The second leg of our road trip was Barcelona. The drive from Nice to Barcelona was a looong one. The driving distance was about 700 km and it took us well over 9 hours because of the lunch/coffee breaks and some detours through country roads .
The country roads were beautiful though- we drove through the vineyards near Nimmes and every other km or so we would see a big vineyard and a castle/ chateau.
The girls were much better than i expected on the road trip. We were in two minds whether to buy DVDs for the backseat so that they could watch a movie or something if they are going to be cooped up in the car for such a long time. We decided against it because they would then ask for a movie every road trip we make- even if its a one hour one. The IPad and I Phone helped quite a bit, and they both got so addicted to it that i had to ban it at home for 2 weeks on our return!
I loved Barcelona. I found it really vibrant and beautiful. Full of people, full of energy, so many things going on and so many beautiful things to see.
The first day in the city we started off at the Picasso musuem - Museu Picasso. The musuem has one of the most extensive collections of artworks by Picasso. It was Picasso's wish that an exclusive museum dedicated to his works be set up in Barcelone where he spent his youth and which shaped his art career to a large extent. But I was disappointed not to find any of his Cubism paintings, and would recommend a visit only to major Picasso enthusiasts. We did manage to buy some nice wine glasses with artwork on them from a shop next to the museum though! The musuem is in the centre of the city and we walked through the city after.
We started with the bakery next door and feasted on the Churros. (A churro, sometimes referred to as a Spanish doughnut, is a fried-dough pastry snack. They are eaten for breakfast dipped in hot chocolate or café con leche.)
Somehow we were not tired after all these activities so we headed out to the Fontana Magica which is the musical lit fountains in Barcelona. Beautiful though we ended up catching only the end of it
The next day we spent at the hotel beach. We were again lucky with our hotel as the view from the balcony was amazing. It overlooked a water body - the hotel wing was built around the water body which then stretched out to the sea. After a leisurely breakfast we set out to the beach, sand toys in hand. It was too chilly for me and A in the water but S and the hubby got in. A was busy with her sand toys and then S was busy picking up sea shells. It got too hot for us by afternoon so we managed a quick siesta and then headed back to the beach again in the evening. We went to a seaside tapas place on the beach for dinner. There were many seafood delights for the hubby but only potato and fried chillies for me !
On the third day we were back in Barcelona. We were unlucky at the Park Guell which has the interesting structures by Gaudi (http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/gaudi/park-guell.html). The park was overcrowded as the Easter crowd had picked up and we didnt get any parking. So the hubby and i took turns to go and have a quick look around. Interesting stuff, would have been fun with the kids. We then headed to the city centre and S insisted on going on the Disney carnival set up there. She went on the carousel, the fast merry go round with cars (A was not so thrilled) and the bouncy castle and was most reluctant to leave.
Lunch was again tapas and i was ready to throw my hat in- only potatoes and chillies for the vegetarians and i was even willing to have the bland spaghetti and tomato sauce popular in Switzerland. In the afternoon we drove to Montjuic mountain where there's a lovely fort with an amazing view of Barcelona city. The kids were asleep in the car so again the hubby and i took turns to go into the fort.
S unfortunately woke up with a earache so we spent the evening walking around Ramblas looking for a hospital (the pharmacy would not prescribe any drugs without a doctor's prescription and unfortunately the directions they gave for the hospita were wrong so we spend quite some time walking up and down looking for a hospital!) When we got back to the hotel we went to the ayurvedic doctor there who looked at her ear and said there was no problem that some warm food and a good sleep would not cure. And it did, so next day we were fit to be off on the final leg of our journey to Charmonix, Mont Blanc.
The country roads were beautiful though- we drove through the vineyards near Nimmes and every other km or so we would see a big vineyard and a castle/ chateau.
The girls were much better than i expected on the road trip. We were in two minds whether to buy DVDs for the backseat so that they could watch a movie or something if they are going to be cooped up in the car for such a long time. We decided against it because they would then ask for a movie every road trip we make- even if its a one hour one. The IPad and I Phone helped quite a bit, and they both got so addicted to it that i had to ban it at home for 2 weeks on our return!
