Tuesday, March 4, 2014

the best way to see barcelona

hola barcelona!
barcelona was the final city of our
madrid ----> porto ----> lisbon ----> barcelona trip.
we picked a good finale! from the very first hour in
barcelona i already loved it, and it only got better.
it is beautiful and whimsical and artsy and interesting
and has so much to offer. plus, i love the name.
tell me you don't love saying "barcelona..."
it rolls off the tongue! we are obsessed.
we lucked out in barcelona by finding vesping, the best vespa 
rental place we have ever come across! seriously. we had our
plans all mapped out of what we wanted to see in barcelona,
and when we got to the vespa place we realized there was no
point in that-- they sat down with us, went over an entire 
map of the city, explained everything, showed us all the 
local spots, then programmed our GPS on the vespa to go
exactly where we wanted. wow! after renting vespas in
all 4 cities this trip, we really appreciated having the GPS
right there on the scooter. since we didn't have wifi on
our phones when we were out, i would have the map out
while riding on the back of the vespa..haha. in barcelona,
we were able to find things so smoothly because we had
a little GPS showing us the whole way! we did the most
perfect route and loved our vespa tour around the city.
it took us through some local neighborhoods, up to
the famous parc guell, then all the way up winding
roads to mount tibidabo (in LOVE!) then back down
by the beach and through great areas on the way.
^^ a well-marked map
^^ first stop: gaudi's park güell. so pretty and so different i can't 
even begin to explain it. it's an enormous park up on the hill
with such great design and such great views. it was perfectly sunny!
after the park, we cruised up up up the hills of barcelona to
mount tibidabo. maybe my favorite place in barcelona
{other than the boqueria} and not just because it's famous
from joey on "friends" ... it is so amazing and reminds me
of the spain version of the sacré coeur in paris. a breathtaking
church up on a hill overlooking the entire city...except
this one is even more isolated and harder to get to, so it's
more amazing in some ways! we paid the 2to ride up
the elevator and then climb steps so we were at the tippy
top right under the gold christ statue. we were high up there!
chase may or may not have gotten some shaky legs from the height :)
^^ channeling his inner joey.."how you doin'?"
we cruised through the cutest neighborhoods on
the way down, then stopped for lunch!
best food stop. we were starving!
^^ down by the beach to see port olímpic. sucker for those sailboats,
they remind me of san francisco {and our proposal}.
^^ passing the incredible sagrada familia!
{an entire post on that to come}
^^ a quick stop at the biggest flea market, los encantes.
i wanted to take everything home, wish it would have fit!
^^ thank you, vesping!!
^^ one of the most traditional simple spanish foods -- 
tortilla espanola // spanish omelet. i lived with a friend in
london who had studied abroad in spain, and she used to make this 
from a recipe her host family gave her, i loved it so i had to have it 
again in spain! i will be making it soon and sharing a recipe!
^^ the best way to see barcelona is definitely on the back of a vespa.
thanks to my hubby for driving us all
around + vesping for making it possible!
more of barcelona to come. xoxoxoxo

13 comments:

  1. Spain is VERY high on my list of places to see ASAP! Thank you for the beautiful photos. Yummm that bread! Love your go pro photos too! I just got a go pro and I love how you use it to get cool angles and shots of you and the hub! Will travel with mine more!

    I finally got my azores pics up - a little teaser so you can add this set of island on your list of must sees! http://runningaragnar.blogspot.com/2014/03/take-me-back-sao-miguel-azores-portugal.html

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  2. Love that you went to Barcelona and Lisbon as we'll be going to both in a few months. GREAT tips! Definitely bookmarking these posts for research before we go :)

    And as soon as I saw Mt. Tibidabo I immediately thought of Joey!

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  3. great photos! I totally want to travel here one day and these photos make me want to do it even more!! looks amazing!
    xo,
    nancy

    http://www.adoretoadorn.com

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  5. Glad you posted this! We are gonig to Barcelona in August before we head out on our cruise. I never would have thought of renting a Vespa, but its seems like so much fun:)

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    1. that is so fun you are going on a cruise out of barcelona! i would have never thought of getting vespas either, but of course chase did :) and i was so glad! it made it so we could see everything fast and in a fun, memorable way! can't wait to see pictures when you go in august!! xo

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  6. I am assuming you guys are making a video? This looks like so much fun. Vespa's definitely look like the way to travel around.

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    1. haha yes we are! so many clips, hopefully i can finish editing it this weekend. we loved barcelona and YES the vespa is the way to go! xoxo

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  7. Gorgeous photos as usual my dear! That flea market looks so cool! I would probably want to take it all home as well. :)

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  8. Barcelona is definitely on my to visit list. I have wanted to visit for ages but never got around to it. I just love the culture and art and architecture to see there. What a great way to see the city. I will keep it in mind when I finally get around to visiting.

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  9. We're going to Barcelona in April for a weekend and your posts have made me soooo excited! I love the idea of hiring a Vespa although neither of us have ridden one before...so my question is how easy are they to ride?

    Kam x | A Married Couple & Their Travels

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    1. they are SO easy to ride-- i am terrified of other scooters but new vespas like these are so stable and easy! no shifting gears, just simple and so fun! do it!!!

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  10. Nice Post!! what a beautiful array of pictures of this fantastic city! Your photos certainly show off the incredible versatility of Barcelona! Thanks for sharing with us.
    http://vakantiehuizenspanje.villamar.nl/findAllVillas.php?region=Costa+Maresme

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