36 hours in Barcelona

This morning I arrived back in Paris after a whirlwind weekend in Barcelona. If anything qualifies as a "dejeuner de soleil", this trip is it. On Friday night, Taylor, Maddy, Maddi and I hopped on the night train to Barcelona. Maddi had taken a night train once before to Italy, and I had received many suggestions to take this trip, but when we arrived we realized we didn't quite understand what we had gotten ourselves into. As we walked into our cabin we found 4 chairs and a little table that converted into a sink. After devouring our delicious snacks and laughing a lot, the train attendant came in and popped our bunk beds down from the wall. After 11.5 hours, we arrived in Barcelona as the sun was barely beginning to rise.

For our only night in Barcelona, we decided to go all out and stay at the W. I would highly recommend this to anyone planning a trip there. The hotel was spectacular. Not only was it architecturally stunning, but also it was primely located on the beach, had some of the best cocktails I've ever had (passion fruit martini is a necessary), and was beautifully yet comfortably decorated. After freshening up, we slipped on our dresses and skirts, which we were thrilled to be able to wear again, and started exploring.

Cathedral de Barcelona 

Mercat de Santa Catarina

On day 1 we started with a walk on the beach, then we strolled up to the beautiful Cathedral de Barcelona (see photo), through the Mercat de Santa Catarina (see photo), past the Arc de Triomf and Plaça Glories Catalanes. We checked out the Picasso Museum, which was especially interesting as we are currently studying Picasso in our art history class.

Sagrada Familia

We then walked up to see the famous Sagrada Familia (see photos), which was unfortunately under renovation. Personally, I preferred the classic gothic architecture of the Cathedral de Barcelona, however the parts of this Gaudi masterpiece we could see were impressive and unique. After standing in awe of these stunning Spanish sights, we headed back towards the beach for a late lunch of tapas on the sand. Then, we enjoyed delicious sangria de cava on the deck of the W before heading up to our room for a much needed siesta.

That night we went to a traditional tapas restaurant in the older part of town for dinner and enjoyed zuchinni chips, foccacia with tomatoes, mushroom croquettes, zucchini flowers, meatballs and fried dough with catalan ice cream. Every meal in Barcelona was delicious! Afterwards, we walked through the cobblestone streets and back towards the beach to check out the Ice Bar, where everything, including the cups, the bar, the walls and the decor, is made completely of ice. Luckily they provide you with giant parkas and gloves before entering the -7 degrees C room! After enjoying a cocktail, we were happy to exit back into the 70 degree F warmth. We finished our night at the club at the top of the W hotel which provided a spectacular view of Barcelona (see photo).

View from the club

On day 2 we woke up and had a fabulous breakfast on the beach before catching the bus up to Parc Guell. The weather could not have been more perfect for us to enjoy the beautiful site. The park itself was gorgeous, and the view was even more spectacular. You felt like you were on top of the city. In this case, the pictures are worth much more than my words.

We finished our day with a late lunch and some more sangria before heading back to the train station. "The Italian Job" and 11.5 hours later, we woke up in Paris and headed to class. While we missed just a couple landmarks, I am rather impressed with our crash course in Barcelona. Luckily, I fell in love with this spanish city and look forward to going back in the future to check out the rest. Barcelona combines the historical nature of European cities with the happy and relaxed feel of a beach town. This, combined with the warm weather, provided the perfect mini vacation and gave me just a little taste of home!