to see all of the monkey and gorilla friends, bird friends, giraffe friends, and all kinds of other animals. Unfortunately our pachyderm friends couldn't play, they were having some work done on their habitat.
From the zoo we metro'd back to the bus station to pick up our bags and then took a taxi to the train station. Next on our tour, we were off to Milan! Springtime was beautiful in Barcelona.