Day 7- Barcelona

Today was our last last full day in Europe. We were exhausted and worn out from the week so we slept in a little and had a late start this day. (When we normally travel we are up at the crack of dawn and gone all day long to see as much as we can.) But after doing that for a week we were all three beat. We slept in a bit, ate breakfast in bed and finally headed out the door. Out first stop was Parc Guell. A park designed by none other that Gaudi. We heard that it was a ways to get to, but a must see so we decided to go their first. After a little metro ride we got off and looked at the map and figured out where we needed to go. I had read in our Frommer's book that from the metro station it was a 15 minute walk up hill. They lied. It was a 30 minute walk up the steepest hill ever. And once you get there the park is built on a hill so to do anything you must walk up a million stairs and it is not handicap accessible there fore we would be carrying our stroller the entire time. By this point in our trip Bryan and I had gotten used to carrying the stroller, he grabbed the front and I grabbed the handles and we would lift it up, no big deal. But on this day after the hike to get to the park, it was a big deal. My pregnant self couldn't handle it. I was so tired, 6 months pregnant, and had been traveling like a mad man for a week, all with a toddler in tow. My body was done. And the trip out to Parc Guell officially put the fork in me. I sucked it up as best I could and walked around, climbed a million stairs, and continued up as much as I could. The park was actually so very beautiful and from the top you had a gorgeous view of Barcelona. Once again the attention to detail was amazing, but I was trying to catch my breath the entire time I couldn't fully enjoy it. Whiny, I know, but I am pregnant and allowed to whine every once in a while. And now Bryan and I laugh about it, because even he was beat. But at the time it was not funny at all :)

After this we decided to take the rest of the day easy. We had seen so much. We just wanted to relax and enjoy our last afternoon. We headed back to Las Ramblas and strolled down the street. It lead us to the water and we walked out into the marina on a boardwalk and sat and enjoyed the view. There were a lot of people around so it was enjoyable to just sit and watch. We could see all the cruise ships coming and going, nice and relaxing. We walked back and took one more walk around the Gothic quarter and winded through the narrow streets. Taking in little but more of Barcelona. We went back to our hotel after this. Rested and cleaned up for our last dinner. We decided to go back to Olympic Port since we loved it so much the night before. We wanted to sit out side near the water for dinner and we knew there were plenty of options there. We found a great little restaurant and enjoyed what we both claim as our favorite meal of the trip. We ordered seafood paella and ate every last bite. It was delish and such a perfect end to our trip. 

Day 6- Barcelona

This day was spent touring all of Antoni Gaudí's masterpieces. Gaudi was such an amazing architect and the things he created were UNBELIEVABLE. Bryan and I were in heaven looking at all of his work. I said before that we weren't too into art museums, but we LOVE architecture. Seeing all the amazing buildings and churches that were built hundred's of years ago is our absolute favorite thing about traveling to Europe. Our first stop was La Sagrada Familia. Up until this point St Peter's Basilica in Rome was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. I really didn't think that anything could top it, but Gaudi outdid himself with La Sagrada Familia. It was so incredibly beautiful, unique, and the attention to detail is simply amazing! Bryan and I were in awe!

 

After we left we stopped at a park across the street for Kade to play and have a snack.

We then went over to La Pedrera (Casa Mila) This was an apartment building designed by Gaudi and where him and his family lived at one point. It was, as I have said, amazing. Our favorite part was the roof!

 We grabbed a quick lunch and headed over to Casa Batlló. Gaudi built this home for a family in the early 1900s. I have said the same thing before, but it was UNBELIEVABLE!! Everything about it. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. We actually debated whether or not we wanted to go because the ticket prices were so high but we are both so happy that we did!! We normally don't pay extra for the audio guides that go along with tours. I am too ADD to listen and it ends up being a waste of money. But they were included in the price of out ticket so we picked one up. I am so happy that we had them! We learned so much and loved how everything about the house was explained to us. Since Gaudi wanted to model everything after nature it was fun to guess what things were and then have the audio guide tell you what it actually was. A lot of the time we were right! And another plus about this tour, Kade slept the entire time so we were able to go slow and take out time!!

We walked over to the Gothic Quarter after this and went inside the Barcelona Cathedral. It was very beautiful. We got to go up on the roof to look around and the view were amazing, and I got my very first glimpse of the Mediterranean :)

After going back to the hotel for a little rest and cleaning up, we went over to the Olympic Port to go to the beach and eat dinner. WE LOVED THIS AREA! It was so clean, nice, trendy, and fun!! It was too cold to actually swim but I had to go down to the beach and see the Med for my first time :) It was beautiful and so clean! It was here that I saw my very first nudist on the the beach :) No, we did not go to a nude beach everyone had clothes on except this one guy. He was not shy one bit, I was in a bit of shock because I just couldn't believe someone could stand and walk around nude like that. Bryan was making fun of me because I kept looking, but HELLO, NUDE GUY ON THE BEACH! How do you NOT stare :) After hanging out by the water for a bit we went and found a wonderful restaurant right on the water and ate some yummy seafood. It is here where I saw my SECOND nude guy for the night! We hear people start cheering and look up to see a 65ish year old man, who clearly had been bathing in the sun for years, walking down the boardwalk totally NAKED! This was even weirder than the naked guy on the beach! Just strolling down the street in his birthday suit. He waved at all his admirers as we walked by. Oh, to be that free :)