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Exploring Beautiful Barcelona: Enjoying the Mediterranean Vibes

Posted on September 6, 2017May 4, 2025

I landed at Barcelona on 15th May which is my birthday. I am now at that age where my body doesn’t react kindly to flying out all night and missing on sleep. My favorite way to pass time in flights is to watch movies but off late I simply fall asleep.

barcelona
The First Glimpse!

As I was flying via Munich, the immigration for the Schengen area was already out of the way! I was greeted by Sonia Stark from the tourism board at the airport. That made my life easy. Soon we were heading to my hotel in a taxi.

I had the first day free but I was way too excited to sleep. Early check-in was also not available at the hotel. So, out I went to walk around to the Barcelona Tourism Board’s office to collect my press pass. It gave me unlimited access to Barcelona Bus Touristic’s Hop On Hop Off bus plus free entry to many monuments.

national-arts-museum-barcelona
The View from the National Arts Museum, Barcelona

I partially took both the Red and the Blue route. Due to lack of time, I could not try the green route at all. On the first day I took the Red Route because that bus stop was less crowded. I got down at the National Arts Museum. The view from the area was so mesmerizing that I ended up spending a lot of time walking outside instead of going in.

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The Olympic Stadium, Barcelona

I also got down at the Olympic Stadium stop. The day was hot and by now I felt thoroughly tired! Sleep was also trying to claim me. After roaming around the stadium for a bit, I went in search for beer and food! I promptly found both near the stadium. It was good to sit in shade and enjoy my meal.

Soon I found myself close to the hotel again and I went in to catch on a few hours of sleep. I was meeting the group in the evening for dinner.

pan-con-tomate
Pan Con Tomate

Food is akin to religion in Spain. The people love their food, each meal goes on for hours. As a vegetarian I fared fine. I loved the pan con tomate which is the local way to eat bread with tomato, garlic and olive oil. They could do a veg version of paella for me. Wine flowed in freely and I ate a lot of crema catalana which is the popular sweet dish of the region. I also visited a beautiful vineyard during my trip which I remember for its good food.

The next day we went to the Girona for the Flower Festival. We remained in the region and explored the beautiful town of Cadaques. I came back to Barcelona towards the end of the trip again.

sagrada-familia
Sagrada Famila

As one of the agenda on the itinerary was ham making experience, I took the opportunity to explore Barcelona and join the group after their experience. I made an impromptu stop at one of the most recognized landmarks of Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia by Gaudi.

You need to plan your visit to the landmark. When I reached the tickets for the afternoon were sold out. It was only because of my press pass I was still able to visit.

casa-batllo
Inside Casa Batllo

Casa Batllo is another landmark building by Gaudi in Barcelona. It is a remodel of a previously built house by Gaudi! His creative genius is visible in every aspect of the building. It is better to visit the place in the early hours, later in the day it gets too crowded.

FC-barcelona
FC Barcelona

On the last day I was touring the Blue Route of the Barcelona Bus Turistic. It goes past the famous FC Barcelona. I was severealy taken to task by my nephew (the one known as Brat 2) for only passing by. He is the football player and fan in the family and he was quite unhappy that I did not find time to visit the stadium.

shopping-tour-barcelona
Barcelona Genuine Shop Tours

My last activity in Barcelona, other than food, was the Barcelona Genuine Shop Tours conducted by Barcelona Guide Bureau. It is a fun tour which takes you through the local shops of Barcelona. The cost of the tour is 25 Euro. If you like shopping, you should surely give it a try.

Here is a short video of our experience of the shopping tour. I still remember the chocolates I bought from the trip!

street-art-barcelona
The World Begins with Every Kiss

Barcelona has a rich street art culture be it a famous mural like the ‘world begins with every kiss‘or a painting on the local barber shop! I had too little time to do any justice to this rich tradition.

Barcelona-tram
A Tram in Barcelona

I am a big fan of trams and metros and Barcelona has both. Yet due to the lack of time I could not try either. In all, I have a lot of unfinished business in Barcelona and I would love to go back again.

Barcelona-spain-barcelona

PS. I was invited by the Catalonia Tourism Board to Visit Spain!

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16 thoughts on “Exploring Beautiful Barcelona: Enjoying the Mediterranean Vibes”

  1. Steps Together says:
    September 6, 2017 at 5:29 pm

    What an amazing post.. Loved reading every word of it.. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      September 7, 2017 at 12:57 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  2. Rajeev Moothedath says:
    September 6, 2017 at 5:51 pm

    Engaging post as usual with beautiful pics & video.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      September 7, 2017 at 12:57 pm

      Thank you Rajeev!

      Reply
  3. Aaichi Savali says:
    September 6, 2017 at 9:29 pm

    Another great post and beautiful pictures!

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      September 7, 2017 at 12:57 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  4. rupam { xhobdo } says:
    September 7, 2017 at 7:29 am

    Wow truly amazing. Awesome pics.
    Love the post.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      September 7, 2017 at 12:58 pm

      Thank you Rupam!

      Reply
  5. Jyotirmoy Sarkar says:
    September 7, 2017 at 7:43 am

    Amazing read, very nice captures.The Olympic stadium is so grandly decorated.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      September 7, 2017 at 1:03 pm

      Thank you for the kind words!

      Reply
  6. Dipanwita Chakraborty says:
    September 7, 2017 at 2:51 pm

    To start with, I loved the title of the post. The chocolates look yummm and the mention of crema catalana made me drool… 😉

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      September 7, 2017 at 5:20 pm

      Thank you Dipanwita 😀

      Reply
  7. dNambiar says:
    September 9, 2017 at 12:54 pm

    A sneak peek at Barcelona. Thank you. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Sindhu Devi K says:
    September 10, 2017 at 4:47 pm

    So much said in a single post! I may forget the names but the impression created with your photography and with your narration will be in memory for long. Hope to read more about the places in future posts.

    Reply
  9. Colleen says:
    October 12, 2017 at 2:41 pm

    Barca is always my favorite football team! I had visited Barcelona once 3 days trip which I visited the stadium to feel the warmth of football. Thanks for the share and refreshing my memories!

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      October 12, 2017 at 4:32 pm

      Thank you Colleen for sharing your thoughts and stopping by!

      Reply

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About Me

I am Mridula Dwivedi and I started this blog in 2005. It has been an amazing ride. I have visited 33 countries till date! I have worked with many tourism boards and prominent travel companies. My blog was featured on the BBC and the Guardian.

I did my Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur. I worked full time in academics till 2015! I quit my job as a professor, thinking I will take a break for one year, which turned into five.

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