72 Hours in Barcelona

Barcelona was the third city on our trip as we made our way south from San Sebastian. We instantly fell in love with Barcelona as it reminded us of a European New York City - lots of hustling, bustling, shopping and eating. 

Highlights
La Boqueria


Everyone knows about the Boqueria market, a large open public market with stalls and stalls of fresh fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, jamon, seafood, breads and specialty items like high-quality olive oils, spices, etc. The displays were quite impressive, like this one of different candies and dried fruits and nuts.



One of our favorite things was the different stands selling fresh juices. They had your typical fruits like strawberry and orange but also had some more exotic ones like dragon fruit - all for 1.50 euros.



Gaudi Sites



Antoni Gaudi is probably one of Spain's most famous architects and his presence was felt all over Barcelona. From Park Guell, a large garden complex filled with whimsical mosaics to La Sagrada Familia, a half-constructed Roman Catholic Church combining Gothic and modern designs - one look and you can immediately identify Gaudi's architectural style.

Museu Picasso
We spent a couple of hours at the Picasso museum, one of the largest outposts of Picasso's work. It included art from his Blue Period, Rose Period and Las Meninas, among others. One downside to this museum was the lack of guided audio tours - we felt like we weren't able to get as much out of it. There is a Picasso Walking Tour that is available and I was sad that we didn't get a chance to take it. I would definitely recommend that versus wandering the museum unguided.



Jamaica Coffee Shop
One of the highlights of our trip was the discovery of the bombon biberon. As avid Vietnamese coffee lovers, it was cool to see other cultures adopting the same preparation of coffee - a shot of espresso atop a generous helping of condensed milk. We found this yummy drink at Jamaica Coffee Shop, which also has a great Spanish coffee - a scoop of vanilla ice cream drowning in hot Spanish coffee. We loved it so much that we dedicated a song to the bombon - to the beat of Rihanna's Disturbia. Bom-bom-bieron-ron-a-ron ron...

Food

We had our share of tapas: Cuidad Condal, Bar Pinxtos, Catalunya and Tapas24 with Catalunya being, surprisingly the most memorable. We also endulged in two prefix menu restaurants: Comerc24 and Cinc Sentis. Cinc Sentis was one of our most yummy meals ever! From start to finish, there was nothing we had that disappointed us. If you go to Barcelona, Cinc Sentis is a MUST!

Transportation

Hop-on, Hop-off Bus Tour
This open-top, double decker bus was our mode of transportation, allowing us to cram all the sight-seeing into one day. You pay a one time fee and then get to hop on and off the bus at any of the 50+ stops on the various routes. Everyone gets a pair of headphones you can plug into your seat and listen to the recorded tour guide.

Subway
We took the subway frequently, until we became victim to petty thieves in Barcelona. Prior to our trip, we received a lot of warnings about pick-pockets and how dangerous Barcelona can be. We really didn't think too much of it until one night, the 4 of us decided to take the subway back to our hotel after dinner. As we got onto the subway, 3 men followed us and proceeded to act drunk. One man, with a large bottle of water in one hand, grabbed Ray around the waist, as if to steady himself and then proceeded to pour the water all over Ray's leg. The two other guys were pushing and shoving each other and in hindsight, was really pinning Ray to the side of the subway while the other guy was stealing his wallet. As the subway doors closed and the 3 men stumbled off, I immediately turned to Ray and asked "where's your wallet?!!?" Ray reached into his pocket - only to realize his wallet was missing. We immediately forced the subway doors open and ran after the men. We grabbed the guy with the water bottle, demanding our money back. Of course, he pretended not to understand what we were saying. One of the other men tapped my shoulder and pointed to Ray's wallet on the floor. Upon inspection, all the money was taken out of the wallet, about 200 euros but the credit card and driver's license was intact. Rather than fight for the cash, which was a lost cause at this point, we hopped back onto the subway and headed home. So lesson learned - leave all passports and wallets in your hotel safe and push away anyone that comes even within an inch of you.

Hotel

We stayed in two hotels during this time. If you plan on going with a big group, I would highly recommend booking Majestic Residences - they are luxury condos with two bed rooms with two bathrooms, a large kitchen and a high-ceiling living room. You can fit 6 people comfortably or up to 10 if people don't mind sleeping on the floor. The only complaint I have is the wi-fi is not free.

The second part of our trip was spent at Alexandra Barcelona Hotel. This one was definitely a bit dingy. The lobby and outside are deceiving because everything looked so boutique-y and new. But the rooms were shabbier. The bright side is there was lots of good food within walking distance, as well as the subway and buslines. The wi-fi was also free.