Where to Stay in Barcelona 3 Tips for Finding a Great Place in Barcelona Barcelona is a beautiful city and has become extremely popular in the past years. If you are planning a trip to the capital of Catalonia, you’ll need to do three things: Decide on Where to Stay in Barcelona Book Early Don’t […]
Barcelona like a Local
Experience Barcelona like a local I have the good fortune to have a friend, born and bred in Barcelona, who kindly took me by the hand, sometimes literally, to let me experience Barcelona like a local. Of course, there are many places every visitor to Barcelona just has to see, like the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi […]
Barcelona: The New Mecca of Shoes
For shopping addicts, there is no fix as satisfying as finding fabulous shoes at an attainable price. These days, sadly, if you’re craving a fashion forward style in luxurious material that won’t leave your feet looking as if they’ve been through Chinese binding, the price tag is upwards of $400. In Barcelona, however, shoes are […]
Paella Recipe: Eating Spanish with The Ravenous Traveler
Getting to know a foreign country through its traditional flavors is a whole-body experience. In Spain, the scent of sofrito—a mix of garlic, onion, peppers, and tomatoes sautéed in olive oil—can open the mind to Spanish culture just as quickly as a visit to Sagrada Família in Barcelona. Throw in a carefully made seafood stock, […]
Exploring Barcelona’s Eixample Neighborhood
Barcelona, a European cultural center with a city-proper population of 1.6 mil, has several great neighborhoods, to include: Ciutat Vella (Old Town), the Barri Gotic, La Rambla, and El Raval. Another great neighborhood that visitors will not want to miss is Eixample, a vibrant, relatively modern district of Barcelona. Designed in the mid-nineteenth century, Eixample expanded Barcelona beyond the […]
Exploring Barcelona’s Montjuïc
Montjuïc, situated on a hill in Barcelona’s Sants-Montjuïc neighborhood just southwest of the city center, boasts some of the best views of the city as well as some of Barcelona’s finest museums and sights. Montjuïc hill overlooks the Barcelona city center and harbor. Once covered with forest, the hill was cleared in the late nineteenth century for building. It was […]
Barcelona’s Mercat de la Boqueria
One cannot visit Barcelona without spending an afternoon, or several, at the Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria. Located in the city’s old town, with an entrance just off La Rambla, the market is extremely accessible and thus very popular with tourists. Don’t let the throngs of camera touting visitors scare you, the market […]
Gaudí’s Barcelona
Gaudí’s Barcelona – How its Unique Architecture Defines the City Antoni Gaudí’s unique architecture, also known as Catalan Modernism, defines Barcelona for many of its visitors. Born in 1852, Gaudí became one of Spain’s most celebrated architects. His works defied any one particular architectural style though were clearly influenced by art from around the world, including: […]
Two Short Weeks in Spain
A few years ago, my husband Bill and I, along with several other bloggers, were invited by the Land of Valencia Tourist office on a trip to experience the Valenciana area of Spain and the FIB Music Festival, held for the past 17 years in Benicassim. Although we have traveled to Europe more than 40 […]
A Tapas Tour of Northern Spain
Tapas. Pinxtos. Or less formally, little bites of Spanish goodness. There are plenty of reasons to go to Spain; tapas just happen to be the tastiest. In northern Spain, typical tapas styles and the dishes that represent them can vary widely, as can the protocol for ordering and eating them in different regions. Here’s […]