Barcelona

 In 2019, I spent only 2 nights in Barcelona. And still it's one of the best holidays I've ever been on. 

On the first night we headed out from our hotel onto La Rambla and were greeted with an atmosphere that was warm and lively. We had more outdoor bars to choose from than we could count, and the ones we visited were amazing from the outrageously large drinks to the vivacious waiters. You may want to practice your "polite laugh" if you're not an extroverted person, though. Our cocktails arrived in picnic sized jugs with crazy straws and we spent hours chatting and drinking there. 

During our full day, we visited the harbour, which is surrounded by small shops and cafes. We had breakfast at a cafe which was good enough but a little too hipster for me - vegan pancakes, making a big deal about the fresh pressed juice, that sort of thing. After breakfast we took a stroll down La Rambla which, believe me, is a whole new place in the daytime, full of stalls instead of bars. There are wonderful little trinkets to be found if you keep a sharp eye - in amongst the basic overpriced souvenir racks you might find something special to remember your trip. 

The highlight of daytime Barcelona would have to be the food markets. We found an enormous indoor market (La Boqueria) with piles of fruit that made for excellent colourful photographs

. The fruit stands smelled like summer, while the cooking smells made me hungry and the whole market had a feeling of authenticity. We tried fresh fruit juices which were an explosion of flavour, and watched the vendor make our spiralised fried potatoes, which were so much fun and easy to eat on the go! 

On the topic of food, I was surprised to see how frequently ice cream shops are found in Barcelona. Handy for combatting the heat, these fantastic little shops are everywhere and each one has something deliciously different to offer. One had sheets of hard caramel that they shattered with hammers and topped our ice cream artistically with the shards. I also tried pistachio ice cream for the first time, which paired with chocolate is my new favourite. We also had some tapas of course, at Cuines Santa Caterina, which was a brilliant experience with both the food and the atmosphere - I particularly enjoyed the battered shrimp dish. 

Our hotel, Andante, was a great place to stay. The rooms were simple in design but they were clean and classy, and the rooftop pool has a view over Barcelona that you could take in for hours. The pool itself when we visited was quite cold, requiring some resilience to wade all the way in, but once we were in it was plenty of fun, and a great place for a photoshoot! The hotel is known for being eco-conscious, which is always a bonus. Overall the stay was definitely good value for money. 

All these experiences packed into a 2 night trip made for some of my favourite memories. If you ever go to Barcelona: explore, eat as much as you can, and, as the locals will tell you, look out for pick pockets!

La Boqueria

From the rooftop pool