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.

HOTEL MARKET

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