Spring Break in Spain

Sitges, Spain

When it came time for spring break choosing there were so many choices it was hard to decide; but then Steve had to be in Barcelona part of the week which made our choosing suddenly easy. A bonus of living in Europe is that fun places like Barcelona are just a short (2 hrs) and relatively inexpensive flight away.

Rachel, AJ, Stef & Dominic
Picasso Museum

We started with a trip to the Picasso Museum. This was more of a you-should-learn-something-while-we-are-here-and-understanding-where-Picasso-started-will-be-a-good-thing; than, yes, Mom, we would LOVE to go to the Picasso Museum. However, they did enjoy seeing the progression of Picasso's style and they were rewarded with both gelato and Churros con Chocolat afterwards.

Rachel

Churros con Chocolat is a lovely Spanish treat. We highly recommend it to anyone who visits.

Churros, if you don't know, are a fried dough-donut like pastry. You also get a teacup full of a thick warm chocolate-y mixture, it is thicker than hot chocolate but not as thick as pudding. A churro dipped in warm chocolate is just pure heaven. This was definitely a good attending-a-museum-without-complaining reward!



La Sagrada Familia was first on our list for the next day.

Steve and I were amazed with the changes since we were last there in 2008. La Sagrada is the Gaudi designed church in Barcelona that is slated to be finished in 2032. It was started in 1882. It is amazing and so worth the price of admission. The statues and carvings inside and outside are amazing. One of my favorites is the scene of Pilate washing his hands and his wife turning away from him as she didn't approve of his non-action! Since we were last there the inside has been finished and Pope Benedict dedicated it, so it is used a church now too. Even our kids were properly impressed. Steve also worked some awesome camera magic inside.

La Sagrada Ceiling

Leading to altar

Altar

We also visited Las Ramblas and Placa de Catalunya and the Canaletes fountain. It was a rainy, rainy afternoon so real sight seeing was limited.

Placa de Catalunya (not the Canaletes Fountain!)

Stefanie and Rachel hedged their bets and drank out of the Canaletes fountain to
make sure they return to Barcelona someday. Dominic and AJ didn't, but Dominic has already been back with school so it worked out for him anyway! We ate dinner at a restaurant on Las Ramblas and watched tourists and locals navigate the rain and visit the fountain.

The fountain is in back of the kids!

Our next day featured the Fat Tire Bike Tour. 

AJ, Dominic, Rachel, Stefanie

The bike tour was fabulous, the weather had dramatically improved and we pedaled around the city visiting historial landmarks, the beach, La Sagrada again, Parc de la Ciutadella, Barcelona Cathedral and more.  The bike tours are run by a bunch of young adults (kids!) out of college and they are very entertaining and appealing to teenagers. It was great fun and allowed us to see so much of the city.

La Boqueria on Las Ramblas was our next stop. We sent the kids off into this fun open market to find snacks while Steve and I re-hydrated with Sangria. A win for everyone. 

AJ and Christopher Columbus

Afterwards we did a little more exploring of Las Ramblas, the kid especially enjoyed the artists who pose as statues. It's fun to drop
money into their hats and watch them perform. AJ especially had some fun interactions!

Dinner that night was traditional tapas. We had already tried this with the kids and they loved it. It is fun to order a bunch of little dishes and try things and make a meal out of it. The kids didn't love the pace of a little at a time though. They would have preferred everything together but somehow they managed to survive. Patatas Bravas is a family favorite.

Our last day in Barcelona was spent exploring more Guadi sights. We visited Parc Guell and La Perdera. Parc Guell was incredibly busy, probably because it was the first truly sunny day. We all enjoyed exploring the park and checking out the different Gaudi designs. It was fun watching the performing artists at work too.

We made our way to La Perdera, a Gaudi designed apartment building. It has an incredibly cool rooftop. We spent quite a bit of time up there viewing the different sculptures, checking out the view and imagining living there. We also walked through the museum and toured an apartment styled in Gaudi's era. Fun stuff to see.

Monday meant Steve had to go to work (Just for two days!) but our vacation wasn't finished. The kids and I caught a train to Sitges, a beach town outside of Barcelona.

Stefanie, Rachel, Dominic & AJ

Dominic, Rachel, Stefanie & AJ

We had four glorious days on the beach and luckily Steve was able to join us on Tuesday evening. The weather was perfect and the kids had fun finding different ways to bury each other and playing in the icy cold waves. I'm not sure how they managed to swim and surf the waves, the water was C-O-L-D, but they did.

Half Rachel (Stefanie's idea)

AJ full body buried

Rachel buried standing up!

Dominic and Rachel had fun burying Dominic part way in the water so they looked like they were the same height.

Stefanie and AJ had a goofy photo session with Steve at the harbor.

We even managed to capture Steve on the other side of the camera more than once!

We also explored the little town and ate at lovely little restaurants. One night we ate at the local sports bar and watched the FC Barcelona "football" match with the locals. That was a fun atmosphere to absorb.

Overall it was an excellent trip. We (me) are learning to travel with teenagers and build downtime into our plans and everyone else is learning to appreciate some of the more touristy things I insist we do in a big city. This was of course easier for them this time knowing the beach was coming at the end of the trip!