Pack Your Bags: Barcelona
Right after my crazy semester ended in Dublin,
Tyler & I woke up the next morning
and walked (read: crawled) out of our flat
headed towards a flight to Barcelona.
Some of my best friends from high school
were headed there for a weekend.
There's a bigger/emotional back story
to our get away,
but the bottom line is:
sometimes you just need
to hang out with your best friends
in an awesome place.
It's healing for the soul.
By 11am, we were at our hotel
and ready to take on the day.
Or at least,
find a good place for lunch.
Thanks to the amazing people of Instagram
for the great recommendations.
We had such a good time
just taking it easy
and enjoying the sun
of this welcoming city.
Affordable, delicious, kind...
as crammed as it was in our schedule,
a weekend in Spain
was really good for Tyler & I.
Excuse the iPhone/Instagram pics...
my camera charger is broken!
Here is my "list" from our trip
to Barcelona.
We loooooved this hotel.
It was about a 10 minute walk to La Rambla,
but we like to walk
and it was just around the corner from the MANGO outlet.
The restaurant was lovely,
the rooms were huge,
and the price- amazing: €61 a night.
Holler.
* * *
THE BORN
This isn't a shop or a cafe,
but an entire area of town
in the central part.
You won't have to go far
to find this gem of a neighborhood.
It really reminded me of Paris' Marais.
Cool shops, great eats, and a really good vibe.
You'll like it, I just know it.
Here are some of the places we loved in the Born.
* * *
This tiny shop has baby clothes that make me want to cry.
Someday, when I'm a big time blogger (read: sarcasm),
I'll go back and buy the place out.
The clothes are gorgeous.
Even Viola knew it was some place really special.
A croissant & belgian waffle's love child?
Indeed.
This tapas place....
just perfect for your daily dose of
patatas bravas, peppers padron & jamon croquettes.
And with glasses of cava for €2.50
and most of the tapas plates from €2-4 each,
you'll walk out with some cash in your pocket
to buy a souvenir at...
Just down the street from Tantarantana,
this is one of the cutest boutiques I've been in
in a long, long time.
I bought a scarf.
The sweaters are dreamy,
but I was shopping in a little lower price range
with Christmas coming up.
When I go back with my Scrooge McDuck millions
to buy out Muna,
I'll be sure to go back here
to loot the place, too.
It's great stuff.
* * *
Okay, The Born is great,
but there is life outside it, too.
Another little cluster of good spots
comes on the coast,
right off the Barceloneta metro stop.
This is a great burger place
right along the beach of Barcelona.
Not only does the setting have a great atmosphere
(Spanish hipsters + surfer chill),
but, whaddaya know,
the food is great, too.
I went big:
The Big Maka.
Bacon, onions, grilled peppers, cheese, BBQ sauce.
So good.
After you've had your burger & fries
at MakaMaka,
go across the street to Las Fritas,
where you can get (more) french fries.
This stand sells only fries...
obviously.
On a sunny day,
walking along the coast
with a paper cone of fries
would be, well, muy bien.
{Editor's Note: There Is also a realllly good churro stand across the street from Las Fritas.
Go getcha some (their enormous "small" is €5 + €2 chocolate sauce.)
___________
Obviously, I didn't even mention
most of the tourist attractions
in Barcelona...
Or any actually,
so let's do a quick recap of those, too.
Those, most well-known are:
Park Guell, La Sagrada Familia, La Rambla, Picasso Museum
and the lush food stalls of La Bouqueria....
Barcelona,
you're beautiful.
See you soon, I hope.
*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy