We arrived in Barcelona on August 7th and stayed in an apartment we booked through AirBNB for 3 nights. This was our first time booking through AirBNB and we were happy with our accommodations and the price we paid for it. Location was great too.
Barcelona is a really great city with gorgeous beaches, really interesting architecture (Gaudi), good food and suave pickpocketers galore. It’s not just the tourists who are the targets of pick pocketers, the locals get their stuff stolen as well and even warn tourists how to carry their belongings.
I was really impressed with Barcelona – it was very modern in appearance and clean. It was easily accessible by foot, main sights weren’t too far from each other and the people were friendly. The only thing I didn’t like was the sheer number of pick pocketers. They were everywhere, especially in the train stations and on the popular shopping street, Las Ramblas. I even witnessed a few attempts at pick pocketing. If you go to Barcelona, protect your belongings! Zippered bags in the front of you (with locks) and nothing in your pockets. Don’t make yourself a target!
Here are photos from Barcelona!
Barcelona has its very own Arc de Triomf (different spelling than France's one)
This fountain is located in the Parc de la Ciutadella and is amazing! It's called the Cascada and was built for the 1888 Universal exhibition. The design of the fountain is loosely based on Rome's Trevi fountain.
Gorgeous long stretch of beaches!
This is how you gotta roll in Barcelona - backpack in front so you can safely guard all your prized possessions.
The Sagrada Familia is a large Catholic church in Barcelona with amazing architecture. It is currently under restoration. It was designed by famed architect, Antoni Gaudi. We would have loved the opportunity to see the inside, but the line up was massive!
Casa Mila - another masterpiece by Gaudi.
Casa Batllo is a building restored by Gaudi - this is just a close up of one section. Notice how there are no straight lines.
I found another market. La Boqueria market located on Las Ramblas.
Finally, I had paella. I ordered a meat & veg paella from 7 Portes Restaurant in Barcelona. I did some research beforehand and this restaurant is known for their paella. I had to make sure that if I was going to eat it for the first time, it had to be good. It was pricy and good, but it just tasted like a rice dish with meat and veggies. Good but not worth the sticker price. Tasted like something I could easily make at home.
I really liked Barcelona! Great food, great people, amazing architecture and nice beaches! What more could you ask for? Ok, maybe less pickpocketers would be nice, but just be smart and exercise some common sense and all will be good :)
Barcelona was impressive just from the architecture alone! Just because its so different! A 4th day would have been nice there but time was ticking with the rail pass! We loved Spain way too much! Didnt leave time for anything else. I think i said the same thing about Ireland!
ReplyDeleteI went to a local dive shop to see how the diving was and was told because of the visability there is no diving in Barcelona but.......! Their second office was in an hour bus ride (10 euros) to a place called Tossa de Mar! I asked if he said "taco" but no it was Tossa! Great place I am sorry i dont have pictures of the place as all my stuff was locked in the dive shop (a 15 min drive from the beach)
But google images has some great ones of it! This was my cheapest and best dive so far! 55 Euros for full rental and for 2 dives! I was the only one that spoke english but the staff was awesome! I would dive with them again! It was called Rayas diving.
The dive itself was off the beach and explored caves, underwater cliffs and my first experiance with a sea snake it was orange and looked like a python! It was about 8 feet and about 6in in diameter! Just impressive!
I think next time i will stay Tossa de Mar for a few days!
This was our last stop in Spain and we were not looking forward to our return to "The Toilet"!