Maybe that's why I've decided to reminisce a little -- the mental version of drinking a nice hot, comforting cup of tea (see how British I've become?). Speaking of which, I'm going to grab myself a literal cup of tea and then tell you about my top eight places, sights and moments in Barcelona. (Like Myspace top eight! Remember? Anyone?)
Just to set the scene a little bit, Tim and I flew into Girona airport in late July, with plans to make our way to Barcelona for a week. We'd been on a couple small trips since we started dating but this was the first big one that involved flying internationally and spending more than a weekend somewhere. I needed it badly. After a rough end to the school year and a slightly less than summery start to the British "summer", I was craving sun, relaxation, and a bit of adventure -- all three of which are to be easily found in Barcelona. Let's move along to the list!
1. Our Air Bnb
There's a time and a place for hotels, same goes for hostels. But I have had consistently lovely experiences staying at Air Bnb homes. They're often much cheaper than a hotel, and make you feel a little more "at home" in the city you're staying in, rather than just being a tourist. Our flat in Barcelona was no exception. Our friendly host warmly welcomed us into her home, and had no shortage of ideas on where to go around the city and how to get there. The flat was located in the district called "Les Corts", which is a bit further out from the centre of the city, and home to Camp Nou, the FC Barcelona stadium (this would be cooler if I cared more about football, but still a notable fact). We had access to the balcony, which was filled with all kinds of plants and provided a beautiful view of the sun setting over the city. I ate my breakfast and drank my coffee on the balcony every morning, slowly and leisurely, sometimes with a book and sometimes just quietly enjoying the view.When Tim and I were feeling like we had spent too much eating out at restaurants, we sat outside on the balcony dipping fresh bread in olive oil and vinegar, and topping it with avocado and tomato slices. Basically, if I can't have a garden, a balcony is an acceptable consolation.
2. Sitges
If you take a train about 30 minutes outside the city, you can visit Sitges -- a gorgeous little beach town with gorgeous cobbled streets and whitewashed buildings. Interestingly, it is also a popular LGBT friendly destination with a thriving night life. (We didn't see said night life as we are lame and got tired and went home... but that's beside the point). Barcelona has its own beaches of course, but I found the ones in Sitges to be much nicer and less packed with people. We ended the day at a very fancy looking bar where you can overlook the sea from a huge, comfy sofa bed while drinking a bellini. I've never felt more like a lady of luxury.
If you take a train about 30 minutes outside the city, you can visit Sitges -- a gorgeous little beach town with gorgeous cobbled streets and whitewashed buildings. Interestingly, it is also a popular LGBT friendly destination with a thriving night life. (We didn't see said night life as we are lame and got tired and went home... but that's beside the point). Barcelona has its own beaches of course, but I found the ones in Sitges to be much nicer and less packed with people. We ended the day at a very fancy looking bar where you can overlook the sea from a huge, comfy sofa bed while drinking a bellini. I've never felt more like a lady of luxury.
3. The Food
Finding food in a foreign country can seem a little daunting when you have particular dietary needs/preferences. I try my best to stick to eating vegan, though I admit I do not do it perfectly. However, I always feel a little bad when I'm wandering around with a travel companion in search of food, and have to turn down restaurant after restaurant because they do not offer anything substantial for vegans. This is why I suggest doing a little research if you're in the same boat as me -- I google searched "vegan restaurants Barcelona" and wrote down the names of what I found (which was surprisingly a lot).
Cat Bar: Although containing no actual cats, Cat Bar served one of the best veggie burgers I've ever had alongside vegan patatas bravas and a glass of craft beer.
Vegetalia: We happened upon Vegetalia by chance while wandering around hungrily. I think I have some sort of hunger-powered vegan food sense. We ate outside in the sun and eavesdropped overheard some very loud Americans at the table beside us tell the tale of a slightly disturbing hostel experience. Lunch and a show!
Cat Bar: Although containing no actual cats, Cat Bar served one of the best veggie burgers I've ever had alongside vegan patatas bravas and a glass of craft beer.
La Boqueria Market: It's a huge market off of La Ramblas and definitely worth a visit. We only spent a little time here, because it was insanely busy. However, we were lured in by the bright colours and fun flavours of fruit juice and had to buy one each.
