Here some tips and ideas of places worth to visit (not in the city center, so-rry!)

Plaça del Sol in Gracia neighbourhood

Take the metro, green line, to Fontana stop. Once there you will be in our favorite neighbourhood, Gracia. Take the chance to take a look to one of the first Gaudi’s buildings, the beautiful Casa Vicens, it’s literally 5 less than 5 minutes walking distance from the stop.

Once you saw it, walk down Gran de Gracia (try not to get too distracted with the shops!)

If you keep walking down in the left path, you will arrive to Ros de Olano and then you turned to the left to keep walking in this small street that brings you to the square (actually you will have to torn right to reach the square, but brings you closer) Once you arrive to the square look for our favorite building there,

We like this square for different reasons, but the three main one are:

1. Sol means Sun in Catalan. The sun is present in this square long hours during the day, and it feels great to sit in any of the terraces of the bars and have a coffee or a drink. Specially in the morning when the square is really quiet.

2. The shawarmas in Equinox are one of the best in the Neighborhood! always is great to get one there and go to Cafe del Sol for a drink after. They do exhibitions of pictures, and they have a piano concerts some nights during the week.

3. The tradition explains that this square was one of the more revolutionaries during the wars in Barcelona. It used to be planted in the middle a tree as a sign of Freedom.

You have to go and experience the energy of this square by yourself. And it is also a nice excuse to walk through the streets of Gracia Neighbourhood.

Actually is one of the places where we go in our Gracia tour, to show our Local Friends how we live in Barcelona. And it was the locations of this picture that we took in December! (yeah, in December is warm enough to be sitting in one of the outside bars in the square! and look the sun!)

December in Barcelona… sunny, nice and “warm”

We ascended the stairs of the metro at Joanic, beginning our day in Gracia. Samantha’s intercambio or, as I understood it, her language exchange partner, met us at the mouth of the metro stairwell. Our group congealed into a mass of seven and simultaneously maps unfolded as we attempted to put together the quickest walk to Plaça del Sol–a plaza highly recommended to us by multiple sources for food and people-watching. Having a bit of impatience in the persistent summer heat, I ducked into a small bar to gain some insight. My delegated directions began with, “¿vea el rojo?” I looked out to the street in the direction of the extended index finger of the woman I questioned to spot at least four “red things”. Alright. I let my intimidation of the spoken Spanish language get the best of me and just nodded as I continued to listen to her directions. “Just go all the way straight from the red and you will meet Plaça Del Sol”. So I walked out, semi-confident of where I would be leading us. We walked uphill for quite a while until we hit a sign for Parc Güell. The streets were increasingly inclined and anything but fit for strolling. We consulted the maps once again, creating a renewed route. Finally headed in the right direction, we ventured through the veins of Gracia, pleasantly filled with unique trinkets, several “I have to have this” pieces, and worldly eateries.

Finally, we approached the plaza. The suspense was palpable, our expectations high and ….

dry. Two restaurants and a couple sitting on a bench. I swear I could hear a pin drop– on the other side of the square. Where were the promised “incredible tapas” and “great bohemian vibe”?! I was disappointed, and as usual, hungry. We efficiently made a decision to back-track the way we came, as we had seen many interesting restaurants on our venture towards the square. Upon our exit, a small shop in the corner called our attention. Right in front of us was a shop I had read about a couple of days ago called “B my Bagel”. One of the only bagel shops in Barcelona, it is the “American dream”, sought out by most of us Estadounidenses, and frequented once located. Two out of our group, Michelle and Samantha, have expressed the hole that appeared in their morning routine due to the absence of bagels in Barcelona. One could then imagine the bubbling excitement these two had when we entered the shop offering racks of varied flavors of bagels. They each ordered one to go and generously allowed everyone in the group to sample a piece–reminding some of us of our American roots, and introducing others to an American tradition.

The street that originally lead us to the Plaça del Sol offered us a choice between Lebanese or Greek cuisine, or tapas. A groan or two erupted from the group as I mentioned “tapas” and so, feeling a bit nostalgic for Israeli food, I persuaded the party to go for the Lebanese. My first hummus experience in Barcelona had me promising it would be my last, but when we entered this establishment, I felt as though the authenticity of the waitstaff may lend to a better tasting dish than the previous. We ordered off the “menu del dia”, with first dishes of either falafel (balls of ground chickpeas seasoned and fried), hummus (paste of chickpeas, olive oil and spices) or salat katzutz (chopped salad), and second dishes consisting of couscous with vegetables and chicken or mussaka. Overall, the food was delicious. We finished the meal with flan (sweet custard) (which is definitely not of Lebanese decent, but because we are in Spain, I accept it). The Gracia adventure was completed with leisurely shopping that was so unique I was convinced to buy a voluminous floral scarf perfect for the encouragement of some much-needed autumn weather.

View down a street in Gracia.

Pita Bread

Falafel Dish

Flan Dessert.

This apartment building reminded me of a storybook.

Street art & a passer-by.

Flags of Catalonia.

A bizarre occurrence, in a shop selling international goods and meats, one display case contained the popular arabic dessert Kanafe (a mild cheese marinated in honey and covered in crunchy “noodles” and nuts). I nearly went to food heaven as I explained my grandmother’s love of the dessert passed down two generations to me. The shop owner was kind enough to cut generous portions of the sweet for all of us to try.

Plaça de la Vila Gràcia

First week in Barcelona and already off to a good start.  Dinners here and there and afternoons with long lunches.   I’ve since found out that here in Europe, at least down south, it’s all about taking it easy and waking up and smelling the coffee… literally.  The streets are narrow and walkable dotted with small coffee houses and bakeries that are able to seat no more than a handful of people at a time.   And being obsessed with architecture, there are lots to see and every alley and side street is bordered by buildings with the old facades.  As you walk along the narrow streets, it suddenly opens up onto a square where people sit and chat and drink well into the day.

You start to realise that the people here savour every moment and take the time to enjoy life instead of rushing through it and for the first time, my friend and I actually stopped by the corner cafe, sat down, had a croissant and a coffee and read the morning paper before catching the bus to school.

Gràcia District, Barcelona

Gràcia, Barcelona

Florist in Gràcia, Barcelona

Gràcia, Barcelona

Plaça del Sol

Plaça del Sol

Gràcia, Barcelona

Gràcia, Barcelona

Street art in Gràcia, Barcelona

Graffiti in Gràcia, Barcelona

Plaça de la Vila Gràcia