confused20s

Hello (again) everyone,
Last June was my first ever trip to Europe. I visited Italy and France and like everyone, I did a ton of research on the internet and Fodor's to prepare for my trip. When I recounted my trip here, the responses were quite encouraging, for which I'm thankful. The best part of it all is when someone said my information was useful for his/her upcoming trip (In case you're interested, here are the links: http://goo.gl/j4Wyyf and http://goo.gl/BpBfHJ)

Anyway, I never thought I'd get to visit the old continent again so soon because traveling to somewhere far like EU or US is a huge deal for us with all the visa hassle, savings, leave permission etc. But the reality is I did manage to go. And even though I went on a shoestring, I had the most meaningful traveling experience to date. This time, I visited Spain and Portugal and also squeezed in several days in Paris to pick up all I had left off from my first trip.

The first stop of the trip was Barcelona, where I spent 3.5 days. Like everyone, when it was time to leave, I tortured myself why I hadn't allocated more time for the city. It really is one of the most amazing cities in Europe, and we all should spend at least 4-5 days there. Nevertheless, the city still gave me plenty of fond memories to write about After writing my previous trip report, I have realized I'm a very wordy person so this time, I restrained myself and only share what impress me most instead of going on and on about what time I woke up and went to bed and how the weather was. LOL. Without further ado, here is my trip in a nutshell:
http://goo.gl/HsgToK

Again, I hope you all enjoy and find it helpful. If you have any question, let me know

kimhe

Great report and many excellent tips!

I also very much like the vibe of the Barceloneta beach. Next time you should also visit the Barceloneta district just inland. Excellent cafés, tapas bars and atmosphere: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...taurants-spain

The Carmen Amaya (1913/17-1963) fountain/monument is just off the Barceloneta beach (Fuente de Carmen Amaya). Carmen Amaya was the greatest flamenco dancer ever, and she grew up here in what was then the very poor Somorrostro district. Here's plain fantastic Rocío Molina dancing her tribute to Amaya at the monument a beautiful and unforgettable Barcelona noon last May: http://vimeo.com/68734588

Trailer for a recent documentary about the flamenco culture in Barcelona. Carmen Amaya's grand-niese Karime Amaya dances after 1 min: http://vimeo.com/51519531

Carmen Amaya herself. She said that the waves on the Barceloneta beach taught her to dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvd-MALA7tw

The Fuente de Carmen Amaya, in Plaça Brugada just off the Barceloneta beach promenade: http://vestigiosdebcn.wordpress.com/...isto-el-mundo/

Cowboy1968

Great trip report!
You captured quite a lot of that great city during just 3.5 days.
Good that you had time to explore also Gracià.. one of my favorite places.
And Barceloneta's beaches sure are great.

confused20s

Kimhe: Thank you. The videos are great, kimhe. I definitely have to explore of Barceloneta because the only thing there was sitting/lying at the beach for a few hours and dozing off, haha.

Cowboy1968: Too bad that many people pass Gracia. When I wandered around, it was pretty empty. I hardly saw any crowd.

IMDonehere

We have a little caganer sitting on a shelf in the bathroom.

RM67

Fabulous blog and I love your photos.

confused20s

Thank you RM67.

IMDonehere: haha, that's the perfect place to put it. I didn't buy one for myself, though because the price was kind of unreasonable.