Lady Green: This was a lucky find in Sitges (thanks vegan sixth sense). I particularly enjoyed the huge sign saying "Animals are my friends, and I don't eat my friends". I was also obsessed with their potatoes.
Kino: Another lucky find, this time we happened to stumble upon a very "hipster-esque" neighbourhood. We were drawn in by the lively crowds enjoying a drink outside, and intrigued by the many skateboarders hanging out and skating in the square beside it. They also had some very tasty, veggie-friendly tapas.
Lady Green: This was a lucky find in Sitges (thanks vegan sixth sense). I particularly enjoyed the huge sign saying "Animals are my friends, and I don't eat my friends". I was also obsessed with their potatoes.
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| Perfection. |
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| This is the only photo I took there... |
Hidden Cafe: This minimalist-styled cafe (found in our neighbourhood, Les Corts) is a must for any coffee snobs. It's one of those places that has more ways to brew the coffee than I even knew existed, but daaaamn do they make a good cup. The staff didn't speak much English and we didn't speak much Spanish but they were super welcoming and did little things to make our visit nice -- like giving us some free matcha green tea cookies to try (it worked... I came back another day and bought more of them).
4. La Sagrada Familia
Before visiting the Sagrada Familia, I got a message from my cousin stating that if I figured that the outside of the cathedral was cool enough and skipped out on the inside, I would be making the worst mistake of my life. I'm glad we listened, because the inside was truly breathtaking. My camera couldn't capture the way the different colours of stained glass played with the natural daylight, illuminating a forest-like network of columns in different shades of deep red and blue. There was also a little mini-museum inside, explaining the various ways in which Antoni Gaudi was influenced by nature in his architecture. My top tips would be to buy advance tickets -- it's worth it to skip the line, and to visit around 6:00 PM when it's a bit less busy.
5. The Walks
Barcelona's Gothic Quarter is bustling and full of tourists and travellers. However, it still manages to maintain a charming, artistic vibe with hidden surprises down every little alleyway. Venture out from La Ramblas, the main tourist street, and you'll find quirky modernist architecture, cute cafes and beautiful churches. We spent a lot of our time just wandering around, seeing what we could find.
Before visiting the Sagrada Familia, I got a message from my cousin stating that if I figured that the outside of the cathedral was cool enough and skipped out on the inside, I would be making the worst mistake of my life. I'm glad we listened, because the inside was truly breathtaking. My camera couldn't capture the way the different colours of stained glass played with the natural daylight, illuminating a forest-like network of columns in different shades of deep red and blue. There was also a little mini-museum inside, explaining the various ways in which Antoni Gaudi was influenced by nature in his architecture. My top tips would be to buy advance tickets -- it's worth it to skip the line, and to visit around 6:00 PM when it's a bit less busy.
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| Inside. |
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| Outside. |
Barcelona's Gothic Quarter is bustling and full of tourists and travellers. However, it still manages to maintain a charming, artistic vibe with hidden surprises down every little alleyway. Venture out from La Ramblas, the main tourist street, and you'll find quirky modernist architecture, cute cafes and beautiful churches. We spent a lot of our time just wandering around, seeing what we could find.
6. Montjuic Outdoor Film
Another benefit of staying at an Air Bnb is knowing about local events that you wouldn't have heard of had you stayed at a hotel. A fellow guest at the flat filled us in on the outdoor concert and movie being shown at Montjuic Castle. We hopped on a bus that took us on a winding tour up Montjuic Hill, in perfect time to watch the sun setting. We hopped off at the Castle, which used to be a military fortress but now houses a museum. Tonight, it provided the backdrop for an all-female Balkan group performing lively tunes, and a foreign film called Mandarinas. Luckily, the Russian language film was captioned in both Spanish and English. Groups of people were laid out on blankets, drinking wine and sharing picnics as we watched the film. I have decided that I really like outdoor movies, maybe because they remind me a little of going to the Drive-In theatre as a kid.
