Barcelona received all the hype in my pre-trip research. It was labeled as a beautiful city that New Yorkers love. It’s every 00’s kid Cheetah Girls daydream. Barcelona is culturally colorful and truthfully beats to its own drum. After seeing the traditional Spanish culture in Madrid, the Catalan city was a refreshing change.
Today, I’m sharing the last travel post from my 10-day extravaganza across the Iberian peninsula that took us from the coastal city of Lisbon, through Madrid, and culminated in a few days in Barcelona. You can also check out my vlog series on YouTube for a visually immersive experience. Let’s get into this very cheetalicious city.
Barcelona, Spain: The Independent City
Day 1
As I mentioned in my Madrid blog post, I loved taking the high-speed Renfe train from Madrid to Barcelona. It was a really great experience especially since we scored discounted preferred tickets. The train station is massive and pretty close to the city center. Barcelona is expansive and is a bustling tourist destination. I feel in love with the neighborhood that we decided to stay in because it had a local feel, but still had lots of things to do. Our Airbnb was right on a square that we absolutely adored.
When we first arrived at our Airbnb, there was a huge program going on that was put on by a Catalonian Independence group. It really convinced me that the people in this city were their own people. Barcelona wasn’t going to be the Spanish city that Madrid turned out to be. It was a Catalonian stronghold. The culture, passion, and strength were oozing. It was electrifying. It was also about an hour and a half too long and very loud, but it was a great way to experience the culture less than an hour after arriving.
Dinner: La Pepita
La Pepita has excellent ratings and for good reason. They have a very extensive selection of traditional Spanish tapas. They also own a cozy bar down the street that you can chill at if there’s a wait. The hostess will even come and get you. We also ordered two of the “pepitas” which is kind of like a sandwich type of dish. Everything was very delicious!
Day 2
Breakfast: Federal Cafe
This was probably my favorite meal of the trip. It gets an 11/10 because it was the cutest spot, had a great ambiance, and the food was incredible. We all ordered various coffee; the coffee of Spain and Portugal really can’t be beat. We decided to share a bunch of dishes including a yummy egg and potato scramble, french toast, and pancakes. It was right off the cutest updated square that was adorable.
Morning Activity: Las Ramblas, Gothic Quarter, Arc de Triomf
Las Ramblas
The first morning that we were there, we started with all the basic tourist areas. Las Ramblas is the iconic street that the Cheetah Girls literally strut down at the beginning of that iconic film. It’s kind of a tourist trap nightmare that’s equivalent to Times Square, but much cuter. We took a quick stroll down a couple of blocks before heading toward the Gothic Quarter.
Gothic Quarter
I’d also pick up a snack or juice at La Boqueria, the huge market place with tons of food stalls. The Gothic Quarter is the beautiful old part of town. The architecture is actually insane. You’ll see gargoyles, the intricate details of the Cathedral. If you can navigate around a few hidden streets, you can even find some ancient Roman columns from the early Barcelona Forum.
Arc de Triomf
We ended up strolling all the way to the Arc de Triomf and stopped for pictures. I was also enamored and tricked into buying one of those patterned lawn blankets. It did come in handy when I went to a Bryant Park movie night so I’ll say I’m thankful that I bought one.
Lunch: El Petit Princep
I hadn’t looked up any places to eat lunch near the Arc de Triomf, so we kind of just strolled around until we somehow found the cutest little cafe spot. I ordered a much needed iced latte and an acai bowl. It was the perfect little combo for a hot day spent in the sun. Hannah got a tasty juice that I would highly recommend trying.
Evening Activity: La Sagrada Familia Towers Tour
We were all pretty pooped out after all the walking and the exhaustion was starting to catch up with us. We taxied back to our Airbnb [note: Uber is under fire in Barcelona which made navigating the city by car really difficult. The mytaxi app is helpful, but seriously, just use the metro!]
