Sometimes you visit a city and you can’t wait for an excuse to go back. For me, Barcelona was that place..
When we went on a cruise in 2015, Barcelona was one of the ports so my family and I spent the day exploring and I FELL IN LOVE. It has everything, from beautiful beaches, to shops, to restaurants, to bars to stunning architecture, and the list goes on and on. So when I joked with my nan about an offer on Wowcher for 3 nights in Barcelona and she told me to go for it, I booked it ASAP!
We visited in July, and the weather was ideal for sightseeing as it wasn’t too hot to walk around in, but was hot enough that you had that ‘holiday feeling’. The hotel we stayed in was called ‘Hotel Senator Barcelona Spa’ which was located close to the Nou Camp stadium (perfect for my football mad Nan and brother, as this was the reason they asked to come along). For the price we paid, the hotel was lovely. Although being rather small, it had a rooftop pool which you could lounge by, and the breakfast in the morning was hands down the best breakfast I’ve ever had at a hotel, with the bacon being cooked to your preference etc! I would definitely stay here again, with the only problem being that because we weren’t in the centre, it was quite a walk to find places to eat and drink in at night.
We had a mid-day flight as there was restrictions due to booking through Wowcher, so on the first night we just grabbed some food, had a few quiet drinks in the hotel bar (well, the waiter knew my order by the 2nd night, so perhaps it was more than just a few)… and headed to bed.
On our first full day, since it was the whole reason they’d came to Barca with us, we visited the Nou Camp stadium and did the tour. Jake (my brother, who despite being about 3ft taller than me is actually 2 years younger) and I had done it before on school trips, but my Nan was so excited to go! Even if you aren’t the biggest football fan in the world, the stadium is so impressive and definitely a must visit while you’re there. In fact, on our last day we went back just to sit in the café area and have some food, because the view is so incredible. It does involve a LOT of stairs though so it’s perhaps not for those who struggle walking far, my poor 89 year old Nan went straight for a nap once we were finished!
The next day, we decided we wanted to see all Barcelona had to offer. Since my Nan is obviously a little too old to walk around such a gigantic city, the best option for us was to take a sightseeing bus, which conveniently for us had a stop at the Nou Camp, so it was easy enough for us to jump on. For the price you pay, you really do get to see most of Barcelona. We saw beaches…
some VERY important and gorgeous architectural builds… (which you’re probably better ignoring the quality of the photos for, as I never thought I’d end up publishing them online!)
and of course, visited one of their shopping centres for a quick look around. My favourite thing about the shops we went to is that they have a Dunkin’ Donuts stand, and I’d been having withdrawals from them since I tried them in Florida! I would definitely recommend a bus tour if you aren’t staying in Barcelona for very long, as it allowed us to see all the major sights within our short stay.
It was a holiday I will never forget, and I hope to return one day because I feel as though there is still so much to see!
Have any of you ever been to Barcelona? What do you recommend?
It’s been a while since I’ve sat down and wrote a blog post, but in my defence, I have been reaaaaaally busy these past few weeks! The last time I posted was just before I did the 5 hour drive (which, thanks to traffic turned into about 7) back to Edinburgh after spending Christmas in Wolverhampton with my family. Since then, I’ve been spending most of my time doing the reading that I was supposed to do over the holidays but didn’t (it was the holidays!!!) and catching up with friends.
I also haven’t had a clue what to post about. I would enjoy writing a post about Edinburgh as it’s a place I am beginning to call my ‘home’, and a place where I know a lot of people love to visit! But I would also loooove to tell you about my trip to Barcelona last summer, because having being twice previously, I saw the city in a completely different light to when I was younger and fell in love with it, and writing about it allows me to remember just how beautiful it is!
I know where you thought that title was heading you dirty minded rascals, but sorry to disappoint, this just isn’t that sort of blog! I thought I’d kickstart my blog with an adventure that took place last summer, at the beginning of August.
As I’ve gotten older, my parents have become more reliant on me when trying to book a holiday online. They know how to use the internet themselves (well, they can get onto it and use google) but because they are so used to visiting a travel hypermarket, playing around with dates to find a bargain etc. is slightly beyond their level. So one afternoon I sat down with my Mom, went onto the Thomson website and asked her,
“So, where was it you had in mind?”
To which I, obviously because parents are so frustrating at times (sorry Mom), received the response:
“I have no idea. Somewhere we haven’t been before.”
I had no idea where to start, but I knew that it would need to be somewhere within reason, as my Dad HATES flying (yet we’re going to Florida in April.. logic?). We’ve done all the usual holiday destinations like Majorca, Menorca, even Zante and Corfu. A lightbulb went off in my head, and I thought about Portugal, a country I had never been to before, but had only ever heard good things about! Long story short, after a little while searching, we managed to find a beautiful 4* hotel just outside of Albufeira, called Hotel Salgados Palm Village for an extremely reasonable price. It was ideal for my family as the room was a suite, which meant my 16 year old brother got out of sharing a room with me- although I had the last laugh when he ended up on the sofa bed.
The hotel was like nothing I had ever stayed in before, especially for the price that we paid. The suite we stayed in had 2 double bedrooms, and a double sofa bed as well as 2 bathrooms. The hotel itself boasts 6 pools, which have a gold effect making them really unusual, and the beach is not a far walk at all- but the hotel runs a shuttle bus for those of you (like me) who are too lazy to walk in the heat! There were also 3 buffet restaurants to choose from, but you could go and get food from all 3 regardless of which one you were seated in.
When on holiday, my family like to relax… and by relax I mean lie by the pool all day, eat dinner, then have a drink in the hotel bar at night. This used to be ideal when I was younger, as my brother and I would just play catch in the pool until we were worn out and would fall asleep on the sunlounger. But now we are a bit older, we wanted to explore. The staff at the hotel were excellent when we enquired about how to get into Albufeira old town, and it turns out the sightseeing tour bus (which I’m sure you have seen in other cities around Europe) had a stop right outside our hotel, so we could easily hop on and travel to the town.
There is plenty to do once you are in the centre. The bus took us along a long road which was bustling with bars, market stalls and restaurants. We didn’t have time to go back to this street during our holiday, but it looked beautiful just to walk along. We decided to get off at a stop further along the route, which was by the beach. The photo above was the view from a bar, perched right on the walkway to the sea. What a gorgeous place to relax with a cocktail! Even along the beach there is activities to keep you occupied if you’re restless, with watersports such as wind surfing and paragliding. Unfortunately it was too windy to go paragliding when we visited, but it gives me an excuse to try it elsewhere! On the walk back to the bus stop, my typical British-ness came out when I spotted a McDonalds over the road, and I couldn’t resist a box of their chicken nuggets… just as good in any country!
Overall, I would highly recommend visiting old town Albufeira, and I wish we had been able to spend longer exploring the markets and town. Despite being slightly out of the way though, the hotel was incredible and I wouldn’t hesitate to return, especially because of the lovely weather. In fact, I’m going back to Portugal in May!
Fairy lights and aeroplanes ♥ 