I am not a city girl, yet for some reason I absolutely love visiting them. Almost every time I visit a new city, I imagine myself living there, or at least owning a pied-a-terre so that I can pop in and out at leisure.
Barcelona was not an exception to this rule. But instead of buying a pied-a-terre, I would simply return again (and again) to my favourite hotel, the GORGEOUS Hotel España.
On our most recent trip to Barcelona, the Top Banana, Mr Maximalista and I stayed in a luxurious suite on the top floor, with a balcony overlooking the narrow carrer below.
When we were “home”, we usually opted to leave the French doors open, so we could imbibe the friendly bustle of the street; at bedtime, though, we were relieved to discover the double-glazing was thick enough to insulate us from street noise of the (presumably!) drunken pedestrians outside.
The Maximalista family are massive proponents of boutique hotels, of which the Hotel Espana is one, being as it is situated in a converted monastery. Albeit one with Spanish Art Deco influence.
If you’re ever fortunate enough to visit Barcelona, I recommend staying here. Or at least popping in to look around the ground floor. Trust me: it’s worth your time. You can thank me later.
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Our first meal in Barcelona was at the Travel Nest, a tiny tapas bar tucked into an ancient stone building, a few blocks from our hotel. Exhausted from our transatlantic traveling, we were nevertheless determined to at least have a walk around the neighborhood before collapsing into a jet-lagged coma.
It was mid-afternoon when we hit the streets, shortly after dropping our luggage in our suite. We were tired, but we were also famished and delighted at all of the culinary options available to us, a stone’s throw from our hotel.
Mr M and I always share our meals with each other. In fact, it is part of Maximalista Lore that whilst on our very first date, I impudently took food off his plate. Afterwards, Mr M told me that THAT was the moment he knew that I was The One.
Who knew that the casual thievery of some crispy baked Brussels sprouts would have brought us to where we are now!
The bar may have been low, but clearly the stars were aligned, seven years ago, on that chilly evening in Burlington Wisconsin. Because in the blink of an eye, we were sitting in Spain taking from each other’s plates, and drinking local alcoholic beverages. Which is another of our travel habits: washing down the local culinaria with local booze.
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On the other hand, breakfasts in Spain — and elsewhere in the world, for that matter — are a mostly light affair. Brevity for breakfast, please. And then we can hit the ground running.
This is because whereas Mr Maximalista somehow jollily rolls out of bed each morning with his mental acuities in full steam, I, ever the contrarian, am not one for talking before I have been showered and caffeinated.
In fact, I strongly recommend that others don’t even look at me before that point, let alone attempt to converse.
Lunch is usually on the fly, whenever we are traveling. Our mornings are generally spent sightseeing or doing touristy stuff. Picking up more local fare at whichever town or neighborhood we happen to be in on any particular day is my favourite way to dine… Preferably followed shortly thereafter by a siesta!
Afternoons might involve a museum, or popping into any ecumenical establishment/s in the area to admire the wonders on show, or perhaps some lounging with a book by the pool. All of this will be punctuated with discussions about what we shall be doing for dinner.
Yes, it’s not a secret that my family and I are low-key obsessed with filling our bellies.
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One of the reasons I like writing the travel section in my lifestyle blog is so that I can help to guide my fellow travel lovers toward those Must See places, as well as to guide you away from those Don’t Bothers…
As my regular readers will know, I LOVE visiting museums. Art museums in particular. And since we were in Barcelona, it would have been criminal for us to have not visited Museu Picasso.
Yes, I am biased in my evaluation, here, considering Picasso is my favourite artist of all time. The Top Banana, Mummy Dearest and I went to the Musee Picasso in Paris a few years ago. And while it was excellent, I have to tell you that Museu Picasso in Barcelona was PHENOMENAL.
Even if you’re not an art lover, I would still recommend going. The architecture alone is worth a visit.
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Speaking of architecture, this is one of the great things about Barcelona. In fact, it was one of the three things Mr Maximalista and I loved most about this charming city, which were:
- The food
- The architecture
- The vibe
We visited Barcelona in September, which meant that the weather was, of course, perfect. But frankly, it wouldn’t have mattered if it was rainy and grey for the duration of our trip: Barcelona is just THAT inviting.
There was live music everywhere. Remarkably talented buskers adding to the laid-back ambience of the city.
It was great to simply walk around, and get lost down winding little alleyways which would then spit us out into some unexpectedly charming plaza. The Spanish Art Deco style was all around us. Every day, we would notice a different element, even after we had walked around the same carrers for a week. Barcelona is full of surprises.
In fact, we spent so much of our time walking around and soaking up the vibe, that we didn’t get around to hitting a few places which had been on our list. I guess we shall have to return!
Lots of love,
M xo
PS my next blog will be about our trip to Montserrat. Stay tuned!
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