Beautiful Barcelona – Travelogue and Photo Diary

There comes a time in life when your whole world revolves around your kids. Holiday destinations and itineraries too, are planned keeping the children’s interests in mind. This year, I wanted to go to Greece for a holiday but my football-obsessed elder son wanted to go to Spain. So, Spain it was but little did I know that I would end up losing my heart…not to any suave, handsome Spaniard, but to the beautiful city of Barcelona. A city that is a work of art, a city that wears it’s heritage proudly, a city that I love even more than Paris!

 As with Paris, Madrid and several other European cities, Barcelona too, has maintained the heritage architecture. Being the home of renowned architect Antoni Gaudi, the whole city is a work of art. By the end of the first day, I had a crick in my neck from looking up to admire the buildings. The balconies on each building are unique as are the rooftops. Each building is unique and distinctive but as a whole, they all give the city a harmonious, artistic look.

There is so much that I want to write about Barcelona; I want to describe the tree-lined avenues with space for pedestrians and play areas of kids in the center of the some of the main roads, I want to describe the energy and vibe at Plaza Catalunya, the air of sophistication and luxury at Passeig De Gracia, the relaxed, laid-back feel at Barceloneta…but for some reason, I simply can’t put my thoughts into words.

We don’t usually do a lot of touristy things; some tourist landmarks do feature on our itineraries, but most of all, we like to wander around the city and enjoy it at our relaxed pace. That is the main reason why we choose to stay in an apartment when travelling internationally. Going to the supermarket to buy milk and fruits, sitting in the balcony in the morning sipping coffee, these are the things that make us feel that we are a part of the city, even if it is for just a few days.

Where “sight-seeing” is concerned, the kids rule. Elder son is at an age where he wants to have a say in all that we see and do. Camp Nou, home to the FC Barcelona football team, was his number one priority and I can’t describe how elated and excited he was when we went there. Being a Messi fan, it was his dream come true to visit Camp Nou….

At times, son vetos my decisions. We skipped the famous Parc Guell for this very reason; he saw the the huge lines outside the park and decided that he didn’t want to go in. Younger son, as always, apes the elder one. They were happier, instead, roaming around La Rambla, admiring the various statues at Plaza Catalunya and even sitting on the windy, deserted beach eating icecream though it was chilly. And these are actually things that makes beautiful memories, that make for wonderful family holidays. I didn’t force them to come to the museum or to Parc Guell simply because I didn’t want them walking around morosely telling me that they were bored every few minutes.

Anyway, here are some more pictures from beautiful Barcelona….

As I write this post and look at all the pictures again, I have just one wish in my heart; to go back to Barcelona. If you follow me on Facebook, you would have read this modified version of Jamaican Farewell that I posted from the El Prat airport:

“But I’m sad to say, I’m on my way,

Won’t be back for many a day,

My heart is down, my head is turning around,

I’ve left a piece of my heart in Barcelona town.”