Barcelona Recommendations

​I just wrote up a list of Barcelona recommendations for a friend of a friend, so thought I would share it here too in case anyone else has a trip in mind.   Brett has many more restaurant recommendations from his work trips there, but the list below are some highlights.

LODGING

The metro in Barcelona is easy to use and fast.  Given that, you can stay in lots of different parts of the city and still not need a car.  We bought the 10 pass card and then replenished as needed.   We also used taxis occasionally.  You don’t need to rent a car.

Hotel Praktik Rambla - Rambla de Cataluña, 27 08007 Barcelona 08007 Barcelona

We love, love this chic boutique hotel.  Brett always stays here and he has gotten a lot of Amazon people to stay there over the years.  It’s a great, comfortable hotel (with reliable wifi!)  and wonderfully located.  The boutique hotel is just a few minutes’ walk away from spectacular monuments and places to visit such as: La Pedrera, the Batlló house, the Paseo de Gracia, Las Ramblas or the Plaza Cataluña, Barcelona’s nerve center. It is between the two busiest metro stops – Cataluyna and Passeig de Gracia so easy to get back to from almost any metro line.  The hotel isn’t really suited to kids, although we did stay there with ours.

If you are travelling with kids, I’d recommend checking out Airbnb to rent an apartment.  We and others we know have had great success with Airbnb though not specifically in Barcelona.

SITES

La Boqueria – Mercat St. Joseph on the Ramblas

We’re not fans of La Ramblas.  If you are from Seattle, it’s like walking the Waterfront.  Fun to see once for the entertainment but you have to be careful of pick pockets and gypsies particularly around there.  Very touristy.    However, the market off the Ramblas is a can’t miss.  It is the most amazing market I’ve ever seen - -huge and vibrant.  You’ll only wish you had a kitchen so you can cook.  There are pre-made smoothies at all the fruit stands that are great to sip on while walking around.  There are also a number of places to sit at a bar and eat fresh food – we’ve never done it, but have wanted to.  It’s hard to find a seat usually.  Pick up some nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, olive oils, and saffron to bring home.

La Sagrada Familia – Carrer de Mallorca 401

In the Eixample neighborhood.  Gaudi’s church is the most visited site in all of Spain.  You have to see it.  And spend the money to tour the inside and towers – it’s worth it.  The lines move fast so don’t be discouraged if the line is long (it will be.)  Pay the extra for the audio tour.  They have one for adults and one for kids. 

Park Guell & Gracia neighborhood

This is Gaudi’s hillside park.  The landscape design is unlike anything you’ve seen.  Definitely worth going to.  While you are there, check out the bohemian Gracia neighborhood.

El Poble Espanyol-in the Montjuic neighborhood

My friend Grechen told us about this place for our first visit.  It’s off the beaten track and something to do if you have more than 3 days in the city.  It costs to get in.   From Gretchen: “El Poble was created for the 1929 International Exhibition to showcase architecture and crafts of each region in Spain.  It’s a mini village, filled with gorgeous handmade items – ceramics, glass, leather (buy belts!).  And the main square has several nice restaurants for casual meals.” 

FC Barcelona sports campus

All the professional teams in Barcelona play in one large campus.  We saw a FC Barcelona basketball game, but obviously FC Barcelona Soccer is the big team in town.  Definitely get tickets in advance of your trip.  It’s a great way to do sports all in one central location and it’s worth poking around even if you don’t go to a game.  The basketball game was great fun, so may be a worthy back up if you can’t get soccer tickets.

Tibidabo mountain, church, and amusement park

Further out of the city is a church on the top of a hill called Tibidabo.  You take the subway, a trolley, and then a funicular to get to the top.  The church is nice, not amazing, but the views are worth the trip up.  Only go if it’s a clear day when you can enjoy the views.  There are some really nice houses on the way up the mountain to look at.   Also, there is a mini amusement park at the top that is fun for the kids – about 20 rides geared towards kids ages 12 and under.  Our boys loved it, and with the views – we didn’t mind either.  Bring a picnic if you plan to spend a day up there as food options aren’t great.  There are a few rides that you can go on without paying for the amusement park.  There wasn’t any tourists in the amusement park as it’s not talked about much in the guide books.

Barceloneta & Beach

You have to see the Mediterranean Sea up close and the beach along it is really nice.  Also check out the spit of land called Barceloneta which is a traditional Mediterranean fishing village.  It feels different – more working class – than the rest of Barcelona.

Montjuic

If it’s a nice day, this is a great walk up a mountain with parks and gardens along the way.  There is a castlefort at the summit.  Fun if you are looking to see some good views and get in a good walk.

Museu de Xocolata – Chocolate museum in La Ribera neighborhood.

This is a fun tour to see the history of chocolate as well as whimsical chocolate sculptures.  Colin and I went for an hour one afternoon.  It was fun, but wouldn’t describe as a must see.

