Andrew really could have ridden on his own, but he is a big fan of the tag-along trailer. As I ve sa

We ve checked another item off our to do list we ve now cycled through all four locations of Fat Tire Bike Tours. (Check hotels london cheap out our adventures hotels london cheap in Berlin , Paris and London !) Here s my completely unsolicited plug: a Fat Tire tour is a great way to see a lot of any city. The guides are knowledgeable (and funny!) They are very accommodating to families with kiddos. Riding a bike is more fun than taking a bus, without the sore feet and blisters of walking.
We started the tour at the Plaza Sant Jaume, the seat of the city government. The first important fact we learned is that Barcelona is not Spanish, it is Catalan. The language is also Catalan, not Spanish. The flags above are (from the left), the flag of Catalunya, the flag of the nation of Spain, and the flag of the city of Barcelona (obviously the wind was not cooperating for that one.)
The Cathedral was not too different from lots of other Gothic-style cathedrals we ve seen, though it was actually built in the 19th century so it is actually neo-Gothic (though not as  neo as the other Cathedral we ll see later in the tour.)
Andrew really could have ridden on his own, but he is a big fan of the tag-along trailer. As I ve said before, it is much easier to keep tabs on him when he s attached to Jeremy. Plus, he had a basket in the back so we could throw our stuff in there.
This is another example of Modernista architecture the Catalan Concert hotels london cheap Hall. The exterior was amazingly hotels london cheap beautiful, so I can only imagine how lovely the interior is. Next time I will either take a tour or go to a concert so I can see the whole thing.
Our guide (whose name completely escapes me, but if I had to guess I d say Bill) told us an interesting hotels london cheap story about the arc(h). It was built for the 1888 World Exposition, and there was a design competition. A French fellow submitted hotels london cheap a design, but it was not chosen as the winner. No problem, the designer submitted the design again for 1889 World s Fair and this time it was selected as the winner. And that, supposedly, is how Paris got the Eiffel Tower and Barcelona did not. Think of the impact on the world of souvenir vendors had Barcelona chosen Gustav Eiffel s design.
I m always thankful when I can find someone to take a family picture it just proves that I actually went on the vacation also. Here we are at Parc de la Ciutadella. This fountain is beautiful, but sorry kids, no swimming allowed. After this we cycled past the zoo, prompting cries of PLEASE? Can we go to the zoo? Please?
Look, it s the beach! Thanks to the 1992 Olympics, this area was revitalized into a sandy place where people can sunbathe and play in the water. In the distance is the  W Hotel, hotels london cheap designed to look like the spinnaker of a sailboat. I can see the resemblance.