There and Back Again: Destination #19

My first stop on my Euro adventure was Barcelona. I arrived Tuesday late afternoon and I welcomed the Spanish heat with open arms after a brutal month of weather in London. I arrived at my hostel and I was immediately impressed as the gentleman who checked me in was super friendly and informative. The hostel offered free dinners every night so I decided to partake in this and I do not regret it. Virtually everyone in the hostel would gather for these meals and it would be a great way to meet people and chat. The hostel wasn't very big either so that made it a bit more intimate. Another great thing about the hostel was that they had optional day and night activities. So after dinner, we headed out for some drinks and I got to make a few friends that night!

The next day, I went to explore the city. I first stopped to see some Gaudi architecture - a particularly famous one called La Pedrera. Next was the real famous one called La Sagrada Família, the massive cathedral that is in fact, still under construction to this day. Afterwards, I took a walk up hill to Park Güell. If you've seen one picture of Barcelona, it might have been from Park Güell. I thought this was a lovely part to visit and I would definitely recommend it as there are lots of neat architecture around the park and once you get to the top of the hill, you get an amazing view of the city. I then went to the other side of town where I saw the Magic Fountain and the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. By the time I was done everything, I was exhausted and sweating like a pig. Thank goodness for the metro trains they have in the city as they’re all air conditioned! Not sure how London hasn't been able to adopt this technology yet on the tube. I went back to the hostel and partook in the free dinner again. Afterwards, the hostel put on a “How to make Sangria” lesson which, again, was free. The best part was that we got to drink the sangria afterwards. When we had finished the sangria, we headed out for another night on the town.

For my last day in Barcelona, a few of us from the hostel (lots of Canadians by the way) went to the main touristy street in the city called La Rambla. Unfortunately, this area is supposed to be known for its pickpocketing so I made sure I was extra careful in this part. We visited the market Mercado de La Boqueria and Plaça Reial before one the Canadian guys and I headed to the beach to soak up some rays. I had the free dinner of course in the hostel that night and afterwards, a bunch of us went and saw the Magic Fountain as they have light shows at night, kind of like the Bellagio in Las Vegas. To end the night, we chilled at the hostel with some cards and drinks. A couple of the guys bought these chips and as we ate them, we noticed they had a weird taste to them. We then realized that they were clam flavoured! Who does that?

Since I was leaving the next morning, it was already time to say goodbye to the great people I had met. I certainly have never stayed at a hostel like that and not sure if there will be another one like that that comes around. They were inexpensive, clean, and the staff were awesome. You can’t beat free dinners and having social activities every day.

Barcelona is a great city. It’s so big and there is so much to do. I would love to go back one day and see more as I don’t think I got everything in!

Next:
San Sebastián
Madrid
Seville
Faro
Lisbon
Porto
Marseille
Nice
Turkey
Rhodes