How to Do Barcelona

...Like a Kardashian, of course!

I mean, I totally keep up with the Kardashians [don't worry, I disclose this info on my dating profiles under: What is your deepest darkest secret.... which may or may not be why I am still alone... ]

There were points during our luxurious long weekend in Barcelona where I did feel as if I were an off-Broadway, second string (or whatever the acting equivalent is to the second best is) portrayal of a Kardashian.

Anyway - in their lavish lifestyle, going on a whirlwind trip abroad over 4 days is the norm.

Wanna grab a beignet in Paris? Sure!

Feel like seeing if the Red Light District is all it's cracked up to be? YEAH!

Hankering for some real lo mein from China? No problem... lemme just gas up my jet, Janice!

So yeah. Going to Barcelona felt fancy.

Perhaps as exhilarating as the Kardashian might feel riding the subway.

I must begin with this incredibly ridiculous / probably unnecessary comparison because that is what I shouted every time we did something awesome.... which was everything we did,

"HEY LOOK! WE'RE KARDASHIANING"

So, if you are planning a short trip to Barcelona, there are a few things that you should do before boarding a plane, in order to feel like reality star royalty, or not:

1. Book a tour bus.

Depending on how long you are there, you should book a bus to take your from amazing site to amazing site. Even with the bus, it is a lot of walking, so you will be very happy to have transportation at your disposal after getting lost* for an hour or so in some parts of the city. And you can totally pretend it's your own private bus. Sit on the top. Take pictures like nobody is judging! Even though they are! And definitely board the bus in style with your sunglasses on. May as well play up the whole annoying Americans thing. I know we sure did.

We used the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus that you see in many cities. For Barcelona, booking the Red and Green Lines worked best for us, though the pretty rainbow buses were everywhere (despite the fact that our dear friend told us ahead of time that she didn't see any rainbow buses last time she was there at all) ....... I digress.

Clicking here will get you to the site. :)

I say go with the whatever bus makes you happiest.

2. Make sure you have legit accommodations.

And by legit I mean approved sleeping arrangements by the government. Basically, Barcelona is trying to regain control of their own city and not let tourists take over the housing and such that is rightfully their citizens'. Many people use AirBnB (as we did), and are unaware that their rental may not be legally "okay'd". I am no expert, but I read this article and was definitely intrigued : article

AirBnB is awesome, typically. I wasn't too thrilled with our flat, but who I am I to judge a place that we spent literally 14 hours in (and most of that was sleeping).

3. Book a day trip outside of the city.

I have always felt that a city is a city is a city.... which I am slowly learning, is completely untrue. Every city is unique and has something to offer that others from different parts of the world, cannot. Barcelona is a prideful city with an extremely low-key vibe and phenomenal examples of architecture is otherworldly (thanks to the artist, Antoni Gaudí). I can imagine how the city turns into a complete party during the summer season, but in the fall, it is more tame and peaceful.

That being said, I always hope to find time on vacations, to venture beyond the confining walls/buildings of the city and see the country beyond. The real meat and potatoes, as they say... or in Spain's case the real tapas and sangria.

Viator is a website that I have now used twice; once for a wine tour in Italy and again, this past weekend in Spain. Both tours will forever be in my Top 20 Moments in Life, I kid you not. Viator offered many many different tours that went to a little monastery near Barcelona and then off to a vineyard afterward. Thank goodness one of my co-workers picked this one tour in particular, run by Castle Experience

We were an hour early for our tour, which ended up being awesome because we were able to explore La Rambla and see parts of the city that we wouldn't have had the time for.

I even stepped on a cucaracha ! # memories

And when we got back to our meeting spot at the Hard Rock Cafe, we went on a tour of a lifetime

((which I will illustrate in another post))

Needless to say : book a day trip to take in some fresh air... and wine. You won't be disappointed.

4. Assign a directionally-inclined friend to be the D.C.C. (Designated Christopher Columbus)

This person doesn't have to be a cartographer, but they have to understand how to get from Point A to Point B and understand that Point C may come into play if all members of the party aren't too tired and want to continue on.... so they can't forget Point A, because that is probably where it is best to find a taxi to get back home, but Point B was where the best food was .... and so on.

We had a D.C.C. - and she was a champion among mere mortals. Though, in retrospect, it would have been better to have taken screenshots of different parts of the city and used that instead of draining precious battery juice of the phone and the patience of our D.C.C.

Moral: have no-wifi-necessary maps available

To better illustrate my inability to ever know where we are, I often take pictures documenting when we are lost.... so that I am doing something)