Park Guell

Absolutely stunning! I loved all the little details of this park. The best park I have ever seen in my life. It's worth visiting despite the crowd. I ended up entering from the back entrance. It was a good idea until I saw all the stairs and the steep hill. Oh well, it was a good work out.

Gaudi's Buildings

 

The Sagrada Familia

Casa Battlo

The great thing about walking around Barcelona is seeing Antoni Gaudi's buildings. I walked along the Ramblas countless times and I never got bored looking at all the great architecture. Each building definitely has a distinct style. 

Arc de Triomf

What I ate: Tapas

One of the best things about travelling is tasting different foods around the world. I really love to eat! I make it a point to eat almost everything a country has to offer which sometimes leads to food poisoning (hello Thailand!).

Seafood galore in Valencia! Everything on this plate was delicious!

My very first time eating padron peppers. This was in Valencia, I thought they were going to be spicy but they were not. But when I had them in Barcelona, they were really really spicy, I could not eat them.

Homemade paella. We bought all the ingredients from the market and made our own feast one night in our apartment.

Very tender octopus! I love simple dishes with really good flavours!

I really enjoyed eating out in Spain most especially in Barcelona. My last meal in Barcelona was really memorable. I had dinner at Taller de Tapas and it was heavenly. I enjoyed the food so much I forgot to take photos. Oops!

Spain 2010 - Barcelona apartment

I have never rented a flat when I travel. I've always stayed in hotels, hostels, resorts, or I stay with family or friends. When I started planning my Barcelona trip, I searched for a lot of hotels but it was too expensive. I decided to read up on Barcelona and I went on NY Times. Thankfully, they had an article about renting flats when you travel. I searched for different websites and finally found a nice apartment with a great view for a good price.

I e-mailed the landlord a million times; peppering her with questions. I was worried about giving up 100 Euros for deposit but I went ahead anyways. I wanted to take a chance.

Fast forward a couple weeks later, two days before arriving to Barcelona, I texted and e-mailed the landlord letting her know my time of arrival and I got no reply. I started panicking. I was so worried that it was a scam.

The day I left for Barcelona, I could not sit still on the train.

When I got out of the station, I called the number for the landlord and someone answered. We sorted out the details of the meeting time and place. It was pretty easy after that. We met outside a restaurant along the Ramblas and headed to the apartment together. He gave me information on how to get around Barcelona and how everything works inside the apartment. I inspected everything before handing him over the rest of my payment. 

I really love that small apartment. It made me feel like a "local" even for a short period of time.

the colourful world of mercat de la boqueria

My absolute favourite market in the world! My little rental apartment was located 2 minutes away from the market. I went to shop at the market as much as I could. It was such a visual feast that I could spend hours admiring the displays, picking up my produce, and eating while walking.