Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Spain – A short trip and a short blog

So glad to have spent the last few days of European Summer ( by this I mean the not so warm days) in Spain! The warm afternoons and the chilly nights were just perfect..The only regret being - I was there only for 3 days...The main reason behind travelling this time was to attend a wedding in Costa Brava ( 2-3 hours away from Barcelona by road). The wedding was really nice and beautiful but the major highlights of the trip were walking the grand streets of Barcelona, meeting up with a few old friends whom I wasn't expecting to meet so soon, enjoying the beauty of Costa Brava and ofcourse lots and lots of Sangria!

Accomodation
Stayed at "Wow Hostel" in Barcelona (25€ per night, breakfast included), would definitely recommend this hostel because of it's location.

Local Transport
Mostly used the buses and local trains to get around the city. Tickets are not so expensive. Language can be a problem but the locals are sweet enough to help and we somehow understood their sign language ;)
Also the taxis were not so expensive.

Historical monuments:
La Sagrada Familia (Spain's most famous Church designed by a brilliant architect - Gaudi)
It's the most brilliant and colourful holy place I have ever seen. Be sure to book the tickets online in advance and take the audio tour.





Casa Mila 


Another of Gaudi's famous works , a building with no corners. Story goes that it was supposed to be a residential building but the people were finding it difficult to design the interior of their apartments with no corners. So now, it's a museum.


 



Restaurants/Bars/Clubs:
Espit Chupitos
A bar with more than 200 different varieties of shots with crazy bar-tenders. Do try something crazy at this place. We had a shot where the bar-tender lit our fingers on fire!


Cafe Can Joan
An absolute must-go. We ended up at this place by chance and ended up eating a 4 course meal served by the loveliest Spanish family who owns this small local Cafe. The owner made us try Snails and also taught us how to eat them. I had the best Paella ( a rice dish made with saffron, sea food and all kinds of available meat) at this Cafe. The family was so surprised and happy to have such a big group of Indians at her small restaurant that we got the best treatment anyone would ask for. Language was a problem with the owner's parents but they fed us like they would feed their own family - with lots and lots of love and repeated servings.

                                                                 COSTA BRAVA

After travelling a little bit in Europe, I can say that I have seen quite a few beautiful places which blew my mind and Costa Brava definitely tops the list. Everything about Costa Brava is beautiful and it feels like entering a beautiful scene from a movie. The water is as blue as it can get. The sun shines merrily over the green hillocks and the blue waters. 


Thanks to few friends who have international driving licenses we were also able to cruise through some parts of Costa Brava. Renting a car and driving from Barcelona to Costa Brava is something that should definitely be done when in Spain!

So to sum it up these are my top take-aways from this trip:

1. Eating Snails, trying the local cuisine


2. Getting inspired by Gaudi's works



3. The well-planned streets of Barcelona



4. And lastly the people!


And now - I feel like settling in Barcelona! Viva la españa!!

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