The next morning we left the hotel after breakfast. We walked to the station which was only 15 minutes away by wheelchair. Unfortunately the commuter train was not accessible at all, even though the timetable said so.
Renfe commuter train
Luckily my boyfriend was able to get me and my wheelchair on the train and we sat between the train compartments. We got discounted tickets from the conductor and rumbled our way to Barcelona. On our way we chatted with a Tyrolese guy who had imigrated to Spain a few years ago. He was sun-baked, but very friendly.
Inside the Renfe commuter train
The train terminated at Estación de Francia where we needed to get off the train anyway. So we had plenty of time to exit.
Renfe commuter train door with stair access
Our hotel for the next two nights was the Motel One Barcelona-Ciutadella. Because our room wasn't ready yet, we left our luggage at the desk and started our city adventure. To get a first impression of the city we decided to do a hop-on-hop-off City-Sightseeing bus tour.
City-Sightseeing accessible bus
The 2-day ticket allowed us to use the different bus routes to move through the city easily that day, as well as the following day. Barcelona is full of impressive architecture and I guess it is impossible to get a proper overview of this beautiful city in only two days. Just to know that we at least had tried to do so, we changed to the blue route. This bus brought us away from the city centre and towards Barcelona's mountainous area.
View from Mount Tibidabo
Our destination was the Tibidabo, one of two big local mountains. To get to the top you can take an old funicular, which we did. The stations were fully accessible including a lift to enter and exit the cable car.
Funicular with wheelchair lift
During our stay in Barcelona in October it was pleasently warm but on top of mount Tibidabo it was windy and really cold! The old amusement park (another reason why I wanted to get up there ;) ) was closed due to off-season, too, so we didn't stay too long. I would definitely go back there, the atmosphere of the old amusement park is classy and the views of the city are breathtaking!
Tibidabo amusement park and Cathedral del Sagrat Cor
Tibidabo amusement park and Cathedral del Sagrat Cor
We continued the sightseeing tour until we got to Eixample, Barcelona's second city district planned in the early 20th century. We made our way to the Rambla, Barcelona's big strolling promenade, full of souvenirs and tourist traps but also full of cute old people sitting, watching and enjoying life.
We kept on walking and rolling and ended our day in Barceloneta, the old fishermen district of the city. Compared to the city centre Barceloneta was relatively calm with still a good selection of restaurants.
Nightly street in Barceloneta
Balconies in Barceloneta
Along the small streets and crossings we found Paco Alcalde, a family run restaurant that serves sea food and as it turned out soul food, too. The salty black paella combined with a glass of sweet sangria was delicious! A perfectly Spanish way to end a perfectly Spanish day in Barcelona. Continue here.
Paella and sangria at Paco Alcalde
Crema catalana at Paco Alcalde
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