I took Spanish as a second language from Middle School till my senior year of high school. In my junior year of high school my Spanish teacher Mrs. Torres taught us about Spanish culture along with the language. Since then it has been a dream to travel to Spain. To see the culture, see the famous paintings by Picasso, Dali and so forth. It was 2019 we decided to take the twins for their first international trip to London. Mustafa and I decided to be a little adventurous and take twins to Barcelona.
Mustafa and I were able to manage this trip to Barcelona thanks to a very good friend of ours – Nabeel. With his help we were able to use public transportation in Barcelona with the twins. We got to sightsee a lot with the twins in the double stroller. Barcelona is not very stroller friendly. Nabeel also helped entertain the twins along with Mustafa which gave this mama a break!
Barcelona is a beautiful city! We can not wait to go back again. For the entire Khawaja family, the highlight was the food. We love to eat and try new cuisines. The Paella and the Patatas Bravas were must order items for us at every restaurant. Barcelona has the best coffee I have had in my life. I have been to multiple European cities best coffee by far I had was in Barcelona. It was thick and rich with the perfect amount of caffeine to help kick start the day. Even the twins had their first sip of coffee in Barcelona. I know many will judge me for this. I have always believed in letting twins try the food I eat if they show an intertest in. Though the coffee was more of a lick they had.
My most favorite part of Barcelona was the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. I have always dreamed of going to see it. Finally, I made it and it was unbelievable. The pictures do no justice to this. I literally stood outside it for ten minutes staring at it. I could not believe I finally made it there. It is an absolute majestic site when you first glimpse at it.
We did a week trip London and Barcelona with the kids. Learned a few things which I would like to share. The first thing we learned was that with such young kids (younger than 5) when going for a short trip only go to one city and enjoy it. There will be days you will be out and about all day long and then there will be days when you want to just chill. With little kids the less moving about you do the easier it is to manage. The second lesson I personally learned was that when travelling with kids cannot be Type-A personality. To enjoy and kids enjoy have to live in the moment and be spontaneous. The third lesson was that during vacation and travelling there are no rules with kids. There will be more screen time than at home. Always have extra snacks, milk to keep kids distracted and happy. The fourth thing I learned and did apply to our trip was a rough list of things to do and places to see with kids. That way depending on weather, mood of kids and the parents you know where to go or what to do. No last minute brainstorming. Last lesson I learned there will be tantrums, meltdowns but at the end of the day have fun. Seeing your kids enjoy a new culture a new city makes it all worth it!
The Winging it Mama! 