Our evening activity was La Sagrada Familia. It is a beautiful, and huge, church that is currently being constructed in Barcelona. We decided to do the Towers tour which came with the audio tour. The audio guide is 100% necessary. It’s a pretty building and the architecture is stunning. Gaudi was an incredibly intentional man and every choice was symbolic in a way. The audio guide will help explain it.
Dinner: Taverna El Glop
After we toured La Sagrada Familia, we finally got our hands on some yummy paella. Taverna El Glop is the place to go and the portions were plentiful. We shared a chicken and seafood paella, sangria, and lots of delirious laughs. We also got some gelato on the way back to our Airbnb from a chain called Dino.
Day 3
Morning Activity: Park Guell
Park Guell is a beautiful Gaudi installation that overlooks the city of Barcelona. We got an early start at the park and bought tickets for 9:30 am. I highly recommend going in the morning; the crowds will be smaller. I would also recommend figuring out if there is some guided tour around the park. It was fun to walk around and see the beautiful work that Gaudi designed, but I feel like we lost the clarity that we had at La Sagrada Familia. We jumped in a group for 5 minutes and learned a ton.
Brunch: Brunch & Cake by The Sea
Park Guell can take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour. You can also explore the non-restricted areas if you have time. We took the Park Guell bus from the metro station round trip which was incredibly easy and included with the price of your ticket. The journey to the Barceloneta district was incredibly easy. We ended up having brunch at Brunch & Cake By the Sea.
I was not the biggest fan of the food. But, my vanilla latte was heavenly. I really think my meal choice was not the best. I should have gone for the avocado toast or the french toast. But, I wanted to mix it up and I just wanted a sampling of things. I guess I had tapas on the brain. It’s not the move people.
Afternoon Activity: Barceloneta
We didn’t swim or even put our toes in the Mediterranean, but you can spend a couple of hours sipping drinks by the ocean and getting some sun. You’ll also probably get approached by club promoters [we are all grandmas and did no clubbing]. The pickpocket rate is also extremely high on the beach, so be careful! We took a well-deserved nap during siesta after we walked down the boardwalk.
Evening Activity: Casa Batllo
Casa Batllo was our last stop on the Gaudi Express. That man ruled the streets of Barcelona. This house is settled in the Gracia neighborhood and was even more whimsical in person than it was in pictures. We didn’t go in, but you could take a tour of the inside if you wanted.
Dinner: El Nacional
Our last dinner in Barcelona was a little more upscale. When in doubt and in Barcelona, go for the tapas. We waited for about 30 minutes for the Tapas restaurant in El Nacional. An upscale collection of restaurants and bars. The atmosphere and ambiance were wonderful. The interesting thing about this tapas restaurant was that the waiters simply bring around and yell out the names of an assortment of tapas and you have to claim what you want.
The potatoes, fried egg dishes, and Iberian ham selections were super tasty. We had a lot of snacks throughout the day, so we were full pretty quickly. This place was a blast though and our waiter was funny. It was an interesting way of being served for sure! The food was plentiful and we didn’t have to wait at all to get eating after being seated.
Drinks: Cachitos
The only downfall to El Nacional was that all the bars and restaurants were serving bottled sangria. A huge no-go for a group of gals who had been enjoying tasty fresh sangria all week. We found a restaurant within walking distance called Cachitos that had rave reviews for their sangria and it did not disappoint. We sat outside and enjoyed a very strong pitcher of sangria.
Day 4
Breakfast: Curuba
Our last breakfast was spent in our little square at our favorite little cafe, Curuba. We ordered croissants and coffee. It was pretty busy with local patrons, but the vibes were great. They also had a great breakfast deal that we took full advantage of. I am seriously going to miss the cheap food and drinks in Spain.
Woo! The last post in my trifecta of Europe blog posts. If you like seeing what I was up to in Lisbon, Madrid, and Barcelona, be sure to check out my vlogs on YouTube. They’ll give you an even more intimate look into my 10-day trip abroad. How many of you have your eye on Spain? I 11/10 would recommend. I now have the travel itch and I’m dying to head somewhere else soon. Hey mom & dad, want to take a family vacation soon?
keep on keepin’ on,
