It’s a joke between my friends and I that if there is an event in Europe and someone I vaguely know is going…I somehow end up getting invited and weaseling my way there. It started with my cousin’s best friend getting married in Ireland. I had met her a few times, but by no means would I be invited to her wedding. BUT they were staying in a castle…a castle…in Ireland. I mean…that’s a dream. One day when I was talking to my cousin, I mentioned how amazing that is and somehow ended up with an invite via Snapchat.
After thinking about how I end up invited on random trips with random people, I realized wine is usually involved. My trip to Barcelona, Spain was one of those times. I was hanging out with a group of friends, eating and drinking when one girl I know through others mentioned she would be traveling to Stuttgart, Germany for work. She works in the automotive sector, so she has gone a few times. She was going in a few months and somehow invited me to come along. As we drank and talked the trip became bigger and bigger. She only had to have be in Stuttgart for two days, so we expanded the trip to other places in Europe.
We brainstormed ideas and eventually I suggested Barcelona. I had never been to Spain and it seemed like I was missing out. She hadn’t either, so we started planning!
Where to Stay:
First off, I like to do a lot of research on where to stay. I have gotten burned a few times internationally where I thought the hotel would be beautiful and it was…but the area it was in was not ideal.
One aspect of the hotel that I was dead set on having was a rooftop bar. We were going in September and it was going to be warm. You cannot beat booze and a view.
We settled on Duquesa Suites Barcelona and honestly, it was one of the best parts of the trip. I couldn’t recommend this hotel enough. The location, the price, the rooftop pool and bar (wink, wink), the hospitality was above and beyond our expectations.
Because my friend needed to book a roundtrip flight out of Stuttgart for work, we ended up on different flight routes to Barcelona, which was our first city. I flew from Detroit to London to Barcelona…my flight out of Detroit was heavily delayed. I spent most of that 5-6 hour flight panicking about missing my next flight. Wine and watching sad movies helped though lol.
I didn’t miss my flight but because I landed later than my friend. She was in Barcelona much earlier than me. She took a cab to the hotel and we were worried they wouldn’t take her luggage/let her into the room because my name was on everything.
We were very wrong. The staff at Duquesa had no issue with showing her to our room and once they heard it was our first time in Barcelona, they immediately got excited, took her up to the rooftop bar with a map and started telling her about all of the restaurants and attractions that we needed to see. They made us feel right at home.
The room was also gorgeous. The room even had a cell phone that you could take around the city and return at the end of the stay, in case you did not have an international plan.
The location of this hotel is right near Port Vell. Port Vell is a waterfront harbor that is a part of the Port of Barcelona. The hotel is very close to La Barceloneta Beach, the aquarium, and marinas full of boats.
If (when, hopefully) I go back someday, I will definitely be staying here.
What to See and Do:
- Basílica de la Sagrada Família
I don’t think you will read any article on Barcelona without it mentioning the Basílica de la Sagrada Família. In English that translates to Basilica of the Holy Family. The Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi, who was known for his gothic, out there style, and who’s work is all around Barcelona, designed the basilica. Construction began in 1882 and is still not finished to this day. It has been interrupted by war and fires, but will hopefully be finished in the next 10 years.
Even though it is not finished yet, you must go see it. The outside is such a sight to see, but you need to pay and go inside. The money helps fund the church continuing construction. I will warn that there were a lot of websites that “sold tickets” to the basilica, but they were scams. You are assigned a time frame to go through security and start your tour, and a few people’s in front of us, who paid for tickets at various websites, were not able to get in.
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2. Parc Güell: Gaudí’s Surrealist Park
A wealthy entrepreneur named Eusebi Güell funded this park to be built and designed by Gaudi. He bought land on Monte Carmelo in 1899. Güell’s intention was to create a high-class neighborhood but failed due to the location being on the outskirts of the city.
After Güell’s passing in 1918, the land was sold to Barcelona and became a public park in 1926. Although it wasn’t the successful, affluent neighborhood that Güell and Gaudi had hoped, they ultimately did find success, as this is one of the must see tourist sights in Barcelona.
There are various different architectural areas to explore. It is fun to imagine what life would have been like in the early 1990’s, if this was successful. Would there have been little kids running around in the common areas? Would it still be as “affluent” today as he intended it to be then?
There are different houses, common areas, and look out points throughout the park. When you start winding up the streets, there are several opportunities to enjoy and take pictures of the Barcelona skyline with the ocean just beyond it. Once we did get near the end, there was a gate to the top of the hill that was supposed to signify the end of the park, but if you walk past it anyways (shhh)…there is a little bit of a climb before a breathtaking 360° view at the top. There were quite a few tourists up there, so I am not sure how much of a secret that area is…but it was one of the highlights of my trip…even though I wore sandals and was hiking in 90 degree heat lol.
It is on the outer edge of the city and up the hill of Monte Carmelo. You could easily take a taxi, if needed, but I think walking or traveling by foot of some sorts if at all possible, is the best way to see a new city. I suggest that you rent a bike and make your way to the other side of the city. Please note that it does get to be an uphill battle to pedal as you get closer to the park…near the end on the hot summer day, I did need to walk it up the hill. We rented bikes from Green Bikes Rental and Tours, which if you stay in Duquesa Suites, it is only a few block walk away from their store.
