First 3 days in Barcelona

6/26: I thought we were never going to escape Rome.  Ever.  Because the number of our bags seems to have grown exponentially and because Melinda's back was bothering her, we hired a driver to take us to the airport, which was a service the hotel provided and was cheaper than a taxi.  I'm surprised we survived the ride to the airport--our driver was an aggressive driver, even for Rome standards.  He didn't really believe in things like: braking, stopping, signaling, yielding, not talking on the phone while driving, following the speed limit, etc.

After about 40 harrowing minutes, we arrived in hell, aka Fiumincino Airport.  We arrived around 8 o'clock for a 10:20 flight, yet we almost didn't make the flight.  The check-in line at Vueling was ridiculously long--and in classic Italian fashion, the desk agents kept rotating through breaks, so despite the line that curved through the terminal, there were always only 2 agents to check people and their bags in.  We survived that line only to reach the security line, which actually stretched so far back that it touched the exit doors of the terminal.

I should actually call it the "security" line because the agent working our line didn't even open our passports.  She just asked if Aidan was with me.  Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

We had to run to our gate, which, naturally, was the last gate in the terminal.  We were (for the second time this trip) the last people on the plane.  :)  The flight was lovely and uneventful, with picturesque views of the Mediterranean.

After checking in (our apartment is on the 4th floor, but our host and his friend carried all our bags up for us), we decided to explore the neighborhood.  Our apartment is centrally located, near Las Ramblas. We walked over to Plaza Real.  Melinda discovered sangria.

After lunch, we hit the beach.  We walked along the marina until we reached Barcelonetta beach.  The water was quite rough and cold, but Aidan and I had a good time in the water.  Melinda people watched and tried to get tan.  Eventually, Aidan's lips turned purple and he had goosebumps that were about 2 inches high and couldn't stop shivering, so we left.

Melinda went to bed and Aidan and I went out for dinner--he's discovered that every tapas place has either fried shrimp or squid, so he's happy.

6/27: We split up this day.  Melinda did a bus tour of the city.  We all love Barcelona, by the way.  Aidan and I love walking, and although we've done 1 bus tour on the trip, it's not our style.  We ended up walking more than 6 miles-- from the water, all the way up Las Ramblas,

though several neighborhoods,

 to Sagrada Familia (which is undergoing cleaning, so isn't very photogenic right now),

back through neighborhoods to see all the major Gaudi sights and other intriguing buildings, which seem to cover Barcelona..

 We had a coffee in the cafe on the first floor of La Pedrera.  We also discovered, not really to our surprise, how much cheaper everything is once you get away from the touristy parts of the city.  We ate our packed lunch in a park and Aidan played on at least 3 playgrounds that day.

  Barcelona is filled with playgrounds-- it's great!   After our trek, we decided to go back to the apartment for a couple of hours and then we headed out for some late night tapas and people watching in Plaza Real.


6/28: Melinda had to finish the 2nd day of her bus tour, so she headed off to do that.  Aidan and I had an epic water day.  We visited the Aquarium, which was remarkably good and much better than I expected.  It's really kid-friendly with lots of hands on exhibits and play areas.   And cuttlefish!!

After the Aquarium, we walked up the marina.  And down the marina.  And up the marina.  And down.  Aidan loves looking at the boats.  He wanted to do a harbor tour, and the galondrinas that tour the harbor are under 20 euro for 2 people,so we decided to take one.  The one that was departing when we reached the ticket office was the 1.5 hour tour, which with hindsight was about 45 minutes too long for both of us.  Nonetheless, we enjoyed our quite extensive tour of the harbor.

To top off the water-themed day, we walked to the maritime museum.  Unfortunately, it is undergoing massive renovation (the first time in 800 years, according to the signs) and there  really isn't much on display.  Only one boat and the Darwin exhibit that was at the Witte last year.  The building's upper floors aren't open either.  We still loved the building and the one ship on display.