Back in Spain for the 3rd time this year – I feel truly blessed! This time we’re celebrating my parents’ wedding anniversary. Instead of a present, we decided to give them a family trip so we’re here with all of team. And while it’s lovely to spend so much time with family, a girl’s gotta run to keep in shape after enjoying all those tapas dinners.
Fortunately we were staying at a great location, our apartment faced the Parc de la Ciutadella (for the view see headline picture). The Parc is home to the Barcelona Zoo and during the week that we were there an Earth Festival was taking place. We saw a lot of interesting folks selling all things natural. The Port Olympic and the beach were only a 20-minute walk away, as were the Barcelona Cathedral and Ramblas so we couldn’t have chosen a more convenient location. We went and visited the Gaudi sites: Sagrade Familia and Parque Guell. One night we enjoyed the Magic Fountains in front of the Palau Nacional. After all that cultural bliss it was time to clear my head with a 5k run.
Parc de la Ciutadella isn’t super large but it provides enough paths to get a 5k run in, especially if you leave the parc on the north side and run towards the Arc de Triomf (yes, they have one in Barcelona too). The paths are well maintained and it’s reasonably flat. Even though it was quite hot when we were there, the Parc provides enough shade to make for a comfortable run. The run to the Arc the Triomf is unshaded though, so skip that part when it’s too hot. The Parc stays open until sun set, so you can also opt for an evening run which is safe as there are Lots of people sitting on the gras and enjoying the warm nights.
Happy running!
