Not many trips have been as hyped up as Barcelona for us. Every time someone asked where we were headed, they said said. "Ohhh, you are gonna love it!" And we did.
Opting to stay in El Born, the cultural neighborhood of small alleyways, bars, museums, and just steps from the Picasso Museum, we were in a great location. The beach was a short stroll away, and while the water was too cold for a swim, the beach was full of sea glass and the girls wadded in anyway. This beach would be amazing in the summer months, full of eccentric people and lots of sun. We also were next to a great park and the Barcelona Zoo, which made for great walks.
Perhaps the pinnacle of the trip (or the underlying purpose) was to hit up the absolutely phenomenal brew pubs in the city. Brewdog (the UK brewery) has a home here and served up many exciting brews for mom and dad and provided fun games for the kids to stay busy. Best of all, the bartender will pour you a shot of Tactical Nuclear Penguin, a brew clocking in at 32% ABV. For the price of a bottle, you will be glad to just try this in small doses. Another fine establishment is the all-vegetarian food-serving place called Ale & Hop. With a nice combo of Spanish products and imports, the friendly staff was always ready to find the next gem. But the star was BierCab which we frequented multiple times. Delicious tapas backed up 30 beers on tap from some diverse and unique places. But the real plus was the bottle shop tied to the pub. For takeaway, one can purchase a wide-range of beers from some of the world's best breweries, including The Lost Abbey, Mikkeller, Stone, Rouge, Ale Smith, and The Bruery. The catch was Westvleteren 12, often rated the world's best beer, and to my knowledge, sold only at the Belgian monastery where it is brewed in small packs with an advanced reservation. They also had Samuel Adams Utopias, but at 300 Euros a bottle I just couldn't pull the trigger. The staff was amazing, took great care of us, gave our girls shirts and key chains, and me a bottle opener. It is the best beer place we have been to.
With the beer done, we move on to the rest. Of course, there is sangria a plenty here, and this interesting drink called tinto verano which is red wine with a mix of soda, like orange pop. It that doesn't tickle your fancy, have a Gin Tonic, which the city is passionate about. Forget about that garbage you pull out from the dusty cabinet once a summer, blow off, splash with something you bought at Wal-Mart, and add lime to. No, this is an art form. You must select your gin and your tonic, and the varieties of each are overwhelming, and the two are mixed delicately and deliberately. It is quite refreshing, and had it been warmer out, we may have had them all of the time. But what we did frequent many a time was Ma Mai Ne in the Passeig del Born. With 40 kinds of hand-made mojitos on site, you cannot go wrong, Certainly have the traditional lime and mint, or roll with a Kiwi to try something new. But if you want some fun, try the Spicy Mango or, the absolute best of all time, the Cookie. Ya, that's right. Cookie mojito. Amazing.
By now you are seriously lubed up but don't forget, this place is passionate about food. With some top-end restaurants, you can't go wrong, unless a budget is in your vocabulary. Tapas are everywhere and I must say that most places are reasonably priced. The menu del dia will greet you with a main, beer, and desert for about 7 Euros, a steal. Recommended to us was Tlaxcal in El Born which served up beef tongue tacos that were the bomb. Then we caught wind of a Mexican place named El Pachuco, a hole in the wall place with epic drinks and the best food outside of Mexico, though you wouldn't know it by looking. The nachos are extreme and should win some kind of award.
We didn't just eat and drink the whole time. There were some sites spliced in. The free-to-visit 13th century Cathedral of Barcelona is a splendid site but everyone knows nothing holds a candle to La Sagrada Familia. 120+ years in the making, this shrine to the heavens continues to climb higher in the image of Gaudí. Like the Taj and Angkor Wat, you can see as many pics as you want, but this site cannot be felt until you stand in its shadows. And while the outside is unarguably spectacular, the inside is amazing as well. The colors of stained glass reflecting off the walls cannot be duplicated.
Speaking of Gaudí, we headed to Park Güell, though we opted not to pay to walk among the artistic benches. Rather, we hiked up the mountain for a gorgeous view of the city from on high. Great trails lead up the peak and it was amazing to be free in nature in the middle of a modern city. This was, perhaps, our most enjoyable day, though we walked more than we probably ever have there.
Opting to stay in El Born, the cultural neighborhood of small alleyways, bars, museums, and just steps from the Picasso Museum, we were in a great location. The beach was a short stroll away, and while the water was too cold for a swim, the beach was full of sea glass and the girls wadded in anyway. This beach would be amazing in the summer months, full of eccentric people and lots of sun. We also were next to a great park and the Barcelona Zoo, which made for great walks.
