BARCELONA!

On Wednesday night I was Barca bound!

After waiting in the airport for hours  (1am -7:50am, last train to the airport was at 12:30 am next one would’ve been at 7am) it was time for take off! The flight from London, Gatewick to Barcelona was only 1 hour and 40 minutes long, so not soon after take off we were already landing.

Our first stop in Barcelona was food, we stopped at a cute little shop and got some sandwiches and coffee, from there we headed to the Hipstel (hostle). 

Through hostleworld.com we were able to find the Hipstel, which was the perfect hostel for our stay in Barcelona, it was clean, cool and had a great atmosphere.

The owner of the hostel, Rual showed us a map of the city and recommended we take a tourist bus (best decision ever). The bus cost about 27 Euros, it ran all day and took us every place we wanted to go! We were able to see Parc Guell, Sangrada Familia, FC Barcelona Stadium, many cathedrals all while having the most magnificent view of the city from the top of a double-decker bus! 

By the end of the day we were shot and headed back to the hostel for a quick siesta, then out to dinner! Alexis (my bff) studied abroad in Barcelona in the fall so she was able to provide us with some great recommendations (Taller de tapas, chupitos). At Taller de Tapas I got seafood paella and a mojitio and it was divine. 

From dinner we went to see the Castle of Montijuic and the fountain, after navigating the metro system to get there and after walking many miles we found the fountain….it was empty (more like the fountain of disappointment, closed for the season). 

From there we headed to Chupitos (shot bar) to drown our sorrows over the fountain lacking water (not like we could drown our sorrows there..lol). Chupitos has over 570 different shots (I only had 3, have to be responsible). The shots were amazing, the first one I had was on fire, the second was called a coca loca and the third a titty twister (super sweet, with whipped cream and and m&m). 

From chupitos we had to retreat to the hostel once more for sleep! The next morning we ate breakfast at the hostel and checked out. From there we headed to the Cathedral of Barcelona but along the way we discovered a Mercado! The market was so awesome; they had so many fresh fruits, vegetables, fish and candy! I got a fresh squeezed/pressed strawberry mango juice; it was fantastic and only 1 euro! 

        

       

Our next destination was another market but it was a long walk (probably 3 miles) and when we got there it was like a garage sale on crack, half the stuff people were trying to sell looked like it was stolen, so we left and headed to la playa! The beach was absolutely amazing, a sight one would never tire of! While I sat down to rest my feet a couple next to me was getting freaky on the rocks which made me feel super awk soooo I left and headed to lunch! 

                

There was this perfect café on the Mediterranean called Café Sal and there I was able to sip sangria while looking at the sea, I also got the most delightful salad, grilled goat cheese with figs.... ohhhh and I got an appetizer of marinated olives (I was starving)! 

After the most delicious meal I think I’ve ever had we started walking back towards the center of the city, Cataluyna. We decided that our feet were crazy tired so we took a cable car (awesome decision), the views from the car were amazing!!!! 

When we reached Cataluyna we stopped at Café Zurich and got one last coffee (tallet, white coffee aka espresso with milk) and then headed back to the airport!

The trip to barca was more than I could’ve ever expected, Spain is stunning and I know that I’ll be back again one day. It’s a super cool feeling to know that I am independent enough to travel without my parents, I really feel like im coming into my own and my journey abroad has only just started. I can’t wait to see what future weekend trips hold!

-AMV