Costa Brava, Spain

Well, better late than never - we took this trip about 6 weeks ago!

We went with my parents for a week in Costa Brava, Spain - specifically to a town called Blanes which is about 60 km north of Barcelona. We rented a 3 bedroom flat walking distance from the beach. It was great!

View of one portion of Blanes Beach from a large rock formation

We arrived!! It was VERY hot by our (new) standards and the trains were not air-conditioned

Our arrival- waiting for the coastal train to take us from Barcelona airport to Blanes
 

We enjoyed the main Blanes beach daily - the kids had a blast in the sand and waves. We even tried our kite again, although it was a bit windy and was short lived... The water was super clear and really beautiful.

 

One day we took the bus up a windy road to Pinya de Rosa Gardens. It was not what we expected with desert-y stuff that for the most part wasn't in bloom. However, the views from the bus ride were really great and it was priceless to watch Grampa with a parrot forced on his shoulder for a picture upon arrival at the Gardens. While I don't have a photo of Grampa hating it, I do have a photo of Raegan who thought it was great to have a parrot on her shoulder!

We also took a boat cruise an hour or so down the coast to a town called Tossa de Mar. The boat ride was relaxing and the town is the home of the only surviving walled city on the Catalan Coast. The medieval walled town was truly amazing, with fantastic views of the coast and the town below. We had lunch at a café and spent some time at the beach there as well.

 

 

We also took the coastal train into Barcelona for the day. The weather was touch and go but we still enjoyed it. The cathedrals were absolutely amazing.

Our arrival at Las Ramblas - we quickly had to buy rain ponchos!

The Barcelona Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter.

The Sagrada Familia - pictures certainly do not do this place justice - it was SO amazing!

The Market was great too - it was huge!

And through the whole trip we of course made time for excellent food - tapas, paella, etc - and sangria daily! The kids have a new word in their vocabulary - booze fruit - yep, you guessed it - they like to eat the fruit from the sangria pitcher - I'm sure we will win Parents of the Year!

Wyatt even got his hair cut in Spain!

And finally, a few photos from our flat...we had to walk 5-10 min down a pretty steep hill to get to the beach. It was good exercise!

We had a fantastic time with Gramma and Grampa and we are so happy they came to visit us in Copenhagen and then joined us on a fun vacation to Spain.