DAY 1 TRAVEL DAY NYC TO BCN

I flew into BCN from JFK & arrived mid day local time. BCN airport was hassle free at 8 AM, & we didn't have to wait at all for customs. That was the fastest customs line I've been through! I didn't get any sleep on the flight, but I went grocery shopping to get fresh air in our local neighborhood (L’Eixample). My family & I stocked up on breakfast food for everyone & essentials like eggs, milk, juice, bread, coffee, etc. We strolled through Las Ramblas to get to the famous Mercat de la Boqueria, ate dinner at a paella spot a little bit away from Las Ramblas, & then we called it a night with a NYE celebration in our Airbnb.

DAY 2 Gothic Quarter, Barcelona Cathedral, Local Night Market, Placa Real

We all wanted to prioritize sleeping in and resting after long travel days & pushing ourselves with adrenaline so everyone slept in. We didn’t leave the air bnb until around 3-4 to check out the Gothic Quarter, Barcelona Cathedral, market outside the cathedral, & Placa Real (where we had dinner). A lot of places were closed New Year’s day after we were done with dinner. We bought ice cream, snacks, etc on the walk home after dinner from a local supermercat. We enjoyed all the holiday lights everywhere while walking back home. I think we were all charmed by the appeal of the oldest part of Barcelona. You can pretty much discover something new in every corner it seems in this area.

DAY 3 GAUDI DAY

We bought tickets in advance to Park Guell at 1:30 PM, ate at Guelly sandwich shop, went to Sagrada Familia at 4:45 then ate dinner at Dafudon. Both tickets were purchased 1-2 weeks in advance since both landmarks tend to sell out! It's important to note that you can't buy tickets on site at Sagrada so definitely plan ahead. I saw tips online to go to Sagrada in the afternoon so you really get the sun through the mosaic glass, & it really was spot on. The photos were incredible to begin with, but the sun reflecting on all of the glass elevated an already amplified atmosphere!

DAY 4 LEISURE DAY

We intended on everyone sleeping in except we were caught up with our jet lag waves by this day. We decided to check out the local market Mercat del Ninot, had café con leche, pan con tomate, & eggs. They have local vendor stalls outside the market. We walked around and shopped in Sant Antoni & L'Eixample afterwards. After resting for 2 hours, we had dinner reservations at El Nacional.

DAY 5 EXCURSION DAY

We decided to do a private guided tour of Montserrat which is a National Park 1 hour outside of Barcelona. It has a major spiritual significance & draws thousands of people to it's mountain peaks. Our private guided tour was booked through catalantrails.com with Ramon who is the founder. It was an amazing half day tour. We went from 8 AM-3 PM round trip from Barcelona. Ramon helped us beat the lines. The entire thing was a pleasant experience. BOOK ASAP! Some of us decided to do some last minute shopping in Sant Antoni right after our Montserrat day trip for 2 hours. We capped off the night by ordering yummy burgers on the walk home to go, & we enjoyed the rest of the night eating in our Airbnb, having a glass of wine, enjoying the cheese & nuts from the Montserrat farmer’s market & packing for the flight back to NYC the following morning.

“Life is a battle that takes effort. Effort is sustained and fuelled by cultivating spirituality.”

— Antoni Gaudi

THINGS TO KNOW AHEAD OF TIME

LUNCH & DINNER TIMES VARY. TYPICALLY DINNERS ARE AFTER 9 PM WITH SOME PLACES OPENING AROUND 8 PM. BOOK AHEAD FOR RESERVATIONS ESPECIALLY FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS.

BOOK POPULAR LANDMARKS LIKE THE SAGRADA FAMILIA AHEAD OF TIME BECAUSE THEY DO SELL OUT & YOU CAN’T BUY ON SITE.

The 4:45 time slot with the golden hour sun cutting through the mosaic was amazing!

