Barcelona

It has almost been 3 weeks now that I have been traveling but it does not feel like long at all! On my way to Europe I had a little pit stop in Iceland 🙂 It was about 30 hours in Reykjavik which allowed me to get a feel of the city, meet some cool Icelandic people, try some local beer, eat some amazing pastries, and gain the strong desire to go back!

After my over-budget (it is expensive there) excursion I was on my way to Barcelona! In total I got to spend about 10 days in Barcelona. The city is huge but it seems I got to see and do a good amount 🙂

Antoni Gaudi‘s amazing arhcitecture…

Casa Batlló and Parc Güell could be described as straight out of a fairytale. The imagination of Gaudi that is evident through his work is absolutely phenomenal.

The pictures really do his work no justice. Especially La Sagrada Familia, which I am not even posting here (due to all the construction), must be seen in person. There were so many intricate details that were so incredible to observe.

There are so many parks and squares in the city- I suggest grabbing a picnic and just relaxing in one of these areas! People watching would probably be pretty good 🙂

Plaça Sant Jaume…

When you need a break from walking or need to use wifi (like me), stop in for a cafe con leche 🙂 I typically drink my coffee black but when in Spain…

A flaky, buttery croissant for dipping in a cafe con leche is delicious! It is a popular breakfast out or I had it as an afternoon snack a few times 🙂 Some advice, though, is do not get this in a tourist area! I paid as little as 1.90 euro at one point- that is how it should be! If you are paying a lot more then you are in the wrong spot.

Many times I just wandered the city without any direction. You will stumble upon unexpected things like awesome street performers…

Also, random street art…

El Gato…no sé…

The Santa Maria Del Mar…

Avinguda de la Catedral…

I wanted to see some live flamenco because I had never really seen it before. It was a quiet night but enjoyable to just listen to the music and then watch the performer.

Tapas y Pinxtos

I did not get any pictures of the tapas I had in Barcelona because well, people do not really eat until 9 and the pictures would have not been very good. These beautiful pinxtos were eaten when I was in Tarragona.

“The Authentic Catalan Sandwich” at Butipà…

After a morning yoga session in spanish and walking around Barcelona for hours, this Catalan sandwich and Moritz Epidor was the most amazing thing ever!

Butipà does a modern and innovative twist to the traditional Catalan bread with sausage (pa amb butifarra)- similar concept to a hot dog. I tried the buti-pinxto and it was awesome. Hector, the sweet man in the picture, also gave me and this other customer, a sample of another sausage that was also very tasty. There are ones that are topped with lots of stuff but I just put their yummy mayonnaise-based (assuming) sauce on it!

The Moritz Epidor is about the darkest actual spanish beer I tried and I loved it. It was so perfect with the sausage. It was like about 7.5% though so it could make you forget some things if you had too many 😛

Volleyball on the beach! Not only did I get to do yoga in Spain, but I got to play volleyball! I was beyond thrilled 🙂

Hiking up to Montjuïc and getting out of the city for a little while was very nice.

MNAC is a beautiful building. I walked up this way and made my way to Montjuïc.

Of course there is still plenty of people but I got to see some green, get some exercise and see the city from up above 😀

Festivals…I was lucky to arrive to Barcelona during the Gràcia Festival. Many of the streets in Gràcia were decorated. It seemed like it was mostly with recyclable items but I do not know that for sure. At night, Gràcia was hopping with all kinds of music until early in the morning.

Chök the chocolate kitchen….

There is not much need for words…I know jaws are dropping right about now 😀

This was a wonderful find! Or perhaps, a very bad one! I only indulged in one but there were so many ones I wanted to try. The little Barcelona maps you can get at hotels and hostels list places for food and in my experience, they were good recommendations! That is how I found Chök.

Craft beer on the beach! The Punk IPA is not a spanish beer but it is a very tasty canned IPA that is great for enjoying on the beach 🙂 This beach was in Badalona which is up the coast from Barcelona. To get away from the crowded beaches, you must leave Barcelona.

Next up…Lilly Sue finds craft beer in Barcelona! 🙂

Music For Your Ears:

~Booty Swing by Parov Stelar