Travel | Barcelona Tips

Metro Tickets

I'm putting this top of my list because I thinks it's the most important!

I read Caroline's post on 10 Things To Do In Barcelona where she talks about buying a T-10 metro ticket. Now, this was totally my plan when I got to Barcelona but instead I listened to the other girls we were staying with and bought a 5 day Hola BCN! travel card for around €33.
Th 5 day travel card includes unlimited journeys on public transport over 5 consecutive days, while the T10 is a multi-person travel card valid for 10 intermodal journeys from zones 1-6.
I told my friend to buy the T-10 and it expired on our last day so she had to buy one more ticket, but she ended up saving around €20.

I definitely recommend getting the T-10 ticket, but if you're planning on using the metro like mad, you can also get 2, 3, and 4 day Hola BCN! travelcards.

Places to Eat & Drink

Tapas 24 - I think I would try this again, although the food was pretty pricey we had a great server who made us fantastic cocktails.

Taller de Tapas - We visited both the Rambla Catalunya and Rambla de les Flors stores. We only ordered from the tapas menu, picked 3 plates each every time and it was just enough for one person. Cheap prices, decently sized portions (one item said grilled chicken kebab or something but comes with chips as well).

Bacoa - I definitely recommend grabbing a bite to eat here, I love a good burger and this place definitely delivered. You get to choose everything that goes into your burger, even the type of bread! I do wish they had a bigger selection of alcoholic drink (I would have killed for a cider) but if you like burgers and wine/beer this place is definitely for you.

Eyescream and Friends - I didn't get anything from here myself but I'm absolutely dying to pay this shop a visit on my next trip.

Salamanca - This is another place that we didn't visit but if you love seafood then this is probably the place for you. I totally would have gone there but the prices were a little bit too steep for us.

Soda Bus - At first we were only interested in this bar because io the bus that was inside, then we saw the cocktail list as we walked past. From what I remember they were €7-8 each. I wish we were able to try a couple more but I definitely recommend getting the Candy Mango, especially for the gram or snapchat.

Flamant - This restaurant looks super fancy outside and even fancier in the inside. The prices were very reasonable (similar to Taller de Tapas prices) cheap prices, large portions, but once again I wish there were more alcoholic choices.

Places To Go

La Rambla - La Rambla is a tree lined street full of people, stalls and shops, there are also a number of streets just off La Rambla that definitely need to be explored.

La Boqueria Market - La Boqueria Market is located just off La Rambla full of fresh fish, seafood, fruit, vegetables and various tapas bars.

Erotic Museum of Barcelona - When we came out of the metro this was the first thing we saw and we knew our trip wouldn't be complete without a little visit. I thought it was pretty interesting, but I would have loved to have done the tour with an audio guide, which you can do if you book online.

KosmoArte Stall La Rambla - If you're a music fan I definitely recommend visiting this stall. I know I will be on my next trip.

Montfalcon - We headed down one of the sides roads just off La Rambla and ended up in the gothic quarter where we found this amazing shop. Ever since my trip to Cyprus for a friend’s wedding, I have been buying a photo album from the country to fill with my favourite pictures from the trip and I managed to find my Barcelona one here!

Sagrada Familia - We knew that we wanted to do a tour of this place before we even got to Barcelona, and wow what a treat it was! It truly is spectacular, definitely a photographer's dream.
We purchased the audio guide tour for around €20, which I highly recommend. You can also book a tour that includes going up in the towers!

Park Güell - Unfortunately we didn't get the chance to visit here but it's definitely on the top of my list for my trip.

P.S. We also visited a few sex shops! There are loads dotted around, including a couple or giant ones that are definitely worth a visit!

Travel | Barcelona - Part Three

Monday

The first part of our final day was spent packing our suitcases ready for the next morning, then at 2pm we headed to the Sagrada Familia for our tour of the basilica.

It was absolutely fantastic! The amount of detail both inside and outside was absolutely incredible. We purchased the audioguided tour for only €22, which meant that we could tour the basilica at our own pace while learning more about it.
I took an ridiculous amount of photos, but I didn't want to bombard you so I've only picked some of my favourites to show you.

Enjoy!

After the tour we decided to do a little bit more exploring before we walked to Catalunya, around 10mins away to so we could lunch at Taller De Tapas. Different location, same restaurant but it definitely looked a lot fancier.

After lunch/dinner we headed back to La Rambla, but this time for some shopping where I purchased some magnets, keyrings and photo album.

All images belong to me, please do not use without my permission

Travel | Barcelona - Part Two

Saturday

At around 2pm we headed back down to La Rambla for a look around the La Boqueria Market. We didn't actually do anything in the morning, the girls just take ages to get ready.

