Admittedly, I was rather concerned about this trip with HB. He is two and a half and prone to random fits, screaming, tantrums and just plain unpleasantness. Two and a half, however, also appears to be a magical age where bribing and threats combined with what most consider common mundane travel (riding buses, planes and boats) equal an extraordinary, stress free experience.
Ryan Air, in it's quest for efficiency, boards planes by way of staircases on the front and rear entrances to the plane. So for the HB, walking out onto the tarmac and up stairs onto the plane seemed akin to entering a theme park. Actually boarding the plane almost caused a baby heart attack. Apparently he didn't remember ever flying on a plane, and since his favorite activity is riding a bus around town with his babysitter, this was the holy grail. Excitedly he plopped down by the window and busied himself by pointing out all of the other planes, airport transport equipment and "street sweeper" on the tarmac.
Our flight was delayed taking off due to a skirmish between two passengers. I didn't witness the argument but they had to be removed and then their baggage found. HB started getting a a little antsy after 30 minutes so I asked, "Do you want to take a plane ride?" "Yes!" he said. "Well then you'd better find your manners or we will get off the plane" I threatened as we taxied to the runway. "NO!!!!! He said and behaved perfectly the rest of the way. Who knew? That was pretty much how the rest of the trip went. WINNING!
Upon arrival we found our little apartment (a fifth story walk-up, naturally) clean, centrally located near the middle of Las Ramblas and surprisingly well equipped for a last minute rental. Oh, did I forget to mention out first apartment, although confirmed, was cancelled due to "double-booking?" It was a stressful few days until we found a new place but we were pleasantly surprised. Our weather was perfect in mid-March. Sunny and 65 degrees. A perfect time to travel here, especially considering the lack of tourists.
In writing this blog I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the fact that I describe everywhere as beautiful but Barcelona's architecture is especially so.
What else would one expect from the city of Gaudi?
I really wish I had something witty to say here but I don't, mostly we just walked companionably in silence, when HB wasn't demanding to push his own stroller, and enjoyed the views.
To hopefully give HB some much needed exercise time, we planned a trip to the Barcelona Zoo, which sits within the Parc de la Ciutadella. The park was built atop the remains of a prior citadel. It's a special place to sit and have a picnic lunch, play some Frisbee or people watch.
The zoo itself was pretty underwhelming. The cages were small and the animals looked poorly. Even the farm animals seemed to all be ill or mangy. Only the flamingos were photo ready. But then, they're pretty hard to screw up.
The second landmark we visited was the world famous market off Las Ramblas. It pretty much takes the cake as far as food markets go. It's a shame the place is overrun with tourists who clog the aisles and buy nothing. If you go inside, be a good person and buy a few things, they will be delicious! You can get a decent price on saffron or paella seasonings for sure!
This cooler made me seriously consider becoming a vegetarian.
Barcelona boasts it's very own Arc de Triumf from the 1888 World's Fair. Personally, I don't get what the big deal is with random arches everywhere but it was pretty nonetheless. More noteworthy, in my opinon, are the multi-armed light posts that flank the sidewalk leading up to it. Now, I've yet to see the one in France, but I can't imagine anything more splendid than this.
Our next blog, hopefully a tad more entertaining than this laaaaaaammee post, will cover our trip to the local art museums, Gaudi cathedral, and other site-seeing adventures that will hopefully further entice you to come to Europe with small children in tow, to visit us and see the world.
