On our way back to Gracia after dropping Becca at her hostel, we stopped at a small Spanish bar in Gracia in Plaza del Sol and met up with more of our friends. I love going to the bars that locals go to because it is such a better reflection of what day to day life is like Barcelona, rather than what it is like ot be a tourist. The next day, we hit up 2 for 1 specials for lunch at George Paynes and then headed to a cool bar by the beach. It took us about an hour to find it, but it was delicious and worth it to sit and relaz by the beach. Afterwards a few of us went to get cake from Lolita(so so so good) and walk around Parc Ciutadella. I really love it there. The gratto is beautiful and it always puts me in a good mood to go there. That night, we went for GREAT tapas at Cerveseria Catalona and then we had to show Becca our favorite bar, Ovella Negra.
On Saturday, we went on a beautiful hike to Tibidabo(hence the title of this blog) and it was gorgeous. We hiked off the trail and I felt like I was on PNW again, which is always a good feeling. Once we reached the top of Tibidabo, where there is an amusement park and a church(standard combination), we climbed to the top of the church and the view of the city was breathtaking. After taking a bus back to Catalunya and taking Becca to a typical lunch at Farggi, we headed back to get ready for our night. For dinner, we decided to go to Escriba with Brittany and Becca's parents. One of our professors, Xavi, had recommended it as "the best Paella in Barcelona". Although the restaurant is almost directly on the beach, the walk from the metro to the beach was very reminiscent of some areas in DC that I don't particularly enjoy venturing to. We found our way to the beach though and enjoyed a delicious meal. Becca and I split Snow Pea(which they called asparagus) and mushroom Paella. It was delicious and we also got our favorite dish, Patatas Bravas, and some delicious bread. Afterwards, we took Becca to Chupitos and the we went to Margarita Blue, which is this amazing place for cocktails. It was a little expensive, but really worth it because it was really, really delicious.
The next day I took Becca to Parc Guell and then we went to Casa Mila, which is an amazing Gaudi house. It was an amazing trip and I'm SO SO glad she visited. Although I was planning to maybe go to Carnaval on Sunday night, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep at like 10 and decided I'd wait until Tuesday to begin my Carnaval experience.
On monday, a bunch of us went to Montserrat. Since pictures are worth 1000 words, here are just a few of what Montserrat has to offer.
Montserrat was clearly gorgeous. We did have a little difficulty finding the correct trails because the funicular was broke or something(so not fun), but I really enjoyed hiking and just seeing the beautiful scenery. Parts of it reminded me of Sedona, Az. which brought back great memories.
The next day, a bunch of us headed to Carnaval in Sitges at night. I thought Carnaval was really cool. The parade was a lot of fun and the floats were really interesting. There were superhero floats, an alice in wonderland float, and a bunch of other cool themed floats. The parade was filled with lots of music. Unfortunately, we couldn't make it to the actual beach because the tunnel that connects the main road to the beach was disgusting and really sketchy and after our first attempt to cut through it, it was vetoed for the rest of the night. Here's a picture of us on Carnaval with some new friends aka the randos who jumped into our picture.
Conclusion: Barcelona is amazing. More to come very, very soon! :)
Lauren
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