Barcelona- Overview

We spent three nights in Barcelona, Spain at the end of our trip.  Barcelona is the second-largest city in Spain (after Madrid) and the capital of Catalonia region.  Catalonia borders France to the north.  In Barcelona they speak Spanish and Catalan (which looks like a cross between French and Spanish).  Almost everywhere we went there were signs in Spanish, Catalan, and English.  Barcelona is in a valley and borders the Mediterranean.  The city was the host to the 1992 Summer Olympics.

We stayed in center of Barcelona, near the Gothic Quarter and main Cathedral.  Our hotel was also about a 10 minute walk to the Mediterranean.  We were also only a few blocks from the subway station, which was convenient when we wanted to head over to Montjuic on the other side of town.

Aunt Amy had the pleasure of sharing a room with Will and I.  Will's first tooth was coming in while we were in Barcelona and he woke up screaming at 6 am on morning.  Thankfully, I got him to calm down and go back to sleep until 8 or 8:30.  That was still a little early for Aunt Amy (and me) so two of the mornings we were there we passed Will to his grandparents next door and went back to sleep.  Will then went with Mimi and Granddad to a bakery to buy pastries for breakfast.  He reportedly made a number of new friends on these trips.

After a late breakfast, we headed out for the day.  The first day we took a bus tour of Barcelona and got a good overview of the city.  The second day my mom and I went to the Picasso museum in the morning while Will napped and then we all went to the Cathedral and Montjuic in the afternoon.  I am going to write a separate post for each day.  For now enjoy a few pictures of Will in and around our Barcelona hotel.

Rolling around on the floor in our room.  Of course he didn't want to stay on the blanket.

Enjoying some food.

Heading out to pick up breakfast with the grandparents!

Soccer is a big deal in Spain, so I bought Will a soccer ball as a souvenir.

Waiting with Granddad for our cab that never came (due to protests that were closing roads).  We walked to a cab stand and still made to the airport with plenty of time.