December started out nicely when my boyfriend and I decided to meet half way Portugal and Italy to spend a long weekend in Barcelona. We spent the days wandering around enjoying the busy streets, Gaudi's creations and huge shopping areas all around. I wonder what Barcelona is like in summer time since even at this time of year, La Rambla was filled with people from morning to night.
I had wanted to go to Barcelona for a long time, and since it is a short distance and cheap destination from Lisbon it was a good time to go - my tickets with Vueling cost only 70€. Portugal is a bit like Finland in the sense that it is located on the further edge of Europe, meaning that there are not many close-by options to easily travel to. However from a traveler's point of view, having Spain as the only neighboring country to go to is really not a bad option, even in winter time.
A friend of ours had spent an exchange semester in Barcelona three years back and gave us a list of things to see and do - a big thank you to her for the tips! We followed her suggestions quite closely and spent the day time by enjoying the city center, Sagrada Famiglia, Park Güell and other Gaudi's places we could find. Another friend of ours happened to be in town as well so we met up for burgers over lunch, and as the food wasn't so traditionally Spanish we enjoyed some cava on the side to toast our reunion. For the other dinners we had during the weekend we focused on local specialties, indulging on tapas and paella, although surprisingly no sangria.
One of the nicest things we saw Barcelona was the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc, located under the magestic Palau Nacional. Despite the cold weather we sat on the stairs and watched the colorful fountain "dance" to music, ranging from the newest pop to old school hits and classical music. It might sound a bit cheesy but is really worth enjoying. During night time there were many other places to enjoy around Barcelona as well, especially since Christmas was showing all across the city with Christmas markets, bright lights and decorations filling up the streets.
Compared to Lisbon, Barcelona has much more of a "big city" feel to it and I'm sure there are so many other things we could and should have seen. The city definitely calls for a revisit - next time hopefully during warm summer weathers.
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