Our trip to Barcelona was the second time I'd visited the city but the first was with my bro so involved nearly zero sight seeing! This time around we were determined to see more!

We arrived a day after the family and met up with them mid-morning. The apartment was really nice and a far cry from most of the places we'd stayed in whilst travelling! We would be moving apartments after the first few days as well and that definitely wasn't going to be anywhere fancy!

Our first day in Barcelona we took a walk around town, for the first time I noticed some of Gaudi's building designs, and made our way down Les Ramblers! First stop we took a boat trip along the harbour front. Was a nice trip, sun, few beers and good sights! Cheri was seasick within the first few minutes so think she had a very different experience....

That night we mooched around town, some food on the front and some beers in one of the main squares!

The next day we attempted to visit the Sagrada Familia cathedral but the August tourist spike made it completely sold out! From the outside though it was amazing, not seen a building with such random design and detail, taking over 100 years to build already it would be another few before its finished. It definitely is unique compared to anything we'd seen before around our world travels!

As a plan b we took an open bus ride around the main districts of the city and along the coast. The bus also gave you a running commentary of the city sights and took Charlie past the famous Nou Camp which he was well excited about! Sitting on the top deck we caught far too much sun and finished the day with some food and a few beers late into the evening! Another good day!

Our new apartment on day three was just as un-luxurious as expected! A tiny one bedroom apartment converted into a three bed, our room resembled something you'd find on a small sailing ship and I think health and safety for fire regulation was out of the window! But location was good and it was cheap!

The next few days were just me and Gemma in the city, as expected we got back into marching mode and covered about 40km of walking! We saw a lot of the city we'd not seen before and managed to get some tickets to enter the famous cathedral! The inside was just as amazing as the outside, beautifully decorated and the architecture was far beyond Gauidi's years. We'll definitely return for its completion!

We also went to the famous park designed by Gaudi's and this was also really abstract and cool in its design. A lot of the city definitely has him to thank for its quirkiness.

Barcelona is now ranked the 4th most visited city in Europe and 10th in the world so was hectic but had a buzz about it... Thinking of planning another short visit back to the city to watch a Barcelona football match at he Nou Camp!

Our last country of the marathon journey would be next and a new one for me, Portugal! A few days in the capital and then up to the coast for some holiday relaxation before heading home...