Our next group of visitors were our good friends and neighbours from Brampton. They had been planning a European vacation for the past two years with visits to Spain, Austria and Germany. Unfortunately just a few weeks before they were to leave, Christine's husband got called away on business to India and he had to miss the Barcelona portion of their trip, but we were happy to host the rest of the family. Here is a breakdown of their visit:
Saturday June 20th
- My kids rediscover the joys of playing with Lego- Hike up to the top of Collserola to view the city
- Attend local drumming festival in Parc del Torrents
Sunday June 21st
- Drive to Montjuic and for the first time ride the cable car to the fort. Even though it is expensive, everyone was hot and tired so maybe worth the price.
- Visit the fort (remember it's free on Sunday)
- Stop to play in all the different parks on the way down the mountain.
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Monday June 22nd
- Kids opted to go to school, and I took Christine, Joseph and Erika to Sagrada Familia. This was my 3rd time inside, but we all went on the guided tour, which I had never done before, so it was more interesting.
Tuesday June 23rd - Longest day of the year or shortest night (Nit de Sant Joan)
- We took our guests downtown to visit La Rambla, La Boqueria, La Catedral
- Walked to El Born district and visited the Born Cultural Centre (they have really nice public washrooms and it's never busy)
- Highlight of trip was a visit to the Chocolate Museum. (My kids all got in free with their Club Super3 cards) Your entry ticket is a chocolate bar (nice touch). We learned the history of chocolate and how it came to Spain and then the rest of the museum is filled with chocolate art.
- Walked to Parc de la Cuitadella and there happened to be a guy making giant bubbles in front of the fountain. The kids spent almost an hour chasing and popping bubbles until their heads were all soapy.
- We walked back to Plaça Sant Jaume to get gelato
- At around 8:30pm we walked to Parc del Pou d'en Felix in Esplugues to prepare for the Sant Joan festivities. This year we purchased a box full of different fire crackers and fireworks. At around 9:30 the diables started their procession with correfoc around the neighbourhood and ended upat the park. At 10pm they lit a giant bonfire the band played and the diables lit up their correfocs and started dancing around the fire. The heat is so intense that we have to more back even though we are sitting about 20 metres away. Once the lighting ceremony is over, the crowd disperses and everyone starts setting off their own fireworks all over the park. I go back home with Christine, Ciara, Cole and Erika. Bob stays with the other boys and finishes the box of fireworks. It was a long day!!
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| In front of La Catedral |
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| Museu de la Xocolata |
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| Everything is made of chocolate |
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| Parc de la Ciutadella |
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| Playing with Bubbles in Parc de la Ciutadella |
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| Meeting Julius Caesar on La Rambla |
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| Waiting for the shortest night of the year to begin |
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| Here come the correfoc! |
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| Lighting the bonfire |
Wednesday June 24th,
- It's a holiday in Catalunya so we head up to Costa Brava, the roads are empty in the morning so it's a good time to leave the city.
- We stop in Castelló d'Empúries where we have rented a small house through HomeAway. It's right in the centre of the old town and even has remnants of the original wall that was built around the town in the middle ages. The owner is really nice and tells us all about the history of the house.
- We head up to Cadaqués and spend the afternoon at the beach near Sa Conca and then wandering through the town. We quickly learn that Cadaqués is not a great town for a big van, the streets are really narrow and steep, but the seaside is beautiful for going on a walk. Unfortunately we didn't get time to visit Dali's house or the Dali Museum.
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| Sa Conca, water is shallow, but still very cold |
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| Nathan and Joseph snorkelling |
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| Rylan on the rocks of course |
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| Selfie in Cadaqués |
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| Nathan and Joseph exploring |
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| walking through town |
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| The church La Santa Maria de Cadaqués |
Thursday June 25th,
- We spend the morning exploring the little town of Castelló d'Empúries which is really quite cool. The old gothic church was first built in the 10th century and is very well preserved. You can see remnants of the old wall and the moat that surrounded the town. We also took a quick tour of the Ecomuseum Farinera which is not really that interesting, but with our large family card (targeta de familia numérosa) the kids and I all got in for free, so it was worth it for us. Then we had lunch in a little restaurant right in front of the old church.
- The afternoon we spent at the beach in Empuriabrava which is all white sand that stretches for miles along the coast. Here there are lots of amenities, the water was much warmer, and better for swimming but no fish to look at.
Friday June 26th
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| Lunch in front of the church |
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| Santa Maria de Castelló |
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| The old wall and moat |
- Before we leave Castelló d'Empuries we go shopping at Decathlon, both Christine and I spend about $200 (it's a fun store)
- We drive back to Barcelona
- In the evening we take a walk around Parc del Forum, in Diagonal Mar area of Barcelona. It's such a contrast between Downtown Barcelona because there are so many wide open spaces and not many people.
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| Strange playground/art installation in Parc del Forum |
Saturday June 27th,
- Before leaving for Germany I take Christine to a local open air market in Esplugues. Of course I end up buying more stuff than she does, but at 1€ or 2€ for an article of clothing. I don't feel so bad.
