# Day 16 Castelldefels

Now I've been in Barcelona for 2 days and I'm exploring the suburbs. Still with a thick jacket and hat in my luggage, I'm exploring Castelldefels by bike. By the way, Lionel Messi used to live here (according to Wikipedia).

I will probably only see the airport from Barcelona. Actually, it would be convenient to take the train to the center and do some sightseeing.

But I'm not in the mood for that just yet.

So sightseeing in Castelldefels and in the afternoon I have an appointment at the beach at 4 o'clock 😉 .

The place is obviously named after a medieval castle, which of course must be explored first. You can see it from a distance.

But first, I have to go through the expressway, the highway, the railway, past the shopping temples within sight of the highway, and finally reach the town with its small alleys.

I'm an exception here with my bike. There is a staircase (not suitable for bikes) or an uphill road (good for e-bikes) leading to the castle.

Everything around the castle is designed like a park, but the walls themselves cannot be entered, only viewed from the outside. That can be done in 5 minutes and I'm desperately trying to figure out if that's all or if something is missing.

In the alleys of the old town, there is a pedestrian zone and many small shops, and even more small restaurants and tapas bars. I'm almost tempted to sit down and eat something. But I still have breakfast in my stomach, and it's not exactly warm.

Maybe I should go to one of the shopping centers outside the town. I think one of them is quite big.

The mall "anecblau" has several floors with an underground parking garage. It is cleverly built on both sides of an overpass road over the railway or highway (I can't remember). At the side entrance to the restaurant mile, I find a stylish bike rack that cannot be seen from the outside. Perfect for the bike.

The stylish atmosphere continues inside. Spacious aisles, escalators, pleasant restaurants (no comparison to the food mile in Weserpark), the usual clothing chains, and a supermarket.

I leisurely stroll through all the aisles and then end up in the supermarket. I have a few small things on my list for tonight.

Okay, time to get out of here. I still want to go to the beach, and besides, the sun is supposed to shine this afternoon.

Hope dies last, but today 'wetter online' has failed.

There is still a strong wind blowing at the beach and the sea is breaking on the shore.

I leisurely ride along the promenade and at 4 o'clock I go to one of the beach bars for my appointment with beer - the Amanada is inviting and through the large windows I can see the sea (and my bike parked right outside the window).

I believe that this section of the sea is the preferred address for the city dwellers. The long promenade and the fine sandy beach are certainly crowded in the summer. I continue this thought while walking through the campsite. There are about 300 permanent pitches with caravans and awnings permanently set up here. This is certainly the weekend retreat for many city people. At the moment, however, the site is only occupied by a few scattered motorhomes.

Tomorrow I have to drive to the airport with the motorhome. Hopefully everything will go smoothly. Simone is already restless, the security staff at the airports in Germany are on strike again. Hamburg is also affected. Why now?