Barcelona - Everything and More.

After getting in late the night before, we had a slow morning before reuninting with our buddies for the first time over brunch at Kala Brunch near Sagrada Familia. It was a FANTASTIC place for breakfast / brunch, and we had an early afternoon time slot for visiting the Sagrada Familia, so it worked perfectly. Our friends stayed in an airbnb in that area, and it was so lovely to have the proximity to good food, a bustling area, and metro links to other parts of the city.

Around midday, we went to the Sagrada Familia on a guided tour. If there is anything you do in Barcelona, let it be this. The Sagrada Familia is an absolutely incredible architectural, symbolic, and aesthetic feat. It is absolutely stunning, and you do not get the full picture and depth of knowledge without at least an audio guide tour. If you are a Christian, this will be even more amazing to you. It was all 5 of our highlights of the trip - and I had even been there before, but had not gotten the tour. Very worth the money and the time spent, but book as far in advance as you can as it sells out very quickly. We also paid extra for a tower tour, which allows you to go up one of the towers of the SF. Very cool, amazing views of the city, but not super necessary if you are looking to save a buck.

After our tour, we sauntered down the street a but further away from the Basilica to avoid crowds and tourist pricing, and found a lovely tapas place called Sagradas Tapas. Sitting outside on a cute little covered patio, we ordered more food than we could eat. It was all incredible at extremely reasonable prices. I recommend the mixed cheese and meat dishes and ALWAYS the croquettes. We lounged here for a couple hours, drinking, eating, and laughing with each other before heading off to rest for our evening activities.

In the evening - another very highly recommended activity we did was to hire a private chef to come to our airbnb and cook a curated menu for us. I know what you're thinking - "that sounds expensive!" It actually wasnt. Between 5 of us, for a 3 course meal (gourmet meal) by a professional chef, it came out to $70 per person, which would have been the same if not more had we gone to a nice restaraunt, not including drinks or tip. And boy was it WAY better than going to a nicer restaraunt. The food was exquisite, the chef was fun and kind, and we were supporting a local chef rather than a large company. In our own space, with just our own company, it provides for a much more intimate experience which we loved. You can google different websites and apps where you can receive proposals from local chefs and choose the one you like best. Airbnb offers this too. HIGHLY recommend.

To cap off the evening, we bought a cheap bottle of wine from the market downstairs and just enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the night.

We once again took our time in the morning and made our way to Faire for another brunch. This place was awesome. If you are anywhere near the Eixample area - this is a place not to miss. It is a vegan / vegetarian restaraunt but you would not know it. None of us were vegan or vegetarian, and we all loved it.

Afterwards, we spent the day wandering El Born, Bogatella beach, and the Gothic Quarter. We started in El Born - one of the two historic parts of the city that has survived history - wars, rebuilds, natural disasters - besides the Gothic Quarter. I had never been, and it was so lovely. It has a bohemian vibe, with narrow medeival streets, hip boutiques, fun art galleries, and amazing food. You MUST, and I do mean MUST stop at Jon Cake to get their world famous Basque cheesecake. I used to live in the Basque Country, and let me tell you - there is no cheesecake that beats this one. They have multiple different flavors and if you wait in line, I suggest you buy multiple. We timed it perfectly by accident where there was no line at all, but it was also a weekday. Seriously worth the wait, though. We shopped. went to one of the outdoor markets (Santa Caterina), and drank the afternoon away.

We then shimmied our way over to Bogatella in El Poblenau area - a much quieter beach than Barceloneta. Instead of beaching, we found ourselves at yet another restaraunt, eating tapas and drinking wine. We accidentally spent hours at the beach, some of us going for a swim, others continuing our winey afternoon.

For dinner we had booked a reservation at "My Fucking Restaraunt". It came highly recommended to us and there are 2 set menus to choose from. It was a gluten free restaraunt (none of us are GF) kind of attempting to be fine cuisine, at a very high price, and largely missed the mark. We all kind of hated it. Definitely would skip this one, and honestly, any restaraunt on La Ramlba or in the Gothic Quarter. They are all tourist traps!

We tried to make it to some bars. but after a full day in the sun, drinking and catching up, we called it a night and split some more wine at the airbnb.

We started the morning at Montjuic - there is SO much to do here. Wander the winding paths up to the top to get a view of the castle or to admire sweeping views over Barcelona. We did not go inside the castle, or take the Gondola or furnicular, although those are options. You can take your time exploring the fortress and its grounds, then continue through the Botanical Gardens, or the olympic stadium, or any of the art museums on Montjuic. You could truly spend all day there if you wanted to.

In the afternoon, we headed to Park Guell. Rather than joining a guided tour, we booked a standard entry ticket and explored independently. This gives you the freedom to linger wherever you like—whether that's admiring Gaudí's colorful mosaics, wandering beneath the stone colonnades, or simply taking in the park's whimsical architecture. This is a staple on Barcelona - for good reason! Pro tip - if you walk up to the three crosses, round the back of them there is an amazing view of Sagrada Familia towering over Barcelona between 2 trees. It actually took my breath way.

After so much exercise and walking, we spent the rest of the day resting. But in Spain, that means eating, drinking, and eating some more. We ended up at Cascada Monumental in Parc de la Ciutadella. Bring a few snacks or pick up picnic supplies along the way, like a copa de carne from an outdoor market (or perhaps another basque cheesecake), then relax on the grass beside the grand fountain as locals gather to read, play music, and soak up the afternoon sun. The fountain is truly STUNNING. After a long day, it's the perfect place to slow down and enjoy one of the city's most beautiful parks before heading out for dinner.

For dinner, we went simple. I wanted a massive salad, so we stopped off at Honest Greens and honestly? 12/10 such amazing, organic food in a fast casual but trendy setting.

On the way home, we stopped at a tapas bar for some wine - choose whichever one looks best - before heading home for the night.

After a few busy days in Barcelona, we really wanted to slow things down and get a bit away from the buzz of the city. What better to do in Spain than to hit the beach? We decided on a day trip to Sitges - a very popular coastal town about 30-50 min train from Barcelona. The journey is incredibly easy, and the station is just a short walk from the beach. You can catch it from a number of the metro and train stations in the city.

When we got there, we stopped by the local market to pick up picnic supplies—fresh bread, fruit, snacks, and drinks—before heading straight to the sand. We spent the entire day at the beach, swimming, reading, soaking up the sun, and just enjoying the slower pace. It felt like the perfect reset after being in the city and sightseeing the days prior.

Sitges has a lot to offer - great food, lively nightlife, beach activities - if you fancy staying overnight or more than one day. There are so many cute and fun shops up and down the narrow streets of the main part of the town as well, so you can shop before you head back on the train (if you head back). Make sure you grab some gelato on your way out to cap off the day!

We actually got back to town early enough to hit the Picasso Museum, which was something we wanted to do if we had the time. And we did! So we set off to go. You don't need more than an hour, and it gave Barcelona a different air to it to know Picasso's story living there. Also, considering hsi paintings are quite funny sometimes, we had a grand time wandering through and finding the weirdest ones we could. It is a good, informative, and entertaining museum.

Without a strict schedule or a long checklist of things to see, we were free to relax and truly reset before heading back to Scotland the next day.