Plaça de Catalunya

After an incredible 3 weeks in Portugal and endless amounts of road trip Duolingo, it was time to put our (Dan’s) Spanish to the test…

If you just want Barca tips, skip straight to the bottom, otherwise strap in for the unexpected but hilarious F1 weekend!

Our Barca Air BnB wasn’t a great start (our first bad one of the trip!), but it slept 4 of us (with Fif & Jen) and we decided it would be more of a luggage storage facility anyway, right?

We had a night solo before Jen, Fif, Rosa & Giff flew in to join us for the F1 so we thought we’d test out the local tapas and wander the old town for some local wine… what a hustle there was, F1 fans everywhere!

Then the fun really began… the gang took to the streets of Barca on Friday! A few sights (the only good thing about our place was it was next to the Sagrada Família) and a few sangria stops later, we were well and truly stuck in to the Spanish lifestyle, so naturally dinner was at 10pm! Bar Brutal (thanks Andy for the amazing reco).

Saturday morning the gals strolled La Rambla, hit the famous Boqueria and drank more sangriaaaa by the water. Divine. It was now time to get out to the track for qualifying and boy were we shocked to discover what was in store for us…

…a desert heatwave of 35 degrees, no water, no alcohol and a 5 hour adventure to get home!! ABSOLUTE CHAOS! Turns out Barcelona wasn’t quite prepared for the 300,000 F1 fans that descended…a 5km walk to the nearest train station to find a massive, static queue and no additional trains, no taxis or alternate transport. The only option was to sit on the grass, drink beers and watch it all unfold! After a few false starts (including a big purple limo) we made it back to the city around 11pm. The only positive was we knew how to be prepared for race day.

Race Day: Dan, Giff and Rosa were too traumatised from the day before, so decided to stay local and watch from the comfort of the aircon (lameooooossss!!). Being our first F1, it was gals on tour as Jen, Fif and I stocked up on agua, gin and snacks, fully prepared for the day ahead.

The 36 degree heat and huge queue to get in that met us wasn’t a great start, but that didn’t burst our bubble! The gin was successfully smuggled in and we found a spot to pitch up on what was to be corner 4 and little did we know it would be the best action on the track! We had an absolute ball as cars flew off the track right in front of us, zoom after zoom. 🏎 We were slightly nervous about how to get home, but we knew the only strategy for exit was to pitch up in the rauchas beer tent outside the track, make some friends and wait it out with pitchers of sangria and plates of potatas bravas. We couldn’t believe our luck when 5 hours later we had bagged a taxi right outside the gate! What a win and boy were we smug returning to the gang in the city for a late Mexicanoooo feast.

The fun doesn’t stop here…Dan had spent the day setting us up with a club night at Carpe Diem for a boogey. Very nice. Sexy dancers, champagne on fire, grey goose everywhere and a sneaky appearance from none other than Charles Leclerc! Rosa spotted him walking through the D floor but given she isn’t an F1 enthusiast, the boys weren’t so convinced she’d seen right. I mean why would he be casually walking through a club (after bombing out of the race) with no crowds following him? Bizarre. The detective work began with a game of fingers and the loser having to go and see what’s what. Captain subtle, Dan decided to walk on over and ask straight up. It was him. We were all giddy and in disbelief, so of course we started taking group photos with his head tactically positioned in the background. He then got up to leave and now was our time to pounce. He agreed to a photo with us “sorry you must get this all the time but please can we have a photo with you” 🫣 and the gals (particularly Jen) were in heaven! Shiny foreheads, shadow moustaches and all. What a day. What a night!

All feeling a little broken, we went our seperate ways for a day of either beaching or sight seeing before re-grouping for an incredible final supper at Cal Pep, a local seafood tapas joint that Rosa & Giff had been with their parents. It was amazing. No menu, they just serve their best dishes. They even treated us to some Spanish cava and ‘special’ liqueur shots. We certainly finished the trip with a bang!

A few of our must do’s:

TO EAT & DRINK
- Nomad coffee lab - cool place, yum coffee
- Granja Petitbo - yum brunch & coffee
- Bo De B - incredible sandwich shop
- Cal Pep - amazing seafood tapas, an absolute must
- Bar Brutal - delish dinner & natural wines
- Dow Jones - stock exchange inspired bar
- Boca Grande - cocktails on roof. Expensive but great food
- Dr Stravinsky - cocktail bar
- Oaxaca - amazing Mexican
- 1898 rooftop bar
- Carpe Diem - epic club for a big night
- The El Born area is great for late night drinks/food/street salsa

TO SEE
- Sagrada Família
- Arco de Triunfo de Barcelona
- Cathedral of Barcelona
- Park Güell
- Casa Batlló
- Wander the back streets of the Gothic Quarter
- Wander the waterfront, check out the super yachts
- La Boqueria
- La RamblaRead more