Monday 16 March 2015

To Barcelona we go

After very little planning and a rather spontaneous decision, it wasn't long before we were boarding the plane to Barcelona. 
I'm keen this year to visit as many places as possible and to tick off new cities and places that I can explore. 
We arrived early on Thursday morning and checked into our hotel 'Vincci Gala'. 
If you want a nice hotel that is close to the centre of Barcelona then I can definitely recommend this one. It's very close to Las Ramblas but far enough away that the noise of the city won't bother you. 

Check out the hotel's website here.



First stop on the agenda was the Marcat de Boqueria. Regarded as one of Barcelona's best markets, found just off of the Las Rambles, it was of course, a good place to start. 
For anyone who knows how much I love sweets. You can imagine my delight when I saw this. 




The selection of food here was incredible, especially the fish section, that had some of the best array of seafood I have ever seen. 




Brightly coloured fruit lined the market stalls


And some of the biggest strawberries I've ever seen. 






Salted cod, apparently a delicacy in Barcelona. 

Shortly afterwards we found La Cathedral.


Not wanting to miss anything that Barcelona had to offer, we ventured inside. 




There is something about being inside a Cathedral, especially something as grand as this one. It felt eerie, quiet. We marvelled at the architecture before we got the lift up to the top of the Cathedral where we were treated to some of the views over Barcelona. 
(You'll have to wait until the next blog post to see some views that rival these).


With our feet back on the ground we continued to wander through the city. 

Stopping at the famous Casa Bastillo -designed by Gaudi. We didn't go inside but the detail of the building was just incredible. 
The colours, the detail, really rival a lot of buildings we have today in London. 




We had read a few reviews about restaurants to try whilst we were in Barcelona but before we made our way to the first one, we stopped off at 360. 
A roof top bar in the city centre with 360 degrees views of Barcelona. We got there just after the sun had set and we managed to get some great of pictures of the skyline. 
Unfortunately the bar itself wasn't actually open, maybe because it's too early on in the season but that did mean we had the place to ourselves. 




They even have a pool up here. 


I highly recommend coming here if you are in Barcelona in the summer. 
The bar is called B-Lounge and it's at the top of a hotel called Hotel Barcelo Raval.

Finally we made our way to Quimet i Quimet.
It was possibly one of the smallest restaurants I have been to, if you can actually call it that.
The tapas bar is mainly for standing only but that didn't bother us.


Once you have made it in the door (and trust me it gets very busy) order a glass of Sangria or Cava if you are looking to try some of the typical Spanish drinks and then peruse the menu.
We ordered everything!



A selection of seafood which included: Mussels, razor clams, cockles, squid, tuna and lots of other things too. We also tried, goats cheese with foie gras and salmon with yogurt and truffled honey.
(I couldn't find a website for the restaurant but you can find them on trip adviser and they also feature in the lonely planet guide books).


By the time we left, we were full and in need of a good night's sleep.
Not bad for our first day in Barcelona, wouldn't you say?


10 comments:

  1. These photos are fantastic I hope you're having a great time xxx

    http://izzyk1998.blogspot.co.uk/

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    1. Thanks Izzy :). I'm going to go and check your blog out too.
      Kirsty x

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  2. Ah, barcalona must be such an amazing country - I see so many lovely pictures on Pinterest all taken in Barcalona! I would love to visit once :)

    xo Mel || Sketch & Scribbles

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    1. It's an amazing place. The pictures on pinterest definitely do it justice :)
      Kirsty x

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  3. This is so lovely! I've had Barcelona on my mind for a weekend getaway and you appear to have had a fantastic time. I agree with you on Cathedrals, so majestic and powerful... :) Thank you for sharing your trip, really enjoyable post.

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    1. Hi Kie, Thank you for your lovely comment. Definitely go to Barcelona if you get the chance. It really is beautiful. x

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  4. I love Barcelona and I love these pictures :)

    I'm running a GHD eclipse giveaway, if you're interested, check this link:
    little taste of heaven

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Michela. I'm going to have a look now :) Thank you.
      x

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  5. adore this, except that now i miss barcelona!!! :)
    xo welltraveledwife.com

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    1. Hey Emi, Ah no I'm sorry. It's lovely isn't it.
      x

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