Skip to main content

Costa Brava (Pineda de Mar)

We headed to Costa Brava (coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain) for several days (8/20 - 8/25) to get out of the city and near the beach.  Specifically we stayed in Pineda de Mar which is not too far from Barcelona but not overly touristy.

More Costa Brava / Pineda de Mar photos here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/AEWDN9AG7wR5BJPu5

We alternated between the beach, the pool at the Airbnb and various restaurants for long meals and fruity drinks.  Similar to Barcelona, we ate a lot of tapas and drank a lot of Sangria.  There are very relaxing and beautiful sandy beaches with clear, warm water.  The beaches are also definitely clothing optional so Sam learned much about women's anatomy from the beaches of Spain (one less parenting task for me!). 

There was also a random nightly carnival occurring just down the street from us which gave us something to motivate Sam with.  He did enjoy several rounds of bumper cars.  

The down side continued to be the heat and humidity and a surprise jellyfish infestation which we were happily oblivious to for much of the trip and likely swimming among them.  I am certain that a jellyfish sting would be cause for a meltdown of epic proportions (for me, Sam or Ryan). 

Sam lost another tooth!  We were able to confirm that the tooth fairy in Europe leave euros even for American kids. 😁

Back to Barcelona for a night before we head to Italy.










Location: 08397 Pineda de Mar, Barcelona, Spain

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Morocco

For Sam's February school break we went to Morocco.  We were looking for warmth and also ready to explore beyond Europe. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency (amazing resort) in Taghazout, a small fishing village that is south of Marrakesh and north of Agadir.  More Morocco photos here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/eATCUb6Cc4rRoyLYA February 17:  As per usual we opted for a flight that was not ideal so we could save money.  It was a later flight with a connection through Casablanca, arriving in Agadir airport close to midnight.   Sam slept on the car ride from the airport to the hotel but perked up when we found out we had been upgraded to a room with an ocean view (thanks to friend Jasper!!).  This kid continues in his quest for only the finer things. Very elaborate towel and curtain art! View from our balcony at night: View from our balcony during the day: February 18:  Today was dedicated to nothing except explo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Norway

  Our final leg of the Scandinavia journey was Norway. We started and ended in Oslo but much of our time was spent exploring the fjords and smaller towns.  More Norway photos here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/9Lo5sFgQF2ScPYkV8 Wed, 8/20 – Stockholm → Oslo We flew into Oslo later in the day so only enough time for a little exploration and dinner.  One impression I have of Oslo is the social activism, not just with this small protest about fossil fuels, but the general vibe (i.e. graffiti).  All very calm but lots of opinions! The Tiger statue outside the train station. Thu, 8/21 – Oslo → Bergen Not much time in Oslo before we began our exploration of Norway.  This was the most stressful part of planning the trip and why I delegated it to Ryan. It involved piecing together various transportation modes and he thrives in planning trains, buses and water-related transportation.  It was a complex puzzle that mirrored the popular "Norway in a Nutshell" ...
1 comment
Read more

Rotterdam

  (March 1 - 2) Rotterdam (Netherlands) was added to the travel schedule primarily because Ryan had a free Marriott night that needed to be used before it expired and we all know he won't let that go to waste ($).  It was also our last free weekend before Sam started back with his activities after his collarbone break (see separate blog entry ), mainly Sunday football.  More Rotterdam photos here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/vA3er7NEqDfAKzzm7 We continued our commitment to food tours in every city we go to.  We had a fear that we might be the only ones on this tour and that fear was realized. That's a lot of pressure to interact with the tour guide. It was supposed to be a 4 hour tour with 6 stops and this tour lasted 5 hours with 7 stops. 😬  I thought the tour guide was going to invite us to his house by the end. But overall it was good with some typical Dutch foods but because Rotterdam is a very international city, there were some unexpected items l...
Post a Comment
Read more