Barcelona

Fuengirola, Malaga was a great home base for visiting Andalucía (Southern Spain).  We were less than a two hour drive from all major cities and attractions and Malaga itself is a beautiful city with plenty of history, culture, beaches and food to experience.  This is a pic of the Moorish Castle built just above the Roman amphitheatre that is within a few blocks of Malaga’s University and some of the best walking / people watching streets we have seen.  We had a great time in the Villa and highly recommend this area of Spain for some R&R.

We decided to fly from Malaga to Barcelona instead of driving for 10 hours.   Flights within Europe are cheap if; you time it correctly; are willing to fly on the very late or early flights; deal with some unsavoury smells, and; choose the standing room tickets (just kidding, Mom).  We watched the Spanish Air website and picked up five tickets to Barcelona for 15 euro each which came to a total of $225 after taxes (taxes aren’t quite as high as Air Canada) – not a tough decision vs. a 10 hour drive.  The boys have been handling the drives reasonably well but 3 to 4 hours seems to be the breaking point with these small European back seats and growing boys.  Their elbows start creeping east and west as the rolling sunflower fields turn to boredom and thoughts of wrestling.  We returned our rental car at the airport and started our first of many MacInnis Uno Family Championships.  Aidan won the first 3 hands and seemed to have a lock on the first victory but was handed a pick four card just before Devin won the fourth game and Aidan went from first to last.  I think Devin won the first championship.   We discovered on our flight to Madrid that Devin gets motion sickness just like his mom.  I sat beside him with the barf bag ready, just in case but we were ok.  Travellers tip – this is also a great way to get a couple of empty seats beside you….just break out the barf bag when you take your seat and watch the area clear. We were scheduled to arrive in Barcelona at 11:30pm - we arrived at midnight. 

Two cabs and 30 minutes later we arrived at our casa in Barcelona with a set of accurate but challenging instructions to find the keys to the gate and then to the house. It reminded us of a clue in the show Amazing Race but everything seems like a chore at midnight! Luckily, Calvin bought a high powered flashlight that our neighbour, Darryl, recommended so we flicked on the prison watchtower beam and searched for the keys.  I was a little worried that a neighbour would call the police or send a guard dog our way but it was pretty uneventful and after 10 minutes we found the keys. The house is beautiful and we feel very lucky to spend our week here rather than in a hotel. We fell into bed with a thump. The next morning, the early birds of our family, Aidan and Calvin ventured out to get the lay of the land and came home with savoury and sweet freshly baked croissants and a couple of café con leche (coffee with milk). It was after noon before we got our act together and went in search of food and metro.  

 

The metro system here is inexpensive, clean and easy to use.  Our Barcelona casa is located about 10 minutes from one of the stops.  The area is full of shops, parks and a few Palaces and churches (yes, Palaces and churches in Europe) and we walked quite a bit that first day and decided to get some food and crash.  We found a large grocery store within 15 minutes and picked up supplies for the week.  Calvin carried most in his backpack and in two large bags – a great workout when you have to walk 2 km with 23 kilos of wine.  

 The next morning we managed to get a 70 ride metro pass for less than 50 euro.  With over 6 million Barcelonans, they need efficient transportation.  We read all the websites warning us of subway pic pockets and we did see a team of three pic pockets try to snatch a purse that seemed built for stealing = two small clasps connected it to a thin chain around her shoulder.  Luckily they failed but it was interesting to see them at work – well planned moves but a bit weak on execution.  There were many security guards and police with large dogs roaming the metro cars and subway stations – we never felt unsafe or had any problems – it helps when most families  go out for dinner at 10:30pm and return to home at 1:00am. 

We made our way downtown and decided to head to La Boqueria Market which is an amazing food market said to be the biggest in Europe (I have my doubts) – probably a man oversized it. The first stalls you see are fresh fruit and freshly squeezed juice, which on a hot day is a welcome sight. We all picked our favourite combinations of juice and sipped our way through the market. After sampling a couple of different olive selections we bought some with garlic and tomatoes and some in a spicy sauce. We also bought figs, bread and a selection of nuts. Aidan and Devin were surprised how much hazelnuts taste like Nutella…go figure. Nutella is a staple here but peanut butter is a rare sight. We bought our lunch and ate while we stood and people watched. We do that a lot. After a considerable amount of walking we hopped back on the Metro and headed back “home” for a movie and popcorn and bed.

The next couple of days were spent relaxing indoors playing ping pong, uno, charades and poker. Devin is now a pretty good poker player. He’s still working on when to fold but heck that’s something we all need to work on.