Museu d’Art Contemporani – in the Ravel neighborhood. 

This is Barcelona’s version of Paris’s Centre Pompidou.  Brett and Lawton went, and it was good but they wouldn’t describe it as can’t miss. 

Fundacio Joan Miro – We didn’t go, but wanted to.  It’s on our list for next time.

Museu Picasso – Old Town. We didn’t go, but wanted to.  It’s on our list for next time.

RESTAURANTS

The Spanish eat late.  Most restaurants don’t open until 8pm, and are the busiest at 10pm.  A lot of restaurants are closed on Sundays, so plan accordingly.  We never found a great paella – which by the way, is generally only eaten for lunch.  If you find some, let us know!

La Pepita - Carrer Còrsega, 343, Tel. 93 238 48 93

This is one of our two favorites.  In Eixample neighborhood.  More contemporary tapas.  Reservations required.  This restaurant is highly reviewed on Trip Advisor, so there will be tourists there but the food is special.  Sophie the Chef’s wife runs the front of the restaurant – she speaks good English – and she was incredibly warm. She let the boys tour the kitchen and sign their tile wall.  Don’t miss.

Tapas 24 - 269 Diputacio

This is our other favorite. Also in Eixamble neighborhood.  Very small restaurant with well done and slightly different tapas.  They don’t take reservations.  Get there early!  Sitting at the bar is fun to watch them make food and order what you see.  Don’t miss this place either. 

Margarita Blue -   c/ Josep Anselm Clavé, 6

Close to Las Ramblas.  Mexiterranean restaurant and cocktail bar.  We ate here when we wanted a change of pace from tapas.  Food is good, cocktails are excellent.   It’s also a hangout for local musicians, so go on a night when there’s live music.  It was packed every time we were there.  Great vibe.  Unlike other bars, kids are welcome in restaurant area.

La Rambla 31 - Carrer de la Diputacio 253, 08007

In the Eixamble neighborhood, a ½ block from our hotel.  This is the bakery we went to every morning.  It’s great.  Packed with locals.  Everything is delicious.  There whole wheat croissants (croissant integral) is unique.  Small area to eat in.  You pay at the register and sit down.  Coffee is fine, but generally Spanish coffee is weaker.

Ciudad Condal – Rambla de Catalunya 18, 08007

In the Eixamble neighborhood, across the street from our hotel.  This is a very well-known traditional tapas place.  If you are from Seattle, it reminds me of The Met.  It’s well established – lots of people in suits and always bustling.  We usually have our first meal here.

Filferro - sant Carles 29 in Barceloneta

We stumbled on this place while walking around Barceloneta and it was great for lunch.  It’s a fun, funky neighborhood place with outdoor seating that was filled with locals.  Best fresh tuna salad I had while I was there.  Not a single tourist.

Forn Boix - Carrer de l'Hospital, 20, 08001 in El Raval neighborhood

Great bakery in El Raval neighborhood .  Great sweet and savory things to choose from.  No seating, just grab and go.  Always busy.  There might be two locations.

SHOPPING

There is an underwear shop on every corner, so ladies – if you need to stock up on lingerie, Barcelona is your place.  There are also tons of boutique shops.  It is a great city for clothes shopping.

Raval , Born, Barri Gotic neighborhoods

Fun streets to roam and shop.  All non chain types of stores on small, narrow cobblestone streets.  Raval has one of a kind shops.  Barri Gotic neighborhood for crafts and antiques .  All these small side streets have great graffiti.  We had fun with kids and pictures will all the graffiti.

Desigual – multiple locations

Fun Spanish, bright clothes for men, women and children.  It is very distinctive clothing and the Spanish love Desigual.  It is like their version of Gap.  Stores are everywhere, but pop into several of them as selections are slightly different between locations (especially with children’s clothing.)  Great sales.  Desigual is available in the US, but prices are much better in Spain.  We always spend some money here. 

Camper – multiple locations

Great shoes for men and women.  Stores are everywhere.  Stylish and comfortable and not too expensive.  Brett and I get a pair or two every time we visit.  You can get Camper shoes in the US, but there are more styles available in their home country.  Also a small children’s section. 

Vaho Gallery – multiple locations

Fun recycled messenger bags, purses, wallets, etc.  in all shapes and sizes. Stores are everywhere.  Most of the bags have Barcelona on them somewhere.  Fun souvenir to bring back.

See all Barcelona Photos.

