Hello Barcelona, I have arrived. |
I didn't know what to expect but Barcelona's charm and street escalators was definitely not it.
Sagrada Familia! |
...and the interior. |
For me, the highlights were Sagrada Familia (despite the
hour long queue) as the stained glass windows and Gaudi architecture really did
take my breath away. I also held my breath and survived the cable car up to
Mont Juec which, when armed with a picnic and minimal sense of direction, made
for an interesting last afternoon. Gaudi's park too was fantastic (I may have
had a power nap on the world's longest beach) and the Magic Musical Fountain at
the bottom of the MNAC made for a twee, colourful, and Top Tourist Trap for our
final evening.
Thoroughly enjoying the bench. |
Conquering the Mont Juec castle. |
Showing her skills at the open (and free!) Olympic stadium. |
As with all of my trips, I'd like to give my most succinct and concise, 'dos and don'ts' of Barcelona:
Do avoid dinner by the seafront if you're on a budget - we struggled to find a cheap place to eat on the beach.
Do take a day out of town to one of the more beautiful, quiet beaches just 30 minutes away from the city. Our day outside of town was well worth the €7.30 and extreme sunburn.
Do avoid dinner by the seafront if you're on a budget - we struggled to find a cheap place to eat on the beach.
Do take a day out of town to one of the more beautiful, quiet beaches just 30 minutes away from the city. Our day outside of town was well worth the €7.30 and extreme sunburn.
Do queue from the tourist spots. I would recommend this in very few cities but I fell in love with the cathedrals, parks and museums here.
Don't be afraid to try out your Spanish. Or English. Don't be afraid to be friendly.
Do invest in an appropriate number-of-days public transport card! I cannot stress this enough - Helena and I constantly thanked our lucky stars that, for near €30, we had unlimited transport on the metro which was a lifesaver.
I am already aching to go back and would recommend this city (despite its pick-pocketing record which, we were not party to..) to anyone. Just chill out. Relax. Have some paella. And was the world go past on even the quietest streets.
No comments:
Post a Comment