With the weather turning cold and damp in London, it was perfect timing for a quick weekend break in Barcelona. We met up with my parents to spend a few days in the city before they departed on their transatlantic cruise.
We had a fantastic time enjoying the highlights of the city and sharing some of our knowledge and experience from this spring when we lived in Barcelona for a month. But it wasn’t all old favorites — as we always try to mix in new experiences.
As we were riding into the city from the airport, my dad asked “Do they have Segways here?” to which we replied, “Funny you ask…” My dad had been wanting to ride a Segway and saw them around Washington DC which was perfect because we had booked a Segway tour of the city. The actual tour wasn’t the most comprehensive, but that was just as well. We were much happier cruising around on our Segways than standing in front of an old church. The beach walk and waterfront are great areas to ride a Segway with nice wide open spaces free of cars and traffic. Once the tour was over, we sorely missed our zippy transport as we were relegated back to our feet.
We were also pleased to dine at Cafe l’Academia, a highly rated restaurant, which we missed out in the spring because we hadn’t booked ahead. We booked ahead this time and it was worth the wait.
Another highlight of this weekend was our location. We rented an apartment in the central Born neighborhood. It is in the old part of the city with narrow twisty pedestrian roads and lots of charm and character. We hardly needed the metro as we were able to easily walk from the Ramblas to the beach.
Ah… the beach. We really enjoyed sitting on the beach and taking in one last bit of warm weather before returning to the winter months of England. We hadn’t planned this as a beach trip — and it wasn’t. We thought it would be too cold for the beach, but the weather was brilliant, especially for November (23ºC/74ºF). So we joined the thousands of locals getting in a little beach time. It is interesting the difference between a city on the beach and beach destination. Similar to Tel Aviv, the people of Barcelona just go hang out on the beach. They don’t bring umbrellas or blankets, sunscreen or sand toys. Because the beach is right there, there is no need for planning ahead or packing a lunch. They simply take a break from the bustle of the city and sit on the beach for an hour or two. We did the same. We just took off our shoes, found a nice spot of sand and enjoyed the warm air and mediterranean sea.