Mini Barcelona Guide

Hola,

I went to Barcelona for the first time ever during our winter break from the ballet. I was traveling with my mom so it was all about enjoying each others company and exploring the city. We stayed in the Gothic Quarter, which I highly recommend, because it’s right in the middle of everything and surrounded by great restaurants and all the shopping. We were there just in time for the biggest January sale but I barely bought anything much since I obviously mostly wear vintage and 2nd hand. I thing that I learned on my trip is that no matter how cute the pastries and cakes are, they are not tasty. Much rather go for a savoury bocadillo(a filled baguette) wit semicurado and ham.

Here are a few of the favourite things and places that I experienced during my trip.

This is the view from El Corte Inglés’ food court on the 9th floor. I wouldn’t recommend to eat there because there are so many other restaurants in Barcelona that are much nicer but we got a really good cafe con leche for 1,8€ and enjoyed the view. El corte Inglés is located on Plaza de Cataluynya, which they view is over and it's a huge department store with a bunch of different brands. The sales there were very good too.

My favourite shopping street was Passeig de Gracia. All the expensive brands had their shops on this street and it was nice to walk by and see look in them. There was also more affordable shops like &Other stories and Uniqlo on this street. It was a part of the nicer areas of Barcelona and it starts right by Placa de Catalunya.

Our favourite meal on the whole trip was at Bastaix (C/Ases 5, Fossar de les Moreres - 08003 Barcelona, Spain). It is a tapas and wine bar in the far end of the Gothic Quarter. We shared burrata, eggplants and filled red peppers, the spanish batatas bravas and had a small beer. The bar is small and cosy and the staff is extremely friendly. I really recommend this place!

There are quite many vintage shops in Barcelona but they’re very spread out around the city. The best thing in my opinion is to keep your eyes open when you’re walking around the city and check out the shops that you pass by. That’s how I found Magpie Vintage(Carrer dels Tiradors, 1, 08003 Barcelona, Spain) which was my favorite vintage store in Barcelona. They had so many nice handpicked items to fit the style of the store. You can see some of my favourite pieces from the store on the photos.

La Barceloneta Beach - A beautiful beach right by the city. It was super nice even if it was January. There is a nice boulevard along the beach with a bunch of nice restaurants. We chose a fish restaurant a little further away where we had very tasty and affordable dinner.

La Boqueria - A super cool food market in the middle of the well known La Rambla. You can get fish, ham, cheese, fresh fruit and a bunch of other yummy things. We got freshly pressed juices and fruit cups for 1€ each!

Overall, my mom and I had a great trip. We loved all the friendly people and the delicious food. Barcelona was so nice but it obviously doesn't beat Paris!

Besos y abrazos,

Anna