My boyfriend and I decided to take a trip to Spain in late June as a friend of ours was getting married, so instead of taking just a weekend we took ten days and travelled around Spain starting at Barcelona for three days, Zaragoza for an evening, three days in San Sebastian and ending in LaGuardia for a long weekend.
As it was quite a long trip with a lot of detail I will review each part of my trip in a different review, otherwise you might find it too long; also a lot of it might not relate to yourselves and the trip you are doing or planning to do.
********************************************************************* PLANNING THE TRIP
Planning a trip can be a nightmare, especially when you are doing multiple destinations. Booking through an agent can set you back a small fortune! I must admit though finding information and good bargains is definitely one of the things I enjoy, but having to agree everything with someone else can be the nightmare part! I tell you we missed out on some good deals for a few late delayed decisions, so plan early!
There are plenty of places to stay in Spain, one of the nicest things I found was apartments, which seem like a great option for families or longer stays, and they are priced really well. It all depends though on how much you want to spend and how close to the noise you want to be. I must say I was very happy to stay just out of the centre.
********************************************************************** COSTING AND BOOKINGS
Transport
2 x Ryanair Luton to Barcelona (single trip) - £ 120-00 (prices will vary depending on when you book the earlier the cheaper it is and the time of year)
Around Barcelona, it is not neccessary to hire a car as there is plenty of transport options. We travelled mostly by taxi as they are very reasonably priced, as well as the tourist buses which get you all over(more on them later).
Accommodation Barcelo Hotel Sants Barcelona for 3 nights - £ 150-00
We arrived at Luton airport, and thought we were about to go through hell when we saw the Easyjet queues. Fortunately the Ryanair queues weren't existent. Minus the fact the couple in
front decided to change shoes to lighten their luggage, booking in was simple and fast. Luton must have the worst selection for food though as we were very limited to what we could have for dinner, which I was not happy about. After the usual one hour delay we found ourselves on a very turbulent flight full of rowdy hen and stag parties, I must say it was definitely one of the most interesting flights I have ever taken. I felt extremely sorry for the air hostesses as they had to deal with some very rough characters.
We must have arrived at around 10pm at Girona airport which is situated 1hr away from Barcelona itself (there is the option of Reus as well). Ryanair runs a shuttle bus from the airport to Barcelona central which costs roughly 14 Euros each. We were a bit worried about how we would get to our hotel but the coach drops you off next to a taxi rank making it nice and easy for us. The taxi cost roughly 5 euros to get to our hotel which was about 1km outside of Barcelona central.
******************************************************************** THE LOVELY BARCELO HOTEL SANTS
Barcelo Hotel Sants is a four star hotel above the main underground station in Barcelona (in fact it is quite hard to miss as the sign is massive). It is situated on the top level of the parking lot which is a good few floors. Parking is paid for so if you do bring a car check the costs with the hotel first, we had a rental car on the last day so am not sure of the cost. We did find all the other hotels in Spain charged us though.
We were greeted at the front desk in English and check in was quick and easy, with their friendly welcoming staff. We booked the room through Expedia at a great bargain as a lot of the other websites advertised it at about £50 more. The hotel is mainly for business clients, and has facilities such as internet access and a gym (which is extra). The main foyer has plenty of lounging sofas and tables, with a piano bar in the evenings (we did not get to experience this as our stay was too short and we spent most evenings outside the hotel).
There is a lift so wheelchair access is possible. The rooms are spacious with great air-conditioning and a fantastic view over Barcelona (if you are on the right side). Linen was clean and the mini bar was well stocked all the time. There was also a safe for your possessions; the keys were available at reception. You are given lots of little things such as a shoe polish and shampoo in the bathroom which I always love!
The hotel is next to plenty of transport being on top of the underground station (which by the way you will not notice at all, as there is no noise). There is also plenty of taxis outside, the tour buses run nearby and there is a Hertz and Avis car rental in the station.
We only ate breakfast at the hotel, which was 12 euros a head. Breakfast was Buffet style, with plenty of choice from freshly cooked omelettes to the great cold traditional Spanish meats. They even had champagne on ice if you really felt like living it up. Be warned though if you don't like smoking pick your table carefully as there is no separate section for non smokers. But other than that the food was great and a good start to the day!
