Spain continued

Kevin's conference was over! Hooray! We first had to go about checking out of our hotel and making our way to our new hotel. It was only a few blocks away but it was fun changing up locations and made it feel different from the conference part of the week. We did have to check out the pool area one last time (Kevin hadn't been up there all week)

The Picasso museum was on the same route as the El Born walk I had been on earlier in the week. One of the markets on the way was open this day though so we were able to walk inside. The market was built on an old monastery and there was one area where you could see the ruins. 

While waiting for our tour to begin at the Picasso museum we grabbed some lunch at a nearby restaurant. You are not allowed to take pictures in the museum so we have none from that tour. It was a cool tour but Jane had a rough time. I tried nursing her, baby wearing her, and pushing her in the stroller but it was a struggle. It made me glad that I hadn't tried to go on a bunch of tours earlier in the week by myself. 

The museum was really cool though. It had artwork from his as a boy and went through his journey as he studied certain techniques and moved to different areas of Spain to study. It didn't have some of his most famous works since they are in museums elsewhere but they had so much to share and did a great job telling a story of his life. 

Snuggles with my girl

Once the tour was over we walk a short distance so Kevin could see the Church of Santa Maria del Mar. I hadn't taken a good exterior photo of the church so I was glad we stopped by. 

Jane finally fell asleep and we made a pit stop for gelato.

On the way back to the hotel we made another stop at the Catedral de Barcelona since it was on the way back to our hotel. I wanted Kevin to have a chance to go inside since it was closed previously. We also went ahead and took the elevator to the rooftop to look around. 

Family photo from the rooftop.

Such a gorgeous view of the city from up there. 

View of Palau Nacional on Montjuic

All they had up there was this little walkway and poor Jane just wanted to walk around. Unfortunately there was not space and it was far from safe for her. We took this picture right before she began crying dramatically. I'm pretty sure she was just over the day.

After a nice nap we went down to lobby for a quick drink before going to grab dinner. This drink is called "Tinto de Verona" and is a popular summer drink in Spain. It is red wine and sprite and was similar to Sangria. Very refreshing. 

We were staying so close to the Water Tower Garden that I had to show Kevin.

It was so wonderful getting to spend the entire day together. I was definitely happy the conference was over!

Palau Nacional and MNAC

This particular day was the last day of the conference for Kevin. There was a Gala that night and Kevin needed to go to it so I knew it was going to be just me and Jane for the day. The party that evening was at MNAC (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya) which is housed in the Palau Nacional. I was wanting to go there anyway so I thought that should be our outing for the day. We actually were able to escort Kevin to the conference that day since it was basically right next to it. 

View of Palau Nacional

We had a little time to kill before the museum opened so we took our time wandering around checking out the exterior and enjoying the views. 

Such a beautiful morning.

It was fun being able to see La Sagrada Familia from another perspective. 

The Palau Nacional was the main site for the 1929 World Exposition. It is on the hill of Montjuic which we visited again later in our trip. 

Jane enjoyed walking along the steps and getting out of the stroller and carrier for awhile. The only way up from where we were coming was via escalator. I strapped her in the ergo and it was kind of hot so she wasn't enjoying it that much. 

View of the 1929 World Expo Fairgrounds from the front of Palau Nacional.

Jane checking out the fairgrounds as well.

The museum finally opened so we made our way inside. Once again, not a very stroller friendly place. Unless I wanted to take the wheel chair lifts I was stuck carrying the stroller up stairs. Not as bad as in the subway but I could have done without. 

Great Hall

This area is the Great Hall. This is actually the location where the live band was playing at the party hosted by the conference later that evening. Jane and I watched the stage being set up while enjoying a snack in the cafe. 

One gorgeous ceiling view. 

 It was beautiful and I enjoyed wandering through the exhibits but I don't know a lot about art so I became a little jealous of Jane when she took a nap in the stroller. 

A painting by Picasso 

I thought this stained glass was incredible. 

Later on Jane and I took an elevator to the terrace for a view of the other side of the hill. 

From the terrace. 

By this time we were both pretty tired so I thought it was time to start making the trip back to our hotel. Once again there were escalators down so in the baby carrier Jane went. 