Perhaps the pinnacle of the trip (or the underlying purpose) was to hit up the absolutely phenomenal brew pubs in the city. Brewdog (the UK brewery) has a home here and served up many exciting brews for mom and dad and provided fun games for the kids to stay busy. Best of all, the bartender will pour you a shot of Tactical Nuclear Penguin, a brew clocking in at 32% ABV. For the price of a bottle, you will be glad to just try this in small doses. Another fine establishment is the all-vegetarian food-serving place called Ale & Hop. With a nice combo of Spanish products and imports, the friendly staff was always ready to find the next gem. But the star was BierCab which we frequented multiple times. Delicious tapas backed up 30 beers on tap from some diverse and unique places. But the real plus was the bottle shop tied to the pub. For takeaway, one can purchase a wide-range of beers from some of the world's best breweries, including The Lost Abbey, Mikkeller, Stone, Rouge, Ale Smith, and The Bruery. The catch was Westvleteren 12, often rated the world's best beer, and to my knowledge, sold only at the Belgian monastery where it is brewed in small packs with an advanced reservation. They also had Samuel Adams Utopias, but at 300 Euros a bottle I just couldn't pull the trigger. The staff was amazing, took great care of us, gave our girls shirts and key chains, and me a bottle opener. It is the best beer place we have been to.
With the beer done, we move on to the rest. Of course, there is sangria a plenty here, and this interesting drink called tinto verano which is red wine with a mix of soda, like orange pop. It that doesn't tickle your fancy, have a Gin Tonic, which the city is passionate about. Forget about that garbage you pull out from the dusty cabinet once a summer, blow off, splash with something you bought at Wal-Mart, and add lime to. No, this is an art form. You must select your gin and your tonic, and the varieties of each are overwhelming, and the two are mixed delicately and deliberately. It is quite refreshing, and had it been warmer out, we may have had them all of the time. But what we did frequent many a time was Ma Mai Ne in the Passeig del Born. With 40 kinds of hand-made mojitos on site, you cannot go wrong, Certainly have the traditional lime and mint, or roll with a Kiwi to try something new. But if you want some fun, try the Spicy Mango or, the absolute best of all time, the Cookie. Ya, that's right. Cookie mojito. Amazing.
By now you are seriously lubed up but don't forget, this place is passionate about food. With some top-end restaurants, you can't go wrong, unless a budget is in your vocabulary. Tapas are everywhere and I must say that most places are reasonably priced. The menu del dia will greet you with a main, beer, and desert for about 7 Euros, a steal. Recommended to us was Tlaxcal in El Born which served up beef tongue tacos that were the bomb. Then we caught wind of a Mexican place named El Pachuco, a hole in the wall place with epic drinks and the best food outside of Mexico, though you wouldn't know it by looking. The nachos are extreme and should win some kind of award.
We didn't just eat and drink the whole time. There were some sites spliced in. The free-to-visit 13th century Cathedral of Barcelona is a splendid site but everyone knows nothing holds a candle to La Sagrada Familia. 120+ years in the making, this shrine to the heavens continues to climb higher in the image of Gaudí. Like the Taj and Angkor Wat, you can see as many pics as you want, but this site cannot be felt until you stand in its shadows. And while the outside is unarguably spectacular, the inside is amazing as well. The colors of stained glass reflecting off the walls cannot be duplicated.
Speaking of Gaudí, we headed to Park Güell, though we opted not to pay to walk among the artistic benches. Rather, we hiked up the mountain for a gorgeous view of the city from on high. Great trails lead up the peak and it was amazing to be free in nature in the middle of a modern city. This was, perhaps, our most enjoyable day, though we walked more than we probably ever have there.
Justin headed to the famous Camp Nou to see FC Barcelona, probably the world's best soccer team, win a game. But to complete the tour, the family all came back to visit the stadium during a non-match day as part of the Camp Nou Experience. With everything from Champion's League trophies to fake pictures with Messi, this place has it all. You can spend as long as you like admiring all of the awards this club has garnished or you can move on to see the visiting locker room, press areas, and the field. For fans and non-fans alike, it is a really well-done production worth spending an hour or two of your city trip.
While the nightly Magic Fountain show did not appear to be a thing when we visited, we did spend some time on Montjuic to see the 1992 Olympic venue. A trip into the stadium and around the grounds offered some unique architecture and views of the city. It is amazing that the Olympics took place on this hillside.
Barcelona did not disappoint. We hope to be back, perhaps in the warmth of summer.
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