BARCELONA - 5 DAYS IN AUGUST

5 Days to visit Barcelona may be, according to some, too many, but for us who enjoyed it both by strolling and resting in its parks (parc de la Ciutadella or Montjuic) or on the beach of Barceloneta, they were just right. With the 5-day ticket valid on tram/bus and metro at 24 € instead of double the tourist travelcard, we roamed zone 1 of Barcelona as we pleased. We took all the means the city makes available: bus, tram, metro, the funicular for Tibidabo, the funicular for Montjuic, the cable car and the tram blau (the last two not included in the pass) and we were thus able to admire the city from above. The fact that we were in August, the sun, the heat, the endless queues of tourists and the protests of our thirteen-year-old children, made us choose to postpone to a future trip the visit to the museums (Picasso, Dalì, Mirò...) and unfortunately also the Pedrera.

Instead we visited that jewel of Casa Batllò, liked also by the kids and which I highly recommend. The audioguide included in the ticket price is clear and thorough and the lights, colors and shapes of the house lead you to take photos from every angle, to capture the feelings experienced. The Gaudí day continued with the visit to Park Guell. Bus n° 24 takes you right to the upper entrance from which, descending, you reach the square, the colonnade and the sculptures designed by Gaudí. Another queue we couldn't avoid was to enter the Sagrada Família. Once inside you can't give up going up the spires with the elevators (here too a queue!!) and then descending among labyrinths of stairs and tunnels, leaning out at the various openings that allow the view of Barcelona from above, but also to see up close the various sculptures placed on the spires alongside.

We wandered through the Barrio Gotico and the Ramblas and enjoyed the fruit delights offered by the Boqueria Market in a triumph of colors and scents. We didn't even miss the deserved daily rest at the table of one of the many bars in the city to drink our "daily jug" of sangria. On Saturday evening after trying almost the entire tapas menu at Mexcal, we reached Plaça d'Espanya to attend the light and sound show of the fountains (the shows in summer run from Thursday to Sunday). The following day we retraced, from Plaça d'Espanya, the Avinguda Reina Maria Cristina to climb up to the Palacio Nacional and then into the park of Montjuic, through the gardens and the Roman theater, up to the Miró foundation. From there we took the funicular and then the cable car to reach the castle of Montjuic.

The return had as its destination the Rambla del Mar and consequently a round of shopping and lunch, at the Maremagnum center. The walk continued along the whole seafront up to the beach of Barceloneta, where we granted ourselves, together with thousands of other people, a deserved rest. In the evening, following the advice of many tourists, we dined at "Rei de la Gamba". The portions are stratospheric....in our fried dish there was so much stuff that in the end "the prawns won", because despite our hunger, we couldn't finish them! We were incredulous so another evening we went back and tried the grill...but in the end the prawns won again. Compliments to Rei de la Gamba! With a 13-year-old son who plays soccer, an obligatory destination was the Camp Nou of Barça.

It's incredible how they managed to make it one of the most visited attractions of the city, but indeed the visit, besides being rich and varied (locker rooms, press stands, commentators' positions, museum, trophies, interactive videos, etc...) is also exciting. Nice was the ride on the tram blau up to the funicular that then took us to the top of the Tibidabo hill (535 mt) where there is also an amusement park for children. Even higher, at the top of a staircase, is the church of the Sagrat Cor topped by a monumental statue of Christ. The last rounds we kept for the Arc de Triomf, the Parc de la Ciutadella and the Born district. What can I say....go there! Bye Ilaria