Day 1
My first time in Barcelona! I love going to new cities so I was excited to explore somewhere new! I spent two full days and three nights in Barcelona. I focused on the two full days I spent here and I decided to put Barcelona all in one blog post because the photos I have from the second day are not post worthy on their own lol, so I just added them to the end of this post. That being said this post is a long one so grab a cup of coffee!
I explored the city in the best way I know how... by walking! I think you get a better sense of the city and you see more things without planning. I'll be completely honest..... Barcelona wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I was thinking it would be similar to Seville but on a larger scale. But it definitely had a more "modern" city vibe. The fashion and the people are completely different than Seville. Of course it's a different city and I can't expect them to be the same, but them being in the same country I thought there would be more similarities. Everyone in Seville is SOO nice and kind, and in Barcelona people would pump into you in the street and not even look back. However Seville is a lot smaller so it's like comparing a smaller town to New York City. The fashion is more alternative in Barcelona which you never see in Seville... or in Toronto for that matter. I was a little shocked by the fashion I saw people wearing on the street. It was very interesting to see how drastically different things are. There is also TONS of graffiti omg. It's so sad to see all of these buildings and store front gates be ruined by people who want to doodle. I'm not talking about murals but just random words and nonsense. It makes the city look dirty especially when the stores are closed because all you see is and alley filled with graffiti. truthfully I don't think I would come back or recommend it as a travel destination. I'm sorry for being so negative and I apologize if this offends you in some way (If you are from Barcelona I'm sorry!) There are tons of people that think Paris is dirty and boring but its my favourite city. Everyone has different tastes and interests, it would be boring if we all thought the same. I don't want to be negative but I just wanted to mention that so that I'm being honest. SO with that being said lets get into what I did on my two days in Barcelona!
My first stop was the Palau de la Música Catalana, I stumbled upon this while walking and it was beautiful! one of my favourite things I saw! I loved the stained glass (You guys know how much I love stained glass) They even had a small coffee shop in the same style, if I didn't have breakfast at the hotel I probably would've had something here! So pretty!
One of Gaudí's creations. I walked by the outside of if while walking up the Paseo de Gracia. I debated going inside to see the interior but... Gaudís designs are not my taste. I'm sorry if you are a fan... to me it just looks like bones. It actually reminded me a lot of the mansion from Casper lol. There was a massive crowd outside and in line to go in so obviously people love the design. It is very unique especially for the time period. I would love to know the publics opinion on it during the time it was being built (I should look that up)
I also walked by Casa Milà, another one of Gaudís creations, again I decided to admire it from the outside for the same reason. Side note: as you can see my hair was struggling on this trip lol too many late nights and early morning so my hair wouldn't set properly. Oh and in case you are wondering I am wearing a vintage 1960s dress and white flats!
One of the highlights of the trip for me was visiting the old Hospital. Wow was it beautiful! Built between 1901 and 1930 and its made up of 26 smaller buildings. Such beautiful architecture and the layout is really interesting. However I wish they had done more displays in the rooms. They had one where the beds were set up (You can see it above beside a picture of the same room when it was being used). They had the operating room and hallways but they were empty. I think it would help people visualize it more if they had more displays. They did have an old X-ray machine which was cool! Either way it was really interesting to walk through and seeing how even in a hospital things were made to look pretty, so many details that you don't see these days. One of my favourite parts was this hallway with paintings on the ceiling and stained glass on the windows.
I walked past this sweets shop and fell in LOVE they had the prettiest chocolates and cookies. They had it all decorated for halloween but in the most tasteful way! Tons of orange tones and Autumn foliage. I got some chocolates and cookies to try and I ate them while I walked (I wish I bought more) I can't remember the name of it but it was between the old hospital and La Sagrada Familia. There is a road that connects both places that has a walking section in the middle with an artisan market (It was a bit closer to the old hospital) Hopefully that helps you find it if you are interested!
I figured while in Barcelona I had to at least go inside ONE of the Gaudís creations. I chose Las Sagrada Familia because its Barcelonas main attraction and the one everyone told me to see. Again... its just not my taste. I understand the amount of craftsmanship that has gone into it, but it didn't take my breath away. It resembles a sandcastle from the outside and bones on the inside. Gaudi had a very modern mind for the time period he was alive. Even though its not my taste I think it's good to look at different types of architecture to be a more rounded person and to become more knowledgable about art. If I only looked at things I thought were pretty I don't think I would grow as a person. In this context I am speaking artistically... but this also applies to life, It's good to be exposed to different things. I also found it very expensive. Yes I know the admission price is what pays for the construction of La Sagrada Familia (Its still being built) but it was 25 euros just to go inside.
My favourite part about Barcelona were the giant glass balconies. They are SO beautiful and I dream of having one. I know these are not unique to Barcleona, you even seen them on the upper east side in New York, but they really stood out to me here. They have so many details and I can only imagine how beautiful it looks from the inside out.
After a long day of walking I went to 7 Portes for Dinner, located near the waterfront. I was still on the hunt for a Chicken Paella that reminded me of the one my dad makes. They didn't have one that was simply chicken but the assorted meats one had pieces of chicken, so I decided to try that. It was delicious! but not exactly what I was looking for. For dessert I had Flan, you can never go wrong with Flan.
Day 2
Day two was probably the most relaxed day of my trip. I walked around the Gothic Quarter, I planned it this way because I was only in Barcelona for two full days (Sunday and Monday) and all the stores are closed on Sunday. The gothic Quarter is much more enjoyable when the shops are open haha. I stumbled into a vintage store, they had an amazing selection of 1960s and 70s clothes (which I'm not as interested in anymore) BUT it was really fun to look through ! I always feel at home surrounded by Vintage. I did try on this pink Gunne Sax dress that fit me PERFECTLY but I left it behind because I wouldn't have many places to wear it (Kinda regret it tbh) I also went to the
Mercado de la Boqueria for lunch. I snacked on a bunch of things like Plantains, a chicken empanada (SO GOOD), and there was a stand that sold a bunch of candy (Gummies and chocolate etc) and they had glazed fuit!! I never thought I would choose that over chocolate but here we are lol, I got some strawberry glazed fruit for dessert! A bit later I had some churros with dulce de leche while walking on la rambla. I got these churros twice during my time in Barcelona.
Hidden away in a corner of the Gothic Quarter was the most magical Christmas store!! The true highlight of my trip (Kidding lol) but it was amazing! I'm surprised there aren't more advertisements for it. If you don't know its there you'll miss it. Its a
Käthe Wohlfahrt store, famous in Germany but they had one location in Barcelona. I spent over an hour in there just taking it all in. The store was huge and they had amazing displays! I ended up buying 3 ornaments and I cant wait to add them to my Christmas tree this year.
HOME
After a couple of weeks of travel I am home! But I think what I dislike the most about travelling is living out of a suitcase. I much prefer to go to one place for a week and get a chance to unpack. This might just be me but I fit things in my suitcase like its a game of tetris. As soon as I move one of my makeup bags everything starts slipping and I can't get it to fit the same anymore lol. ESPECIALLY after I've done some shopping and I have a bunch of small things in the tiny corners and empty spaces. Oh how I wish we could still use those big train trunks that have drawers and a place to hang something (Do you know what I mean??) I saw one at a vintage store about a month ago and I almost bought it! However I don't think an airline would let me take that on a place... But thats just me being whiny I'll take the inconvenience of living out of a suitcase if it means I can travel to a new place or just travel in general! Again I apologize for the negativity in this post, I try to keep things positive but I wanted to be honest with you! Maybe I had a negative experience, if you love Barcelona tell me why in the comments :)
