Visiting Barcelona with a toddler

Last month we had a week's holiday in Barcelona, and what a great city break destination it is to visit with a toddler. I had been to the city before in my early twenties, but I can truly say that I enjoyed the family Barcelona much more than the party Barcelona I previously knew!

Although V is normally in bed by seven, he'd had a long nap on the plane journey so we were able to take him out for a late dinner on the night we arrived. It was a great way to kick off our holiday, dining al fresco on a warm October night. He was very interested in the lobsters and other seafood on display at the restaurant.

For accommodation we decided to stay in the beach neighbourhood of Barceloneta and we found this spacious apartment on Air BnB. It was ideal for our needs as it had a separate room where V could sleep, a good kitchen where we could cook our meals, and a balcony where R and I could have a glass of wine and enjoy wonderful views over the city by night.

We cooked most of our evening meals in the apartment, which suited us best as V is early to bed. For lunches we ate out, and we found that tapas style dining was ideal for a toddler. Dishes of olives, patatas bravas, local cheeses and cured meats kept us all very happy.

As for food shopping, Barcelona is famous for wonderful markets like La Boqueria where all kinds of fresh produce are available. So we stocked up on lots of fruit for snacking and local meat, seafood and vegetables to cook our evening meals. Why can't we have markets like this at home?

We meandered around the city at a toddler's pace. I think when you have small kids it's important to realise that you can't rush around a city at breakneck speed, ticking off all the sights like you may have once done on visits to big exciting cities like this. Barcelona just seemed perfect for our needs, as it's full of beautiful parks, open squares and great little play areas for kids. There was always somewhere we could stop off and get an ice cream and let V run around. He had a great time every day playing with local kids at the play park in Barceloneta's market square, right next to our apartment.

There are so many activities you can do in Barcelona that kids of all ages will love. Some of our favourite trips were to the aquarium, the zoo, Park Guell and Parc de la Ciutadella.  

Not to mention the beach! We were staying a stone's throw from it and we spent a couple of lovely chilled mornings down there. We rented loungers and a parasol so that V could play in the shade, building sandcastles. Good times!

City and beach: could there be a more perfect combination? Early October was the perfect time for our visit as it was still sunny and warm, but not so hot that it was uncomfortable to have long strolls and be outside playing in the middle of the day.

 We had plenty of comics, crayons and stickers to keep V occupied in the apartment, in addition to a few small toys.

Even The Sagrada Familia has a play park! How ideal for us. We didn't make it inside this time, but instead we had an ice cream in the park and marvelled at the wonder of architecture before us!

 The great location of our apartment meant we could explore the whole of central Barcelona on foot. We didn't once take public transport, but then we do like to do a lot of walking. We had a light folding buggy and I imagine we could easily have hopped on the metro or a bus had we wanted to. The Barri Gotic was about 20 minutes walk, while the Sagrada Familia and Park Guell were closer to an hour away on foot.

Another little play park at Placa George Orwell. Our time in Barcelona was so enjoyable and stress-free. V has even told us he wants to go back again soon! What a wonderful place to take a toddler.

Days out in Glasgow: Pollok Country Park

This is one of our favourite places to spend a day in Glasgow. The beautiful estate on the city's Southside provides a haven for walking, playing and picnicking just a few minutes' journey from the city centre. Earlier in the week we enjoyed a rather damp and very autumnal-feeling picnic overlooking the White Cart Water next to Pollok House (pictured above). When living in or visiting Glasgow you must learn to enjoy being out and about in wet weather a lot of the time!

Aged sixteen I had my first job working at the tearoom in the old kitchens of this house, so I've spent far too much time here! But historic houses fill me with a sense of magic and I still love exploring the rooms and passages of this fascinating eighteenth century home. It provides an insight into the aristocratic life of the Maxwell family, particularly during the 1930s, complete with El Greco and Goya paintings on the walls. The surrounding gardens are gorgeous too.

Also housed within the grounds of Pollok Park is The Burrell Collection: one of the city's best museums and art collections. We can't visit the park without a good run around the big play park opposite the Burrell.

My favourite park in the world. Please don't miss this out on any visit to Glasgow!

Update!

Due to a rather spontaneous holiday in Barcelona, I've been absent from blogging for a little while. We've had a wonderful time and are now settled back in at home, so I'm looking forward to getting back into writing the blog and catching up on my blog roll too. Expect some upcoming posts on Barcelona and travelling with a toddler. It's good to be back!

Eating out: The Finnieston

Discovering a great new restaurant is always fun, so for our last date night I asked around our friends for suggestions and a few people told us how gorgeous The Finnieston is. It's a bar and restaurant in Glasgow's West End, best known for its seafood and gin-based cocktails, which all sounded very appealing to R and I!

What we ate: natural oysters, beef carpaccio, lobster thermidor, surf and turf. All the food was delicious. We shared a couple of nice desserts but I always forget what pudding I've had when the previous courses have been so amazing! We also drank some very nice wine and the cocktails were pretty good.

This was a lovely romantic dinner in a cosy setting with friendly service and buzzing atmosphere. I'd certainly recommend The Finnieston to those living in or visiting Glasgow.

I am linking up with Honest Mum's Tasty Tuesdays:

Days out: The National Museum of Rural Life

Here is a great excursion in the Glasgow area that we've just recently discovered: The National Museum of Rural Life. My sister's kids love it and with V's growing interest in animals and the outdoors, we thought it would be the ideal day out for him. Not to mention the tractors!

When you arrive, you are greeted by this fine red tractor, which is obviously a great photo op. This little boy was very excited to climb up on it!

