This weekend, my roommates and I were determined to check a lot of activities off on our list on things to do in Barcelona. Luckily, we picked one of the most beautiful weekends to stay in the city and explore! After a long, busy weekend, I am excited to take it easy tonight and relax with my roommates.
On Friday, we went to brunch at the cutest restaurant called Brunch and Cake. It's a little place with white walls, wooden tables and couches and of course, cake! We had high expectations for this place because we had heard so much about it from people who had already been. They were so right! Brunch here was amazing. I had eggs with turkey and cheese on a "bagel" and it came with a side of guacamole. I put it all over the bagel and ate it as a sandwich. I never wanted it to end it was so delicious. With it, I had a cafe con leche which is basically a latte. We came out of the place wanting to try everything on the menu so we know we will be back.
After brunch, we walked around the neighborhood we were in. My favorite thing about Barcelona is how different each neighborhood is. In this one, every other store was either a bakery or a candy shop. We walked into so many different stores tempted to buy all kinds of things. It took a lot of restraint to come out of each store empty handed. We found ourselves on the street called Passeig de Gracia which is one of the main shopping areas of Spain. It is similar to 5th Avenue in New York. As you walk down the street, you see Burberry, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, etc. There are also less expensive stores like Mango, Zara and local Spanish chains. In this area as well is one of the Gaudi houses called Casa Battlo. The house was originally called the House of Bones because on the outside it looks like there are skeleton bones. I love how surrounded by the most high end stores there is an ancient, beautiful Gaudi building. It offers such a contrast between old and new.
Saturday we had big plans to sit on the beach but mother nature ruined that with rain. Instead, we went to Bo de B, a sandwich shop that abroad students love. Again, we had heard great things about this place and again, we weren't disappointed. You pick what kind of meat you want and you get to design your own sandwich. It is similar to Chipotle but sandwiches. I had steak on a baguette with lettuce, cheese, corn, little brown things (I don't know what they were), and three different kinds of sauces. It was one of the best sandwiches I had and it was so cheap! Luckily, it is close to my school so it is an easy metro ride to have a good lunch. Later that night, we went to a bar called Ovella Negra. This bar is famous for its huge beer and sangria towers. As usual, we got lost on our way there so we find ourselves there a little late. We ordered a pitcher of sangria and hung out for a little bit before heading back to our apartment. This is an awesome place to come with a big group of friends to sit and have a good time!
Fountain at Passeig de Gracia
Casa Battlo
Casa Battlo
Ovella Negra
On Sunday, we took the metro to the far part of Barcelona to a labyrinth park called Parc del Laberint d'Horta. It was a beautiful park filled with trees, ponds and flowers. Many people brought picnic lunches and sat on the benches enjoying the sunny day. We spent a few hours there walking around enjoying one of the first warm days. In the park, there is also a maze. We thought we would be able to get through it pretty easily but we couldn't find our way! Once we did find our way to the center, we were stuck and couldn't get out! To everyone else at the park, we were those girls who were entertaining to watch. After taking some pictures and enjoying the scenery, we were on our way home with another weekend in the books.
Besos!
