Hi Everybody,

In attempts to get over my hump day blues, I thought I would relive my amazing trip to Barcelona this past New Years. While it took 15+ hours to get there, it was worth every second – a place I’ll never forget! The atmosphere, sites, and food were incredible! Truly a place worth visiting.

We visited many of the historic sites including taking tours of the famous – I’m gunna say artist, not architect for reasons you’ll see below – Antoni Gaudi’s inspired creations. We visited the Sagrada Familia (a work still in progress, being finished in Gaudi’s vision), Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, and Park Guell.

The Sagrada Familia is an amazing Basilica that is believe it or not still incomplete. Construction began in 1882 and Gaudi took over in 1883. He created an incredible vision is actually still being carried out today. Words cannot describe the beauty inside and pictures can’t do it justice either. This is a must see if you visit Barcelona – and the guided tour is definitely worth the price.

We also visited the beautiful Casa Batllo, completely inspired by nature, it is an extraordinarily unique place. The interior features two huge light columns bringing the natural light down throughout the entire home.

Another incredible place courtesy of Gaudi is Park Guell. It was originally commissioned to be a park surrounded by expensive, technologically advanced homes, to create a sort of wealthy exclusive community; however, the project never took off and instead we were left with the beautiful park.

From the top of the park, you can see the entire city of Barcelona – looking out over the beautiful mosaic bench Gaudi created.

Not only did my family enjoy the sites of Barcelona – but we enjoyed the food. A lot of food. A lot a lot of food. Paired with a lot of Sangria. We went to some amazing restaurants, had a lot of Paella and Tapas, and visited the Mercado de la Boqueria (as seen in the header picture – taken from my sister’s instagram @isabellekh14)!

The squid ink Paella from L’Arrosseria Xativa was one of our favorites throughout the trip. It may look scary but it is delicious!

We had tapas almost everywhere we went but some of our favorites were from Tosca, a cute little cafe / bar a couple minutes away from our hotel. This place was so good we ended up going twice! My favorite tapas of the trip were the Patatas bravas (potatoes), Albondigas (meatballs),  and Croquetas.

We celebrated our New Year’s Eve at the restaurant Agut. An amazing family owned establishment. It was established in 1924 and still has the same paintings hanging within today. They served a prix fixe menu that was delicious, we devoured every course! This was a perfect place to soak in some of the true Barcelona culture – and have a great time on New Year’s Eve!

Overall the trip was amazing and I think Barcelona is a fabulous place to visit. I know my family and I had an incredible time – I hope this post (although long) gives you some idea of the experiences to be had!

If any of you are planning a trip soon and need a tour guide feel free to reach out 😛

xxoo Melissa