Break in Costa Brava

A week's break in Costa Brava.

I am quite used to picking easyJet for our short haul holiday flights.

Booking directly with them is such a breeze.

Our flight to Barcelona on EZY8575 was scheduled for 13:25 on Wed. 6th November,2013.

We had prebooked a week at Aqua Hotel Promenade in Pineda De Mar which we found to be clean, well maintained, friendly

and with a great location facing the ocean. 

                                                                          

                                                                               

Passeig Maritim

                                                 
                                                                                

Promenade cafe bar

                         

Observing sunrise from hotel balcony of Aqua Hotel Promenade

                                  

    

Pineda de Mar is the

sort of place geared for a relaxing break.
 No rush, no worries, just blend in with the locals

and take it easy.
The train station is only 3 minutes
 across the road to our hotel.

Pineda de Mar has fabulous beaches
 of over 3 kilometres of white sandy shoreline.
 There is a street market

on Friday mornings 
that lines the length of Passeig Maritim.

Pineda de Mar beach

As planned, we made day trips on the train to Barcelona.
 The station masters

at Pineda de Mar station
 are very helpful and will give you friendly advice

of the available fare saving tickets
 to purchase for your trips.

The trains are punctual
 and the train carriages clean and modern.

Pineda de Mar Station

Ticket Office at Pineda de Mar Station

Rodalies de Catalunya train

 A trip to Barcelona without visiting 

Gaudi's unfinished the Sagrada Familia Cathedral  
would be a shame.

In Barcelona you will find most of his works.
 He is known as Catalonia's famous artichect 
whose works depict a highly expressive language
 of his own and even talked by the masses
 as that "speaking directly to the senses."

The Sagrada Familia is one such unique

place!

Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia

Basilica de la Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia

For 10 must see Gaudi  buildings in Barcelona

check HERE

The metro system in Barcelona is very well run,
clean and punctual.
 During our short one week break 
we utilised the metro system

which really was so convenient.

The Tourist Offices like the one at Placa Catalunya
  are useful places to make inquiries

and the staff have proved very helpful and friendly.

It was there that we booked our trips to Montserrat by train.

   

A visit to the often talked about Las Ramblas
 was also in our itineary.

It is often the first landmark 
most people identify with the city of Barcelona.

Las Ramblas runs at the southern most end
 near the cruise port terminal
 to Plaça Catalunya at its northern most end.

It is primarily pedestrianised 
and can get really crowded at weekends.

At the northern end 
you have the metro stop of Catalunya
 served by the Green Line L3 and Red Line L1.

Catalunya is also where you can catch
 the Aerobus express bus service to the airport.

If its your first visit to Barcelona,
 I can also recommend 
the Barcelona hop on and off Tour Bus.

The Barcelona Tourist website is a very informative place
 for all tourists which can be assessed
 HERE

Las Ramblas

Las Ramblas

Catalunya

Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona

Irresistible bread bun in Barcelona cafe

For those who come to Barcelona
 to shop then you are really spoilt for choice.

 It is among the top cities in Europe for fashion.

You will find most of the mainstream stores 
in Barcelona
 and there are  no shortage of designer outlets.

We only found time to wander around Avinguda Diagonal,
 the Portal del Angel 
and the El Corte Ingles at Placa Catalunya.

 El Corte Ingles, Catalunya

Visit to Gaudi's Park Guell

We also took in the world famous La Boqueria Central Market.
 It was an eye opener.

 The next main trip on our list was to the mountain top of Montserrat.

Here in lies the famous monastery 
of which this LINK gives more info.

We caught the train to Espanya.
 From here head for the Line R5 going

towards Manresa. 

Make the right choice of ticket you are going to buy
 because
there is one ticket for the route by cable car
 or by the Cremallera Funicular train
 that winds its way up to the mountain stop.
 The scenery looks spectacular.
 I was told that watching sunrise
 from the Montserrat mountain range
 is quite a unique experience!

We chose to go by the funicular

rail. For Useful link click 
HERE

Taking the Cremallera Funicular train up to Montserrat

Several shots up at Montserrat Basilica  are below.

The Museum

Queue to visit the Black Madonna

                                                                                

Prayer offerings

                                                                                

Montserrat Basilica

Steps leading to the Black Madonna

Pilgrimage to visit the Black Madonna

Next for those for whom height is not a problem,

 you can also prebook and take the

cable car to Montserrat's highest point San Jeroni. 

Hiking around the peaks

 is certainly not for the faint hearted.

                                         

 

During the one week, we managed to do short trips to Lloret de Mar,

Blanes and Mataro, all along Costa Brava.

Georgeous cafeteria in Mataro

It was a delight having rest breaks at the coffee shops for that's where

you get to use toilet facilities on the go.  

They were well maintained

and clean.

 Travel by rail is very convenient with Rodalies de Catalunya.    

HERE 

 is a link for the rail service

 which I hope will be useful.

Costa Brava in Catalunya,Spain makes for a relaxing welcoming break.

Go for it!

Viva  Espana !