3. La Barceloneta Beach
I love the sun and the heat, so being so close to the water, we had to spend time at the beach. One day we took our bikes over to La Barceloneta Beach. It honestly was close enough to walk, but since we had the bikes, we decided to use them. It gets VERY busy in this area, so I would recommend that if you are biking, to lock up your bike before that area and walk in.
It is a beautiful beach that had views of the ocean, the city behind you, and The W Hotel down the shoreline.
Like I mentioned above, it was very crowded and a hopping place to be during the day. There are little shops where you can buy a drink or some food to take with you onto the sand.
Word of warning: there are a LOT people trying to sell you blankets, aloe, beer, food, or just simply asking for money. While I feel for them making a living…it definitely made for an eventful time having to say no over and over again. And they are persistent!
After a bit of trial and error, we found that yelling No! in German was much more effective. Maybe “Nein!” comes off more direct and harsh? But either way…if you go use it and see if it gets you some relief!
4. Las Ramblas Street
Las Ramblas is a widened street that runs through the heart of the city. It has shops, food markets, cafe’s, entertainment, bars, and nightlife. There is a small two lane road for cars and the rest of the road area is designated for pedestrians.
One of my favorite gems from this area was The Dublin Bar. It sounds funny going to an Irish pub while in Spain, but it was a nice quaint bar to grab a drink. The street it was on was lively at night and had a lot to see. The bartender was actually not Irish or Spanish lol. It’s fun little things that you stumble upon when traveling that actually become the most distinct memories in your brain years later.
It really is the biggest tourist area and with that it comes some downsides. It can be known to be a little dangerous/rough. While it is beautiful during the day, it is known for pickpocketing and prostitution once it gets dark. Remember to hold onto your belongs! They are professionals.
Food and Drinks:
Lastly, we need to talk about the most important topic. Food and drinks. If you take a look at the rest of my blog, you will notice that I am a huge foodie. I often plan my vacation activities on what restaurants I want to try (can you tell yet that I am not a “wing it” type of person?).
As far as food goes, I was a little naïve on what tradtional Spanish food was. I guess it is not something I ever thought of before, and embarassingly enough, if someone would have asked, I probably would have guessed it would be similar to Mexican food…because ancestry right?
Wrong lol. The Spanish food most commonly found in Barcelona are tapas (small plates) and paella. We floated from restaurant to restaurant and quickly learned that reservations are not just an option, like in most places, they are practically required.
One restaurant that we went to was 7 Portes. We really wanted to try paella while we were there and they had good reviews. Paella is a traditional rice dish, seasoned with saffron, and served in one pan. A lot of times vegetables and seafood are added. We had quite a long wait, but they had cute tables outside where you could get a drink. It felt like forever though, because we were STARVING. Honestly, I am not sure if I have ever been that hungry. I thought I was going to be sick lol. It was worth the wait though. I got the Traditional Paella with Lobster and it was delicious. The atmosphere of the restaurant was nice too. It felt upper scale without being too uptight. It is worth noting that my friend woke up the next morning with puffy eyes because of the amount of salt that was in the paella. It didn’t taste overly salty, but her body sure did think so!
My favorite restaurant that we went to was Oaxaca Mexican Restaurant. After a few days of tapas and paella’s, we decided to step out of the box and go to a Mexican restaurant. It. was. so. good. We had margaritas, guacamole made table-side, and lots of tacos. It was such a cool, fun vibe inside and we didn’t have to wait! If you are going to go anywhere I suggest, make it this one!
During the day for lunch or breakfast, I would suggest stopping by one of the many cafe’s that are everywhere on the streets. It’s a great way to get a quick bite to eat and experience some of what the locals do.
Drinks. My favorite topic! There are a few drinks that we constantly drank while we were there: sangria and cava. Cava is a sparkling wine very similar to champagne. I am a huge wine drinker, especially red, so I was in my element. I have had sangria many times before, but there was something about having it in Spain, it’s birth place, that was extra special. Sangria is fruit induced wine. A great, summer cocktail for the warm Barcelona.
One thing I enjoy doing on vacation is trying local beers, if any. One beer that we tried was made by Barcino Brewers. It’s a brewery with a cool story. Three friends were sick of the beer selection in Barcelona and starting brewing beer on a rooftop. It expanded and eventually started to grow. Today they have different beers named after their favorite Barcelona neighboorhoods.
Summary:
I had such a great time in Barcelona. There was so much to see, drink, and eat. One highlight for me was the first night we were there, we left the hotel for the first time looking for some food, and right outside in the street was a festival. We didn’t know at the time, but after doing some research it was the La Merce Festival. This yearly festival is to honor the Patron Saint of Barcelona. It was spectacular. There were hundreds of people in the streets with costumes, drums, and fireworks. We felt a sense of community, even though we had no idea what was going on!
Overall, I would recommend traveling to Barcelona. The culture, the weather, the churches…you will not be disappointed!
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