I know about five Spanish words, but they were of no help in Barcelona. But that certainly didn't stop us from having a great time, as this post is intended to demonstrate.
So, full day number one in Barcelona we went on a bike tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours. I'd never done a bike tour before, so I was both excited (riding a bike through the streets of a bona fide old European city) and anxious (narrow streets? how will the kids manage not to get run over by a car?).
We'll get back to that later. First we had to find the tour guide. We arrived early as instructed to Plaza Something-Rather (Sant Jaume-added by Lyana) and waited . . . and waited. Oh look, there's a protest over there at the bank in that corner of the plaza. Let's move to another corner. There's what looks like the newspaper shop we were told to meet the guide at. Let's ask them. Robert, you go ask. No, you'd better go Lyana. You're better-looking and plus your accent is European already so you're more likely to be understood.
Good, we're in the right spot then. Oh, there's some more lost tourists. They look American. They ask us, do you know where to meet for the bike tours? Right here. Sure enough at that moment the guide rides up. Okay, we're ready. She says, we'll leave for the bike shop in 30 minutes. Go get a coffee or some breakfast. Arggh. Why did you say to arrive 15 minutes early then? Okay. Fine. There's a cafe' over there. See you later.
Mmmm. Typical Spanish fare: meat on a baguette. Quality stuff. Not the last time we'd have this either.
Definitely a favorite with the kids.
Can't get enough bread and meat. Pure energy by the bite.
The plaza was the political center of Barcelona. On top of this, the main political building, are the three flags: Spain, Catalunya and Barcelona.
Finally to the bike shop. Good sized group that day. Another American family (from Germany), some Brits, and a couple from somewhere else (I know, I'm really full of details today. [breathe in the sarcasm] Just wait, it gets better as you read further.).
Mark weighed in just a couple kg shy of the max load for the child's seat. Sure beats pedaling around with a trailer through some narrow streets full of tourists and cars.
The first stop was the place where Christopher Columbus went to seek funding for his voyage in 1492 (Plasa de Rei). I didn't take a picture of the steps he stood on, but here's a picture of Lyana looking at those steps.
The next stop was the "other cathedral" (La Catedral-added by Lyana) I don't even remember the name of it and I don't want to google it right now because I don't have time if I want to finish this post before midnight. Let's just say it was not La Sagrada Familia, which is the most famous cathedral in Barcelona. This is the one that is not as famous, but still really beautiful. I do remember the guide saying that those walls in the foreground were part of a Roman aqueduct.
The tour guide led us through winding streets and across amazing European plazas to get to this park (again, don't remember the name) with a big fountain (that did not have any water in it because it was being power-washed) and this neat concourse of stairs and statues (Parc de la Ciutadella-added by Lyana AGAIN).
Wow, I'm even surprising myself with how vague I am being as I'm typing this.
You have to understand the pressure I'm under right now. Lyana gave me an ultimatum (or perhaps a threat would be a better term). She said I couldn't go to bed until I finish this. So my choices are hurry up and finish, or risk falling asleep with my head on the keyboard, and then who knows what will happen. Actually, I'll try. Here's me typing with my forehead: hfcdcdcfvgghjnk,lkl. Yup, that's what would happen for sure.
Oh yeah, this is about our bike tour in Barcelona.
Here: gold horses.
I really enjoy random, unposed shots of the kids. I feel like they're more realistic that way. One can get a better sense of the actual experience too. Like this one I call "a boy and some stairs".
This random photograph is a bit overshadowing. (ha ha, that's funny). Yes, it's posed (sometimes you just have to do that). Can you tell who's who?
This one is not posed. We really did lock Alex behind an iron gate and threatened to leave him in Barcelona. He wasn't too happy about that.
Just a nice scenery shot.
Just to prove we were actually riding the bikes, I took a few shots on the go. Even with the big group we had, Alex always stayed up close to the guide. One of the best things about this tour was that the kids didn't gripe one bit. They loved riding the bikes and moving around, even though it lasted about 4 hours.
When I first saw the name of the tours - Fat Tire Bike Tours - I thought it said Flat Tire Bike Tours. I was a little concerned at first, but then I noticed my error and all was well in my mind.
Traversing the busy (strangely empty in this picture which is surely not representative of reality) streets of Barcelona.
