I realized on our recent trip that I had been remiss in a recap of our last holiday. We decided that we should try and fit in a holiday before school starts, and not just make it the summer of camps.
After some research I decided on Barcelona, fun in the sun,
Tickets, booked, apartment near the beach all reserved....
The flight was an evening flight so late arrival. We had to pick up the keys to apartment at apartment office . So we grabbed the keys and headed to the apartment. First impression, smaller than the pictures, dirty floors... Wait 10 minutes just starting to put on p.j.s then we see a roach stroll across the floor. With screaming children we quickly vacated and back to the office.
The person in the office did give us a refund but would only give us name of a hotel (not make any calls), so we were sent packing at 11pm at night to find a new hotel. We did find one which had 2 neighboring rooms (not cheap) but worked for 1 night. So moved in got kids to sleep, then frantically searched phone for options for the next day,
We found a self catering apartment available in Castelldefels , Masd Mediteraneo apartment 22 (same as out house in ireland) .
Turns out this was a big win. Great pool, close to beach. We did get to visit the beach for a couple of the days. Got to see what the locals wear or don't (nudity, James Bond swimwear, speedos,...)
We did do 1 day in Barcelona via bus. Unfortunately we hadn't planned well and many of the attractions had huge lines >2 hours. In hot weather (30C) with kids waiting was not an option. We happened upon the Gaudi experience 4D movie. Kids loved this (moving seats, water spray, 3D glasses) . The Gaudi architecture throughout the city was amazing , we only really got to enjoy the Casa Bastllo because ti didn't have huge lines. We did try the hop on hop off bus, sicne that was really good in Dublin, but unfortunately in Barcelona it wasn't nearly as good. Buses were crowded, the audio headset commentary was underwhelming.
Weather was hot , but being on the coast was great, Food options were decent , better than Paris.
I got to sample tapas, paella, cerveza clara (beer with lemon). Prices were mixed, some meals ended up surprisingly expensive (Tapas) , others were fine.
Lessons learned in Barcelona...
Check if attractions can be pre-booked
Read reviews carefully
Keep parent friendly touristy stuff to 1/2 day
Kids love pools
Barcelona pictures
on to the next trip
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