Barcelona has a lot to offer! You could spend weeks visiting and never run out of sights to see and things to do. But it’s also a city that with a bit of planning can be the perfect get away for a four-day weekend. That’s exactly what my husband Tony and I did for this most recent Presidents Day weekend. About two weeks before the holiday, we realized that we had a great opportunity to take this holiday four-day weekend and make the most of it! We hopped onto the computer and did a quick search for cheap flights from Catania to any of the major cities on our bucket list and ended up with two tickets Friday morning to Barcelona!
We packed everything we needed into one backpack and one rolling suitcase so we could skip checking our bags and giving the airlines a chance to lose them. Our flight from Catania took us to Rome Fiumicino where we had a six-hour long layover (literally a whole other blog post!) before getting on our flight to beautiful Barcelona. It was around 6 p.m. when we were flying over the coast of Spain and noticing some of the landmarks we had read about in the travel guide. We saw the Tower Agbar, the Olympic Stadiums and the stunning beaches. The city looked so beautiful lit up in an orange hue just before sunset.
Before landing, we skimmed through a travel guide and read that bus was the easiest and cheapest way to get down town. There was one leaving every 5 to 10 minutes and signs pointing the entire way. At only €10.20 for a round trip ticket, it was a deal. The return ticket is good for up to 15 days. If we had more people or luggage a taxi might have been worth it, but this was the perfect method for two adults with two small bags. The bus trip took around 30 minutes to get us to Plaza Catalunya. The plaza is at the top of a street known as Las Ramblas, which is the center of town and a great place to start exploring.
We once again used airbnb.com to book an apartment for our trip. The one we selected is just two blocks away from Plaza Catalunya. The landlord, a sweet middle-aged Spanish woman named Maria, met us at the apartment. She gave us a quick tour of the apartment and handed us the keys for the weekend. We dropped off our bags, grabbed the cameras and immediately started wandering the streets.
Our first night out, we rambled along Las Ramblas, grabbed some tapas at the local bar and did some shopping at a lively produce market. At the end of the night on the way back to the apartment, we noticed the scent of hot, fresh waffles. The kiosk was selling waffles, crepes, and ice cream. You could get any mix of the three together. It was a little messy as the hot waffle melted the ice cream, but delicious nonetheless.
The second day, we explored massive medieval churches and reveled in the architecture of the gothic period and designs by the great Gaudi. This guy has some crazy designs and much of Barcelona was designed by him. You’ll see hints of his wild designs all over the city sprinkled alongside other periods and styles. All of Barcelona is very bike friendly and sprinkled with bike rental shops that offer full day rentals for as little as €12. The city also boasts several bike lanes and pedestrian only areas that make it very safe to ride or walk in leisure. When we were ready to stop, we used the provided locks to secure the bikes and found a nearby tapas restaurant to satisfy our hunger.
The tapas restaurants are really just a place to try a wide variety of appetizers. I recommend trying a sampling of several types of available food. Most menus were in English and offered seafood, chorizo, fried foods and other small plates to ensure you get the full Spanish experience.
The Spanish prefer the cool night hours to the hot midday sun. As a result, many of the local restaurants in the city don’t open until 9 pm and stay busy until 3 am or later. I recommend downloading an app for your smart phone that uses its GPS to find nearby restaurants and their hours.
The tapas restaurants are really just a place to try a wide variety of appetizers. I recommend trying a sampling of several types of available food. Most menus were in English and offered seafood, chorizo, fried foods and other small plates to ensure you get the full Spanish experience.
The Spanish prefer the cool night hours to the hot midday sun. As a result, many of the local restaurants in the city don’t open until 9 pm and stay busy until 3 am or later. I recommend downloading an app for your smart phone that uses its GPS to find nearby restaurants and their hours.
The second night we were there, we attended the FC Barcelona futbol match. Tickets priced at €26 each put us about six rows from the top of the stadium. You could see the whole field with out a problem and I was easily swept up in the energy of the crowd as Barça (as they’re known) scored 6 goals against their unfortunate opponents, Rayo Vallecano.
On the third and final full day in Barcelona, we hopped on our bikes and just rode around with no real destination. We found their main cathedral around noon, where a group of musicians were playing classic Catalan music while locals performed the traditional Sardana circle dance. It was quite a sight.
Even though we we’re supposed to enjoy the local culture in Spain, when I saw Starbucks, I couldn’t help but getting a taste of good ol’ American coffee. It’s a great stop for people watching too… but I did that all over the city! It’s one of my favorite parts of traveling. Seeing how other parts of the world dress and interact with one another. It appears that people in all parts of Europe have a cell phone glued to their hand at all times, not just us Americans.
Most of our fourth day was just heading home. We packed our bags, left a thank you note to Maria and hopped on the bus back to the airport to catch our flight. Everything in Barcelona was very convenient, and enjoyable. I’m already thinking of a trip back next summer when I can enjoy their beautiful beaches. We caught a few days of nice weather during this February trip, but it was no where near nice enough to take a dip in the sea.
On our way home from Barcelona, I was pleasantly surprised to see many sailors and families on our flight. It made me happy to know that so many other people are making the most of their overseas experience by cashing in on these free blocks of leave days to travel around Europe and spend time with family and friends!
//Lyndsay.
