Becoming 30: Barcelona
Oh Spain, you did not disappoint me. Beautiful as can be. The trip started off with me flying from JFK to Madrid. I had a one hour layover in Madrid but I got a chance to peak through the airport. But before I knew it, it was off to Barcelona.
Once I landed in Barcelona, it was off to the hotel. Getting from the airport to the hotel was fairly easy. Take the Aerobus $6 to public subway (2 stops) and boom you're there. At least that route worked for me. My hotel of choice "Catalonia Sagrada Famila" for 3 nights. The hotel is located in a pretty cool area, one stop away from Segrada Famila and a lot of bakeries nearby to try.
Dinning in Barcelona:
*Lunch at: The Ranch Smokehouse (honestly, I'm guilty--its American) a BBQ burger spot to be exact. But I was craving a burger and it totally hit the spot.
*Dinner at: Tobogan Placa Reial Restaurant -- OK so I ate Italian here, lasagna to be exact. No frills just regular lasagna but fairly cheap dinner.
*TRY PAELLA!!!-- its a must when visiting Barcelona that you try their traditional meal. It took my sister and I till the last day in Spain to actually try it. I wanted to try lobster paella but we ended up sharing chicken and sausage. The rice was amazing, the chicken I didn't like and the sausage was just OK, I can't remember the name of the restaurant but it was outside in the La Rambla area, which is a must see area to hit when you're in town. Be mindful in Barcelona, meat is cooked fresh! Which is a good thing to me, but the taste may be off putting for some. You can get a glimpse of our paella in the gallery below.
Exploring Barcelona + Shopping
Of course I had to do the normal tourist stuff. I went to visit Antoni Gaudi's house Museum, Park Guell, Sagrada Famila, and various places near La Rambla.
Shopping:
FYI: Els Encants Flea Market- is for food not clothing! Its a market for fresh meats, seafood and sweets. I was disappointed because I was ready to shop.
* Porta Del Angel, Passeig de Gracia and Diagonal Mar are good places to shop for some familiar stores as well as new and exciting bargain stores.
I didn't get to go to Barcelonta Beach like I had planned on my itinerary but its on my to do list when i return back.
Birthday Dinner
Found this cute & chic outfit from New York & Company back home in Tampa, paired with some Jimmy Choo black heels and my new favorite YSL earrings. Although I got super glam for my 30th birthday dinner I actually did something really calm and relaxed. I dined at Restaurant Nuria in the El Triangle are of Barcelona. At this point I was exhausted and didn't want to eat somewhere so far off because I had an early flight top Paris the next morning.
In summary, Barcelona is very beautiful and very hot. The Spanish people were nice and I got to practice speaking Spanish throughout the trip. I didn't get to experience the nightlife scene but my sister and I did get lost in an area we are pretty sure was the hood. lol So all in all I would recommend anyone to travel and experience the culture. I think a 3day trip will suffice, I spent about $150 because everything is usually cheap euro. But next time I hit Spain I'm definitely going to Ibiza.
