"lots to do, lots to see, lots to eat..."

Barcelona was by far my favourite stop on the Europe part of our trip. The food was absolutely delicious wherever we went. The Boqueria (market) on the Ramblas was really fun and neat to walk through, as we saw eggs of all sorts, Iberian ham, a whole cow for sale (all its parts) and a lot more.

When we first arrived at our hotel, Ohla, we entered the rooms and found a 360° glass windowed shower... now how on earth were we supposed to shower?! We found a way - by steaming up the shower first. There were two restaurants in the hotel, one a tapas dining room and the other 1 Michelin star restaurant, Sauc. We got the luxury of enjoying both restaurants and the food was delicious. The prawns from the tapas room was so good we were obsessed! We had an a la carte menu from Sauc that proved to be superb for a restaurant that was in the hotel; absolutely no disappointments.

We definitely went sight seeing in this city: the Van Gogh museum was very large and filled with tourists - it was such a busy day that it was simply exhausting after the second room we had been into. We also went for a bit of a walk... that turned into a hike... towards the Muro museum. Unfortunately we went on the wrong day as they were closed. So after having walked up this mountain for half an hour in the scorching heat we were most upset. We also found out that there was a funicular that we could have taken... what a day huh.

That same afternoon we decided to find somewhere for lunch and boy did we ever! A hotel and its restaurant, The DÖ hotel and restaurant. A pitcher of sangria, an amazing tomato gazpacho, giant gambas or prawns, and we were set. The anchovies were delectable... overall the food was impeccable that we ended up going for lunch again the next day!

On our second evening we were reserved seats in the Abac restaurant, just 10 minutes away from our hotel by car. This restaurant was two michelin stars and we were set up with a prix fixe menu of about 12 courses and wine pairing... man was there a lot of wine to go around. It was a delightful experience and the hosts were very accommodating. Food was a lot but the portions were perfectly weighted.

The following day we visited the FC Barcelona stadium where we got to see the many cups the team had won in the past years of football, and the pitch itself. It was quite the tour as we got to see various archival objects and the champions, super champions and other cups in their museum. We were also taken into their change rooms where they had a jacuzzi and massage tables, lockers and such. The press room was on the tour too. We also had a chance to sit in the press box up top where the commentators would guide tv viewers, radio and such throughout the games that were played. The stadium was quite far from where the center of the city was so we took the subway and it was easy.

Barcelona is a great place to shop, party and celebrate. The Ohla hotel had a bar with Spain's number one bar tender, Max. On our last night we decided to go for drinks and enjoy such great tasting cocktails. The Gin and Tonic was served in a fishbowl like glass and was super potent. Although the cocktails took about 5 minutes each to be made, it was so worth it. After three beverages, it was time to go off and party - why not? The clubbing scene in Barcelona was quite safe where we went. There was a Cabaret show before the clubbing began at midnight, and it was a lot of fun to watch. A pitcher of sangria and we were set.

The next morning we headed to the airport to leave for Lisbon, Portugal. Barcelona had much to offer and I hope to visit again someday.

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