******************************************************************* HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR TRIP
The first thing that we decided to do was visit La Rambla ( interesting fact: La Rambla gets its name from a seasonal stream that use to run there, it was outside the city walls until the 14th century and was built up with Monastic buildings and Palaces in the 16th and 18th centuries, unofficially it is divided into five sections with their own names). We caught a cab outside the station and 6 Euros later we were at the start of La Rambla. For those of you who have not been La Rambla is a street with a pedestrian walk in the middle, that runs down to the harbour, it is wear the party life begins in Barcelona. During the day you can take a walk down the strip and watch the performing artists, or take a look at the market stalls. We stopped to watch a man paint the most amazing pictures using spray paint! There are plenty of restaurants to choose from, but be warned they are very over priced and the majority are tourist catered foods so are not very good either. The back allies behind the strip reveal a much better choice of restaurant with a higher quality of food and better prices (will tell you about one that we visited a little later). We took a carriage ride down the strip the one night, it was quite expensive at 25 euros after being bargained down from 35 euros but was great fun and a different way to view everything along the strip. In
Pictures of Barcelona (Spain)
Painting on the strip
the evening La Rambla is home to many hen and stag parties, with the British overtaking everything!
Watch out for pick pockets along La Rambla they are quick and you won't realise your wallets gone until your halfway down the road.
What can I say! What a wide choice! This is certainly the place to stock up the wardrobes. The shoes are to die for and the prices are great! Leave your man at home forget everything else and head to the stores! Charge it! On a serious note there are plenty of shopping districts around Spain with some fabulous boutiques and plenty of names that you will recognise from home. Go mad!
We took a boat trip at the port which can be found at the bottom of the La Rambla strip. It was a great way to end the day and see Barcelona from a different view point. The trip lasted 1 ½ hours and cost roughly 9 Euros each. It was great because on the round trip we got tosee a school of dolphins who swam alongside us. You can also sit downstairs and have a drink at the bar. I must say though after we paid and got on the boat we glanced over to see a catamaran that we had not seen before. They are quite large and fit a lot of people and you can laze on it in the sun, would have definitely have preferred it as it looked like a lot more fun.
We took a tour of the Olympic Stadium which is on the top of a hill and overlooks the city. It was great to see where they had played the games. We did miss a bit though as we couldn't really work out where everything else was and we were in a rush!
The best way to get around Spain is on the tourist buses. For just under 20 Euros you can get a two day pass of unlimited bus rides. It is a hop-on hop-off service so there is always another bus around the corner; and it takes you to all the great tourist attractions such as the Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia (a warning on this, the stairs are not worth the effort they are cramped, it takes you over an hour and there is not much to see, take the lift, pay the two Euros extra its definitely your best option), and some of Gaudis other beautiful buildings. There are also some fantastic parks and a Spanish Village (near the Olympic stadium) which apparently is amazing in the evening (we went during the day and it wasn't very busy), there you can find great craft shops and lively cafes. The bus also offers you a booklet of discounts for all the tourist attractions so if you like the tourist thing you will certainly get your moneys worth.
****************************************************************** THE LONELY PLANET - SPAIN
Unfortunately I cannot go into too much detail about all the sights as I am not a tourist book! But a great guide to buy and essential in Spain is the Lonely Planet which we used all the time. You can pick it up at most book stores for £15-00 and it gives you great tips on restaurants and places to go.
Some food suggestions cause I know everyone gets hungry, stay away from tourist areas! Find the back street places and ask for the english menu if you can't speak Spanish, they are more than willing to help- this is my best advice to you.
Some of the nicest restaurants we came across included a lovely Tapas Restaurant on boat in the harbour (I cannot remember the name but you can't miss it as it is the only one on the harbour amongst all the boats near Port Vell!). They had a great selection of Tapas and a nice view of all the yachts in the harbour. We had meatballs in tomato sauce, Prawns and potatoes as well as some lovely bread. A great way to have lunch!
Another fantastic find was out of the Lonely Planet book. Bibloteca restaurant was a great dinner, although a little hard to find, as it was down a back alley off La Rambla. We had a lovely meal of Monkfish and Venison Pie and a dessert of sorbet. The meal with a bottle of red came to roughly about 60 Euros, which considering the quality was a very good price.
A warning about the Seafood restaurants on the pier they are a bit tourist catered and not all of them are great so be careful what you pick!
I am sorry for not giving the exact location! But near the casinos and the Barcelona beach you will find a great strip of clubs, and trust me there were quite a number to choose from. Here you will find all the English Hen and stag parties living it up to the early hours of the morning. We decided to take a walk down and have a drink in as many as we could. Needless to say I cannot remember much of the evening! Most of the clubs are free with a few bigger ones closer to the beach with entrance fees.
********************************************************************** ONE LAST THING....THE BEACH
After all the partying and all the tourist attractions, don't forget to take a breather and get some serious tanning on the beach! It's quite packed jammed but who could resist a nice cold beer at a beach café and a swim in the sea.
That is all I can fit in for now, I hope this is of help to you and you enjoy your trip to Barcelona! Have fun!
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