Travel

Family Travel Planning With #GogobotTravel

We hopped over the Atlantic in the spring and checked off my personal bucket list #1 destination, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The minute we checked our bags at El Prat airport to return home, I started plotting a return visit. The city is everything you’ve ever heard, and about 250% more.  I loved it so much it is silly. And not only because I was lucky enough to attend two FC Barcelona matches (including a Champions League fixture vs. AC Milan) at the famed Camp Nou.  There’s also the Iberian ham, the tapas, the beach, the culture, the Gaudi / modernisma architecture, the mini playgrounds squeezed in the middle of grand avenues all over the city, the chorizo and manchego cheese, chocolate and churros, and, well, I could go on and on and on.  I want to go back so badly, and if I could right now, here’s where we’d stay, eat, and what we’d like to do in the gorgeous Catalonian capital.

We rented an apartment last time, on Valencia not too far at all from La Sagrada Familia, and would absolutely do so again.  With kids in tow, a washing machine is a must for us, as is a kitchen and full-sized refrigerator because I love hitting the local markets to buy yogurt, meats & cheeses, treats, drinks, and such all native to the locale.  My goal is for my family to assimilate when traveling, and connecting with the local food culture is a big part of this.

Gogobot pulls in many home/apartment rentals through HomeAway.  With a single click, you can explore each place — the amenities, the neighborhood, etc — with tons of photos, and in English, which is nice because my Catalan continues to fail me.  I am totally digging this sweet 2 BRDM place centrally located near the Ramblas and Montjuic (which I have to admit to still not knowing how to pronounce, we just called it Mount Juice the whole time and no that doesn’t make as ugly Americans, just goofy ones.)

It can be difficult to get solid info on restaurants in Barcelona ahead of time, so I usually make my decisions based on location and name.  Quimet & Quimet, a small tapas spot on a side street in the heart of Barcelona, piques my interest enough even without a single photograph or menu item listed.  The user reviews all over Gogobot, and when you sign in through Facebook, potentially those from your friends, are helpful because they are well written by folks who actually seem to have something to say, not an axe to grind, which is nice if, well, have you been on the internet lately?

No matter what you are searching for — housing, food, fun — Gogobot’s system will deliver other, similar, options nearby the place you are currently looking at.  Going to be at the impressive, must-see Park Guell in the afternoon?  Gogobot’s layout will make it easy to find restaurants for lunch beforehand or dinner afterward.  This is very helpful in planning a good day with kids, to stay in a defined location for a day or 1/2 day, and not be trekking back and forth across the city for food or fun.  Being an efficiency lover, this is a huge plus in a travel site.

Scenes from our 2012 Barca Holiday:

And finally, a video of my insanely delicious crepe being made in La Boqueria, with oregano, marinated onions, Serrano ham and Emmental Swiss cheese (oh my god I want one of those again RIGHT NOW!):

Whether you want to go to Barcelona, Paris, or San Francisco,  is a wonderful new website to help you plan a killer family vacation.  before you hit the road!

Gogobot allows you to tap into the knowledge of your friends when planning a trip anywhere. You can find like-minded travelers and inspiration for your next vacation, creating easy-to-use wishlists you can return to again and again.

And when you are not in vacation mode or planning a trip, you can discover hidden gems in your own neighborhood for entertaining guests or a weekend staycation.

The best part? Every page on Gogobot is personalized. You can see reviews from your friends and people you are following at the top, which allows you to weed out the noise and fraudulent reviews that become a problem on other review sites

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Gogobot. The opinions, photos, and text are all mine.

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