Snapshots of Barcelona

I've been back for just over a week and I'm already missing Spain like crazy. And not just the perfect blue skies and breezy, sunny days (allergies, what allergies?) People keep asking me my favorite thing about Barcelona and it's actually been a hard question to answer. My week of vacation feels so separate from my normal existence, like it was on a whole different level of reality. There weren't any life changing moments, it was all good. There were a few hiccups, sure, but my experiences in Barcelona were overwhelmingly positive.

Traveling alone was intimidating in theory, but the reality was pretty stress free. I felt less pressure to get things right. It wasn't a problem when I got lost or screwed up the metro (and let me tell you, it's pretty hard to screw up. Barcelona public transit is easy peasy.) I could wake up late, meander around the city, and, most of all, take as many pictures as I wanted without holding anyone else up.

Breakfast most days was pastry and cafe con leche (like a super strong, mini latte) or un cortado (espresso cut with milk.) And sometimes a glass of juice. My favorite was the chocolate croissant pictured below. This seemed to be the thing to do in Barcelona, coffee and pasty on the go.

I love both, but I need a little more protein in me to really get going. So, a few mornings, I splurged on seafood feasts at la Boqueria, more on those soon. And more on gourmet drinking chocolate and patatas bravas and razor clams. Gorgeous food is everywhere. Just like you can't turn a corner in Barcelona without running into amazing architecture, there are almost too many restaurants to choose from. And bakeries! So many bakeries, I loved the little porcupine cakes decorating the window display seen above.

I'm still making my way through the 2800 photos I snapped. If you're interested you can find the whole set here. I think they look best on black, through flickr's slideshow feature. I'll be back soon with food!