Colorful , joyful , beautiful and always alive! An unique combination of Gothic and Neoclassicism, socked in salty sea rays with aroma of bohemia. Barcelona is an amazing city, which never falls asleep – the life there runs dynamically and there is nothing that could stop it being so.
The adventure “Barcelona” has started the very moment we met at the airport (we were four people coming from different rays of the world, and Barcelona El PART was our starting point). The apartment that we had rented, was a really nice one, found in downtown- it was clean, light and wide. Just try to imagine, rooms with high ceilings, large French windows with wooden shutters, beautiful wooden kitchen with massive wooden table and not on last place — wooden floor. The apartment was a combination from modern and old-fashioned style, but not the worn out one, but the one that is worth to be available and kept, the one that carries history and soul in itself. The flat was maintained with great desire and love and this could be seen by the carefully chosen furniture and the refinement of every detail. Its location was perfect — on few minutes walking distance to the pedestrian street “La Rambla ”, which was lively all along its length- starting from “ Plaça de Catalunya” up to Columbus Monument.
Although it wasn’t the strong season yet, the weather was sunny and warm except for one rainy day (we had 10 days and there was enough time for everything). The first thing we did when we landed at the airport was to rent a car. The two of us had already visited Barcelona and wanted to tour neighboring cities as well. A great convenience was the fact that next to the apartment there was an underground parking lot (from a chain of parking lots that were positioned throughout the city). We took advantage of their services because we could get a card for the days that suit us and park in each of their parking lots.
Thanks to the fact that we had an idea of the city from previous trips, this time we were able to choose well what is a must for being visited and what could stay in the background. The most important thing for me was that this time we had time to truly enjoy the city with all its views, delicacies and experiences.
Those who have been to Barcelona know about the streets along the coast, which offer a wide variety of seafood restaurants. Since we had died of starvation after a long journey, we did not have many pretensions as to which of all the restaurants we would choose, and we entered the first one that seemed good to us. To our surprise, it turned out that our choice was more than good — the food was really tasty, and the waitress turned out to be a Bulgarian, who visibly was happy to see us (to my great surprise, because most of us, Bulgarians prefer to be quiet if we hear that someone around us is Bulgarian as well, but this is another topic). At the end of the dinner we received a compliment from the restaurant (the waitress) — a glass of champagne with strawberries and various delicious desserts.
The next days were spent in long walks on the beautiful sea streets. We decided that one of the things we must visit (again for some of us) was the L’ Aquàrium de Barcelona. If you are planning a trip to Barcelona and if you have children — I highly recommend to you to spare time for theaquariumTickets for an adult were 21 euros, for children from 5 to 10 years - 16 euros and for under 5 years - 8 euros. The aquarium is located next to Plaça de l'Ictineo (a beautiful place to walk on with a harbour for yachts).
Of course, our list included the buildings of the world-famous architect Antonio Gaudi , Park Güell and Sagrada Familia . There is no point in describing the beauty and uniqueness of these pieces of art — they must be seen and felt with one's own eyes and soul. I can only say that, to put it mildly, it is a sin to be in Barcelona and not be able to walk on the wonderful paths in Park Güell or not be able to spend an hour at least for the Sagrada Familia , which is the most incredible piece of the art I have ever seen.
Thanks to the car, we were able to climb Montjuic Hill in the evening to take some night photos. The hill has a wonderful view of the port — it has played an important role in the history of the city, and today is a very popular tourist destination with easy access. It can be reached by metro lines 2 and 3 to the " Parallel-lel" station and then you can continue on foot or take the funicular (lift, moving on rails).
One of my favorite places will remain Tibidabo. Tibidabo it is a mountain near Barcelona with a magnificent view of the city and the Mediterranean Sea, on which the amazing church Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor (Sacred Heart) is built. It's so beautiful that you just run out of breath ... We managed to catch the sunset and capture it with the cameras. The church is 175 meters high, and on top of it is a statue of Jesus Christ, who watches over the city. A small amusement park is built right next to the church, which looks down from above. The view is really worth it, so if you have the opportunity — just visit it!
Since I am a big fan of amusement parks and extreme experiences in general, I couldn't help but visit Port Aventura! We spent a whole day for it, and its location is only an hour from Barcelona - it can be reached by car or train, which stops right in front of the park. The park is divided into 6 different areas, which represent 5 geographical areas and the Ferrari area. Each area differs from the others with original and thematic architecture. The park is really big with many restaurants, souvenir shops, great attractions and high speed trains. You need to spare at least one day for the park so that you can have a good look and get on everything. I forgot to mention that the park also has a water park - "Caribe Aquatic Park”.
In one of the days we decided to visit the zoo, and the rest of the day to be for taking walks around the city.
The last day of our stay we decided to dedicate it to Tarragona, which is one of the most ancient Spanish cities. The town is beautiful, but relatively small and can be easily seen in half a day. We saw the ancient amphitheater, the cathedral, walked through the old streets and enjoyed the view of the Mediterranean Sea.
