Barcelona 2017 | Travel

Summer feels like it's nearly over. Not only because, as typical British weather suggests it's terrible outside so I'm confined to writing inside instead of enjoying the luxury of my garden, but also because my holidays for this summer are officially over; with a poor tan to accompany it, I must say. Though I'm going to give a quick guide to Barcelona, a city that encompasses the full range of rest and relaxation from the wide stretching beaches through to the must-see sightseeing spots. Though what I found most hilarious was the amount of people who mentioned 'coffee shops', no need to explain what that actually means, and the most British and innocent answer of 'no thank you, maybe later'. It's safe to say I nearly died from laughter. 

Transport 

Taxi's are particularly cheap in Barcelona. Of course they will be inherently more expensive than public transport, but cheap nonetheless. We'd decided to take the Aerobus from the airport to Pl. Catalunya which was a 10 minute walk from where we stayed. The buses have three stops and go from both Terminal 1 and 2 from the airport. Plus it's only €5.90 for a single trip, so you save a lot of money if you're on a budget. 

In terms of sightseeing, I took my favourite mode of transport which was the City SIghtseeing bus. There are three routes; red, green and blue. Red and blue take you to the tourist attractions such as Sagrada Familia, amongst others, whilst the green line takes you to some of the best beaches that Barcelona has to offer. We didn't take the green line because the beach was about a 20 minute walk from our hotel, but the bus was extremely useful in terms of the fact that everything in the city is so widely spread apart that it's better to spend money on a bus or a taxi to get to places than to walk half the city. There are two bus tours in Barcelona that generally do the same route and you can get it for one day which costs about £25 or two days which is about £35; clearly the latter is the better deal to save money and gain more time. What I found most confusing was actually identifying the bus, which I now know is purple for anyone who is as clueless as me. 

Food 

Eating abroad is sometimes quite difficult for me, well eating anywhere is really. But I find that abroad there are masses of options to eat that are entirely different when you're vegan. My favourite options we did for breakfast was to go to a market off Las Ramblas that sold masses of fruit pots and fruit juices, as well as other things, and we would go and sit on the fountain at Pl. Catalunya and people watch. Who doesn't love to people watch. My other favourite option was the uber healthy Flax and Kale; quite difficult to find but delicious food. There's both inside, outside and balcony seating, where I'm told the latter was the most beautiful. Try the acai bowls and you will die, as well as there juices. I wish we'd gone there more often because it was that delicious. My other favourite places were Luzia Veggie (the American Veggie Burger and nachos were a piece of art) and the Veggie Garden. There are many places that sell vegan/veggie food, most tapas is really which is helpful, but obviously these places are my absolute favourites.

Hotel 

There are many hotels, hostels and Air BnB's in the city to find the most suitable hotel for you. I'd recommend Kayak.com or Last Minute, but there are so many websites where the best deal for you can be found. We stayed at the Hotel Moderno BCN, situated just off Las Ramblas. The hotel was nice, the staff were so friendly/helpful and the location is exquisite; I would wholeheartedly recommend it.

Sightseeing/Beaches

There are so many things to see in Barcelona, but you should definitely book to see Sagrada Familia and Park Guell, both of which sell out quicker than you can get through both attraction names. There are so many places which you can purely just look at, particularly the buildings designed by Gaudi that are not to be missed. I would definitely recommend going on the cable car to Castell de Montjuic where you'll get the best view of Barcelona, as well as outside the MNAC museum where the gardens and the view are as equally beautiful. If you get the chance to, see everything; it's so difficult to put into words how beautiful everything is. Even walking around the city, particularly the Gothic Quarter, where the side streets are a still moment of picturesque magnificence. 

xoxo