A summer’s day in Barcelona

By -
Our accommodation in Barcelona was a little out-of-the-way, but we couldn’t have been happier with our decision when we visited at the end of June 2016. Barcelona accommodation in the summer is on the expensive side. After trawling many of our go-to online booking websites, we came across something that would work within our budget and booked it immediately.

Residencia Àgora BCN is a university student residence that rents out the rooms during the summer vacation. A delicious and huge breakfast buffet was thrown in with the price, and they were so well organised and efficient that we quickly made ourselves at home.

Catering for students, things like to food and drinks available in the vending machines, was priced just right for budget travellers. Our room was comfortable with air-conditioning, two single beds, two desks and a private bathroom – everything we could possibly need for our stay in Barcelona.

Although the campus is a little out of the downtown area, the metro stop was within walking distance. After a quick subway ride and on a beautiful summers day, we wandered the streets of Barcelona. A walk down the street of Passeig de Gràcia was an incredible way to start the day with the lovely architecture, including the fascinating and other-worldly masterpieces by Antoni Gaudí.





The sights to be seen by walking down Passeig de Gràcia

We then walked to the old gothic area, but after spending a month in Italy, what church could impress us? The Basílica de Santa Maria del Pi was no ordinary place of worship. The architecture and the interior are breath-taking and we quickly filled up our camera’s memory card leaving us with a predicament of deciding which of the stunning pics we needed to keep.




Basílica de Santa Maria del Pi

Meandering around the city, with a quick stop at a bar that claimed to serve the world’s best Mojito, we were able to walk all the way to the waterfront enjoying the gorgeous weather and great city vibe.

The Barcelona Marina


Another good thing about our time in Barcelona was the opportunity to meet up with old friends who were also in town. A night out trying local beers and tapas in good company topped off a great visit to this wonderful city.

Barcelona has plenty to offer in terms of art and design, architecture, nightlife, and excellent food and drinks. Staying somewhere like a student res saved us a lot of money and the metro is also an easy and affordable way to get around.  So there is no excuse to not find a way to fit Barcelona into your itinerary anytime you are in Europe.

View some more of our photos from Barcelona here.


Comments

  1. Anonymous5 January 2017 at 06:04

    Headed to Barcelona in a few months...I'll pocket this post! The architecture there is stunning. Imagination starter for sure!

    Cheers & thanks for this post!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Little piece of heaven disguised as a slightly run down resort

By -
Image
In the movie Braveheart, Stephen to William Wallace says that the island (Ireland) is ‘mine’. This feeling of belonging and possession is how it felt at times on Nam Cat island – one of the many tiny islands surrounding the larger Catba island off the coast of Hai Phong, Vietnam. From about 9 am to about lunch time, we had the island to ourselves with all the comforts you would need. These precious morning hours on our island could be spent on the foggy days taking photos of the mist and rain rolling in over the island mountains dotted around us. The sunny days allowed you to see all kinds of fish right from the jetty. Sitting alone at the end of the tiny pier watching the boats pass in the distance could be described as the idyllic vacation. It is my island - Nam Cat, Vietnam But the island was not ours for the whole day. In fact, this little resort is a very popular stop for tourists passing through the area that want to spend a night on a private island. From midday a new g...
Read more

An adventure in Nepal

By -
Image
We would not consider ourselves to be adventurous people. At home, we are not naturally inclined to participate in adrenalin inducing activities. Booked through a third party in India, we did not really know what our tour in Nepal encompassed and went quite blindly into it all. But read our story about our visit to Nepal below, and you be the judge of whether this could be considered an adventure. Our tour company, Himalayan Social Journey , had it all in hand and made all the arrangements for us to have nine great days in Nepal. The briefing on the planned activities definitely surprised us, and against our natural instinct, we decided to trust their judgment and participate in the suggested activities. Our second day in Kathmandu started with an early morning flight on a small 30-seater plane. It was a majestic one-hour scenic flight over Mt. Everest and the range surrounding it. The US$200 price per person was not in our original budget, but considering we were in Nepal, s...
Read more

Fingers Flambé

By -
Image
We have had our first noteworthy injury on our round-the-world trip. While dishing up some breakfast, the paper serviette that Schalk was holding under his plate caught fire. It is worth noting that breakfast is served early at our current location and Schalk only fully wakes up by about lunch time. So when a sleepy Schalk was told he was on fire, he may have reacted a little slowly to put out the fire. Three fingers got slightly toasted with a great big blister forming on one finger. All in all, we think he was lucky as he quickly got his hand under cold running water. Two travelling chefs were also quick to come to his rescue with burn cream and dressing for the fingers (it is nice to see how strangers are willing to help fellow travellers in a difficult situation without a second thought). We will watch the fingers as they heal to check that they don’t get infected but luckily it seems Schalk got off lightly. Advice directly from Schalk: “Beware the open flame when serviette...
Read more