Work in Progress

The boys and I arrived in soggy Barcelona last Thursday.  I arrived with three European sized suitcases and two happy children in tow all by my own self.  Brett had been there all week for a busy work conference and so we decided to take the kids out of school for a few days and crash Brett’s hotel room.   It’s one thing to family crash in a big hotel, but quite another in a forty room boutique hotel.  For example:  when your children insist on taking the scarce elevator upstairs to the first floor.  However, Brett has been a loyal customer of La Pratik Rambla for five consecutive years now and has sent a lot of Amazon business their way, so they were happy to make an exception allowing the four of us to stay in one room.  By the second day, they knew to up the resupply of toilet paper.  By the first two minutes, I knew it was a mistake to let the nine year old pack himself.    

I intended to do some pre-work with the boys by having them research La Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi’s famous Basilica.  I have a friend here in Luxembourg who has her kids write a brief synopsis on a site they plan to go visit in advance of the trip.  The thinking being that the more the kids know in advance, the more interested they’ll be when they see it in person.  It sounded like such a good idea (and it is a good idea), but in execution it felt a little like spiking the kids’ orange juice with Aloe Vera juice.  It was an obvious, medicinal “I know what’s good for you” overture.  Extra, unassigned writing for a nine year old boy is something that requires a long runway and a convincing sales pitch.  I had neither.  And uninspiring YouTube clips of La Sagrada Familia weren’t helping.   I concluded that it must work better with daughters, or with families who played more Trivial Pursuit than Battleship.  The boys did however study up on the FC Barcelona Basketball team as we got tickets in advance to watch our first Euro Basketball game.  Ah-ha! So that’s the ticket.  Maybe it would have been a better idea to let them pick the thing they want to do pre-work on.

I, on the other hand, did study up on La Sagrada Familia and within an hour of our arrival determined that Friday would be the day that we would all go see it and we would see it WITH GOOD ATTITUDES.  Thursday night: Euro Basketball Game.  Friday: Spain’s Most Visited Monument.  And there would be no complaining, no rushing Mommy, and maybe a quiz at the end.

There is nothing quite like seeing La Sagrada Familia in person.  Millions of people visit it each year and much has been written about it, and there is good reason for it.  Antoni Gaudi’s passions were architecture, nature, and faith and you see the intersection of those passions in his work.    There is something for everyone.   Gaudi said: “Everyone finds his things in the temple.  The peasants see the hens, the scientists the zodiac signs, the theologians the genealogy of Jesus.”  When I saw it for the first time two years ago, I was impressed by its scope but turned off by its extravagance.  It was like Tammy Fay’s make up.  Too, too much.  Seeing it from the street was enough for me.

This time, I wanted to get closer.  I was ready to hand over some Euros to get inside.  Pre-work does work! The line was long, but fast moving, and Brett got us tickets with the audio tour while I traipsed around the perimeter with my camera.  Gaudi wanted La Sagrada Familia to be the “Bible in stone.”   There are books dedicated to helping you read through the Bible in one year, so getting through La Sagrada Familia in one morning was only going to be scratching the surface.  Knowing the ambition of my goal, Brett gladly took charge of the children.

Immediately you are reminded that this cathedral that began construction in 1882 is still far from being finished.  Scaffolding covers the Glory Façade, and ten of the eighteen planned spires are yet to be completed.  The goal is to have it completed in 2026 which will be the Centennial of Gaudi’s untimely death.   It still seems a lofty goal.   You can spend hours on the outside tracking the story of Christ’s birth in the overwhelmingly detailed Nativity Façade and of Christ’s last days in the haunting Passion Façade.  But I came this time to go inside.  Plus, it was very windy. 

Once I entered the cathedral, I understood what all the fuss was about.  I was no longer counting towers and looking for the column supported by a tortoise.  I was experiencing what Gaudi wanted to evoke – a sense of peace.  The whole interior is a majestic exaltation of beauty.  Layered with symbolism, Gaudi used tree-like columns to convey an enormous spiritual forest where the believer feels protected and united with God.  With light filtering in and hundreds of people like me wandering through the cathedral with their audio headset on, it felt like a community of people who were “Connected, but Not Alone.”

As I walked and listened (and the boys walked and listened on their own), I found myself thinking about how this monumental work – even with all its beauty – was still a work in progress.  That Gaudi envisioned a place so beautiful that it would take more than a lifetime, and many setbacks like the Spanish Civil War, to realize.  I also found myself thinking how wonderful it is that even unfinished things can be of use.  The church was consecrated in 2010 and is now used for religious services – scaffolding and all.  Work in progress, unfinished – some words that came back to me later in the trip when I lost my temper with my kids, when I lamented my aging body, when I wondered “what’s my next vocational chapter? – and p.s. it better be good.”

When asked about the slow construction, Gaudi was reported to have said:  “My client is not in a hurry.”  I’m so glad God isn’t in a hurry with us either – the beautiful works of art we all are.

