Barcelona with my cousins

In my previous post, I told how I had made contact with my cousin Kevin in England, and about their trip to Ohio to visit me.  Last summer (2012) I traveled to Europe to visit my Swiss cousins (that's a story for another post).  Kevin suggested that we meet in Barcelona, Spain.  They had never been there, and wanted to visit.  I had been there before, and was more than happy to be their tour guide and interpreter.  So after a couple weeks in Switzerland, I flew to Barcelona, and we spent several days there together.  Kevin, his wife Sue, and their sons were very impressed with Barcelona, and we had a great time.  Here are some pictures from that trip...

 

Kevin, Sue, and their sons Scott and Charlie on the "hop-on hop-off" tour bus in Barcelona.

 

 

We stayed in an apartment just a short walk from the "Ramblas", a beautiful tree-lined boulevard.  A pedestrian walkway extends the entire length of the boulevard.

 

 

The "Ramblas" extends from the waterfront inland to the Plaza de Cataluña.

 

 

Barcelona is renowned for its architecture.  In the late 1800s and early 1900s, a number a architects graced the city with countless buildings in a style that they referred to as "modernism".  The most famous of the architects was the brilliant and eccentric Antonio Gaudí.  One of his famous creations is this apartment building in the fashionable Eixample neighborhood.

 

 

In the heart of the medieval Gothic Quarter is the city's cathedral.

 

 

The Gothic Quarter is a labyrinth of narrow streets.

 

 

My cousins on the Plaza Real

 

 

 

 

We took the aerial cable car which runs from the waterfront up the top of Montjuich Mountain.  It offers fantastic views of the city.

 

 

 

 

From the cable car you can see the tree-lined "Ramblas".

 

 

 

 

Kevin and me at the top of Montjuich

 

 

 

 

From the mountain, you can see the towers of Gaudí's most famous building, the still uncompleted Church of the Holy Family.

 

 

 

 

My cousins in front of the beautiful fountain in the Ciudadela Park

 

 

 

 

The Columbus Monument at night

 

 

 

In the three days that we were there we could only scratch the surface of the many things to see in this fascinating city.