Barcelona in association with Holiday Gems

I have had the pleasure of visiting Barcelona before, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd like the city that much. Or that I'd have a burning desire to return. I would head back with my favourite travel buddy (now my partner in crime!) as there were so many things we didn't get to see / do first time around. We would spend our 4 days and 3 nights as follows:

Day 1

Visit a playa. We only saw one at night so it'd be nice to see it in daylight, dip our toes in the water, and relax a little after travelling. Whilst in the area I'd definitely want to re-visit Barcelona's chocolate museum and sample some more of their deliciously thick hot chocolate:

We'd wander around a little - because that's when you find the best places - and maybe head back to the playa for the sunset. As it was a pretty amazing sunset:

When I'm travelling I always like to play it safe with food on the first night. We had amazing burgers at Pura Brasa so this would be my restaurant of choice:

Nearby there is an amazing fountain show at night which would be rude to miss:

Day 2

We would be up at the crack of dawn for our Gaudi day. We'd start by visiting the Sagrada Familia - before the queues get too long - and then afterwards head to Parc Guell. These were by far two of my favourite places and you cannot visit Barcelona and not see them

In the evening we would end up around the port which had the best paella and sangria we'd ever tasted. You paid a little more for food here, but it was worth every euro. A lovely atmosphere and attentive restaurant staff who always made sure your wine glass was never empty:

Day 3

Como Caixa is Barcelona's gem. Entry was really cheap and you could go in and out as many times as you pleased. It was a lot quieter than the main tourist attractions so it was a breath of fresh air. 

This time round I'd love to try a special dining experience at one of Barcelona's top restaurants - this one has some amazing reviews - and go in search of some sugary goodness. Like Escriba to see their amazing cake art, Papabubble for extraordinary candy, or bubo for dessert one day.

Day 4

For the final day I wouldn't want to do anything too strenuous before the flight home. I would visit St Josep la boqueria market for lunch - fabulous hot food plus cups of fruits for only a euro - and to pick up last minute souvenirs:

And a wander around Las Ramblas of course.

So there you have it. How I'd spend my time in Barcelona and why I'd love to go back. If you'd like to read up on any of my past Barcelona posts, or get some Barcelona travel inspiration, you can find them here:  1  /  2  /  3  /  4  /  5  /  6

This post forms my entry for a Holiday Gems competition [competition now closed] where one lucky blogger will win a trip to Barcelona

#BarcelonaGems

Barcelona - day six

On day six, too much sugar was consumed over breakfast

We headed back to the market but sadly most of the stalls were closed. But I did spy some novelty sangria:

For lunch we discovered an awesome noodle bar where their cartons weren't just used for the food...

We filled up on noodles sitting on some steps in the town square

As it was the last full day in Barcelona, we had a bit of an easier one. We wandered around the port making the most of the sunshine. Because London can rarely offer such temperatures.

After a quick shower and clothes change back at the hotel, it was time for our last supper in Barcelona. We chose to go back to Pura Brasa (the restaurant from the first night) as when we went before their burgers looked EPIC. And let me tell you now.... they did not disappoint:

I'd never had a cheese burger where cheese is actually piped inside the meat before. Have you? The menu described the chips as "straw chips" and they weren't lying! They were the thinnest, tinniest chips I've ever seen! And so incredibly more ish. And for the last part of the evening? Played around with the manual settings on my camera for night time shots. GEEK.

Me saluting Barcelona. Standard.

So that's it. The concluding chapter to my Barcelona posts. I really hope you've enjoyed them. If you missed out any of the other days, you can find them all in my blog archive or below:

day 1  /  day 2  /  day 3  /  day 4  /  day 5

Barcelona - day five

No matter where in the world I am, I'm always interested in a good museum. When I read about CosmoCaixa (a science museum) in my guide book, it was a no brainer! It was ridiculously cheap, you could go in and out as much as you pleased (useful for lunch purposes) and it kept us occupied for most of the day.

One nice little surprise was an indoor rainforest complete with tropical fish:

There was a disgusting section on where all the bacteria on the underground is located!

And a section with a solid block of ice! With my body temperature, I made my mark:

Afterwards we walked around the port and found an aquarium

Their conveyor belt style bit through the shark tank was the highlight

I'd recommend the science museum over the aquarium though. It was tons cheaper and will keep you entertained for much longer. I did find a tube in the aquarium though that kept me amused for quite a while:

Around the port, there was an outstanding choice of restaurants. I picked out one that was a little more expensive than the others, but it was worth every single euro. This was PROPER paella. And the best sangria I'd ever had. You could taste that they'd used damn good red wine in it

En route back to the hotel, we noticed that the nearby fountains were actually ON and that there was some kind of show with lights and music and such.

I think the next pic sums up perfectly why I shouldn't drink:

Yes, I am conducting. I like to get involved.


Final instalment coming soon: Barcelona - day six!

Barcelona - day four

Despite an early morning start, we queued for ages for the Sagrada Familia. Which in my guide book is described as "Barcelona's most famous construction site" because most of it still hasn't been built yet!

Everywhere you looked, there were the most incredible details:

Inside, it was nothing like I'd ever seen before:

The tour of the towers was not for the faint hearted. The staircases spiral endlessly and are very narrow. The views were amazing. I just had to suck it up and ignore my legs which had gone to jelly

Next stop was Gaudi's Park Guell. I'd recommend sensible shoes as the park occupies a vast amount of land. Oh and insect repellant. I was bitten within an inch of my life that day

My favourite bit had seating and lots of mismatched files forming the most curious mosaics:

Come evening, we decided to try Tapa Tapa as we'd heard lots of people recommend it. 

Honestly? A disappointment. Never again.

They took ages to bring out our paella. People that arrived (and ordered) well after us got theirs first. When I asked where it was, they were very short with us and told us matter-of-factly that paella takes a while to cook. I know this. I cook paella myself at home. It never takes THAT long though. And see the chicken skewers in the top right hand corner of the pic below?

.... these came out RAW. I cannot speak Spanish so I had to point to it and say "pink" in Spanish. The staff offered no apology, no discount on the meal, or anything. In fact they looked annoyed at us for pointing this out. They could've given us food poisoning FFS! The chicken was CREMATED in their oven and brought back out to us BLACK. So if you ever go to Barcelona, avoid Tapa Tapa at all costs. Rubbish customer service and no one wants the risk of food poisoning ruining their holiday

Coming soon: Barcelona - day four!