Beautiful Barcelona

Hello and welcome to the second leg of my European trip where my friends and I set off to Barcelona, Spain after our time in Ibiza. It was a doozy to get to Barcelona, and unfortunately we lost out on practically an entire day due to a mega flight delay. Our Ibiza plane was fully boarded, and we were in the plane for over an hour with no air conditioning. I was definitely over heating and tried to calm my body down by attempting to take a nap and not overwork myself to cool down. We eventually had to de-board as the plane was missing a part that was being sent over from Barcelona. We were provided no ETA on when the plane would get fixed, so we spent the whole day in the airport waiting for an announcement. We were able to make it to Barcelona just in time for dinner, and eager to start enjoying what the city had to offer.

We treated ourselves to a delicious multi-course meal at Filigrana where all the food was prepared and served in such an aesthetically pleasing way. We ordered fresh-baked bread, gazpacho, lobster, mango, and avocado ceviche, ham croquettes, cannelloni, tomato salad, goat shoulder, truffle mashed potatoes, mixed paella, and ribeye that was cooked at the table over a heated block of himalayan salt. Here is a link to my Instagram post where I included some highlights from Barcelona. The last slide is of the meat being cooked over the salt slab: https://www.instagram.com/p/CuajMGAJfog/?img_index=1

We walked around after dinner to explore the city at night and stumbled upon Mr. White Cocktail Bar where we enjoyed a night cap. The drinks were perfectly crafted by mixologists who love what they do. It is a hidden gem and a must try when you visit Barcelona.

The next day was our only full day in the city as we were leaving the following morning. We hopped on the public bus as our AirBnB host let us know it is the most convenient, simple, and cost-effective way to get to all the sights we wanted to. We confirmed the stop we needed to be at, and the bus number to hop on that would take us there. It sounds easy right? Wrong! As each bus stop was appearing on the screen inside the bus, none of them matched up to the route we were looking to take. We hopped off after a while, and waited for another bus to come that mentioned would take us to the intended route we wanted to be on. This bus system isn't the type where you can confirm with the driver where you are going. The second you hop on, the bus is already driving away. Again, we noticed that the bus route was not taking us where we wanted to go, and we planned to let this bus run its course for it to then turn around and reverse the route again and take us back into the city. We suddenly were in this rural deserted-like beach and the bus driver looked back at us, since we were the only ones left on the bus, and said this bus is terminated and had to get off. With not a bus or taxi in sight, and being so far outside of the city, we were at a loss. We kept calling the local taxi service and the line would not ring and instead just disconnect instantly. After a while of trying on multiple phones, we finally got a hold of someone. I read a random sign that I hope indicated where we were, and they confirmed a taxi would be on its way to the beach entrance. Now there were multiple entrances so far spread out that we weren't sure which entrance this taxi would be arriving to, so everyone spread out with eyes on the closest entrance, and whoever saw a taxi would flag them down, and come to collect the rest of us up. Low and behold Dani and Jaida were on their way to scoop up Jess and I after a while of waiting in the scorching summer heat.

After hours of our day wasted, we made it into the heart of Barcelona and headed straight to grab a bite and eat our first meal of the day. We almost shattered the restaurant's glass entrance, but that's a story for another time, LOL. The absolute most breathtaking sight was La Sagrada Familia – a Roman Catholic basilica that has been under construction since 1882. I was in such awe of the intricate detailing and carvings in the architecture. It towered so high into the sky, and a portion of the basilica is pictured below. It instilled such inner peace being in the presence of it. We grabbed some gelato and did some souvenir shopping. It was so windy out that our gelato literally blew away from where we were sitting, and fortunately we were at the tail end of eating!

We got ready to head out for our final night in the city. I had made a reservation over the phone for a restaurant earlier that day, and Dani gave me her phone again to dial the taxi service to schedule a pick up. The woman who answered kept saying the word restaurant, and there was so much noise in the background of her call that I kept repeating myself asking if I could please order a taxi. Finally the background noise settled down where I could hear her clearly say we are not a taxi service, we are a restaurant. It was in that moment I realized I dialed the restaurant where we were eating at later instead of the taxi company. I apologized, hung up the phone, and we all bursted into laughter!

The night led us to this gorgeous cobblestone road, and tucked away area of the city where cars could not enter, where there were so many shops and restaurants. I did a double take past a jewelry store that was gleaming from the display case lights, and was drawn to it. We stepped in to check it out, and had such a successful experience walking away with jewelry that will always remind us of Barcelona. The store owner was so friendly and conversed with me in Spanish mentioning my speech was on par. He kindly offered me a discount too, which was an unexpected surprise. There are such kind and wonderful people all across the world. Having such a genuine encounter with a local was a highlight of my time there because just like Ibiza, there were a lot of not-so-friendly encounters from local Spaniards.

After shopping, we headed to Monk – a convenience store front with a speakeasy in the back. The atmosphere and decor was on point. Each of their craft cocktails were in a different shaped glasses. Our favorite drink of the night was in a glass shaped to look like a grape bunch. It definitely wins in my book for most creative appearance!

I was getting a knack for hailing cabs down because not many stop unless you walk to a designated taxi stop. The taxi driver who drove us to our dinner reservation was a sweet Italian man, who was an angel looking out for us. He asked if we had been charged surcharges with our recent taxi rides. I confirmed there were charges on top of the ride here and there, but we never questioned it because the drivers would tell us the total summed up based on what was on the price meter. He let us know that a specific set of taxi drivers scam riders and add that charge around the city, but it is only meant to be added if it is a drive to or from the airport. He said that if we notice that trick again to insist we are notifying the police as it is prohibited. Fortunately, we did not have it happen the rest of our trip, but were so thankful he was looking out for us.

We wrapped up our evening eating dinner at Boca Grande, which had an exquisite menu. We all shared salmon tartar tacos, tuna tartar, ham croquettes, lobster and artichoke paella, broiled scallops, and cannelloni paired alongside passionfruit mojitos. We collectively agreed that Spain has the best food. Once the restaurant closed, guests are sent upstairs to a stunning lounge for a nightcap. An honorable mention about this restaurant is their bathroom. We all said we could spend hours in there. It is lit by only candlelight with dozens of various sized mirrors covering the walls. The sink was a giant ornate barrel in the center of the room, which reminded me of the bathroom in Harry Potter where Moaning Myrtle the ghost hangs out in, and is the sink that leads to the Chamber of Secrets.

Barcelona was a short-lived, but incredible city. Every time my hand was extended out of a taxi window feeling the breeze and admiring the scenery, or walking down the streets of Barcelona, I felt like I was in The Cheetah Girls 2 movie that was filmed in Barcelona. I also had Ed Sheeran's song, "Barcelona," looping in my head the whole trip. I am already looking forward to the day where I can visit this city again to explore further, and get to visit other parts of Spain too. I highly recommend adding Spain to your travel list.

Next stop: Croatia! Stay tuned for the next and final post of the summer 2023 travel series!

Remember to stay humble and kind, always!

Follow me on my personal social media platforms to stay up-to-date with my every day life:

Instagram: jess_puch

TikTok: jesspuch

xo –Jess