Barcelona With Kids
/Our holiday didn't have the best start (someone broke into our house the morning we flew out, ack!) but we felt our troubles and worries melt away (almost literally) when we felt the heat of the late Catalan sun when we stepped out at Barcelona Airport. After abandoning our idea of getting the airport bus, we bundled ourselves into a taxi and sped down the motorway. The light faded, night came and so the city came to life once more.
Hotel Praktik Rambla, located on Avenue Rambla, is perfectly located in the heart of the city. The area, whilst central, still snoozes in the afternoon and proved to be a little haven from the heat. The girls would nap and me and Chris would read or play card games in our cool cocoon room. The hotel has lovely communal areas; a library and sun room which lead out onto a cool shaded terrace, which always seemed to welcome the most wonderful, dramatic breeze!
We stayed in a room at the back of the hotel the first night and then we asked to move if possible to a room with a different bed configuration, (being awkward as always! But they did it gladly and even upgraded us (note: they showed us the newer rooms on the 3rd floor at the back of the hotel, but they lacked in the stunning historical details that the other rooms had). We moved to the front of the hotel in a room overlooking the street below and down towards Mount Juic. The little balconies were just perfect! Every morning, we grabbed some fresh croissants and coffee, then headed back to the room to enjoy them on our balcony!
I think it's always really sweet that Zora calls our hotel rooms/apartments home wherever we go on holiday. I think it's important that they feel home like, however temporary it might be, somewhere to rest well after hot days spent stomping the streets
Barcelona at the height of summer with kids might not be everyone's first choice BUT we had our friends from the States visiting there so we had to go. And you know, I am so glad we did!!! It was hot, hectic but oh so fun too.
One of the best things about Barcelona is that it is child friendly; locals love kids, which makes everything all the easier! Not only that, its easy to travel around with taxis, metro and buses linking everything (or you could walk!) The food is delicious and there are little parks everywhere for them to play in (including a couple of little water parks) not to mention the cute little beaches.
Festa Mejor de Gracia was on when we went in August, which was just spectacular. Little streets around Gracia are transformed into pages from books or scenes from movies. It was the last day we managed to catch but it meant we got to witness some epic human tower building in a competition. The best part was seeing the teams prepare by tightly winding each other in long pieces of cloth, around their middle. We met our friends in a bustling square, grabbed some cold drinks, danced and clapped and oohed and ahhed at the spectacle before us!
The girls sat atop our shoulders, all of us sweating buckets, despite the sun setting. Another great thing about holidaying in Europe, as a general rule anyway, is that their dinner times are usually much later than ours. So seeing children around and about in restaurants, well past normal bedtimes, is so lovely. The girls were doted on wherever we went, everyone was so obliging and accommodating with adding cushions to chairs and helping us out with entertaining them (not to mention how awesome our friends were in helping too!)
Anywho...we grabbed pizza slices or other morsels of tasty food from late night food bars (is the best way I can describe them, as they weren't fast food as we know it!) the girls wrapped on our backs or fronts. It was late but still hot, lots more to see. The girls were tired but we had our trusty Woven Wings wraps with us! Seriously couldn't have survived without them! It meant they could have their bedtime and we could party on with our friends. Otherwise a lightweight pushchair, like our newly acquired Greentom one, would be ideal for Barcelona!
It was about 11pm when we got to a restaurant to have sit down tapas dinner at Wolf ; everything was delicious, particularly the ceviche! Then we hopped into a taxi and back to the cool and quiet of our hotel room.
The beach we chose was one much quieter than Barceloneta (though depending on when you go, it may be quiet!) Nova Icaria close to the trendy, industrial and rather hip area of Pobleneu. The sea was a little rough for the girls but they enjoyed playing in the sand by the loungers we rented (would definitely recommend doing this as carrying parasols etc would be a right faff!). The beach bar/cafe was basic and nothing to shout about but handy nonetheless.
I would highly recommend staying away from ALL mega tourist attractions including Sagrada Familia and Las Ramblas in the heat of the summer with kiddos. Queues are impossibly long and there are just SO many people that it can be really overwhelming for them and you.
We much preferred the quieter areas of...... hidden behind the BACC was a sweet little vegetarian restaurant Biocentre. The food was light, refreshing and healthy; exactly what you need in the heat. I realise now I have mentioned the heat a lot but it was really hot! So keeping hydrated, especially for the littles, is so important. We carried our Klean Kanteen flasks for the girls everywhere, to make sure they had water often.
So yes, we loved it around Ravel and Gracia.
I think if you aren't the hotel type and would prefer to cook some meals for yourself, book well in advance to bag the best Airbnb apartments! We missed out as we booked quite late, but loved our hotel which was so so affordable too! Gracia or Pobleneu would be great areas to stay in, the latter being close to the beach and the prior being very family friendly.
On our last night, we ate at a little Italian place recommend by a lovely friend on Instagram, called Cucina Mandarosso. Not air conditioned and absolutely tiny, I was wary at first, but the girls were hungry and Chris was keen on just going somewhere!! So we squished around a little table and whilst we did sweat a lot!! ha! We also had some AMAZING food!! The girls were so well looked after and they adored their little pet fish. The chef was besotted with them and came to say hello and goodbye! heart melt! bellies full! it was the perfect end to our holiday!
We escaped into the street afterwards and hailed a taxi back to the hotel.
As an aside or extension to your holiday: We didn't do this, though I so wish we could have, but our friends continued up the coast to Costa Brava and Cadaques. It just looked stunning! And quiet too, especially compared to the hustle and bustle of Barcelona. We looked at this gorgeous hotel which is on that coast but there were also lots of airbnb apartments around too.
