Planning our first foreign holiday (Spain) with children, help please!

[northender]

We're planning a week away at the beginning of June 2010 as the school have given us a 2 week half term. ds will be 8 and dd 5. This isn't going to be a regular thing for us so we want to get it right. Ideally we'd like somewhere near Barcelona (accessible by train maybe) so we could do a day trip there. Beach or beaches safe for swimming. We're happy to hire a car and travel about a bit, don't want a busy resort but somewhere with a few restaurants.

Any ideas, websites, recommendations etc would be most welcome

Now I have a year to get in shape to wear hot weather clothes

How about Salou. It has the Port Aventura theme park, so you could combine beach holiday and park holiday. You can also catch the train to Barcelona for the day.

I booked a week in the Costa Brava through icelolly.com. It's approx. 1 hr by train to Barcelona

Thanks, that helps. Neither dh or I have been to Spain (except one night in Barcelona) so I really do know nothing. Is Salou not a big resort? I remember a boyfriend going there for a week with a group of lads for a very laddish holiday so that clouds my opinion.
Have to admit though, that was 20 years ago. Maybe things have changed