My time in Barcelona was pretty busy, I feel I packed quite a lot of things into my 4 days there! So get ready for a rapid recount of my time. Upon arriving in Barcelona, I took the metro to my hostel, I found the metro to be very confusing compared to other cities but maybe that was just me. It was too early to check into the hostel so I dropped my bags off and went to find a supermarket for lunch. I ate makeshift ham and salad rolls in the park right next to the Arc de Triomf. Finally I was able to check into the hostel, and I joined the afternoon trip up to the Bunkers de Carmel, which is a well known viewpoint that looks over Barcelona city. The hostel I was staying at offered free dinners every night, so that made dinner easy and cheap (free), as well as being a great way to socialise.
The next day I was feeling a bit lost, I didn’t know what I wanted to go see or do so I started wandering. I strolled down La Ramblas and browsed all the mini cacti plants they had for sale, they all certainly looked in better health than mine. They even had mini cacti magnets and I was going to get one until I realised that even as magnets they were live cacti so I don’t think it would survive the trip.
After this I ended up at the Barcelona port. This was cool. I had forgotten the Americas Cup would be held here next year, and so I got to walk past all of the team sheds, and see their chase boats. They also had the “Americas Cup Experience” running which displayed a lot of information about the boats, teams, cup and circuit. It also held the actual cup on display! Before showing a short movie about the cup, and what drives the teams. From the moment I mentioned to the staff that I am from NZ, I instantly had a lot of fans. It felt like a slice of home, except I’m on the other side of the world. In the movie it was cool to see the perspective of the cup, and Team NZ’s accomplishments from an international perspective. It’s always a proud moment to be a kiwi.
From here I wandered down the beach, and around the Gothic Quarter just looking at all the shops before visiting the Sagrada Familia. I didn’t go inside, as it was 20€ ($35NZD) and the queue was huge. But it did look pretty spectacular from the outside. It was so busy, there were people everywhere and I am well aware of Barcelonas reputation of pickpockets so I didn’t hang around long. That evening I visited Park Guell for the sunset with a hostel friend which ended up being a highlight of my time in Barcelona, it was beautiful. The park itself was nice but nothing spectacular but the architectural designs were stunning. It was well worth the 10€ ($18NZD). During this time we missed dinner, so it was time for Maccas on the way back.
During the early stages of my trip planning, I had seen an article about this mountain monastery near Barcelona that makes for a great day trip and I was determined to visit. I’m so glad I did, not only was that the best thing I did while in Barcelona, but it’s probably the coolest thing I’ve done so far in Europe. Essentially, you take the train about an hour out of Barcelona, and then you take a cable car up to this small village of Monseratt. There is not a lot there, a monastery, hotel, restaurant, gift shop and cathedral but the buildings blend right into the mountains and it is beautiful. From the village, I took a funicular car up to a higher viewpoint which was also the start of many hiking trails. Monseratt is actually within a national park, and there were many trails of varying lengths and difficulties. If you were really keen you could hike from the train station at the bottom all the way up to the village (the cable car was steep so I can only image how gruelling the trail is). I wasn’t really dressed to hike, in Birkenstocks and a skirt, but I decided to anyway and the views were breath taking. I met another solo traveller up there, and we spent the afternoon hiking together before making our way back down and returning to Barcelona. This experience is something I would so highly recommend!
I rounded out my time in Barcelona by taking part in the pub crawl with my hostel mates, and having a good, but long night out. I enjoyed my time in Barcelona, and would go back because I think there’s a lot more I didn’t get the chance to experience. However I must say, Barcelona is well known as a party city, and what I noticed is you either experience the nightlife (11pm – 7am), or you experience the attractions and city during the day, you can’t do both.
~ Nikita’s Nomadic Notes
Nikita’s Nomadic Notes 