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| Girls on the train |
Yesterday we ventured to Barcelona by train. One of the reasons we chose to stay in Vilanova is Barcelona is accessible by a 40 minute train ride and the cost for 5 round trip tickets is 25 Euro. The thought of driving in to Barcelona had very little appeal to Carrie and me.
We caught the 11:48 am train and after an uneventful train ride with amazing views of the Mediterranean Seas we arrived at the Passeig de Gracia station. Emerging from the station was quite an experience as we were quickly engulfed by the heat and bustle of a large Spanish city. We navigated to Catalunya Square which is the start of the La Rambla and a central spot in Barcelona for visiting a number of the sites. One of the goals for the day, aside from seeing Barcelona, was to find a jersey for Eli (Spain National Team) cleats for the kids, and shoes for Isabel. We promised the kids if they played out the season with their current cleats we would try and find them cleats in Europe.
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| Kalli's cleats |
We spent time in the Adidas store, which had an awesome collection of shoes and jerseys and then started sightseeing around Catalunya Square. After the Square we made our way down the La Rambla which is a famous pedestrian mall/street in Barcelona that leads to the harbor. The last time I was in Barcelona was 1993 right after the Olympics. It was much quieter in '94 compared to 2012. My only recolection of an American restaurant was The Golden Arches - now there is Subway, Burger King, KFC, Starbucks..... Along with a number of American retailers. This was the first city in 3 weeks where we noticed a large number of American tourists/backpackers. I have been telling the kids stories about my backpacking experiences so they have become very aware of the backpackers. We had a very nice time meandering down The La Rambla looking at the shops, visiting a pet store, and taking in the sites and sounds of the city. We spotted a Nike store and decided to visit. This is where Kalli and Isabel found their cleats - Kalli went Wayne Rooney style and Isabel went pink.
After the Nike store we looked for a lunch spot, one note, we have decided every time a poor lunch decision is made when we are famished. This time was no different - we found a horrible tapas spots in the a beautiful square. The waiters were rude, it was expensive, and the tapas were close to dog food. I knew this was going to happen since we were in the heart of the tourist area. Oh well, life goes on. After lunch we visited the Barcelona harbor which was beautiful. Finally we made our way off the La Rambla and headed to Sagrada Familia one of Antonio Gaudi's most famous churches. His work is truly amazing and this was a treat to experience. It is interesting to see the kid's perspective of art - there is not much of an interest which we completely understand since they are 10, 9, and 6. My interest in art started when I was in college so they have time. This realization has limited the number of museums we have and will visit. We mainly visit the outside of the various attractions and rarely venture in.
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Eli's jersey (he will wear it Saturday night)
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Our final stop was to El Corte Ingles Department store - this is an 8 story department store in the center of Barcelona. The amount of stuff, people, and overall activity was mind blowing. The kids were impressed with the size and activity of the store - we were able to find Eli's jersey on the 8th floor which made our day a success.
We finally made our way back to the train - the kids fell asleep on the way home. Kalli and I made a trip to the store for dinner and finally arrived home at 7:30. We capped the night off watching Portugal beat Czech Republic.
We spent time in the Adidas store, which had an awesome collection of shoes and jerseys and then started sightseeing around Catalunya Square. After the Square we made our way down the La Rambla which is a famous pedestrian mall/street in Barcelona that leads to the harbor. The last time I was in Barcelona was 1993 right after the Olympics. It was much quieter in '94 compared to 2012. My only recolection of an American restaurant was The Golden Arches - now there is Subway, Burger King, KFC, Starbucks..... Along with a number of American retailers. This was the first city in 3 weeks where we noticed a large number of American tourists/backpackers. I have been telling the kids stories about my backpacking experiences so they have become very aware of the backpackers. We had a very nice time meandering down The La Rambla looking at the shops, visiting a pet store, and taking in the sites and sounds of the city. We spotted a Nike store and decided to visit. This is where Kalli and Isabel found their cleats - Kalli went Wayne Rooney style and Isabel went pink. 
After the Nike store we looked for a lunch spot, one note, we have decided every time a poor lunch decision is made when we are famished. This time was no different - we found a horrible tapas spots in the a beautiful square. The waiters were rude, it was expensive, and the tapas were close to dog food. I knew this was going to happen since we were in the heart of the tourist area. Oh well, life goes on. After lunch we visited the Barcelona harbor which was beautiful. Finally we made our way off the La Rambla and headed to Sagrada Familia one of Antonio Gaudi's most famous churches. His work is truly amazing and this was a treat to experience. It is interesting to see the kid's perspective of art - there is not much of an interest which we completely understand since they are 10, 9, and 6. My interest in art started when I was in college so they have time. This realization has limited the number of museums we have and will visit. We mainly visit the outside of the various attractions and rarely venture in. 
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