Barcelona

Well, finally we arrived in Barcelona by  a train from Carcassonne. It is the Barcelona-Port- Bou. A very pleasant trip through France countryside.

We rented a flat on the site: clickbed. Otherwise, check the website: www.apartments-parcguell.com.  It is a cosy well-furnished flat near Parc Guell, one of the must-see- points of Barcelona. It has all facilities, even wireless internet connection. A very kind person from the estate agent staff waits for you to help and answer all your questions.

The place is quite well linked to the city centre: you are just three tube stations from Passeig de Gràcia. There is very good supermarket near the flat (open from 9am to 9pm)

Wonderful solution if you are travelling with children.

Key tip:

Buy a Tube Travel Card.

Carcassonne

The medieval walled city of Carcassonne lies on the bank of the River Aude.  We arrived their after a 70-km train journey from Perpignan. Cloudy weather and quite chilly temperature for an amazing trip day. We walked from the train station till the historical site which is some kms from the centre.

The very fist time you passe though the main gate of the walled city is really exciting: it seems you are going back in time.

Key tips:

Stroll along the charmed streets packed with cosy cafés and stores,

Treat yourself  at La Cure Gourmande: it’s a candy store in an old-fashioned style. They have chocololate yummies like the chocolate olives. Check their website: La Cure Gourmande

Stop for a coffee at La Taverne de Chateau,

Have lunch at the restaurant Restaurant Chez Saskia. Check their website: Chez Saskia.

Heading for Barcelona: brief stop at Perpignan and Carcassone

After reading the novel Labyrinth by Kate Mosse, I was extremely interested at visiting Perpignan and Carcassone in the Southern France. Perpignan is an hour and half from Spain. We decided to stay there a night long because we really wanted to visit the medieval city of Carcassone.  We stayed two nights at Balladin’s Hotels. Eighty-five euros for a ensuite per night without breakfast (most of budget hotels in Europes have not been offering free breakfast), the hotel is situated in front of  Perpignan train station ( which is handy!).  You will find yummy caffés at the same road in which you can taste the delicious French pastries.

Heading for Barcelona

Christmas time and time for holidays. This time we are leaving for Barcelona.

Flight: we found a cheap flight to Barcelona on www.ryanair.com. Actually, our flight arrives at Girona. Then we take a couch to Perpignan in the French Alpes. We stay there three nights ; after that, we go to Barcelona.

Accomodation: initially, we wanted to stay in a hostel (some European  hostels have very good family bedrooms and also offer excellent breakfast buffets). But prices were really high; in addition, our young boy pays. In short, the costs were high.  A friend who went to Barcelona last summer suggested me to search  a flat and send us the link of a good accommodation search website called  Clickbed.

Learn about our luggage.