Montserrat - Barcelona, Spain July 31 - August 3, 2014

This was the first Europe trip for us!  I had been reading and preparing about Barcelona and Paris for several months.  The kids wanted to go to FC Barcelona Stadium and see the Eiffel Tower.  I had a big list for places to visit and things to do.  We were so excited!!!! Here we go....

July 31
We left Dallas-Fort Worth early morning on July 30th and arrived Barcelona around 10 am on July 31st.  We found our driver right away when we were walking out from the baggage claim area.  The ride to our hotel/apartment (Eric Vokel Gran Via Suites) wasn't long at all.  We really liked this place.  It was perfect for the family of four and very convenient!   Thanks to our friend as she recommended us for this hotel!

So happy to see Montserrat mountain before landing

Eric Vokel - the apartment we stayed in Barcelona!

After checking in, we had to leave our luggage in a locker room and waited for the room to be ready.  We decided to walk around the hotel area and looked for a place to have lunch.  We found a friendly café near the apartment.  All of us ordered different types of pasta for lunch.  It was great! 

Green Pasta - my lunch!

Once we finished lunch, we walked back to the apartment.  The room was ready so we took the luggage to the room.  I like the elevator.  Although it was a very small one, it was classic.  We had to close a door/gate before it worked.  To me, it looked like the elevator in a movie :).  We were on the 4th floor.  The room was really cute!  We had a kitchen, a living room with a bed couch, a small cozy room with twin bed (a secret room by the window for my boys) and a master room with queen size bed.  Once we rested a little bit, we changed our clothes and prepared for the tour to Montserrat.  

The secret place for the boys by the window in the apartment. 

 We walked about 15 minutes to the tour office which was in Plaza Catalunya (considered the centre of Barcelona).   It was a hot day but there were a lot of big trees by the streets.  The shade of these trees really helped.   I love the idea of having a walking/biking street between the real street and buildings.  It was safe for pedestrians in the city!

Walking/Biking street - between the apartment and Plaza Catalunya

Plaza Catalunya


Time to Montserrat!
To go up to the Montserrat mountain, we went by the bus (around 20-25 people) with a tour guide.  Then we rode in the cog wheel train for about 10 minutes.  The train was really fun because we was able to see the beautiful view of the great mountain.   We went up to the top and here we were - Montserrat!  I actually really liked Montserrat.  We visited the church, walked to each building, took pictures, ate some snacks in the cafeteria and enjoyed the scenery of the mountain!

The bus brought us back to Barcelona (the tour office) around 8 pm.   We bought Chinese foods on the way when we walked back to the hotel.  Yummy!  It was a great first day!














August 1
On the second day, we planned to go several places by Hop On/Hop Off bus.  It is such a convenient way for us to visit Barcelona City.



We love The Sagrada Familia!!  What a beautiful and gorgeous church! We went up to the top of the church.  Most of the buildings/museums we visited were designed by Antoni Gaudi, a Spanish Catalan architect.  His works are really distinctive! 





We also visited FC Barcelona Stadium - Camp Nou.  Of course this was the most favorite place for my boys.  They are soccer players and fans.  They had a blast!!









After Camp Nou, we went to Casa Batllo - one of the two great buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí.  I liked the shape of the building and the color he used.  It is so unique!

 



August 2
Besides Hop On/Hop Off bus, we also used Metro (underground train).  It was really easy and convenient.  Sean was really good navigating us thru Metro :).  In the morning, we went to the second building decided by Gaudi - Casa Mila/La Pedrera.  His work on the roof is really interesting! 





Then we went to Port de Barcelona to Montjuic for the cable ride to see city and ocean.  I was nervous in the cable ride but it didn't bother my husband and the boys.  It was a great experience for me though.  Beautiful view on the hot day!








The last thing we did today was riding the bus around the city and went to Park Guell.  We came here yesterday but the line was too long so we had to come back!   The park was so huge!
I liked the buildings.  It looked surreal for me - looked like a candy building :)













August 3 - Leaving Barcelona to Paris
We woke up early and waited for our ride to the train station.  Yes we took the train from Barcelona to Paris!  I really loved this 6 and a half hour ride in the speed train.  It was such a relaxing time with my family!!


 







Barcelona is a pretty city.   It was a great experience for us all!  There are several things to see and do.  I know we didn't see every thing here but we did a lot in 3 days!  The city also reminded me a lot of Thailand because there are a lot of motorcycle.   We could have spent more time here but we had to continue to the next destination!  If we have a chance, we want to come back to Spain and visit Madrid and some other cities!  What a great time we had :)


Other trips:
- Canada (Calgary, Banff, Jasper and Yoho)
- Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Monica and Venice Beach
- Transit Tour in Hong Kong
- Salzburg, Vienna and Prague
- Southern Laos
- Japan (Tokyo-Hakone-Kawagoe)
- Washington State
- Universal Studios, FL
- NOLA and Bahamas
- Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon and Antalop Canyon
- Paris, France
- Montserrat and Barcelona, Spain
- Dubai
- Laos (Vang Vieng and Vientien)
- Disney World, FL
- Skiing Red River, NM
- Niagara Falls, Toronto, San Francisco and Los Angeles
- Western Caribbean Cruise (Jamaica, Cayman Island and mexico)
- Camping Guadalupe River, TX



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