This sign says: Pay us lots of money and we'll let you see this old bullfighting ring. So I don't read Spanish at all, but this was an old bullfighting ring. One thing I do remember about the tour was that the people of Catalunya (the region where Barcelona is) were not fond of bullfights, and so there were only ever two rings in Barcelona and both of them are closed for good. So if you're into that sort of animal cruelty for entertainment, don't go looking for it in Barcelona. You're better off going to Madrid or somewhere else for the running of the bulls (which I want to go see too, like from a balcony).
Ah, La Sagrada Familia. We couldn't get enough of this place. Hopefully you can get a sense of the enormity of this building. Ech of those tall towers is over 100m high, and when it's finished (?) it will have a total of 16 towers this size, and then one huge one in the middle effectively dwarfing all the others.
Three children, three gelato ice cream cones, 2 old men and one enormous church.
This is the other side of the church that was not designed by the original architect (Gaudi) who died in 1926, thirty years into construction. Completely different feel on this side of the church, but that's a blog post for another day.
The line for going inside the church. We had online tickets so when we went to it the next day, we went a certain time and walked right in without a line at all. Definitely the recommended way.
Yay!! Palm trees. We miss you.
Family photos are sometimes hard to get. First, you've got to get your family all together in one spot (if you think that's easy, then you must not have little children). Then you've got to find a photographer. Living in Japan, it was easy. Everyone is a professional photographer there, and you could stop anyone on the street and they would take several pictures of your family as they rotate the camera, zooming in and out, until you finally have to just walk up and take the camera back. In Spain, don't ask any strangers. Tour guides (of your own tours) are usually a safe bet. They are less likely to run off with your camera, or ask for money to give it back. And no, that didn't happen to us, but it could.
Mark loved the bike ride (and only ride -- he did not help with pedaling in the least). It's funny how the kids who sit in a stroller (or bike seat) all day are the ones who complain the most, "I'm tired. Let's go back to our hotel." But you're not even using your legs, little guy. How can you be tired?
Two-way bike path in the middle of the busy road on the way to the beach!
Almost to the beach. The boats are a good clue we're close.
This entire beachfront was built for the 1992 Olympics. The guide told us that before then it was just a big junk heap.
Now it's one of the busiest beaches along the sea (in the summer of course).
One of the few things I didn't like very much about the tour was we stopped for a lunch at a (fake) Japanese restaurant. We didn't know about it beforehand AND it was like 3pm. We'd started the tour just before noon, and we'd already eaten a small lunch. So we weren't very hungry and it wasn't very good either. But you couldn't beat the view . . . of the kids playing on the "spider web" (that's what they called it).
And then back on the bikes.
Often there was no bike path, so we would just take over the whole road (lots and lots of narrow one-way streets in Barcelona, so I'm glad we didn't have to drive a car anywhere).
Ahhhh! Put your wallet away Robert! What are you doing? There are pickpockets everywhere!! That old lady behind you might be eyeing your wallet right now.
Biking is fun!!
This picture is out of order, but I don't know where it really fits in the timeline, so you get it here. I don't want to try to fix it. This is the Spanish version of Arc de triomph. I think it was built because the people were jealous of the French and so they wanted an arch too. So there you have it. It never actually served a purpose other than to show off at the World's Fair.
Arrgh! No, the kiss was great. I'm just frustrated because this picture is out of order too. Same as the last one AND the next one. That's ok though, just deal with it. The picture being out of order I mean, not the kiss. Never mind.
What blog would be complete without a woolly mammoth photo? It was no easy feat getting all three of them on that trunk either.
So the bike tour eventually came to an end and we found ourselves in a not so unique (to parents at least) predicament of needing to find dry trousers for a child.
And that means of course . . . go shopping for cheap trousers. No, not Angry Birds footwear. That won't help with this.
We were hungry, so we made our way to La Rambla (very famous street) just to take a picture of the sign. We actually just passed by and went to a restaurant recommended to us by the bike tour people, only to find that it doesn't serve dinner till 8:30 pm. But they recommended another place just around the corner.
MEXICAN!! And yes, it was very tasty. I had the giant grilled beef burrito. Yum. Actually, for me it was my favorite meal in Barcelona. Even better than paella.
After dinner, we found a fountain. I know, exciting. (Placa Catalunya!)
Well, the boys thought so. Mark even picked up a few flying tips from the pigeons.
Hurry Robert, take a picture of the Spanish policemen!
We had a great day. We all enjoyed the bike tour (my first one ever). I want to do a bike tour everywhere I go now. It really is a great way to see lot. Sure beats walking or public transportation, though it is a bit more expensive.
Let's end the post with this picture of the biggest jars of Nutella I've ever seen.
rob
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