We all met at the Barcelona airport and thankfully this time everyones flights were on time. It was so fun to get off the airplane and have our parents waiting for us and watching Jacob run to them! He was one excited little boy. I had scheduled a private transfer from the airport to our apartment and it ended up being a massive "mini" bus! We could have taken 3 more families with us. But it was nice to not worry about space.
Once we checked into our apartment and had room assignments settled, we headed out to explore Barcelona. We wandered down the Las Ramblas enjoying the people watching, cool weather (to us at least), and the sights. We also enjoyed one of our best meals of the trip with our first taste of croquettes. It is still the popular opinion that our first nights were the best.
The next morning we headed out for a tour of FCB Barcelona stadium "Camp Nou". It was kinda strange to see all the stuff saying "Qatar Airways" in Barcelona. I found the history fascinating and enjoyed our tour. Just wish we would have been there for a match.
From the stadium we rode the metro back into the old town and started another Rick Steves' guided walk. This included stops at old fountains, churches, the Cathedral of Barcelona, town hall, old jewish quarter, and of course a lot more people watching. I know I've mentioned this before but this trip confirmed my feelings...Cathedrals have to have something very specific to stand out in my mind. Otherwise, they all start to look the same. At this point, I can not tell you anything specific about the Barcelona Cathedral. Ohh well. After the walk we toured the Picasso Museum. This specific museum focused more on Picasso's early years. He was so good at such an early age, what happened?! They didn't allow pictures so we had to leave with only our memories.
The Magic Fountains start in the evenings at 7:30pm and go until around 12. By the time we arrived there were people everywhere. It was obvious this was a popular event. We found a seat right on the railing. This probably wasn't the best spot for getting an overall view of the fountains but it ended up being a great spot for Jacob. He was enthralled! He danced and was so excited. I think most of us ended up watching Jacob more than the fountains. After that every time we saw a fountain he wanted it to sing :)
Bright and early the next morning we headed for the Sagrada Famillia. Luckily, I had booked us tickets ahead of time and reserved the first time slot. I highly recommend this since we were able to walk into the inside without many people. Remember what I said earlier about churches? Well this one succeeded at impressing me and standing out in my memory. It is still under construction even though Gaudi started designing the church in 1883. Every aspect of the church is so unique!
In keeping with the Gaudi theme, from the church we taxied out Park Guell. This park was the idea of Gaudi as one of the first gated communities that didn't work out. We enjoyed strolling through the park and getting some great views of Barcelona. There were a couple playgrounds in the park but Jacob was passed out! At 3 pm we were allowed to enter the monument zone with all the main Gaudi sights.
