Barcelona is my city.
Well, if you have been tuned into my blog, my current city is the tiny French village of Jouy-en-Josas, and my hometown is Vancouver. But never in my life have I felt so at home in a city other than Vancouver – that is, until I visited Barcelona! The vibe is so relaxed, easy going and fun! Fashion is slouchy but sexy, food is delicious, the language (Catalan) is pretty and there is great classic art all over the city.
But it’s also grungy and hippie-ish. Which makes this Vancouverite feel right at home.
I wonder what does graffiti feels like?
And that is my love note to Barcelona.
Here’s what I did (and what you should too) when in Barcelona!
Parc Guell, designed by Gaudi (who is this super famous, super AWESOME modern architect. Barcelonans are super proud of him).
And this is a bad picture of Parc Guell - it's still cute!
La Perdrera, aka Casa Mila (super cool apartments designed by Gaudi. It costs 10e to get in but it’s so worth it, the roof and the views are amazing)
A facade of La Perdrera
If it’s nice outside, visit the beach Platja Barceloneta and the windy roads around the beach! They look like they’re from a movie set, they are adorable and have great places to eat and cool bars too. If you ask around for Hostel Abba or Sun and Moon, the area around them is also really cool, windy small alleys with great cheap bars open super late.
One lonely boy
Las Ramblas is the most touristy part of Barcelona. It’s the main road through downtown, and El Corte Ingles is a major shopping mall with all the name brands you’d want.
El Born is this super cool, not very well known neighbourhood that’s also insanely picturesque. It’s near the Museu Picasso in the Old part of the city, and it has this incredible church in the middle that’s also not very well known by tourists. It’s huge and it was built by the poor people of the town who gave up their savings so they could have a church. Definitely worth a visit since it’s free and the stained glass will blow your mind!
And it's still gorgeous after being drenched in rain. Can I please live here?
Near the Arc de Triomf near El Born is Parc Ciutatdella, and it’s a really cool park that has the Catalonian parliament inside. It’s got a great fountain and grassy areas, where loads of hippies hang out doing weird stuff like tight rope walking, balancing balls on their heads and juggling. It’s really cool.
Don't be distracted by the mammoth in the corner while you approach the fountain. He won't hurt you.
Shiv 2 Go 