Travel Diary: Barcelona

The last time Todd and I visited Barcelona, we spent less than 18 hours in the city, stayed in a crappy hostel, and decided we didn't like it. We gave it another chance, and I'm so glad we did. By the time we were done with our short visit, we were making fantasy plans to move there.

We stayed in El Raval, an up-and-coming neighborhood a few minutes from Las Ramblas. The apartment we rented had an awesome view of the street below; it made us feel like residents of the neighborhood. (Note that all of these photos were taken on my iPhone, because I got tired of carrying my camera around.)

We were tired from our early flight, so we decided to just sit for awhile and take in the scenery at Plaza Real. Our past trips have been all about go-go-go, but this time I think we really perfected the art of relaxing, watching, and soaking up the atmosphere. We may not have seen quite so many sites, but I think we enjoyed our time more and got a better sense of the city.

 

Everything I read about Barcelona said we had to go to La Boqueria, a massive food market that's apparently as popular with locals as tourists. It ended up being one of my favorite parts of the trip. There was every kind of food imaginable, from delicate chocolates to neon-colored fresh fruit juices to seafood so fresh it was still moving. And then there were the churros y chocolate, which easily ranked as one of my top three food moments of all time.

Our feet were aching terribly from the previous day's hike, so we did something we've never done before: We purchased a bus tour. We decided on a double-decker, hop-on-hop-off option, and it allowed us to see the far-flung sites we couldn't have fit in on foot: Olympic Park (above), Gaudi's buildings, and the beach, for example. Todd may or may not have lost his ticket after eating lunch on the beach, but luckily we'd already seen most of what we wanted to see, so we just took the metro back to our apartment before heading out for more tapas and sangria (sensing a theme?) in Barri Gotic.

Barcelona, you might be the most delicious place I've ever been.

Friday Favorites

Bottled Cocktails: Three Places in Boston to Find Them

I find myself writing about cocktails a lot lately and drinking none of them, since I'm on a semi-strict post-vacation diet. It's a bit torturous, really.

Anyway, this is my first contribution to GM's Drive the District blog. It's all about bottled cocktails, a trend that's catching on in Boston ever-so-slowly. Read it here.

Can you afford this cocktail?

Photo via Boston Magazine

I've been a fan of Paste for years, so it was a thrill to get one of my stories published in the magazine this month. I wrote an article about crazy expensive cocktails that was inspired by a $100 drink at Boston bar Wink & Nod.

“Every single person who bought it said it was the best cocktail they’d ever had,” Wink & Nod GM Curtis McMillan says. “I want to make sure that when a person buys this cocktail, they don’t feel like they got gypped. I want them to feel like there’s a reason that they paid $100 for it.”

Read the full story here!

Friday Favorites: Wet Hot American Summer

Happy Fourth! We're gearing up for a rainy day here in Boston. Hopefully your holiday is a bit dryer than mine! Here are a few of my favorite pins from this week.  (Click the photos for links.)

Also:
A workout in GIFs.
Make your own iced coffee (living off of this!).
You don't need a band or DJ at your wedding. Because technology.

To-Do List: Layer Cakes

I really wish I was good at making layer cakes, but I'm really, really not. I tend to get impatient and try to ice it before it cools properly, and it inevitably ends up looking like a misshapen, messy mass of crumbs and icing. I've made it my goal to learn how to make a lovely-looking layer cake. Here's some inspiration.

How to make a vanilla cake.

 Love the sprinkles on the edges.

Robin's egg blue.

Layer city.

Ombre nakedness.

An AirBnB Summer: Six Places I Want to Stay

All-white luxury in Old Montreal.

I just took a look at my summer calendar and I realized that most of our weekends are already booked. Cape Cod, D.C., Montreal, and Newport are officially on the agenda, and I'm also hoping we can squeeze in some time in Maine, L.A., and N.Y.C.

I've shared my love of AirBnB before—it's how we stayed on budget in Europe—and that's where I typically begin my planning process. Finding a cool apartment with a helpful host can take your trip from average to amazing. Here are some places I've been eying (even if they're not all in my price range).

The Keeper's House Inn is an operating lighthouse station located on the remote island of Isle Au Haut, Maine.

A cute modern cottage near Venice Beach.

Would you choo-choose to stay in a train?

Or how about an old Airstream?

Lower East Side loft.