Barcelona-please comment on these plans
 

some things I am thinking of doing on our 10 day trip to Barcelona
1.String bean walking tours-Gothic quarter and Gaudi
2. 2 day hop on hop off tickets-is 1 day sufficient
3.separate visit to Familia Sagrada or should that be part of hop on hop off
4. hopefully- guided day trip to Gerona and Costa Brava or go on our own
5. performance at Palau de la Musica-should we also do the tour.

Please give me your input about these things.

First of all hang on to your purse. Barcelona is notorious for bag snatchers. The FS can be part of the hop on hop off and I think it is worth doing both days. The Boqueria market is an absolute must visit and this guide is the best you will get
http://maribelsguides.com/mg_barcelona-03-09.pdf

I have Maribel's guide downloaded on my Kindle, thanks to people on this forum who helped me do it.

IMO, the hop on hop off buses are a great way to see a lot of the city for those with a limited time budget.
As you have 10 days to fill, I don't know if you really need this service. If you like the idea, though, I think that one day in enough for a "drive by" trip of all 3 routes, and come back later to those sights you wish to visit.

Most sights in Barcelona are more or less grouped in small geographical areas, e.g. the Modernisme buildings around Passeig de Gràcia, or the museums on Montjuic.

Sagrada Familia is a 5min subway ride from the very city center. As there will be lines when you want to go in/ up the towers, it will eat a bit out of the validity of the HOHO bus ticket.

The only places further away from the city center are Park Güell, Pedralbes monastery, and Finca Güell.
The park can be reached more conveniently with city bus 24 as it drops you off closer to an entrance than the Bus Turistic. You won't see anything of it from the HOHO bus.

If you wish to see both, Girona AND parts of the Costa Brava in one day, then a guided tour might make sense. For a day trip to Girona only, just hop on any northbound train.

This is a great itinerary you have here. I hope 10 days would be enough, though. Seems like you got a lot on your plate. Just enjoy the time while on vacation.

5 or 6 days max is enough for Barcelona. Of course there is so much to see and do, but if you have the luxury of 10 days, go to Costa Brava. I just came back from there. We rented a car and drove there from Barcelona. It was so easy and only about 1.5 hours away. Go to Calella de Palafrugell, Begur, Llafranc or any of the beach destinations...

Leave the Sagrrada familia out of the hop on bus, go one day early before opening, just a little, and you will have no problem.
We did the hop bus in one day this is what we did,
Left early from home whic was at Paseo de Gracia stop, leave instead from Plaza Cataluna, talke BLUE LINE but do not get off at Sagrada Familia, most likely will be with big crowds, first stop:
Park Guell, the bus stop is like a couple of blocks up hill, we walked, but there were a few taxis around,
after visiting Park Guell, get into BLUE again,I recommend as second stop Monasterio of Pedrablbes, this a fascinating monastary do not miss it, there is a small fee and a discount with your bus tickets, we spent there quiet a bit then had lunch in a very nice restaurant accross the street from the bus stop called:Restaurante el Mato de Pedralbes, 18 euros fixed menu, good food, then caught bus again got off at Palacio Real for a walk in the gardens after that we got off in F. Macio Diagonal and switched to RED bus, from there on there are many options to get off, we did not because we had been before at the Miro, and at MNAC, we continued on the bus till the beaches where the green line stars , got off, went to a nice bar by the beach and spent sometime just to catch the last red bus to get us home to .
I figured that one day is enough and for little money can get a bus to Sangrada Familia or metro, to MNAC which should not be missed. The gothic area and nearby areas are nice to do on foot. To give you an idea a taxi from MNAC to MIro was aprox 4 euros, a taxi from Miro to
Cathedral was 8 euros.

hi, could you please pass on the instructions to download Maribel's guide onto my kindle?
thanks!

I sent it to my Kindle email address and asked them to download it to my Kindle. I believe I got assistance from the Kindle help line to do this.

IMHO, Sagrada familia is best seen far in the distance. Up close, the horrible new addition mars the authentic work of Gaudi. His other buildings and the beautiful park mentioned above are better options. The Romanesque frescoes at The National Museum of Catalunya and The Miro Museum, both on Montjuic, are first rate and are directly from the hands and minds of the artists who created them, not from some hack.

You're already planning to go to Montserrat, right?

I am not sure about Montserrat. I think we can only manage one day trip. We will choose Gerona if it is available. If not maybe Montserrat. We would try to do an organized tour. Is there a lot of climbing to do? I am not good at that.