5 Things you MUST do in Barcelona #4 - Tapas!

Mmmm tapas. Told you I'd probably write a food related post. Boy I love tapas. You look at those tiny plates of food and think 'that's never going to fill me up' but it does!

You're spoilt for choice in Barcelona when it comes to tapas bars. It's almost overwhelming if you're only there for a short trip and don't have any solid recommendations to go on.

Well I'm here to help. We found a central tapas bar that doesn't look much from the outset but it has a great atmosphere and even better food.

As far as I'm aware it doesn't even have a name that I could give you, I just know it as the yellow tapas bar near the Rambla... well, off you go, what are you waiting for?!!

So, I'll do my best to direct you to this bar.

If you're on La Rambla, head to Carrer del Pintor Fortuny which is a few streets down from Placa Catalunya. Walk along Carrer del Pintor Fortuny until you see a bar with yellow signs, I stole this from Google Maps:

Attractive, non? Anyway it's not the most historical or most beautiful eateries I've been to, but it's in a great location and the food was delicious and fairly inexpensive.

Plus, there was a Spanish girl who was eating alone and had a 3 course meal to herself and then jumped on her moped after eating, that is so rock and roll. I would never dine alone and shamelessly eat a 3 course meal THEN jump on a moped. So European, I love it.

Anywhere that is good enough for her is good enough for me I say.

Good luck finding this place and if you do find it, tell them you heard it from me. They won't have a clue what you're talking about but it'll be fun to say it.

Adios!

5 Things you MUST do in Barcelona #3 - Cable car mayhem!

I love cable cars. I have NO idea how they work and I'd rather not know, a bit like how I feel about flying really. I'm just happy that the plane leaves the tarmac, I don't need to know anything other than that. I put my faith in the pilot and he/she responds by talking in that nice accent and telling me the temperature outside of the plane.

So... cable cars. Here's the deal, I pay to get on a tiny capsule that is suspended between two points by a rusty cable that goes around a big wheel. Fine, everything seems fine with that.

Get the metro to Paral-lel stop and look for the black sign with the handy picture of the funicular train (basically a line drawing of a train going uphill - great!) The trains to the cable car are automatic, there's no driver, so if you're a nervous traveller, just don't freak out when some idiot like me shouts out for a laugh 'THERE IS NO DRIVER ON THIS UPHILL TRAIN' tee hee. Sorry.

Anyway, it's all worth it and the expense when you get views like this:

What a view... oh.
 

You can then choose to either walk back down the hill or take the cable car up even higher but that was high enough for us.

So we chose to get on ANOTHER cable car (because one isn't enough for one day) and this one goes OVER THE SEA. Oh yeah, this was about to get serious.

Again, I think you can justify the expense when you get views like this:

So that's my third recommendation of what to do in Barcelona. Two more to go, I suspect they might be food related...

5 Things you MUST do in Barcelona! #2 - Sagrada Familia

Yawn. I hear ya. This is on EVERY must-see-and-do list and you prefer to get off the beaten track and see the 'real' Barcelona...

Well, I say to you, there's a reason this is on every must-see-and-do list!

For those of you uncultured swines out there, the Sagrada Familia is Antoni Gauid's unfinished masterpiece and is one of Barcelona's biggest tourist attractions. It's supposed to be finished by 2026 or something like that.

What a beauty! The Sagrada Familia that is...

The wonder of Gaudi is present all over Barcelona and it makes my head hurt thinking about what Barcelona might have looked like if Gaudi had thought 'You know what? I think I'm going to be a butcher'

Barcelona = Gaudi.

Once you get over the entrance prices (€16 entry) and the RIDICULOUS queues in the hot sun, I'll guarantee it's worth it.

This was actually my third time to visit the Sagrada Familia (smug) but I haven't been for almost six years. The previous two visits felt like paying to visit an overpriced building site, and I didn't even get to wear a hard hat or hi-vis jacket. Unfair.

The main basilica wasn't even nearly finished the last time I popped over and you had to climb a spiral staircase all the way up those towers in the picture above. Dizzy and sweaty is NOT a look I can pull off that well.

So I even comtemplated sitting it out and sunbathing in the park with a beer ice cream opposite while everyone else queued in the hot sun and slogged it out.

But I didn't, and I'm glad I didn't.

