AMAZING 10-day trip to Spain!

Spain | Nov 19 - Nov 28, 2022

The location is great because you’re in an area that makes it easy to walk around the city. The hotel itself was clean and the staff were very friendly! As many hotels are in Europe, it’s older so the walls are thin and you can hear everything going on around you. So if you’re a light sleeper (like me!) bring ear plugs and maybe install a nice sound machine app on your phone. We had the free breakfast included, but ended up only using it once. I’d recommend walking down the street to the local market and grabbing something there instead. Overall, a decent place to put your head at night, but if you’re looking for a luxury stay, maybe look elsewhere!

The aesthetic is super cool - very eclectic wall paper in the rooms and carpeting in the hallways. Breakfast was very good, lots to choose from. Staff was friendly and accommodating. Walls we’re very thin and the room would get very hot at night, despite trying to lower the temperature on the AC. Bathroom was updated nicely, but there was no shower door in ours, just a long piece of glass, so water would get on the floor when showering. For what we were looking for on our trip (essentially a place to put our heads at night, shower, and change) it was perfect. If you’re looking for a luxury stay, this is not the hotel for you!

This hotel is in the heart of a large shopping district and in busy roads - so light sleepers beware! It’s also in a pedestrian area, so a taxi can’t drop you off right in front of the door. The room itself was fine, beds were comfy and the bathroom was nice and large. The shower was… interesting. Took me a few tries to master as there are multiple shower nozzles, a large shower head, and other odd features that were a bit confusing! The walls are paper thin, so again, beware light sleepers! The location was great to get around the city and if you enjoy shopping.

This was a great experience. We visited 4 separate restaurants and got to try at least 4 different tapas at each location and a drink of choice at each location. We had about 10 people in our group and the guide was really knowledgeable. There’s a lot of different options for the tapas but if you’re a vegetarian or don’t like seafood, this may not be a good experience for you as most options had meat or fish in them. Overall this was a great first experience in Barcelona and we loved being able to meet other visitors in our small group!

We had a lovely private tour of this estate and our guide, Sarah, was so knowledgeable about all of the different olive types and what they’re used for (eating vs olive oil extraction). The estate itself is beautiful and you get to see the modern day way they make olive oil as well as the ancient way they used to make it. The owner of the estate also has an impressive collection of old horse carriages that was an unexpected, but very interesting, addition to the trip. We ended up buying a ton of olive oil to bring home with us as gifts!

The show and experience was really wonderful, but since we were there on a Wednesday night, we were one of only a handful of attendees in the audience. This was a bit weird and felt awkward at first, but once the show started you forgot about it. The dancers and musicians were highly skilled and you could tell that they love performing. This may be a better experience on a weekend day assuming more people attend at that time.

Highly recommend this experience! The cooking class takes place inside the market and you do a tour of the market beforehand. The guide tells you about the local fare and what is in season. Then you get to cook with the ingredients that we’re discussed like saffron, purple garlic, and smoked paprika. Our chef, Dom, was so incredible! He was able to make a group of about 12 feel like a little family. He got everyone involved with chopping and cooking - everyone got a chance to be the star.