The market was absolutely fantastic! It was full of stalls selling fresh fish, meat, vegetables, dried and fresh fruit that you could make into a juice! There were also quite a few small tapas restaurants inside the market but it was way too packed for me to even consider eating there.

I really wish that we could have brought a few prawns to cook back at the apartment and we were all amazed at the crab for only €4!
Maybe next time!

For lunch we headed back to Taller de Tapas (you can tell we're loving this place). The first time we visited we all had margarita's (that quickly went straight to our heads) so this time I decided on a Caipiroska de Fresa which was absolutely heavenly.
That drink also went straight to my head as the alcohol was masked by the sweetness of the drink! Just how I like it.

After lunch/dinner we walked down to one end of La Rambla and had a look at the stalls which is where we discovered these amazing miniature instruments from KosmoArte. I bought a little something for Father's day but I wish I had bought a few more pieces. I may have to buy some online or book another trip to Barcelona!

We headed back to our apartment where Ruby cooked us couscous for dinner, which was a first for both my sister and I.

Sunday

I felt quite down on day 4 and couldn't wait to go back home, but luckily we had a very chilled day watching films before we finally decided to head out for dinner.

Earlier in the day the other girls we were staying with headed to a restaurant called Flamant for lunch which is where we decided to go for dinner. We had a quick look at the menu and decided we should go there for dinner.
Unfortunately when we got there we realised the place wouldn't be open for dinner for another hour, so we took a long stroll around the area where we found a place called Soda Bus where we sat down for a cocktail.

I ordered a candy mango drink which came in a brown paper bag! We thought she made a mistake and had brought us food until she pulled out the glass filled with ice and fruit, a bottle with the cocktail and a shot glass of dry ice!

Definitely wish I could have tried more cocktails there.

Travel | Barcelona - Part One

Wednesday

Our holiday started with a long journey back from our cousins wedding in Sudbury to our house in London, where we grabbed our suitcases and hopped on the train to London Liverpool Street station.
My sister, Venessa and I met up with my best friend, Ruby, and we all jumped on the Stanstead Express to the airport.

I booked us a private transfer so when we landed at around 7pm we grabbed our bags and find our driver who took us to our apartment, EnjoyBCN Gaudi where we stayed with 3 of my sisters friends.
We got changed and then headed straight out to dinner, to a restaurant called Tapas 24. I didn't take any pictures on our first night so I'll start with what we got up to on our first full day.

We were seconds from the Sagrada Familia, so every day as we headed to the metro we were greeted by this magnificent sight that we constantly took pictures of.

Thursday

My gorgeous sister in the yellow dress and my best friend in the playsuit!!!

Our first day started with a trip to Primavera Sound festival so my sister could collect her wristband before heading down to La Rambla, a tree-lined street full of shops, stalls and restaurants.

Almost every (if not every) restaurant has someone outside to try and persuade you to eat in that particular restaurant so it was a little overwhelming at times, but then we spotted one small restaurant called Taller de Tapas and after a quick glance at the menu we decided this was the place to eat.

It was my first time having tapas and I absolutely loved it. I had grilled prawns with extra virgin olive oil and Maldon salt, grilled chicken kebab marinated with herbs and spices and patatas bravas which is fried potatoes! The prices were very good, the food and atmosphere were great and the mojitos were strong! If you're planning a visit to Barcelona I would definitely recommend visiting this restaurant.

Friday

We spent a few hours by the pool on the roof on our second day, well when I say we I really mean everyone else. I don't sunbathe ever, so whenever I'm by the pool or on the beach when on holiday you can find me on sun lounger under an umbrella.

Unfortunately there were no umbrella's here so I ended up sitting by myself in the shade on the other side of the pool, before I gave up and headed inside because it was way too hot.

The pool itself was nothing to write home up (I forgot to take pictures but you can see them on the EnjoyBCN Gaudi link above), it is very small and there were only 5 sunbeds.

We then went for a walk down the streets by the apartment where we found this cute little chocolate shop (I forgot to get the name of it) that had all kinds of sweet treats before we headed back to the apartment to get the rest of the girls so we could head to dinner.

Venessa, Ruby and I ended up at a restaurant called Bacoa near Barceloneta (right by the beach!) while the others ate nearby at a place called Salamanca.

We loved Bacoa! We had to take a menu and tick what meat we wanted, if you wanted a bun, style of chips, extras like bacon and cheese and what drink you wanted. You can find the menu here: Bacoa Burger Menu
All three of us had something different. Ruby had the Gran Vegano burger, Venessa had the Suiza burger and I had the Pollo burger. Venessa and Ruby were also obsessed with the €2 cups of wine.

On the way back to the metro one of the girls went to a shop called Eyescream and Friends and got that incredibly cool ice cream!

All images belong to me