Travel Diary: Spain
Hi guys!! I’m back on US soil and ready to share all the deets of my trip. It was seriously amazing. Like can’t put into words amazing. I’m going to do two travel diary blog posts: one on Spain, and the three cities I visited, and one on Lisbon (since I only travelled to one city in Portugal).
I broke it down by city with bullet points, because I know when I’m reading travel tips, I like to skim over it and only see the main points!! Hope this helps.
Barcelona
I absolutely loveeeeed Barcelona. All the bright colors, alley ways and cobblestone streets were breathtaking. I think Barcelona was my favorite in terms of the main attractions and the unique architecture. We were there the longest, too! Below is what we did in three days, and what I recommend.
Check out the Barceloneta Beach & Boardwalk for a lazy beach day! We did this our first day because we were jet lagged and exhausted. Beware that there will be millions of people trying to sell you things (just don’t make eye contact, LOL).
Noteworthy restaurants: Flax & Kale (we went for dinner—the vibe was super cute and they had their own fresh garden!), Alsur Cafe for brunch, Bo De B for their famous sandwiches and La Pepita for tapas (such a dope atmosphere).
La Pepita pictured above
A Via Vespa Architecture Tour! Cannot recommend this enough. We booked ours through Trip Advisor. You can either drive your own with a tour guide leading, rent them on your own by the hour, OR you can do what we did and get way too scared to drive and request two drivers 😂We hit all the hot spots, like Park Guell, Sagrada Familia Church, Casa Battlo, Montjuic, Ciutadella Park and the Bunkers. One thing I do recommend is to buy your tickets for the main attractions in advance— go with a plan, because we tried to see a couple things last minute and they were sold out 😢
The Bunkers pictured above
Sagrada Familia Church pictured above
A Sunset Sailing Cruise. Or at least something on the water! Ours was 3 hours long and so so gorgeous! They provided champagne and snacks, too.
Paradiso is an off the beaten track speakeasy bar! It’s a sandwich shop by day, and you walk through the refrigerator door at night to get through. Good vibes, for sure. That’s where I met Fredrick (chameleon from my insta stories, if you didn’t know).
Ibiza
To be honest I’m not a huge partier, so I don’t have the best recommendations for that side of Ibiza. We stayed in the San Antonio area of the island, which according to some locals we met, is actually the worst spot of the island to stay 😳 So next time I go back, I’ll definitely stay in a different area. We had very limited time here, but below is what we saw with the little time we had to explore.
Cala Salada is a rocky beach sitting cliffside. Crystal clear waters and red clay rocks, it was soo beautiful. This was the only beach we got a chance to explore since we were only there like 1.75 days, LOL.
Ibiza Old Town was so stunning. It’s the perfect place to literally get lost in. Tons of good shopping, too.
We didn’t do a whole lot of eating, but when we went to old town we sat outside and ate at Bella Napoli. The pasta ended up being probably one of our best meals 😍 such a good find we stumbled upon.
Madrid
Madrid was the city I was probably least excited about, but it truly ended up being one of my favorites. I wish we had more time to explore. It was so clean, sophisticated and slightly modern, but still had that historic European charm. Our AirBNB was a DREAM, too. We had limited time here as well— two nights, but only one full day!
The Hop-On Hop-Off Tour is a great way to see the city and all its main attractions if you don’t want to do a shit ton of walking. It comes with a headset that explains everything you pass by! Also a good way to scope out areas you want to explore. It was literally 97 degrees out on the day we were there, so sitting on top of that bus in direct sunlight was very hard to sit through.
Parque de El Retiro is probably one of Madrid’s most famous spots. It’s a HUGE park with a big pond in the center. It was so cute, you could rent row boats for super cheap. Avoid going on the water if you see me and Vicki out there though… steering NOT 💯
I really liked the surrounding area of Plaza de la Independencia. Lots of nice outdoor restaurants and shopping. It was cool because all the outdoor seating had misters because it was so hot out!
We ate at Casa Gonzalez for dinner and got tonssss of tapas. They’re known for their cheese. Get the tomato mozzarella and melted provolone. We literally saw a guided tour outside of the restaurant talking about it, so clearly it must be a hot spot.
We stopped by a gorgeous rooftop bar, Circulo De Bellas Artes, for a quick drink. It had views from literally every angle of Madrid and TONS of good seating. Like beds almost. Which was nice to pick up our feet from all the walking we did!
Sala Equis is a bar converted from an old movie theater. SUCH a good idea— they literally play movies while you’re there, too! I love the story behind the space.
Anyone going to Europe soon?? I want to hear all about it!! Lisbon travel diary will be coming up soon 🙃
xo, Mackenzie
