On Sunday, we enjoyed a great breakfast at the Paris airport Holiday Inn and then headed to the airport for the staged exit. Our group of 6 left about noon and had an uneventful flight. Stephanie and another mom, Jazmine, were responsible for looking after Sophie, Isabel, Brook, Hannah, and Darren for the day. After picking up our bags, an Explorica tour guide was waiting to accompany us to the hotel by taxi. She coordinated checking us in and then guided us to take the train into downtown.
Barcelona looks a bit like the hill county: dry with scrubby trees and limestone hills. The mountains are really rugged and beautiful. The heavy industry in the area makes it clear that this is a place of work. Smaller trees were all in bloom and the weather was just right.
We met our primary tour guide, Gonzalo, in front of the Hard Rock Cafe. Then we had an hour and a half to explore the bustling Los Rambles area. It’s a primary tourist walking zone and was absolutely packed with people. We stopped to let the kids buy souvenirs and we each got Barcelona sweatshirts since we left jackets in the hotel and the temperature was already dropping for the night. We were uncertain if we had enough time to go to the waterfront, so we made the shorter walk in front of the cathedral. The huge Samsung add on top was an unusual religious adornment. Walking past the stalls in front put history in perspective as people have probably been trading here for hundreds of years. Street performers provided entertainment as we met up with the larger group. There are two other small schools tours traveling with us now. About forty people total.
We made a short walk to a buffet restaurant that was the absolutely perfect thing for such a large group. Salad bar, soup, pizza, pasta, chicken, desserts. Something for everyone and quick to serve. The last two people to leave Paris, Coach and Helena, joined us there. The Treetops group was finally all together!
When we first met Gonzalo, I asked him if we could see the famous La Sagrata Familia unfinished cathedral designed by Gaudí. I knew the group that arrived on time saw it earlier in the day and it was a big priority for Sophie. Unfortunately, it’s in a different party of the city but Gonzalo was kind enough to take us there after dinner. It required a couple of subway transfers on very crowded trains. So nice to have a guide!
We emerged from the subway to an absolutely huge cathedral. Europe is conserving energy due to the war in Ukraine, so the lights weren’t on. You could still see it pretty well and there were no crowds. It was actually a great time to go. This cathedral has been under construction for the last hundred years and it was interesting to see a more modern take on a medieval building type.
We got back to the hotel close to midnight.
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