​(See all Barcelona photos)

When in Rome .... Solvitur Ambulando

Ahh, Bella Roma!  It is as wonderful and rich a city as everyone says.  Five days is hardly enough time to even take in all the piazzas and fountains.  Though I was there over twenty years ago, it felt both new being there with my husband and children and also familiar with the warmth and charm of the Italian people.  My maternal grandfather was 100% Italian, and it’s the part of my ethnicity that I most relate to.  Though my skin is not olive, olive oil runs through my veins.  I talk with my hands, I love a good meal, and mi familia is the most important.  And my face has been known to get red when angry.   But I will forgive you and forgetaboutit two minutes later.

For this trip, we decided to go broad instead of deep.  With over two thousand years of history and more churches than days of the year, we decided we would skim the surface – see the sites but not tour them.  Quinn just finished doing a paper on ancient Rome and so we promised that we would save some of the touring for another trip when he can join us.  Plus, given that our six and nine year old boys can’t even stand at the Trevi Fountain without tackling each other or competing for “longest coin throw” – we decided that touring the Vatican Museum would be a risk not yet worth taking.  But you bet your Roman artichokes that we stepped into Vatican City so that the boys could log their ninth country visited. 

Stationed at a wonderful rental apartment (the best!) between Piazza del Popolo and Piazza de Spagna, we loosely followed the Doris Kindersly Eyewitness Travel Rome Guidebook (a must have if you are going to Rome) and diligently followed my friend Gretchen Harmon’s day to day itinerary, restaurant and shopping lists.  Gretchen and her family lived in Rome for two years and following her tips and recommendations helped to make “big Rome” feel more like “neighborhood Rome.”    We knew where to find the leather goods (boots have been added to the collection), the cashmere (too rich for my olive oil blood), the hip teen clothes, and the best bakery in all of Rome (which we frequently often enough that they knew us.)  Watching Brett hold court with a group of high school boys who were practicing their English (who he is now friends with on Facebook) was worth an admissions price under the heading of “Experiencing Rome.”   Our apartment is owned by the delightfully charming Giacomo who invited us to dinner in his home on Friday night with his wife Betta and three children (of similar ages to ours.)  We had such a grand time that we spent Sunday morning again together, but this time touring the National Etruscan Museum on the outskirts of Rome to learn more about the pre-Roman civilizations.  Nothing was broken. 

We ate and ate.  The food was consistently good and fresh if not spectacular.  I have high expectations when it comes to pasta.  We lingered over meals and played “Would You Rather:”

“Would you rather be roommates with Damarcus Cousins or Metta World Peace?” (Colin)

“Would you rather be teammates with NBA Player 1 or NBA Player 2?” (Colin)

Sub in different NBA player names, and repeat ad infinitum.  But wait for the gem.

“Would you rather be famous and an overrated knucklehead or really talented but poor?” (Colin)

And then there’s Lawton who was trying to get the hang of the game.

“Would you rather eat the rottenest blueberries or rottenest apricots?” (Lawton)

“Would you rather eat broken glass or knives?” (Lawton)

“Would you rather jump off a roller coaster or apartment building? Both landing on pavement.”  (Lawton)

“Would you rather marry a shark with sharp teeth or a snake?” (Lawton)

Would you rather sit on a snake or a porcupine?” (Lawton)

“Would you rather see a gross giant or Zombie?” (Lawton)

Brett responds: “Gross giant, but would you rather smell a Gross Giant’s smelly feet or swanus?”

It did get better.

“Would you rather have two great teachers and two bad teachers or four average teachers?” (Kate)

Okay, that was a little abrupt.

“Would you rather tour a church or a castle?” (Kate)

Lawton responds: “Are there knights in the castle and dragons in the church?”

Circle back.

“Would you rather have hops or speed? (Kate)

Rome is a wonderful walking city and public transportation is not its strength (we Seattleites empathize),  so we experienced Rome by walking.   Like crazy walking considering we have a six year old.  Fueled by at least two gelato stops every day, we estimate that we walked a cumulative of close to thirty miles.  There is a phrase in Latin called “Solvitur Ambulando” which means “it is solved by walking.”  We heard it first from our interim Pastor, and have since adopted it as a family mantra.  It proved very useful in the decision of moving to Europe, and even more useful in the times when things got a little hairy.   When things are breaking down, we keep walking – both literally and figuratively.  Some of us are better at adapting to new surroundings than others, and some need a “break in period” – so forward progress is the thing we do to hasten getting to the other side.   It also helps when you turn over the map and let someone else lead for a while.  We did that with each of the boys, and I’m pretty sure that the “follow the leader” game is perhaps the thing they will remember most.  The Pantheon was on the former side of the break in period, and our nine year old lead us back there for a “do-over” before taking us on a circuitous but outstanding route to the Colosseum.  I know having him walk us around -- revisiting the place where we needed an olive branch extended -- in deep love with his new favorite city, was the thing I will remember most.  I will try not to remember that Brett used the word swanus at the dinner table.

(See all Rome Photos)