Smiles from Miles Away

After our action-packed days in Barcelona we decided to check out the beach and relax a day. We took a train a little outside of Barcelona to Ocata since we heard the beaches in the city aren’t as nice and this place came recommended on the internet. We arrived and got a good hour of sun time in before the wind changed directions and it got a little too chilly so we got drinks at a beach bar instead. To be fair, with my pale skin an hour of sun time is plenty even with many layers of sunscreen!

I do have to brag a little bit at all of my Spanish I used this trip. Last time I was in Spain I didn’t use much Spanish as I was too embarrassed. My Spanish after 5 years is much better than my Dutch so I think this time I am a lot more comfortable using it. I live in Amsterdam and rarely use Dutch since mine is terrible and everyone knows English. It was about 50% of the time when the wait staff would switch to English on me so it was very handy for ordering etc. to know Spanish.

After our time at the beach we went back into the city and changed for more exploring. We mainly walked through and saw some more of Guadi’s architecture, saw las ramblas street, got a drink in Real plaza, and wandered down the L Eixample neighborhood. We had a fabulous steak dinner with drinks and dessert for under 40 euros for the both of us- I am loving Spain prices.

Other activities from the weekend include getting local coffee, trying paella, and wandering through the Mercat de la Boqueria before heading to the airport. We were a little delayed on the way home, but not too bad and that just meant more time for us in the lounge!

We’ll be back soon Spain!

Melanie