Just got back last night. Had a great time. Tom loved the swimming pool and it was hard to get him out each day.

We were staying in Santa Susanna, which is about 60km up the coast from Barcelona, and took about an hour on the R1 train line to get into Barcelona, so not bad. Also fairly cheap at €10 return.

In the city we visited the Gaudi house. I've never been a big fan of his artistic style, but it was a very interesting building. They also use augmented reality which is pretty cool. You are given a smartphone and headphones for the commentry as you walk around the house, and if you point the smartphone camera around each room you can see how it would have looked, augmenting the live image with the furniture and floorings that would have been there, plus animated things like the fireplaces lighting up or light rays coming through windows, or windows animating open. Nice bonus Tom enjoyed.

We also visited the Picasso gallery/museum which I've wanted to visit for quite a long time as I studied his work at Art school. Well worth the visit as I knew a lot of his works on display, so great to see them for real.

We also went to Ramblas, Placa de Catalonia, and walked around the Gothic Quarter. Some nice architecture. Also we to the gothic Barcelona Cathedral.

We had wanted to visit the Gaudi Cathedral (Sagrada Familia) but couldn't get tickets on any days we wanted to visit, which was a annoying.

The only thing that annoyed me in the city were the gypsies. I knew about them and the society issues they are still facing, but they are begging everywhere, or trying to sell you things like packets of tissues, flowers or balloon animals. And they don't leave you alone. They kept handing Tom balloons then demanding €1 for them. It's also known as one of the worst cities in the world for pickpockets and petty theft. Something we were aware of.

Other than Barcelona, we also travelled further up the coast to Blanes, a really nice small coastal town, and visited the botanical gardens there which were really nice.

I will post some pictures when I get chance.