Barcelona — Living Our Dream

Barcelona, Spain
October 9th-13th

In Waterford we headed to the bus station so we could get back to the airport in Dublin. From Dublin we flew to Barcelona. We eventually made it to our hostel pretty late at night. It was dark outside and we were exhausted from the day of traveling. Taylor and I decided to call it a night and start fresh in the morning. Our little hostel room had a balcony and two beds that filled the entire room. It was cramped but a cozy place to sleep.

In the morning, Taylor and I walked around the city. We were in no particular rush and wanted to leisurely explore our surroundings. I had never been to Barcelona before so it was nice to not have any obligations right off the bat.

We were hungry for breakfast and stopped into a little corner shop. The tables were adorable and had different spices/grains inside the glass table top. And.. YES, I ate cake for breakfast.

We ended up heading towards the water and walked along its beach for quite a while. The town was busy but you could find quiet areas here and there to really take in the moment. The water is so close to the city. The art and history that filled the city was mesmerizing. This little art nut was more than excited.

Along the beach, we stopped at El Pacifico to have Paella! I did not realize we were in for such a presentation. It was very good... but I did learn that Paella isn't my favorite. Our server was so generous and brought us Limoncello at the end to top off our meal.

After lunch we walked to a mall that was halfway across the harbor. We crossed over a bridge that closed often throughout the day as sailboats were constantly arriving or leaving. This was definitely not the place to be stuck if you were in a hurry. Each side of the bridge filled up quickly as we waited for the boat to pass. Once it did, swarms of people carried on their way to the other side. It was more interesting that it sounds in the blog.

Later that evening, we found a little tapas spot to have some dinner. We really grew to love the self serve toothpick tapas restaurants. The wine was VERY cheap and the tapas were enjoyable. The place was crowded and we were lucky to have a little seat.

Later that night, Taylor found a restaurant where the entire inside was decorated as if you were outside. Trees had tables attached to them with little ponds with running water collecting along side. The restaurant further surprised us as there was a small area set up as if you were in an old time haunted house. I didn't get pictures.. but there was a mirror where if you looked long enough you would see a mans reflection appear... with child's bed frame and old toys laying on the ground next to it. A doll house. You get the picture. We were glad to have stopped by this place!

The next day we had plans to go to an afternoon wine tasting. We decided to walk around and see portions of the city we weren't able to see the day before. We did a lot of walking before we decided to stop for a ham and cheese sandwich. For some reason, this sandwich was very satisfying.

Once we finished lunch we had to figure out how to get to the meeting spot for our wine tasting. We walked a long way to be where we needed to be at the right time. We made it to metro station and there were quite a few people around.. we didn't know which on was our tasting guide. After a few confusing moments, we found who we were looking for and were on our way.

This tasting was much different than the ones we had been on before. We were told that we were going to stay in one place and the wine (along with meats and cheeses) were going to be brought to us. Two thumbs up. We had a great time getting to try many different types of wine from an organically produced facility. Thank you Hallie and Patrick for the suggestion! It was well worth every minute.

All their wine had taps like a beer bar. We ended up getting a bottle each that we could fill up with whatever we chose and brought them home with us.

Overall, it was a great time with great wine, and great cheese. After our tour was over, we asked our guide what we should do next. He mentioned a French restaurant that his friend owned and suggested if we go there to tell him he said hi. Well, that is exactly what Tay and I did. We walked our way to this little French restaurant where we stayed the remainder of the night. We had a blast!

After all of this time around wine and food, Taylor and I were ready to head home and call it a night. We walked back to our hostel and immediately hit the sheets. We had booked a city walking tour early the next morning and did not want to miss the opportunity to learn about the city!

We met our tour guide and were split up into groups. I was beyond excited that I was going to be able to see the works of Gaudi in person!

Casa Batlló

While on our walking tour, there was a parade through the streets. It happened to be National Hispanic Day in Spain. It was such a beautiful, colorful surprise.

On our walk back home, Tay and I got a pizza from a little shop up the street from our hostel. A quiet night in was needed before we got ready to head out to Granada the next day. Granada holds a special place in my sisters heart.