Yanky Londoner: Barcelona

When we arrived in Barcelona, we really didn't know what to expect. I found a flat to rent on-line and we were hoping it turned out okay. We were extremely surprised to find an enormous apartment with all the room we needed.

When you entered the apartment, there was a nice little seating area.

Followed by a long hallway.

It led to a nice sized kitchen that had everything we needed.

The dining room/living room was huge.

There were two bedrooms and a cot for us to use for the 5 days we were there.

We also had a nice little roof terrace that we used sometimes in the evenings.

The flat was only a few blocks from Keena and Grigo's friend Rosa. So the girls were very excited when they finally saw her and she provided them with gifts! (Photo by Grigo)

Rosa spent the day with us exploring the city.

Here is a photo of the old bull ring that Rosa said has been turned into a shopping mall.

Rosa took us to the Museu National d'Art de Catalunya. You can see it in the distance on the hill. (Photo by Grigo)

It was a really nice walk up to the museum.

It was rather impressive!

Rosa snapped a family photo for us. It was the only photo of all us taken over the two weeks we were together.

Here are the girls posing for a photo by the fountains.

We had to climb many steps to get to the top of the hill where the museum was located but it was worth it. Once we were there, we had great views of Barcelona. Here is a photo of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in the distance.

We headed into the museum. They had some lovely art by Juli Gonzalez, a Spanish sculptor.

These sculptors look really big, but they are only about 8 inches high. I also saw lots of his work when I travelled to Valencia the following week.

We also saw work by Antoni Gaudi. We spent most of our days in Barcelona seeing his artwork/architecture.

Here is Rica in front of some art.

The building the museum was located in was also really impressive. Here is a photo of the ceiling in one of the halls.

They had an exhibit of models of buildings from around the world. It was really neat to see everything so small.

Here is Rica looking at the buildings.

We also stopped by an exhibit that had some interactive 3D viewing. Here is the family watching the show. (Photo by Grigo)

After a while, the girls were becoming restless so we headed back to our neighbourhood. We stopped at a local square to get some drinks. We had a bit of an accident with a wine glass and I got cut. Here is a photo of my cut and Rica having fun in the background. Cheeky monkey! (Photo by Grigo)

Lia was also having some fun. (Photo by Grigo)

The girls ran around and danced in the square to blow off some steam. (Photo by Grigo)

In the evening, we headed to one of the local tapas restaurants for dinner. The wine was ridiculously cheap. My huge glass of wine in this photo cost 1.50 Euros! I love how Rica also looks like she is drinking Keena's beer through a straw! (Night photos by Grigo)

After dinner, the girls started to become restless and wanted to run around.

One of the local waiters stepped in and offered the girls some chalk to play on the sidewalk. The girls loved it.

A number of people walking by stopped and commented on their masterpiece.

They must have spent about an hour having a fun time. All in all, a great day in Barcelona.

The next day, we headed out to see the Guell Palace, which was one of Antoni Gaudi's first major buildings in the city.

The ironwork was really amazing outside the palace. It was a home built for the Guell family.

We had an audio guide that started us in the basement. Interesting enough, the basement was used to house the stables.

Can you imagine having horses down here?

There was a really neat walkway down from the main floor for the horses to get to the basement.

Here I am pointing out something interesting to Lia. (Photo by Grigo)

From the basement, we progressed up through the house. Every inch of the Palace had some kind of unusual design. Here is a beautiful door.

An unusual ceiling.

A staircase leading up to the upper floor.

An ornate walk carving.

Another amazing ceiling. (Photo by Grigo)

And another! There is a dome on the top of this ceiling which has many different holes in it to allow for light. (Photo by Grigo)

Here is Keena and Lia standing in front of the chapel in the central hall. (Photo by Grigo)

We also visited the bedrooms for the family. Here is a photo of the royal loo!

Outside we also saw some of the amazing architecture. This looked like a simple picture window on the inside, but it looked totally different on the outside.