Bethany In The Big City : Barcelona

Our final day in Barcelona came far to quickly, just as I was getting into the holiday mood I was waking up for the final day. After a few too many sangria's the night before we decided that a walk was the best way to clear our heads and a good way to see Barcelona city from above. We started at the Royal Palace which was incredibly impressive as we walked up the steps admiring the many levels of fountains on the way. We enjoyed the cool shade of the surrounding trees and used this moment to soak up the views of the city below, quite an incredible sight to behold. I find that looking down upon a city gives such a good sense of perspective, and especially in Barca when you have fantastic sea views added onto the city-scape.

After climbing all the way to the top we arrived at the old Olympic park. When I say old, it was nothing compared to the old arenas that I have seen in Athens but nevertheless, after spending an exciting summer at London 2012 I was surprisingly excited to see the park. We were again treated to incredible views and some pretty gardens to have a picnic.

We then walked to the castle that over looks the bay; we might have got a little lost. Maybe a couple of hours, in boiling heat, with no water, suncream or shade lost. When we finally saw the castle peaking over the hill, it was like a mirage, a sight for weary traveller eyes! I was very pleased to see that this castle was a proper castle, with a moat, a drawbridge and a couple of canons. By this point, however, my mind had fully turned towards ice cream, which was waiting for us at the top of the hill. Delicious. In fact I was so pre-occupied that I forgot to take any photos for a good few hours.

Before I knew it we were at the bottom of the mountain, having declined the idea of taking the bubble lift, we decided to walk. Still undecided about whether this was a good idea or not. We had time for a last few plates of tapas and a quick sunset swim before we packed our bags and heading back off to Paris.