Catching up on another weekend abroad! This past weekend some friends and I went to Barcelona to celebrate Halloween. We spent about three days in the city before returning to Madrid, which was definitely enough to see all of the major sites and enjoy ourselves.
We arrived early on the morning of Thursday the 31st, so we spent most of the day walking around and seeing as much of the city as we could. We passed by the Barcelona Cathedral and walked through Citadel Park before checking into our Airbnb for the weekend. This wasn’t the nicest place to say (we were told that if anyone knocks, we were not to open the door under any circumstances), but it ended up working out for the two nights we were there. After checking in, getting settled, and napping for a bit, we headed back out to walk around some shops and grab tacos for dinner.
Thursday night there was a major Halloween party at one of Barcelona’s main night clubs, so we all dressed up and went as a group. This was definitely a MAJOR Halloween party. The entire club was packed and we only lasted a short while before heading out to the beach, which was right outside the back door. Being right on the beach was definitely a big change from Madrid!
Friday was our main exploring day. We started out with a big brunch at Citizen CafĂ©, and good thing we did because we had no idea how much walking we would be doing that day. After brunch, we headed to the Sagrada Familia, which is Barcelona’s unfinished Roman Catholic basilica, designed by Antoni GaudĂ. The building is supposed to be completed relatively soon, so it would be really cool to go back one day and see the finished product.
From there we walked a LONG way uphill to Park GĂĽell. We were able to walk around some of the outside paths of the park, but the tickets to get into the museum part were sold out. It was still really pretty outside, and we were able to look over the whole city. After a quick break, we continued the hike uphill to the bunkers at El Carmel. While walking up, we were all questioning whether it was worth it (we had been walking uphill for about 4 hours now). But when we got to the top, we concluded that it was 100% the right choice. We arrived at the top right around sunset, and we could see the entire city of Barcelona. These bunkers are the highest point of the city, and keep in mind we started at sea level that morning, so this break at the top was much needed.
After hiking back down the hill (and taking a bus the rest of the way), we ended back up on level ground and hit up a hole-in-the-wall tapas bar, which we all agreed served the best croquettes we’ve had thus far. The day took a lot out of us, so after napping (again) and trying to get ready, we decided we couldn’t take another late night. We quickly tried the Dow Jones stock exchange bar, which seemed like a cool idea, but was honestly not very well executed once we got there, and then ended up at Burger King to end the night.
Sunday morning we packed up, and before heading to the airport we made a few quick stops at Las Ramblas, la BoquerĂa, and of course, Starbucks. After a rocky flight home (and many more naps), we finally made it back to Madrid early Saturday night. Getting home that early in the weekend was such a nice change – having all day to catch up and get organized on Sunday was amazing.
In conclusion, I’m glad I visited Barcelona, but I’m even more glad that I’m living in Madrid. I can’t quite explain it, but the people, the culture, and just the city itself are more comforting and welcoming, in my opinion, in Madrid. It was definitely a cool experience to see another (very popular) part of Spain, but the more I continue to travel elsewhere, the more I realize I made the right choice coming to Madrid 🙂
It’s crazy to think about, but the months are quickly passing by and I only have a short time left in Europe! I have a few more trips lined up for my last weeks abroad, so I will definitely be posting a LOT in the next couple of months – subscribe below to stay updated!
Thank you again for following me along this AMAZING journey, and I’ll see you all next week!
xx.
Megan
Megan Gilman 