It's amazing. I don't tend to describe things as breathtaking as I'm not in a romance novel, but it really was.

 

 

 

 

There's a noticeable lack of handrail in the middle there...

So all in all, a fun couple of hours and well worth the entrance fee. Visiting the Sagrada Familia should be on your must-see-must-do list in Barcelona.

The only negative point I have is that while Gaudi was an extremely clever man with a huge vision, he didn't think of building a tea room in the entire compound the Sagrada sits in. So if, like us, you queue up mid morning for an hour and then your ticket states that you can't take the lift up to the top of the building for another two hours, you're going to get hungry. And grumpy. You can't leave and come back with your ticket, that would be too helpful.

There's is not a scrap of food to be found once you're inside the gates, trust us, we'd have found it - scavengers that we are.

Gaudi, if you'd have built a tea room, you'd have been able to charge extortionate fees for a sandwich which would have overflowed the cash fund to finish the build a LOT quicker than 2026. Tut tut.

If only my Dad had come to Barcelona with us, he's the king of packed lunches...

5 Things you MUST do in Barcelona! #1 - Magic Fountains

I love these five things posts, here's five reasons why I love these five things posts:

1. You know what you're getting - five things
2. Normally I like things in threes, but three isn't always enough

Yep, I've run out of reasons. This is awkward. Well I started this post with the intention of shoe-horning all these things in one post, but I've decided to split them out in to separate posts. It's my blog and I'll do as I please :)

ANYWAY! I was in Barcelona a few weeks ago and had an incredible week. I realised that quite a lot of people tend to go there on a city break for maybe 3 days/2 nights, but we were lucky enough to go there for a week. Barcelona is expensive, so you have to know how to play it.

1. Magic Fountains of Montjuic - They're called magic fountains for a reason ok? It's a free water show that takes place between 9-11pm. So basically, you think 'Oh right, well I'm short of cash and I quite like a water fountain anyway, so I'll pop along and check it out.'

You get the Metro to Placa Espanya and see some fountains in the middle of a huge roundabout and feel a big anticlimax. BUT WAIT! Those aren't the fountains you've come to see! Turn left and you'll walk up an avenue that is lined with loads of fountains.

- It's at this point you realised you forgot to pee and there's A LOT OF WATER AROUND THAT IS NOT HELPING. Uh oh.

Make your way up to the top and you'll be greeted with a huge crowd all staring at a giant water fountain. You're underwhelmed aren't you? Well take a look at these photos and see what I mean! My camera is 100% not waterproof, so I couldn't take too many as the spray is everywhere from the fountains!

But being that far away isn't fun and you can't really hear the excellent music that plays in time with the jets. Move closer and prepare to get soaked. Now that's the fun part.

 

Great fun and all without spending a penny. However, it will leave you needing to spend a penny if you forget to pee beforehand.

I'll always treasure the memory of Queen's 'Barcelona' starting up and everyone just going crazy to it getting absolutely soaked. You definitely don't need to pay loads of money to have the most fun.

Fountains of fun! Here's a link to the site with more info on times and dates of shows etc.

My Favourite Blogs Right Now...

I love blogs. That is partly why I have a blog of my own. Duh.

I love clicking on to someone's page and seeing what they have to say, but I am massively guilty of bouncing straight off again if I don't feel like sticking around. Apologies if you have high bounce rates, that would be my fault.

I especially love blogs that make me laugh out loud or talk about cats or give me money saving tips (because I have no money and therefore need to save money) or are just plain random. Love it. I like to think this list below gives some kind of blueprint of my brain...

Here's my list of my current favourite blogs/sites:

Just general chitchat and excellent use of swear words:
http://luvandhat.tumblr.com/ - My absolute all time fave right now. Two writers, one topic or object. One loves said object/topic, one hates it. Brilliant. Read it and read it again. The only negative is that it's not updated as often as I'd demand, but it keeps me going back for more. Just like a drug addict.

Just hilarious travel:
http://roymarvelous.com/ Laugh Out Loud score is a healthy 8/10, very well done Roy. Almost got busted for reading it in the office but IT IS WORK RELATED I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW. Back off. It's about travel and I work in travel. Roy has a great writing style and has had a lot of fun on his travels so far, read it please.

