Spain: Barcelona - Winter 2015

I booked my trip to Spain sometime in August. The flight was not cheap because it was during Christmas. However, there was really no other place that my friend and I could agree on, and I've always wanted to visit Spain, so this was the chance.
Museu Nacional d'art de catalunya
                                                                
I didn't do much planning before going to be honest. My friend had arranged a lot of the lodging and I just reviewed and agreed to stay wherever she found. All I did was look up on Trip Advisor what were the top sights to see. I also didn't buy a tourist book for my trip. Which is something I usually do.

The beauty of Barcelona is that it is a modern city with works by Antoni Gaudí spread out across the city. There were things that I noticed about Barcelona that was different compare to other European cities I had previously visited. There were signs of previous bull fights by their stadiums, and the amount of pride for soccer. I felt like Barcelona was touristy but it was also very relaxed. Everything that is a tourist attraction is not centrally located together. You can either take the subway, or walk there. I did try to walk as much as I could, but sometimes the subway was the best method too given how far things were.
Basilica de la Sagrada Familia

Park Guell

Palau Guell

Helpful Tips:
  • I grabbed a few maps on the Aerobus bus ride from the airport to Espanya station. This one had a page where it gives you a quick overview of places and tells you what is free on certain days. For example, I visited the Picasso Museum for free on a Sunday afternoon
  • For the Gaudí places of interest, I bought my tickets online prior to going. The online tickets have a date and time on them. It's also usually cheaper by a few Euro. So you save time and money by buying online.
  • Unlike some other European countries, you can buy a coffee and a pastry and eat it there. For breakfast, I would buy a coffee and have a pastry and this would be about 3 Euros. Once in Venice, I bought a coffee and pastry and it was about 6 Euros. However, it if stood it would be like 2 to 3 Euros. 

Places to Visit in/near Barcelona:
Palau Guell
Museu Nacional d'art de catalunya
Magic fountain
Basilica de la Sagrada Familia
Sant Pau Recinte Modernista Barcelona
Park Guell
Museo house Gaudi
Museu Picasso - free on Sunday afternoons
Gothic Quarter
Arc de Triomphe
Ciutadella Parc
Harbour of Barcelona
Casa Vicens - Was under renovation, and I believe this is the only place that is not opened to the public due to the building being a residence.
Casa Mila
Casa Batllo
Rambla area - market place is in this area
Arenas Barcelona - former bull fighting stadium, now a shopping mall
Montserrat - Separate day trip

I want to mention that Park Guell is free, but there is a section where Gaudí designed his famous mosaics. I didn't buy a ticket to go into that part. You can see it from the park, except I did not see the famous mosaic lizard. I did go to his house as part of my Basilica de la Sagrada Familia ticket.
the pinchos I selected @ mostly was 1€
Foods to Try:
  • Tapas - there are many different types of tapas. There are some called pinchos. I had mostly pinchos. After I finished eating my pinchos, the staff count the number of tooth picks as my bill. There are some places you can find pinchos for 1€
  • Jamón ibérico - The famous ham is found everywhere. There are some places where you can buy a sandwich with jamón ibérico in it and it's very delicious.
  • Patatas Bravas - basically fried potato but I really liked it
  • Paella - You can find paella in many places for tourists. Prior to going, I did read that there were more authenic paella, and that seemed to increase the price of it too. So I just stuck to the tourist ones.
  • Other seafood - seafood everywhere! I had some squid in another place for dinner and it was delicious
  • Pastries - In the beginning, my friend and I were trying to save money and were eating granola bars. Then near the end of the trip, we just started buying breakfast. It was worth it! The pastries were so fresh. The coffee is naturally delicious. I still can't find that type of breakfast back at home. I usually avoid eating breakfast out because usually in European cities, it seems that it is cheaper to stand than sit. Sometimes I would pay 6 Euros for something that would be 2 Euros had I stood. In Barcelona, it was about 3 Euro and I could sit. So that was great!

Transportation:

I mostly walked but the Metro was 2.151€. So I would map out where I would go so that I can just walk the rest of the way, which is doable but just very far walks. The metro system is very efficient, but I just wanted to walk around.

Other observations:
The local people I encountered were very friendly and eager to help. It could also be that I looked confused at times but people were really patient with my friend and me. Also there are two official languages in Barcelona, which are Catalan and Spanish.

To Tip or no tip?
I checked many online articles and it seems that tipping is optional. It seems that tipping is more for high end restaurants.  I can be wrong, but if I am, I definitely didn't tip in Barcelona. I think our first meal, after I got my change back, the waitress had turned her back on me so I just left without giving a tip. Then it just started to go from there.

Final thoughts:
I like the way buildings are designed, but I wouldn't say that is something I always analyze or pay too much attention to. However, all the buildings by Gaudí were breathtaking. I felt like I could spend hours just to try to understand the detail that is placed on the wall. I feel like we live in such a digital age now, and everything is coming at us all the time. However, the details in Gaudí's buildings were amazing. 

I am so glad I went during Christmas. Something about all the decorations being up and observing how another country celebrates Christmas is pretty interesting. The flight was expensive because everyone is going home to visit family, but the number of tourists are less than the summer time.


I hope this was helpful to you if you are thinking about going to Barcelona. Thank you for stopping by!

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