Barcelona via Tour Bus

 A fellow Chiari friend suggested taking in the sights of Barcelona from atop a Double Decker tour bus. Being a hop on, hop off bus with many sightseeing stops we opted to stay on the entire time for Mandy's sake- only getting off halfway through the tour to eat lunch. It was a little cold and stormy the second half of the tour but we so enjoyed all of the picturesque sights from the top story of the bus  ♡

Our favorite sights were Montjuïc Mountain where many of the 1992 Olympic events were held, La Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudí's renowned unfinished basillica, (which was started in the 1880s) and Port Vell where we got our first glimpse of the Mediterranean Sea. The Nuria Restaurant in the Catalunya Plaza was absolutely incredible as well.

The Catalunya Square was magnificent

Arc de Triomf

Heading up Mt Montjuic

This mild climate offers ideal growing conditions for these non native varieties of  cactcti sent as gifts to Barcelona from all over the world 

Olympic Stadium 

The disk in front atop the pillar is where the Olympic torch was lit in 1992 Olympic opening ceremony by a lone archer with a fire arrow

Lunch Stop

Nuria Restaurant, estblished in the late 20's. Such a lovely place, would highly recommend!

Ash and I had a local dish, the paella chicken and Mandy & Grant had pepperoni pizza ♡ Both were to die for delicious!

Cafe con leche

We checked with Mandy to see if she wanted to continue with the tour.. and although she was a little sore, the short walk from the bus & having a bite to eat had given her a break from the sightseeing so she insisted she wanted to finish it out! We figured once she had enough we could disembark and grab a taxi back to the hotel any time.. but she ended up wanting to see the entire tour! ♡

Back on the bus!

We had brought a seat cushion as well as a small back pillow for her which made all the difference! 

 La Sagrada Familia! 

We hope to return later in the week

After a very long day for Ms Mandy we grabbed a taxi and headed back to the hotel ♡ (she went on to lift 1 lb weights and walk at the gym later that evening! She's determined to get stronger!