So we went to Barcelona a couple years ago, before we wrote for Jetset Wanderlife. SO unfortunately, dear readers (hi mom), we won’t have a 96-page ramble to explain every minute detail of our trip.

However, what I do remember, is that Barcelona rules. I could definitely live there. Our hotel was absolutely phenomenal, super artsy and amazing rooms, plus a fridge, so we saved heaps on groceries instead of eating out every meal.

Funny enough, I wasn’t super convinced we should even go, but Caitlin insisted, and I was so glad. We had been in cold and gray Scotland and Ireland, then Athens, which was warmer, but Barcelona was just perfect weather.

Now, I’m no architecture expert (unless it’s Architecture in Helsinki…great band), but even a dullard like me can appreciate Gaudi. That dude was absolutely nuts. His buildings look like something from a Dr. Seuss book with weird wavy lines. We went and saw Casa Milà, which is this weird and wavy apartment building, totally worth seeing because it just seems surreal.

The true highlight of Barcelona, besides its tapas, beautiful people, beautiful beaches, and perfect weather, is the super creepy (to me, anyways) and unfinished cathedral, Sagrada Familia. It’s a giant and weird building (Gaudi, of course) and just looks dark and ominous, like a villain’s lair. I’m still not sure why it’s unfinished, but while we were there, there was lots of construction going on. Absolutely unlike any building I’ve ever seen before or after.

Barcelona castle was cool enough, but having just come from Ireland and Scotland, we were a bit spoiled. It had a tram that we rode to the top which was fun, and a cool courtyard and views of the ocean. Probably worth doing once but not a necessity IMHO.

We also went to a big cool looking park, NAME, which had some weird looking pillars and was just a fun people watching place. By this point on our trip, we were so exhausted from going so hard through Ireland, Scotland and Greece that we were happy just to relax in the perfect weather and soak in the beautiful city.

Alas, I don’t remember much else, but CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTO GALLERY

GEAR

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Since this trip was 5 years ago, I truly have no idea what you should actually take. But here’s a few of our always-take-on-trips stuff:

Hotels.com gift card: Every now and then you can get $50 for $40 on Amazon, which we always do when the deal comes up. We know we’ll use it.

My Bag: As I said above, we travel LIGHT. This bag is not incredibly nice, but it has a lifetime warranty and it can cinch down to unbelievably small sizes. It’s made it through heaps of countries with no problems yet.

Space Saver Bags: These have proved invaluable on our travels. It’s amazing how small clothing can shrink down to in one of these! Highly recommended.

International Outlet Plugs: Of course, when traveling overseas you need a plug adapter. We’ve had these exact ones for at least 5 years. We’ve taken them to 4 continents and they’re still going strong. And, they’re super cheap and have everything you need all in one, so you don’t have to bring a bunch of different parts. Highly recommended.

Double Wall Plug USB Charger: Probably not essential but with so many things needing charged (both phones, camera, laptop, etc), it’s nice to charge 2 at once. And they charge super fast. We use at home and abroad.

Aux Cable: You probably already have a million of these. Our car had a USB that connected directly to the music, so we could charge our phones and blast tunes at the same time. The longer cable is nice so if someone is in the backseat they can still charge and control the music or navigate or browse Instagram or whatever).

MacBook Air: Since we had to travel so light, it was nice to have a tiny but powerful computer. I ran the business from the road with no problems.