I loved Barcelona. I found it really vibrant and beautiful. Full of people, full of energy, so many things going on and so many beautiful things to see.
The first day in the city we started off at the Picasso musuem - Museu Picasso. The musuem has one of the most extensive collections of artworks by Picasso. It was Picasso's wish that an exclusive museum dedicated to his works be set up in Barcelone where he spent his youth and which shaped his art career to a large extent. But I was disappointed not to find any of his Cubism paintings, and would recommend a visit only to major Picasso enthusiasts. We did manage to buy some nice wine glasses with artwork on them from a shop next to the museum though! The musuem is in the centre of the city and we walked through the city after.
We started with the bakery next door and feasted on the Churros. (A churro, sometimes referred to as a Spanish doughnut, is a fried-dough pastry snack. They are eaten for breakfast dipped in hot chocolate or café con leche.)
Doesn't it look yum! Tasted absolutely yummy as well. S and I were quickly addicted to them. After trying them at the bakery we found that the morning buffet at our hotel also had Churros so it was mainly that for the next three mornings!
After a leisurely tapas lunch we headed out for a stroll on the Ramblas, which is a pedestrian shopping road in the middle of the city. Many artists drawing portraits, caricatures, selling paintings etc. Road side performances, people dressed up as statues, lots of things to gawk at and a nice leisurely walk.
Next the aquarium which was excelllent. The attraction was a 180 degree view of the fish. You stand on a level escalator and that takes you literally through the fish tank. There are fish on both sides and on top. We'd seen it in Singapore as well but this was much longer and the first time S was seeing it and she found it totally captivating. We could see the underside of the sharks, sharks swimming right next to us. There was also a tank where you could stroke the sting rays and a tunnel to go inside the tank so you could see them swimming up close. Many children interactive activities in the aquarium and one could easily spend half the day there.
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| At the port near the aquarim |
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| Our reflection on the top mirror at the entrance to the aquarium |
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| I want to touch the fish.. |
Somehow we were not tired after all these activities so we headed out to the Fontana Magica which is the musical lit fountains in Barcelona. Beautiful though we ended up catching only the end of it
The next day we spent at the hotel beach. We were again lucky with our hotel as the view from the balcony was amazing. It overlooked a water body - the hotel wing was built around the water body which then stretched out to the sea. After a leisurely breakfast we set out to the beach, sand toys in hand. It was too chilly for me and A in the water but S and the hubby got in. A was busy with her sand toys and then S was busy picking up sea shells. It got too hot for us by afternoon so we managed a quick siesta and then headed back to the beach again in the evening. We went to a seaside tapas place on the beach for dinner. There were many seafood delights for the hubby but only potato and fried chillies for me !
On the third day we were back in Barcelona. We were unlucky at the Park Guell which has the interesting structures by Gaudi (http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/gaudi/park-guell.html). The park was overcrowded as the Easter crowd had picked up and we didnt get any parking. So the hubby and i took turns to go and have a quick look around. Interesting stuff, would have been fun with the kids. We then headed to the city centre and S insisted on going on the Disney carnival set up there. She went on the carousel, the fast merry go round with cars (A was not so thrilled) and the bouncy castle and was most reluctant to leave.
Lunch was again tapas and i was ready to throw my hat in- only potatoes and chillies for the vegetarians and i was even willing to have the bland spaghetti and tomato sauce popular in Switzerland. In the afternoon we drove to Montjuic mountain where there's a lovely fort with an amazing view of Barcelona city. The kids were asleep in the car so again the hubby and i took turns to go into the fort.
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| The carousel where S was sprayed with glitter on the top! |
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| View of Barcelona from Montjuic mountain |
S unfortunately woke up with a earache so we spent the evening walking around Ramblas looking for a hospital (the pharmacy would not prescribe any drugs without a doctor's prescription and unfortunately the directions they gave for the hospita were wrong so we spend quite some time walking up and down looking for a hospital!) When we got back to the hotel we went to the ayurvedic doctor there who looked at her ear and said there was no problem that some warm food and a good sleep would not cure. And it did, so next day we were fit to be off on the final leg of our journey to Charmonix, Mont Blanc.
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