City Break in Barcelona

Hey guys, I haven't posted in around a week as I've been super busy! Last Thursday I had my Graduation Ball, the Friday I finished moving all my things out of my Uni house and on the Saturday Matt and I went on our trip to Barcelona! From my previous lifestyle post you may remember he surprised me with this trip to cheer me up as things  have been a bit hectic and rubbish for me these last few months. We went for 3 nights which was plenty as city breaks are actually really tiring! I've been to Spain loads of times as my family own a villa out there but I had never visited Barcelona so it was really fun to spend time exploring the city. There is still a lot more to discover and I would love to go back again some time in the future. 

 Our flight was very early in the morning but we managed to get some shut eye on the plane, only to wake up to a rainy Barcelona! Once we got to our hotel, Rey Juan Carlos I, we managed to get into our room pretty quickly and had a quick nap so we could spend the rest of the day exploring and the sun had come out too. We paid for two consecutive days for the open top bus as this was cheaper - I would highly recommend using the bus as a way to explore the city as not only is it way cheaper than a taxi but there are audio points where you can listen to the recorded guide and there are loads of stops to get on and off when you please. There are buses every 5 to 10 minutes and they make the whole sight seeing process really easy! On the first day we took the opportunity to shop and explore Las Ramblas and the Gothic quarter as all shops are closed on a Sunday. I really enjoyed the Gothic quarter as it has loads of little streets to explore, with performers and interesting places to eat and drink. I wasn't as keen on Las Ramblas as it felt a bit too touristy but it was still a good experience to check it out. Once we got back to the room Matt had organised a surprise of champagne to be delivered which was such a cute touch and just what we needed after a long day!

The next day was pure sight seeing and we managed to see pretty much all of Barcelona from the bus, from the main part of the city to the beach. We stopped off at the MNAC art gallery which was so beautiful and had amazing views of the city, in Montjuic where we got a cable car overlooking the whole of Barcelona and finally onto La Sagrada Familia which is really famous. Unfortunately we couldn't go inside the last place because there was an event going on, but I will definitley be visiting it next time!

The final day we spent chilling by the pool and we ended up getting really sunburnt :(! After spending two days on the bus we knew the nicer areas to visit which were out of the tourist trap areas and so we got a taxi to drop us off an a nice street and went into a random restaurant for dinner. It was a lovely place with amazing food! We had a jug of Sangria, seafood paella and Catalan creme brulee all of which was delicious! Our flight was early the next morning, however we got delayed for over 4 hours due to the French industrial strikes. 

That is a quick summary of my time away but if you have any questions just leave a comment! Barcelona was an amazing experience and we definitely packed in as much as possible into the few days we had. I would keep in mind that city breaks are quite expensive though as we found out the hard way - we had three different types of taxes on our bill at the end of the holiday, including city tax for each night we stayed in a hotel, so its important to keep that in mind! I would highly recommend the city as it has the beach, history and culture all wrapped up in one place so there is something for everyone. 

I don't think we are going on a relaxing holiday this year like Turkey last year as we can't afford it - instead we are saving up for two weeks in Mexico next year when we are going to a wedding! I think it is definitley worth saving the money for :) Are you going on holiday this summer? xxx