BOOKING A GUIDED TOUR FOR MONTSERRAT IS WORTH THE MONEY. WE GOT PICKED UP BY OUR GUIDE AT OUR AIR BNB, WERE 2ND IN LINE FOR THE BLACK MADONNA PRAYER, HIKED TO THE ORIGINAL SITE WHERE THE BLACK MADONNA WAS FOUND, CHECKED OUT THE FARMER’S MARKET, ATE AT THE CAFETERIA, ALL WHILE LEARNING SO MUCH ABOUT THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF MONTSERRAT. OUR GUIDE ALSO DROVE US BACK TO OUR AIR BNB. IT IS WORTH IT IN MY OPINION! YOU CAN OF COURSE OPT TO TAKE A TRAIN & TRANSFER TO A CABLE CAR TO GET UP TO THE MOUNTAINS OR TAKE THE TRAIN INTO TOWN. JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT A LOT OF BUS TOURS ALSO COME IN AFTER A CERTAIN TIME IN THE DAY. THIS IS ALSO A LOCAL SPOT FOR DAY TRIPS SO THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE AFTER A CERTAIN WINDOW. CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE & ENJOY THE VIEWS!

THE LOCALS ARE VERY WELCOMING & FRIENDLY. OUR GUIDE WAS SAYING THAT THE NEWS DID COVER A LOT OF THE ANTI TOURIST PROTESTS A LOT, BUT LOCALS WANT VISITORS & ARE ALWAYS HAPPY TO HAVE PEOPLE COME FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. I DIDN’T FEEL, SEE, OR EXPERIENCE ANY ANIMOSITY WHATSOEVER. EVERY PERSON WAS SO WARM, FRIENDLY & EAGER TO HELP! OF COURSE, WHEN VISITING ANY FOREIGN COUNTRY, YOU WANT TO HONOR & RESPECT THE LOCALS & THEIR TRADITIONS.

KNOW THAT YOU CAN’T SEE IT ALL! OUR GROUP OF 10, RANGING FROM 1 YEARS OLD TO 64 YEARS OLD, ALLOWED PLENTY OF TIME TO SLEEP IN. YOU DON’T KNOW HOW JET LAG WILL AFFECT EACH PERSON SO I THINK ALLOWING THE SPACIOUSNESS TO ADJUST IS REALLY SUPPORTIVE. WE HAD A GENERAL GUIDE OF THINGS WE POSSIBLY WANTED TO SEE, BUT SOME OF THOSE THINGS NATURALLY SHIFTED AS THE DAYS WENT ON. YOU HAVE TO STRIKE THE BALANCE BETWEEN EXPECTATION & GOING WITH THE FLOW.

RENT AN AIRBNB FOR BIGGER GROUPS. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN COOKING MEALS TOGETHER, ENJOYING DOWN TIME, & JUST BEING IN THE SAME SPACE. WE RENTED FROM CASA COSI WHO OWNS DIFFERENT PROPERTIES. IT IS NICELY RUN. OUR 4 BEDROOM, 2 BATH AIRBNB WAS PERFECT FOR A BIG GROUP. IT FELT LIKE WE WERE GETTING A LOCAL EXPERIENCE. THE LOCATION WAS ALSO WONDERFUL IN L’EIXAMPLE.

WALK AROUND! BARCELONA IS EASILY ACCESSIBLE, BUT WALKING AROUND IS THE BEST WAY TO SOAK IN ALL OF THE SIGHTS & DISCOVER NEW THINGS! TAKING A TAXI IS PRETTY REASONABLE. WE SPENT NO MORE THAN 10 EUROS HERE & THERE IF WE WERE TOO TIRED TO WALK. I WOULD SAY 90% OF THE TIME, WE OPTED TO WALK EVERYWHERE.

BOOK CAR SERVICES ROUND TRIP TO & FROM THE AIRPORT. THIS MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE FOR OUR GROUP WITH A 1 & 2 YEAR OLD. IT WAS MORE PEACEFUL NOT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT OUR NEXT STEPS ESPECIALLY WITH YOUNG CHILDREN.

VISIT THE LOCAL MARKETS ESPECIALLY SINCE EACH NEIGHBORHOOD TYPICALLY HAS THEIR OWN UNIQUE MARKET. THEY WILL HAVE LESS TOURISTS & YOU CAN TALK TO THE LOCAL VENDORS!