Just pretty things:
http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/ Crikey - I've spent so much time getting lost on this blog, but I justify it because it keeps me out of mischief. I'd just be scribbling on walls, supergluing coins to the pavement or posting Josh's credit cards through the floorboards if I wasn't reading blogs. Plus, it's mega creative and full of good tips. And photos of pretty shoes. All very important stuff.

Just love the writing style:
http://25pillsaday.wordpress.com/ You might have seen Mary's blog post '15 things white girls like to do on facebook' which went viral a year or so ago, I've been following it since then. I love her writing style and she has the cutest dog called Monty. I'm not even a dog person but Monty makes my heart melt. Nice work, Mary. You have the ability to make light of a tough situation and I applaud you for that.

Just because:
http://maddieonthings.com/ Yeah that's right, when I've had a hard day at the office I like to come home, take a bath and then look at Maddie the dog and all of the things she can stand on ok?! This dog is incredible.

No one has paid me for any of these recommendations, but I have no issue with taking bribes to get your site on this list. I'm just kidding. (Email me)

No, I actually am kidding, just looking to share a little blog love in this cyber world.

Ok see you later!

Taking photos of clouds: My new obsession...

I have a fairly addictive personality, but I'm aware of it so I can channel it in the right direction. I get little obsessions and I'm loyal to them for as long as it takes to get bored of them and toss them aside.

So, I'm a little surprised that I'm married :)

My previous obsession was a game called Bejeweled on the iPhone. I didn't even HAVE an iPhone at the time, but I blame my sister Beth for getting me hooked on this game, she's like a pusher. She gave me a taste of it and then I was addicted. One time I played it for three hours straight and only stopped when Josh threatened to cut off my supply (it was his phone) and divorce me. When I stopped looking at the screen I could still see all the jewels... not good.

Check out my super high score though! (it came at a price...)

So... I was talking about clouds, not Bejeweled... My latest obsession is taking photos of clouds. And trees. I just love them. Give me a photo with clouds AND trees AND Instagram and I'm all over that.

Hell to the yeah.

On with the cloud love!

I've always loved clouds, even before I'd been in a plane (I first flew when I was 14 I think, to Holland) and I wondered what it would be like to fly through one.

I can name loads of different clouds too, yeah. Cirrus, stratus, cumulonimbus... errrr. Fluffy ones, giraffe shaped ones... well you don't have to know everything about something to appreciate it, I say.

I'm hoping to actually experience what falling through a cloud is as I'm doing a charity parachute jump soon. Good Lord that even frightened me to type that.

Hope you like my cloud pictures! I love Yorkshire.

I don't know what to write about first!

What a mental July I've had.

Presented an idea in front of 12 serious suits at the HQ of the company who owns the company I work for (big smiley face logo, you know the one) in the hopes of winning £1,500 towards another trip somewhere (can you guess where I'd go?!)

Kenya - I might have mentioned it.

Barcelona - For a week, for my birthday. Lots of tapas. Countless sangrias. Sun! Vitamin D ahoy! Rooftop pool, couldn't be more different to Kenya...

York. Just because I fancied getting on a train.

I'm getting closer and closer to home with my trips it seems. Time to go away again.

So there's plenty of things I have to write about and I REALLY enjoy writing. I just need to try and put it down in a way that doesn't make any sense to you whoever you are, reading this. I mean it barely makes sense at best anyway...

What I will do is this... because I haven't done it for ages:

Things I'm excited about!

(I can't remember if I used to do bullet points or numbers and I HATE being inconsistent) *quick check confirms it was bullets*

• Ooh! I might be doing a parachute jump for Lunahome in Kenya which I'm sh*tting myself really excited about. Why wouldn't you be excited about throwing yourself out of a plane?

• On that same note, there's talk of us climbing Mount Kilimanjaro too next year to raise money. Oh God. I'm really going have to start taking the gym seriously aren't I?

• The Olympics. That's right. I'm on board. GB! GB! GB! Although I'm also cheering on Kenya and Uganda at every opportunity.

• Going camping this weekend to see my lovely little sister's wedding venue. Exciting. We're off to the Lake District. PLEASE DON'T RAIN. I'm not good at camping in the rain, I get very grumpy.

I'll be back with more stories from far and near. Stick with me.

x x x x