Less then impressed with the waterfall. 

A view of the Palace from the fairgrounds. 

We had a pretty relaxed evening and I believe that night I just grabbed sandwiches from a deli to eat back in our hotel. It wasn't always easy to find restaurants with highchairs and trying to eat with a mobile baby in your lap is not relaxing. Jane had much more fun walking around freely in our hotel room and stopping for a bite every now and then. It was a fun day but I was glad in was our last day without Kevin around. 

Another day in Barcelona!

The next day Jane and I had another walk planned in the Eixample district. This district is newer part of the city and is the same district that we were staying in. 

A passage through some housing area. 

A little cut through of a nearby residential area brought us to this awesome Water Tower Garden. I guess later in the summer it turns into a sort of temporary beach and a lot of families in the neighborhood hang out here a lot. 

Next stop on our walk took us to the Church of the Holy Conception. Unfortunately it was closed and we weren't able to go inside. It used to be in Old City but was moved once Barcelona began to expand. 

There were a few other sights along the way and while fun to walk by the pictures aren't that cool so we're skipping ahead to the Block of Discord.

This block features three buildings by three Modernista architects including Gaudi. 

Casa Batllo (Antoni Gaudi)

You can take tours of the buildings but unless you reserved ahead of time there are typically long lines. It's easy to reserve but since it was just me with Jane I didn't know how easy it would be to make a specific time and she probably wouldn't have lasted long. Plus we had the stroller and a lot of Barcelona I found to not be stroller friendly. 

Casa Batllo

It would have been really cool to go inside but it was still fun looking at the details and differences in style between each building. 

Casa Amatller (Josep Puig i Cadafaich)

Casa Amatller

Casa Lleo Morera (Lluis Domenech i Montaner)

Not far from the Block of Discord was another beautiful building, La Pedrera (a.k.a. Casa Mila) done by Gaudi. It was actually his last major work before he became focused on Sagrada Familia. 

You can take a tour of this house's interior and go to the rooftop but opted out that afternoon.  I wanted to go and we thought about going later in the week but it didn't end up happening. 

I did get to go into the atrium for a bit though and peek up. Just looking at the exterior is pretty awesome though. After I lost Jane's hat and we spent some time back tracking in hopes of finding it we finally went back to our hotel to cool off, eat, and nap. 

That evening Kevin had originally planned to head out on another excursion with conference folks to a winery. Based on how late we kept Jane out on the Sagrada Familia tour the night before I decided to skip that event. Kevin surprised me though and decided to skip that evening. We were pretty excited to have him around that evening and decided it would be a good night to go and do laundry. The laundromat was a little ways away so we managed to do a little sight seeing on our walk there. 

Sant Pere de les Puelles

Came across this cook Benedictine monastery and decided to take a quick peek. 

I loved seeing all the Romanesque and Gothic styles throughout the city. 

We made it to the laundromat and Jane had fun walking around while we started the loads. While we were waiting we grabbed dinner at a nearby restaurant. Kevin just went over to get our stuff when it was done drying. 

Laundry time!

After dinner we started our walk back. I wanted to show Kevin a few things that I'd seen on my walk so we went back by the Cathedral of Barcelona. 

It was late and the church was closed but Kevin enjoyed looking around. That church is just amazing!

Near the church was the Monument to the Martyrs of Independence. 

It was so fun having Kevin around to share some of the beautiful architecture with. 

Heading back to our hotel we stopped by the Palace of Catalan Music. I'd walked by before during the day but didn't go inside. I thought it was more beautiful at night all lit up. 

This concert hall was built in 1908 and was absolutely beautiful. 

Again, a tour would have allowed us to see more of the interior but we were able to walk in and peek around a little bit around the entrance. 

Such a beautiful building. 

Back at the hotel it was bath night for Jane. Our first hotel, although amazing, had no bathtub so a sink bath it was. 

We then had a pretty chill evening in our room watching a YouTube movie while Jane slept. We'll have to come back to Barcelona someday without kids if we are going to experience any of the nightlife which I hear is pretty fun.