Past Trips: Barcelona

One of my favorite cities is Barcelona. The food (oh geez, the food), the sites, the culture, the people, the shopping: all spectacular.

The Food:

calamari

spanish version of steak frites?

spaghetti with cheese sauce

paella

fideua

monkfish and salmon skewers

paella

sangria

olive oil

The seafood is impeccably fresh (it's a seaport city after all) and they say that Spain is becoming the culinary capital of the world (watch out, France!).

Paella is a must, while you're in Spain, but fideua is pretty fantastic too. It's similar to paella except it's made with cut up vermicelli noodles and it's amazing.

Sangria! We opted to get some at a touristy joint with huge straws, which just makes the experience fun.

And lastly, olive oil! The olive oil in Spain is amazing. It's fruity, aromatic, and full of flavor. We had a salad simply dressed with olive oil and salt and it tasted better than any dressed salad I've ever had.




















The Sites, Culture, People, & Shopping:

lil sis at Placa Reial

Palau Guell

Barceloneta Beach

Casa Batllo

Sagrada Familia

La Pedrera

Parc Guell (ANTM cycle 7 runway)

Parc Guell

Parc Guell

animals for sale on Las Ramblas

Merkat Boqueria

A little background info: Barcelona was one of four stops on a mini euro trip so we flew in from Paris and flew out to London, using Easyjet both ways. Flights averaged $40 per person which is pretty awesome. We stayed at the Hotel Market which was located right next to the Sant Antoni Market (where we picked up some great souvenirs) and near a few metro stops. There's a delicious restaurant in the hotel as well, and we had a great experience with the staff and in our lovely room.

Gaudi is one of my favorite architects so of course we had an amazing time exploring in Barcelona. Las Ramblas is so fun for eye shopping and of course, you must spend a day wiggling your toes on the imported sand. Yes, imported sand; apparently they import the sand because it's an artificial beach! My sister and I read in our guide book to be extremely wary of pickpockets so we were v. vigilant.

I'd love to go back again really soon, even just for the food.