Revisiting Barcelona for the FIBA Games

A good friend of mine just celebrated his birthday in august. His wife wanted to give him a gift that he would love, a ticket to the semi finals to the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Barcelona. Me and another friend decided it was a nice idea and so we decided to tag along for the game and a quick city trip to Barcelona! She wasn’t that into basketball anyway so it was good that us guys could join to make it an even better experience! He had no idea until he saw us queueing up at the airport to board the plane. Hah! I’ve been to Barcelona before, visiting some old friends and doing some sightseeing. This time around we were traveling with 4 and a little baby so our adventures were rather limited to walking around, drinking coffee, eating and shopping.

The main event itself was of course the semi final games between team USA and Lithuania. It was the second time to see them in action, last we saw them was in 2008 before the Olympic games. I’m not going to bore you too much with details of the game, but it was pretty good, eventhough the USA won by a large margin. It was cool to see some of our favorite players doing what they do best. The rest of the time we just strolled around downtown Barcelona (Ciutat Vella) and took in the sights and views of the city itself. I just love the architecture and the atmosphere of the city, it has so much history and charm.   We did visit some touristic spots like Las Ramblas, La Plaça Reial, Casa Milà and even went to the beach. At least we tried to get there. Like I said we tried to walk everywhere and with a baby and carrier it was the only thing to do. I kind of misread the map and ended up walking towards Rambla de Mar, towards the water, instead of going to a real beach with sand. So by the time we reached Rambla de Mar and the shopping center there it was already dark and we didn’t get to see any sand. 🙁 We were so close though! So next time I’ll definately make it to the beach! We also took the cable car up to Tibidabo mountain for the views and lovely church at the top. I’m not a huge fan of the theme park at the top there but hey, whatever attracts the tourists right? You’re actually better of visiting Montjuic hill if you’re looking for a view over the city. It’s also much more touristic with tons of crowds during the day and at night. At night there is a light and fountain show that’s pretty amazing. But like I said, tons of people there so be warned.