Tapas Tapas Tapas! I promise you this was not the ONLY reason we went to Barcelona but it was definitely high on this pregnant lady’s list. After visiting Madrid in October on my very first trip to Spain with my hubs we decided to bring our 4 year old daughter and my mother too! Barcelona is such a family friendly city. I was four months pregnant at the time but we packed our days with lots of kid friendly activities while being a great first trip to for two of the three adults.
First Things First – Transportation
We are walking people. All three of us adults have a FitBits and my mom is a serious walker. We all planned to see the sights by foot but not excessively due to being 4 months pregnant. At the airport we bought a 3 day metro pass which included the train from the airport, all forms of transportation around the city for 20 euros a person. We walked quite a bit but definitely used the metro a lot. I highly recommend this ticket and will surely save you time and money! Most metro stations are stroller friendly although there were times where my Mom and husband would carry the stroller sans kid down a flight of stairs. There are escalators and elevators in most stations.
For families with older children- Barcelona is the perfect city to tour by BIKE. The city is relatively flat so it’s the perfect way to travel or tour the city. There are paved bike lanes throughout the city so make sure you are paying attention pedestrians and stay off the marked bike paths.
Casa Batllò
Casa Batllò is super kid friendly. Little G had a great time touring each room and seeing the furnished and decorated room on the virtual reality video screen. Panning the room would show a 360 degree view of how was originally decorated. The “house” is really a six floor building which is a lot of steps for a four year old and a preggo mamma like me. Luckily there is an elevator at the center of the internal courtyard reserved just for us! Little G was a trooper and took the steps on the way up with her Nonna but decided to ride it down with me on the way out. Even the elevator is filled with intricate wooden details.
Some details of this magnificent building. Every single detail was hand crafted and is completely unique.
Aquarium
If you are traveling with kids the Barcelona Aquarium is not to be missed. It is located on the harbor just a few minutes from the Gothic quarter. On a beautiful sunny day you could easily spend hours sitting in the sunshine or having a picnic in the water front park.
The Aquarium is the largest in Europe and exhibits species local to the Mediterranean. Little G had a really great time. I was a bit worried she wouldn’t like sharks swimming over her head but she was in complete awe of the view. The aquarium has a tank with an 80 meter (240ft) tunnel where you can see sharks, eels and rays and swimming around and overhead.
At various times of day you can see animals being fed. We got to see the Penguins eat their lunch. Little G laughed at the penguins who refused to wait their turn. Sharks are fed twice a week and rays are also fed most days of the week. Check out the feeding schedule on their website to make sure you get a change to see them eat!
The aquarium gives children a variety of ways to experience sea life and have fun while doing it. Here Little G is passing through a tunnel to pop out into the bubble and take in the fish at almost 360 degrees. The children around loved this part of the aquarium. Close by you could feed carp for a small fee as well as pretend play to be in a submarine.
Gothic Quarter
Leaving the Aquarium and heading back to the city center we meandered through the Gothic Quarter. It was siesta time so the streets were pretty quiet.
Parco Guell
We had a lovely afternoon walk up to Parco Guell only to discover that tickets were sold out for the next three hours. The walk is up quite a hill and being pregnant I was not ready to do it a second time a few hours later. We made the most of the trip to the top and saw quite a bit of the park from the public park. Apparently the park was closed a few years ago and a timed entrance is required. To protect the integrity of the park they limit the number of guests that are in the park at a time. Learn from our mistake, you can reserve your tickets online so you are guaranteed entry.
Luckily there is a lot to see outside of the ticketed entry area and we stumbled upon a bubble entertainer and Little G was captivated by the very large bubbles her new friend made. There is plenty of shade up at the top as well as a small children’s park off to the right side of the main entrance.
Gaudi Tour Continued
We decided to see some of Gaudi’s other works including the Sagrada Familia during a walking tour. We chose not to go inside this time. We spent a lovely Sunday morning walking around the Sagrada Familia and the surrounding neighborhood. We also admired his other palazzo La Pedrera from outside. I definitely plan to come back to tour these two amazing structures, so we will save them for the next round of Rome Our Home travels to Barcelona.
Now lets talk about food!
We decided the best way to see Barcelona was through our stomach. So every few hours we stopped for a bite to eat, never eating a huge meal just enough to get us to our next little bite. I was a bit limited on my options being pregnant and obviously no sangria for me, but I had my share of delicious dishes, meat, seafood, cheese and tortillas- the Spanish version of the omelette. Here are some photos to make your mouth water. One really interesting difference from dining in Italy is that most restaurants in Spain offer a child’s menu. Restaurants in Italy usually do not. You can ask for a Porzione Piccola o Mezza Porzione but rarely if ever offer a specific Kid’s menu. While there are positive and negative aspects to both I appreciated something “New” for Little G while traveling. A four year old’s attitude can quickly change if they know their meal comes with a special kid’s dessert at the end!
Our HOTEL lunch
We arrived at our hotel pretty late for lunch. We thought it was best for everyone to get something to eat before we headed out for the afternoon. I was extremely surprised at our hotel lunch and was not expecting anything remotely close to our exquisitely prepared delicious meal. L to R: Smoked Salmon Avocado Tomato Salad, Bacalao (cod fish) with Serrano Peppers and and a creamy pepper sauce. Delish!
Tapa Tapa
We ate at Tapa Tapa after visiting Casa Batllò. It was across the street and offered something for everyone. The also had a very nice selection on kid’s menu complete with a real fruit Popsicle.
We could not leave Barcelona without having Paella, by order of the Preggo! Little G’s “Adventure bite” had TENTACLES! She loved it and quickly asked for more. She continues to surprise me with the range of food she eats and the very few things she initially declines to taste.
Our Night Time Adventure
We had a special surprise for Little G. After dinner Saturday night we went for a walk near the Font Magica de Montjuic was the highlight of the trip for Little G. She loved it so much we watched it twice! It is located near the MNAC museum at a short walk from the Espanya metro station. To get to the fountain after you exit the metro there is a street lined with brightly lit fountains.
