COSTA DEL SOL
How lucky to be able to see some family and spend some time on the beach when we arrived in Benalmadena, Spain! Among the fun was an inflatable obstacle course (even a few jellyfish which made it extra exciting), wonderful paella overlooking a beautiful sunset and then the lunar eclipse, lots of soccer (football) played by the boys bridging the language barrier, bull tail, water play and reconnecting with family.
- Chilling on the beach
We walked around Pueblo, a picturesque old village at the top of the hill. It is full of old whitewashed buildings, beautiful views of the city and window boxes everywhere.
GRANADA
After Virginie, Svetlana and Marley left, we headed to Granada for an amazing tour of Alhambra and a walk about the lovely old town and a delicious Moroccan lunch.
Our last morning we walked to the beach one more time and hiked up the steep hill back the apartment to find we locked ourselves out of the apartment (hint: don’t leave the keys in the door from the inside). The very kind owner let us know she could get a locksmith there the following day – um thanks but no help. After a minor freak out and already plans to skip Barcelona and head back to Lisbon since we would have missed our flight, a kind Spanish neighbor motioned to us she would let us climb over the terrace wall separating our apartments to see if we had by chance forgotten to lock the terrace doors. She even had a tall ladder so I barely had to hoist myself over the wall and thankfully the doors were unlocked. Just in time to get our passports and bags and get to the airport. We said our goodbyes and were on the way to Barcelona!
BARCELONA
Barcelona was wonderful and exhausting. We only had 3 days there and managed to fit most of what we wanted to see in just 2 days so we had time to take the train spend a day in the mountains of Montserrat and the mountaintop monastery. The location of our apartment was perfect with a view of the Sagrada Familia and upstairs from a quirky bar/restaurant that we couldn’t stay away from, complete with a fun, beat boxing server and DJ Carl Cox on the TV every night.
We spent the first day at the Picasso Museum which was both interesting and small enough to keep everyone engaged. The kids were rewarded with a visit to the Chocolate Museum where the entry ticket was actually a piece of chocolate. Then we walked Las Ramblas and visited the outdoor market (La Boqueria) to see the produce, seafood and meat stands. We topped the day off with a visit to Camp Nou, the stadium in which FC Barcelona plays. Trip and Greg couldn’t get enough of Camp Nou. I was impressed. Taylor was miserable and hated every second of it. But she got through it and was taken for ice cream afterward so I think she forgave us.
The next day we immersed ourselves in all things Gaudí. He was so amazing and his works are awe inspiring!
After 2 days of constant movement and siteseeing, we decided to take an hour train ride to Montserrat where we visited the monastery and did a little hiking. The train ride there and back gave the kids some much desired screen time and gave our legs a bit of a rest. We opted to take the long funicular ride to the mountaintop because I thought the cable car would not be great for Trip’s discomfort with heights. It turned out that the funicular on the edge of a switchback mountain was probably more frightening but it was an experience! After the long day there, we capped it off with a viewing of the Magic Fountain of Montjuic (similar to Las Vegas except that it only performs for an hour several evenings a week so there were thousands of people crammed into the area). Somehow the kids still had the energy to take the stairs at the metro stations (Trip chose the stairs every time, despite the miles and miles we walked each day). It was spectacular and a fun way to end the trip.
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