By 
Barcelona
Having read so many articles online about people traveling to Barcelona, I thought I’d add mine to the mix. It may not impress some people, but it will be an honest account of the journey we took.
Day 1
We arrived at Leeds Bradford airport on a typically British cold morning in late autumn (cold and cloudy). The welcome we received from the Jet2 ground staff was warm and friendly. As expected from Jet2, except at the busiest times, there was hardly any queue to check in.
Security was completed and we headed to the Premier Lounge. Now I have to say that for £17 I don’t think you can get more. Everything but the premium wines were available. The lounge itself was warm and quiet with good music playing in the background.
Boarding followed soon after, which was also made that much more enjoyable by the fact that LBA has built a wonderful new covered walkway to the plane. Like I said, it was a bit windy and the walkway kept the worst of it away from us.
Our flight went well and before we knew it we had landed in Barcelona where the temperature was a lovely 20 degrees! Bags were on the belt before we got there and then it was straight to the Aerobus (€9.95 return) for the 30 minute ride into town.
The Aerobús leaves you at Plaça Catalunya, which is centrally located to go practically anywhere in the city. We made the short walk (10 minutes) to our Hotel Claris Barcelona which is a fabulous 5 star hotel. Check-in was easy and we were given a guarantee of 2 glasses of cava in the bar or (in summer) on the roof terrace.
The rest of day 1 was spent walking around a bit, but mainly settling in to this beautiful city.
Day 2
Day 2 started with a wonderful continental breakfast at the hotel. There was an excellent selection of pastries, meats, cheeses, and hot items, as well as made-to-order items such as pancakes and omelettes.
Then the real fun began. A 20-minute walk from the hotel is the Sagrada Familia, which is impressive. It is basically a cathedral that Gaudi designed and started building over 100 years ago and is not finished yet. It cost us 16.50 euros each and that allowed entrance to the building as well as access to one of the towers. Now I’m not the best with heights but I suggest you do the 85m trek to see the sights!
From there we walked back to La Rambla, which is very busy but amazing to walk down. Here is a side of Barcelona that I did not like. You will see half way there that there are several outdoor restaurants. They all have signs advertising tapas and pizza, pasta or paella for around 9 euros. The food is good but there is something that leaves a bad taste in the mouth. We ordered two beers with the meal. There’s nothing wrong with that, other than then they basically bring you a 2.5 pint glass and proceed to charge you 11 euros per drink. So your cheap and cheerful meal has already cost you more than 40 euros. Soft drinks also come in these glasses so be careful.
The other thing to watch out for on La Rambla is the Romanians. They basically play a game similar to the ball and cup trick with matchboxes. Now it looks like they are gambling with random people but when you look at them for a while you realize that it is a scam. There are actually about 6 or 7 of them working together to scam 1 or 2 tourists by betting which slot the coin is in. Do not get involved with these people because not only will you not win, but you risk being robbed. I was also advised by a local that the ultimate hack is to open your bag with a Stanley knife and steal your belongings!
At the end of La Rambla, past the Columbus monument, there is a shopping center in the port called MareMagnum. It doesn’t have the most shops in the world, but it does have some good restaurants, a movie theater, and (best for me) open seating overlooking the harbor. There are a lot of police there too so you feel good and safe.
It seemed like we walked miles that day and saw a lot, but all in all it was pretty much the same. Just be careful at night going off the beaten track because the back streets are quiet and dark. I’m not saying anything will happen, but you’re much more likely to run into trouble out there than in public places.
Walking back to the hotel we stopped at a restaurant called Divinus. You can eat outside on the terrace where the temperatures are good if you wear a light fleece. The food is ok but the draw for us was a nice bottle of wine and a bit of people watching. Beware though, they do charge a 15% supplement for eating out, which is never mentioned unless you notice the very small print on the menu.
Day 3
Day 3 was not so good with the weather. It had rained most of the night leaving a fairly cool morning. This was the day we did the bus tour. There are two tours in Barcelona. There are the official ones and the unofficial ones. The unofficial ones cut their routes a lot in winter so we decided to go with the Official Barcelona Tourism Tour. It cost us 24 euros each, but what you have to remember is that although it seems quite expensive, you see a lot of the city, it has audio to listen to and you can hop on and off as many times as you want. We pretty much saw the whole city in one day so I would definitely recommend it.
We did both routes before getting off in the Gothic Quarter of the city, before slowly making our way back up La Rambla and back to the hotel.
Last day
After another wonderful breakfast we checked out of the hotel and stored our bags. Then we took another walk down La Rambla, stopping at the market halfway. This market puts every other market I’ve been to to shame. The food looked stunning, fresh fish, meats, cheeses and fruits all looked amazing! We returned to the port where there was an international rowing race, so we sat in the sun (22 degrees) and relaxed.
Before long it was time to head back to the hotel to collect our bags and catch the bus back to the airport. Check-in and security were easy enough, but the rest of the airport felt deserted. The gate area for our flight only had our flight. The cafeteria staff weren’t the friendliest, and I wasn’t particularly impressed as I only bought one bottle of water.
Back to the plane where we landed in LBA where it was 2 degrees! Although a quick bus ride followed and once again the bags were on the belt before we arrived! What I love about LBA is that we landed in 2000 and were in the car on the way home in 2020! Now that’s fast for an airport.
Would you go to Barcelona again? Well maybe, but I don’t like the way they seem to rip off tourists. Maybe in his eyes they aren’t and maybe it’s just me being a tight Yorkshire man. Either one was a lovely break, lovely weather and lovely company. So yes I would probably go back and would definitely recommend!
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