The museum is a nice bright modern building with exhibits, a popular cafe and a big children's activity room with bug-themed dressing up and nature-related play facilities.

For us, the highlight was a real tractor ride to the historic farm on site. V is still talking about the tractor and the 'bumpy ride'! We then explored the old farmhouse (above) and surrounding fields, which are inhabited by friendly horses, cows and some rather boisterous pigs. The staff are fantastic and will give you a warm welcome and entertaining tour of the place.

It was a fine dry day when we visited, but on a damp day, wellies would be recommended for trudging through the fields! The museum is part of National Museums for Scotland but entry is also free if you are a member of The National Trust. A trip out here is a lovely quick getaway from the city and a real adventure for the kids. We will definitely be back soon!

Days out: Ightham Mote, Kent

Kent is one of my favourite English counties, where I spent many childhood summers and collected lots of wonderful memories. A couple of years ago my husband and I spent our summer holiday with my Great Aunt at her home in Kent, and we visited so many fantastic country houses and historic sites which utterly delighted and amazed us! When we were down in Kent recently, we revisited Ightham Mote. This most picturesque and sprawling manor house dates from the fourteenth century, and is surrounded by a moat and beautiful gardens.

Views of the inner courtyard.

A famous feature of the house is this original hand painted Chinese wallpaper, which has survived (I believe with some restoration) since the drawing room was last decorated in the eighteenth century!

Looking over the moat.

Enjoying the lovely gardens.

V not as keen to pose as I am!

This is a spectacular place to spend a morning or afternoon soaking up the beautiful scenery and centuries of history. Definitely a National Trust property not to be missed if you're in the South-East. It also has friendly staff and a nice cafe to visit (although a picnic in the grounds would be recommended if the weather is good!) Check out the website here for more information.

Homegrown jam

Aren't homemade gifts the most lovely and heartwarming things to receive? Not to mention delicious! My sister's homemade jam is extra special because it contains the redcurrants harvested from her very own garden. I love the labels she has made too!

On family traditions and using everything

In my husband's family, there is a generations-old tradition of taking a roast chicken to each of your grown-up children every Saturday. And now when my parents-in-law visit us at the weekend, they always bring a lovely warm rotisserie chicken for us to eat. Obviously I approve of this tradition and that chicken always goes down well!

Once we've devoured most of the meat, I often boil up the chicken carcass to make stock. Throwing it out feels like such a waste and there isn't much effort involved in just leaving it to simmer away in water, plus you end up with a wonderful base you can freeze or use right away in a soup or sauce. 

After the weekend is over, and before I've done a big weekly shop, I often find myself with a fridge that is rather forlorn and bare-looking, apart from a few odds and ends that need to be used up. Today with my chicken stock at the ready, I found myself with the perfect opportunity to make my husband's favourite soup: Minestrone. A classic dish of leftovers! This one contained red and brown onions, courgettes, tinned tomatoes, the end of a bottle of red wine, a little bit of pesto, tomato puree, dried herbs and of course my tasty chicken stock. I also added some of the meat from the chicken to the soup, which made it extra-hearty. Not to forget the last strands from a packet of spaghetti, snapped into little bits. I topped it with some grated cheese (Manchego left over from our Sunday cheeseboard) and it was a good Monday night tea with some toasted crusty bread and butter. 

I really enjoy the satisfaction of making a proper meal out of leftover things! Do you have any favourite dishes that you make from leftovers?

Hannah x

I am linking up with Honest Mum's Tasty Tuesdays. Have a look at the lovely recipes over there!

A Friday in Edinburgh

Today we had an outing to Edinburgh, one of my favourite places for a day trip. We had a picnic on the meadows and frozen yoghurt from my new obsession, Frisky Froyo. I am a bit addicted! The Edinburgh Festival is getting into its swing, and Edinburgh's such a buzzing place to be in the summer. I'm linking up with Mummy's Got Style's Fashion Friday today, so here's what I wore:

Top from Bershka (Spain), skirt by Beyonce for H&M, sandals from F21, Marc by Marc Jacobs Hillier handbag, D&G sunglasses.

V wore: Hat from H&M, Shirt from Baby Gap, Shorts from M&Co, Sandals from BHS.

Click above for the link so you can check out, or even join in with the Fashion Friday fun!

Hannah xxx

Summer Refreshments

It's been a while since I had a beer! But today at The Glad Cafe we enjoyed these lovely summer editions of Brooklyn and Anchor Steam. Both very nice but I'd most likely go for the Brooklyn again - it was so refreshing. And such appealing packaging could not fail to catch my eye! Head to the Glad if you're in Glasgow for lovely drinks like this and much more. I have to note my bias towards this establishment as it's my own dear Mum's cafe ;)

Novel and nails

'The Buddha in the Attic' by Julie Otsuka has been sent to me for review thanks to the Britmums book club. It arrived this morning and I am excited to get stuck into it! On my nails today is Essie's Play Date. What are you reading right now? Do you have a pretty colour on your nails?
Hannah x

Days out: Inchcailloch

Inchcailloch is a little island on Loch Lomond which we have been visiting since my childhood. On Saturday we took a big family excursion to picnic and bathe at the lovely beach there. From Balmaha, it's a short ferry ride then about a mile of walking through woods to the side of the island where the beach is found. The children loved the experience of travelling on the boat then playing in the Loch all day. It's our tradition to have a barbecue on the beach so we had our sausages and burgers for lunch. It really was an idyllic day out on one of the warmest and sunniest days we have had this year.