Another benefit of staying at an Air Bnb is knowing about local events that you wouldn't have heard of had you stayed at a hotel. A fellow guest at the flat filled us in on the outdoor concert and movie being shown at Montjuic Castle. We hopped on a bus that took us on a winding tour up Montjuic Hill, in perfect time to watch the sun setting. We hopped off at the Castle, which used to be a military fortress but now houses a museum. Tonight, it provided the backdrop for an all-female Balkan group performing lively tunes, and a foreign film called Mandarinas. Luckily, the Russian language film was captioned in both Spanish and English. Groups of people were laid out on blankets, drinking wine and sharing picnics as we watched the film. I have decided that I really like outdoor movies, maybe because they remind me a little of going to the Drive-In theatre as a kid.
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| Parc Guell |
7. The Parks
Barcelona has many exciting things, but not a huge amount of green spaces -- so we had to seek them out. Before visiting the Sagrada Familia, we went to Parc Guell -- a park designed by Antoni Gaudi. We walked up what was probably the steepest hill ever before realizing that there was probably a better way to get there... Anyway, the park itself was lovely -- despite the fact that you now have to pay to get into the "good part", where the majority of the artistic features are. Still a nice way to pass an afternoon. The Parc de la Citaduella was another green space within the city with a bit less of a hike, and a huge, golden-detailed fountain. Fun fact: this park used to be the only green space in the city, and remained so for several decades following its creation in 1877. It also contains the Barcelona Zoo, I'm a bit torn on how I feel about zoos, but this one seemed to be one of the better ones, with lots of space and mental stimulation for the animals.
Barcelona has many exciting things, but not a huge amount of green spaces -- so we had to seek them out. Before visiting the Sagrada Familia, we went to Parc Guell -- a park designed by Antoni Gaudi. We walked up what was probably the steepest hill ever before realizing that there was probably a better way to get there... Anyway, the park itself was lovely -- despite the fact that you now have to pay to get into the "good part", where the majority of the artistic features are. Still a nice way to pass an afternoon. The Parc de la Citaduella was another green space within the city with a bit less of a hike, and a huge, golden-detailed fountain. Fun fact: this park used to be the only green space in the city, and remained so for several decades following its creation in 1877. It also contains the Barcelona Zoo, I'm a bit torn on how I feel about zoos, but this one seemed to be one of the better ones, with lots of space and mental stimulation for the animals.
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| Parc de le Citaduella |
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| Also Parc de le Citaduella |
8. Girona
We spent a day here before flying back home -- and I'm really glad we did. Girona is full of medieval architecture, adorable little shops and is watched over by a towering Gothic cathedral. It has also been used as the filming location for various Game of Thrones episodes (which I have yet to watch because I can't figure out how to watch them without HBO... if anyone has season 5, hook a sister up). We spent our last afternoon in Spain lounging at an oasis-like outdoor bar, while musicians set up for their show later on. However, we headed back to our hotel early and enjoyed a "picnic" of whatever vegan-friendly, no cooking required foods we could find at the small grocery store. (Gazpacho from a carton served in plastic hotel cups is just as you would expect... would not reccommend).
Until next time,
-- C.
We spent a day here before flying back home -- and I'm really glad we did. Girona is full of medieval architecture, adorable little shops and is watched over by a towering Gothic cathedral. It has also been used as the filming location for various Game of Thrones episodes (which I have yet to watch because I can't figure out how to watch them without HBO... if anyone has season 5, hook a sister up). We spent our last afternoon in Spain lounging at an oasis-like outdoor bar, while musicians set up for their show later on. However, we headed back to our hotel early and enjoyed a "picnic" of whatever vegan-friendly, no cooking required foods we could find at the small grocery store. (Gazpacho from a carton served in plastic hotel cups is just as you would expect... would not reccommend).
So that's it, in a nutshell. Barcelona is an amazing city to visit, and close to several other little gems to explore. Having seven days to get to know the city was really nice, because we really didn't plan much in advance and just decided what we felt like doing that day. I guess as a teacher, you get a little tired of planning by the end of the year and just want to be spontaneous for a while. I still remember how to do that!
That's all for now, hopefully I will have more adventures and daily misadventures to tell you about soon! And hopefully next time I won 't wait like a month to actually post about them... anyway.
Until next time,
-- C.
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