Pack Your Bags: Barcelona


Right after my crazy semester ended in Dublin,
Tyler & I woke up the next morning
and walked (read: crawled) out of our flat
headed towards a flight to Barcelona.

Some of my best friends from high school
were headed there for a weekend.

There's a bigger/emotional back story
to our get away,
but the bottom line is:
sometimes you just need 
to hang out with your best friends
in an awesome place.

It's healing for the soul.

By 11am, we were at our hotel
and ready to take on the day.

Or at least,
find a good place for lunch.

Thanks to the amazing people of Instagram
for the great recommendations.

We had such a good time
just taking it easy
and enjoying the sun
of this welcoming city.





Affordable, delicious, kind...
as crammed as it was in our schedule,
a weekend in Spain 
was really good for Tyler & I.

Excuse the iPhone/Instagram pics...
my camera charger is broken!

Here is my "list" from our trip
to Barcelona.










We loooooved this hotel. 

It was about a 10 minute walk to La Rambla,
but we like to walk
and it was just around the corner from the MANGO outlet.



The restaurant was lovely,
the rooms were huge,
and the price- amazing: €61 a night.

Holler. 



*   *   *



THE BORN

This isn't a shop or a cafe,
but an entire area of town
in the central part.

You won't have to go far 
to find this gem of a neighborhood.



It really reminded me of Paris' Marais.

Cool shops, great eats, and a really good vibe.

You'll like it, I just know it.

Here are some of the places we loved in the Born.



*   *   *

MUNA- This tiny shop has baby clothes that make me want to cry.
Someday, when I'm a big time blogger (read: sarcasm),
I'll go back and buy the place out.

The clothes are gorgeous.

Even Viola knew it was some place really special.



HOFMANN- This is a gorgeous bakery has amazing cakes, cookies, 
and- what did you say? The Crofre? 



A croissant & belgian waffle's love child?

Indeed.



TANTARANTANA- This tapas place....
just perfect for your daily dose of
patatas bravas, peppers padron & jamon croquettes.

And with glasses of cava for €2.50
and most of the tapas plates from €2-4 each,
you'll walk out with some cash in your pocket 
to buy a souvenir at...




DR. BLOOM- Just down the street from Tantarantana,
this is one of the cutest boutiques I've been in
in a long, long time.

I bought a scarf.

The sweaters are dreamy, 
but I was shopping in a little lower price range
with Christmas coming up.




When I go back with my Scrooge McDuck millions
to buy out Muna,
I'll be sure to go back here
to loot the place, too.

It's great stuff.




* * *



Okay, The Born is great,
but there is life outside it, too.

Another little cluster of good spots
comes on the coast,
right off the Barceloneta metro stop.






MakaMaka Beach Burger Cafe-  This is a great burger place
right along the beach of Barcelona.

Not only does the setting have a great atmosphere
(Spanish hipsters + surfer chill),
but, whaddaya know,
the food is great, too.


I went big:
The Big Maka.

Bacon, onions, grilled peppers, cheese, BBQ sauce.

So good.






LAS FRITAS- After you've had your burger & fries
at MakaMaka,
go across the street to Las Fritas,
where you can get (more) french fries.

This stand sells only fries...
obviously.

On a sunny day,
walking along the coast
with a paper cone of fries
would be, well, muy bien.

{Editor's Note: There Is also a realllly good churro stand across the street from Las Fritas.
Go getcha some (their enormous "small" is €5 + €2 chocolate sauce.)






___________


Obviously, I didn't even mention
most of the tourist attractions
in Barcelona...

Or any actually,
so let's do a quick recap of those, too.

Those, most well-known are:
Park Guell, La Sagrada Familia, La Rambla, Picasso Museum
and the lush food stalls of La Bouqueria....







Barcelona,
you're beautiful.

See you soon, I hope.




*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

20 comments:

  1. Viola is such a ham! I love how she smiles and poses for photos. Also, the food looks amazing. I really need to go to Barcelona!
    -Rachel @ With Love, Rachel

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  2. A beautiful city! Everything looks so amazing :) And hey, you need to go back and splurge on that little suitcase/briefcase thing for Viola - it was made for her to have!!!

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  3. How fun to just jet off for a trip! I'd love to visit Barcelona, but I don't speak Spanish well, and I worry that it would be hard to get around and communicate. Did you have a hard time getting around?

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  4. I love your blog, so much. It makes me fee like I've been to all of these European cities you, your husband, and bébé travel to! Hopefully I'll get there someday. If not, i'll just live vicariously through your blog... Take care :)

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    Replies
    1. hah, thanks! i'm happy to help you live out your fantasy until you can make it over yourself! :)

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  5. andddddd i'm going. love your travel recaps, they are SO fun to read! :)

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  6. Lauren!
    I'm so happy when I find a new post of you!
    Viola is so wonderful!
    I would give her a thousand hugs!!

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  7. I hopefully will be off to Barcelona next year, we meant to go this summer but funds sadly didn't stretch! Will make sure to bookmark this post for tips. Viola is the most stylish baby ever.

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  8. Christmas is coming, the latest Michael Kors to see here
    http://www.ebagstore.com/

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  9. I haven't made it to Spain yet, but it's definitely on the list. Also, I love how Viola always looks so delighted, it's utterly sweet!

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  10. What a lovely tour & yummy recommendations, Lauren! Made me go check fares' prices for a weekend there (and the last shot is so cute :)

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    Replies
    1. hah! good- than it's working. :) trying to spread that travel bug!

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  11. Viola is just way too cute! I keep getting distracted from your photos of all the fun places you're traveling b/c of her.

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  12. I want to go,looks so fun! And... that baby of yours- too stinkin cute!

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  13. Wow - this post is just proof that Barcelona needs to be the first place I travel to once I graduate. Every time I see something about this city I just fall in love with it even more. Your photos are amazing - iPhone quality or not ;)

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  14. Barcelone has to be my favourite city in Europe - 5 trips in the last 18 months should testify to that :)

    We always stay in the Born district which is lovely - El Balcon del Born is always worth looking at for a great B&B to stay in.

    If you get to go again, try and get a table at Tickets restaurant!!

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  15. Love this! I'm planning our trip to Puerto Rico in the summer if you have any must eat places.

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  16. I wanna go back. And miss v couldn't be cuter!!!

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  17. It looks like a fun time. All that food looks yummy!

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  18. Have followed you for quite some time.......Now I think I'm just following Viola...LOL

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