A trip to Barcelona

How could you live in Zaragoza without even going to Barcelona?

I went there at the end of October, despite the many tourists still around, I think it's the best time to visit as you'll still enjoy good weather. Anyway, I got a car share there (Blablacar) as it is quite common here and there are many journeys on offer which head to large neighbouring cities such as Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia! It is also possible to go to France using the car share service but more on this later! Let's stay focused! People here are super friendly, I remember the many road trips I did to France, five hours spent without a word being uttered, whereas here, it seemed different, the driver did not stop chatting and asking questions during the three and a half hour trip. It cost me all but 18€, I was very pleased!

I easily found a room on the website Airbnb.es in an apartment which I shared with two young Spanish girls. It was good value and situated in the city centre. We each went about our own business and we did not see much of each other. We first went for a walk by the harbour, which has many cruise ships and private yachts (seeing them gives you a sudden urge to become rich and have your own) but first you will stumble across the statue of Christopher Colombus standing at the top of a huge column, you cannot miss it!

Then we felt like going to Park Güell by foot, I cannot even describe how much of a bad idea this was, it's ages away from the centre, it's steep, you will get lost and everyone will get annoyed! Take a bus from the centre, it's good value and you'll avoid any conflict! It's very pretty, the park is free although if you want to see what they call the Monumental Zone where you get a panoramic view of the city, it's around 7€ and you'll have to queue if you haven't booked a ticket online in advance! It's your call!

On the way back we had the common sense to take the bus (this time). To get to the Gothic Quarter, one of the most interesting parts of Barcelona with its super narrow streets and colourful buildings. In the same neighbourhood is the Basilica de la Mare de Deu de la Merce, it's free entry and the inside is beautiful, it's really worth visiting!

After going to a few bars in the Gothic Quarter, we decided to go and eat in a cool Mexican restaurant, such a great find! Rosa del raval, Carrer dels Àngels, they serve excellent fajitas and nachos as well as other Mexican specialities. The mojitos are to die for, having said that it's very crowded, especially on Saturday evenings! In the end the bill was more than fair considering the wonderful time we had! Sorry for the man on the picture, no idea who he is.

After having walked ten kilometers on a daily basis, we decided to hire bikes for the day using Green Bike, it's really good value and really useful to discover Barcelona in a different way and to go beyond the centre. And cycling is fun after all. To the Barceloneta, Barcelona's beach! . Bike hires for 24 hours cost 10€.

The next day, as we still had the bikes for a few hours, we decided to go to The Olympic Park, it's very impressive but beware, it's steep! On the way down, we saw the Santa Creu hospital, not to be missed, it's magnificent! We made a quick detour via the Sagrada Familia, personally I'm not a fan but it's worth seeing! We ended the day with a visit to the Picasso Museum, in the Gothic quarter, lucky for us it was free that day but there was a queue. A great museum, don't miss it! But don't expect to see Guernica, it's in Madrid!

I headed home to Zaragoza by car, a four hour journey - 13€, with many great memories:

Extra tip, the Sunday evening we went to see an auteur film at the Filmoteca de Catalunya, Plaça de Salvador Segui, in English with Catalan subtitles, it was great, but you have to '' to understand. If you want to experience the real Barcelona and escape the tourists, I would recommend it!

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