Quantcast
RELATED
How A Misinterpreted Text Landed Me 3 Nights In Barcelona
Travel

How A Misinterpreted Text Landed Me 3 Nights In Barcelona


Traveling to Spain has been on my radar since The Cheetah Girls 2.

As years passed, I found myself always waiting for the right time. Then, one morning I got a screenshot from my dad showing a Hopper notification for a Barcelona flight deal followed by a flight itinerary. I quickly purchased round trip tickets. I later found out those screenshots were more so FYIs than invitations. As a result, I cancelled my flight. My dad, whose original plan was to fly into Barcelona for a cruise, changed his mind and decided he wanted to explore the city with me instead. So, in under 24 hours, I booked, cancelled, and rebooked my flight to Spain. A few months later, we arrived in Barcelona!

Everyone's travel taste is different and sometimes having less of a plan leads you to where you need to be. In my 3 nights in Barcelona, I explored new neighborhoods, ate amazing food, and took advantage of the city's photo opps. Hopefully my experience helps you plan your time in this amazing city.

Day 1

The Eixample neighborhood is the perfect place to be if it's your first time in Spain. We chose the Royal Hotel as our base and loved having transportation and things to do close by. Passeig de Gracia is a busy street filled with stores from Spanish chains like Zara and my new fave, Stradivarius. Shopping on an empty stomach got rough so we switched gears and went for tapas at Cerveceria Catalana, a recommendation from our hotel's front desk.

After tapas, we made a few stops to see the work of Antoni Gaudi, the genius architect known for giving Barcelona its colorful mosaic aesthetic. You can't miss Casa Batllo and Casa Mila. Casa Atelier is another great stop, next door to Casa Batllo; this one isn't Gaudi's work but we appreciated it just as much.

Our jet lag started to set in, so we tuned into the culture and paused for siesta. We ended the day with dinner at La Cava and roaming the Eixample neighborhood, finding wine bars and street art along the way.

Photo: Casa Batllo from @casabatllo

Day 2

We started day two at La boqueria, the colorful food emporium recognized as a Barcelona staple. You walk into a rainbow of smoothies and fruit juices, fun shaped candies, and of course tapas. We ate and then roamed around the Gothic Quarter, making stops into a few souvenir shops and pausing to take pictures of the beautiful buildings lining the street.

From there, we checked out the Barcelona Cathedral and Arc de Triomf. We popped in to Tapeo for lunch—my favorite tapas spot of the entire trip. In the same area is a little bakery called Bubo. I had the best chocolate and macadamia treats here and have been plotting ways to get my hands on them again. Day two also included seeing La Sagrada Familia, eating Thai at Royal Thai, and enjoying the rooftop bar inside our hotel.

Photo: Writer Jovania in the Gothic Quarter

Day 3

On our last full day in Barcelona, we spent a couple hours wandering Park Guell, a public space filled with gardens and breathtaking architecture. It feels like wonderland. Afterwards, I discovered a less touristy area called Sant Antoni, specifically Carrer de Parliament. The street is made up of cozy coffee shops, juice houses, and couples walking their dogs. We didn't expect to need a break from tapas but we did. We stopped at The Juice House, thinking a little turmeric would offset all the wine and Iberico ham we'd been eating. We followed that up with a delicious grilled chicken and grilled halloumi sandwich from Federal Cafe. I could have easily spent an entire day in the area just eating and drinking.

Barcelona is an ideal destination for anyone who loves sightseeing, shopping, and culinary adventures. Some other good eats we stopped at along the way include Ciudad Condal in Eixample and Bar Lobo in El Raval. In just a few days, I saw so much of the culture here and can't wait to go back.

Photo: Park Guell

Related Stories

How to Travel the World With a Full-Time Job - Read More

5 Lowkey Travel Destinations to Satisfy Your Wanderlust - Read More

I Went Broke Trying to Live My Best Life - Read More

A Guide to Traveling Abroad Without Breaking the Bank - Read More

Featured image by Getty Images

 

RELATED

 
ALSO ON XONECOLE
From Heartbreak To Healing: The Multifaceted Journey Of Nazanin Mandi

Nazanin Mandi is never out of options.

About a year ago, the 37-year-old life coach and actress was navigating life after divorce and determined to experience homeownership for the first time as a single woman. She’d been married to the R&B singer Miguel for three years, following a long-term relationship that started when she was 18 years old. But, in 2022, she filed for divorce. It was certainly the most public change she made but, in reality, it was just one of many decisions to refocus and reach her full potential in recent years.

KEEP READINGShow less
Hailey-Kilgore-Raising-Kanan

Hailey Kilgore, who has brought the character Jukebox to life on Power Book III: Raising Kanan for the past three seasons, was working hard in show business long before landing the role on coveted Starz franchise. She's already a Tony- and Grammy-nominated talent whose credits include the Jennifer Hudson-led Aretha Franklin biopic Respect and the Tony-winning revival of Once on This Island.

Hailey may play a teen on the Mekai Curtis-centered series but she's been training in singing, acting, and performance since the tender age of 9—that's 16 years now. If you take a look at her social media profiles, it will almost make you do a double take as her real personality couldn't be further from what's depicted on the show—proving just how talented she really is. The Broadway veteran, who is gearing up to release her first album, is what many would describe a girl's girl wearing loads of sequins, gowns, and serving face!

KEEP READINGShow less
LATEST POSTS