Barcelona

If I were a freelance travel journalist instead of a hedge fund analyst (oh, to dream), I'd look to write a piece called, "Barcelona: Coolest City on the Planet?" The question begs the answer, which I could argue is certainly yes.

I won't write a tome about this trip, but I could. Suffice it to say, we had a blast. Blessed by warm sunshine much of the time, this was the most family-friendly of our destinations thus far. We made the smart decision on days 1 and 2 to take one of those double-decker tour buses (top picture) that goes through the whole city and allows you to get on and off as you please. This gave us the chance to see much of the town without the hassle of subways or expense of taxis.

We took about 250 pictures during our four day weekend and the ones above don't do our trip or the city justice. We went to the top of the mountain overlooking Barcelona, with spectacular views of the city and the Mediterranean sea and a brief visit to a lovely little amusement park called Tibidabo; took a cable car to a different peak to visit the old city fortress; the Miro museum; Parc Guell (major highlight); La Rambla; and probably some other things I'm forgetting. Along the way we ate delicious food (I ate enough Serrano ham to justify having my Bar Mitzvah certificate revoked) and the boys tried things like paella and calamari. Is there any better way to eat with a family of small children than tapas?

Beyond the specific sites and activities, Barcelona just has a great vibe. The design & architecture, the food, the mountains & sea, the people. It's very cool.