T I B I D A B O: On top of the world

Next on our P L A Y list was Tibidabo Park, and we picked it with this modernista route in mind, thus the tram blau itinerary:
- metro L7 from Plaça Catalunya
- tram blau
- Tibidabo funicular

Piece of cake, if it weren’t for the L7 metro station. First we mistakenly went to Passeig de Gràcia metro station only to realize that Gràcia station is a totally different place. Back to Plaça Catalunya, where we searched for a while for the L7 station since there is no underground connection to it. Look for it at the corner of Rambla with Carrer de Pelai.

After this underground detour everything was only fun with the greatest views, Tibidado is a kids favorite!

Barcelona upside down

Next day’s destination was Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Montjuïc. But we found a very convoluted itinerary to reach it. The Pavilion is right near the Magic Fountain, so we started with the end: the night light show.

Here we have an itinerary ending at Font Magic, with La Boqueria appetit, Las Ramblas entertainment, and a delicious inspiration, a castle playground too:

We started our morning walk on Las Ramblas, with a delicious breakfast at La Montserratina Patisseria. The street shows always add color to an itinerary!

A refreshing stop and more color in La Boqueria, yum ananas-pitahaya juice!

Adventure trip to Castell: we took a bus to Paral·lel metro station, the funicular after that, and we topped it with a telefèric ride for best views.

Montjuïc trek to Fundació Joan Miró: kids are tired, museum crowded, we are all hungry, so we continue to the magic fountains looking for a place to eat too. We enter The Gardens of the Font del Gat, an invigorating surprise! We even find a cats restaurant, but it’s closed for a private party, arrrgh!

A somewhat unplanned stop at the Archaeological Museum, but this is such a lovely and kid-friendly museum that we cannot resist! It has a wealth of books for kids that I’m trying to find now in English.

We finally find a cafe between MNAC and Font Magic, yum! And a missed spot, Caixa Forum / Casa Ramona by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, adding it to the wish list for next trip.

We reach the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion and Font Magic, lights!

Montjuïc is definitely a huge park, a green city inside a city, and our itinerary can be easily split in several days. I definitely want to go back for Poble Espanol, we visited it in our previous trip and my memories make it a nice destination for kids. More beautiful Montjuïc itineraries, to be checked the next trip!

Modernista Playground

First day in the Modernista City we went to check the Barcelona Bus Turístic in Plaça de Catalunya. We found a long line and decided to try the TMB.

Our main destination for the day was the Modernista Playground, Park Güell.
We found a bus route at the Tourist Information in Plaça de Catalunya, but no bus maps. I don’t remember which metro stations they mentioned have these maps, but we’ve managed pretty well with the maps at the bus stations.

On another practical note, we’ve got T-dia or T-10 travelcards, only to realize that the family card would have been better for us. Memento for next time.

Park Güell was a perfect day destination, a modernista playground with an evening music and dance impromptu, and the Casa-Museu a nice overview to Gaudi’s work.

From London to Middle East

Our third and last day in London, still cloudy with rain forecast. To much of my dismay we decided to not take chances up in the air at Kew Gardens, and try a mix of My Fair Lady with Middle Eastern moves.

We started our last day in London at the lovely and lively Covent Garden.

We found here a delightful toy store, Benjamin Pollock’s toyshop, home of toy theatres and traditional toys for both children and adult collectors.

A shortcut through Theatreland brought us to British. I had big plans for this visit, but all the activity backpacks were taken and after just a short visit to Egypt we got caught in the museum activities.

We had a late lunch at Villandry, the kids were excited to paint their own ice cream, but that was just ice cream with different sauces, just a spoon to paint with … isn’t it a brilliant idea to try at home too They had macaroni and cheese and pasta with hidden vegetable sauce. After switching their plates they both ate good, and that made me happy. But not the wait for every little thing, so even the fancy kid menu won’t make this a kid-friendly restaurant for me…

Another bus tour with a stop at Hamleys, final destination Tower of London. That was all, we definitely need more than 3 days in London next time…

It was a beautiful day without rain, but rain will come next day, our flight day to Tel Aviv. So don’t trust the forecast and go out there, London is so beautiful and totally enjoyable with and by the kids too!

A Sunny Day in London, Belgo!

First day in London, a sunny bank holiday Sunday, lucky us!
It was the perfect day after the long flight, and we took full advantage of it. Well, kind of half of it, it was hard to get up early in the morning after a flying day…

And here’s our itinerary:

• From our place in Chelsea we walked to Hyde Park, with a short stop at the Butterfly Jungle
• A nice stroll in Hyde Park past the Royal Albert Hall, Albert Memorial, Round Pond, to Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground

It was lots of fun, a bit of wait but not that scary as it shows in the pics.

• Afternoon tea at the Orangerie

Another long line that went fast, kids found friends and chased pigeons, so all was good. Well, I’m not into tea, so that was … you know, for the kids…

• Another stroll through Kensington Gardens past the Palace brought us to a bus stop
• From here we took the BUS for a quick glimpse of central London, the arch route (Wellington Arch, Marble Arch)
• The bus ride ended on Oxford Street, just a short stroll to our dinner destination
• Belgo! Yum for everyone, and super kid friendly too!

With almost a dozen of mussel dishes, I was instantly hooked. All the other Belgian ingredients mixed in the pot, kids eat free with parents …
no more fish&chips for us in yummy London, yay!

• Another bus ride, bus no 19 brought us back home through the bustling Piccadilly Circus

As expected, first trip day&city, no jetlag for us