You know what i love about meeting new people? they always inspire me.
This time, i heard a story of a very old man who had a goal to visit 100 countries before he dies, and succeeded! and rumour has it, he’s traveling still! Isn’t it cool?! … I want that, too!
Well, to be realistic, considering my situation right now, let’s start with 100 places. I think it sounds difficult to fulfil yet exciting enough, right?!😆
1. Barcelona, Spain.
It was January 2006 when I first traveled to Barcelona with a group of friends from school. I barely remember anything from this trip, except, I used my first paycheck to travel there (so proud of myself, haha…). Lucky me, my housemate found Ryan Air return ticket from Eindhoven (NL) – Reus (Spain) only for EUR 30/person last month, which normally return flight ticket from Amsterdam – Barcelona will cost you about EUR 100 the cheapest in low season. Well, we actually can’t compare these rates as the cities of departure and arrival are different. But still, after adding up all the extra travel cost to get to Barcelona city, flying Ryan Air still offered a better deal… money wise, not time wise. So, i flew to Barcelona last week expecting different experience from my last visit… Imagine, two young ladies strolling around Barcelona city, on budget, how fun!😜
To be honest, I was very nervous as I couldn’t recall using cheap service from an airline before. Considering how often we hear about plane accidents lately, i was so freak out that cheap service might equal to some missing screws, or flying on a half tank, or do they have permission to fly in certain areas? I’m sorry, I just don’t understand how it gets very cheap😬. So, to get some peace of mind, I distracted myself by reading “Negeri van Oranje” during the flight, one of well-known novels in Indonesia written by my ex-colleague and his friends. It’s a drama romance story about five Indonesian students living in Holland. I’d like to recommend this book for those who are planning to live in Holland as the book also provide useful information for newcomers in Holland. Not to mention, the movie is coming up!
After 2h reading, we arrived at Reus airport safely around 6pm, which, in my opinion, was not a good time to arrive. I did some research on the internet and found 3 ways to get to Barcelona from Reus airport:
- Take direct bus operated by Hispano Igualadina. This bus will take you from Reus airport to Barcelona Sants in 1.5 hours for EUR 15,50/way/person. However, the last bus from Reus leaves at 4pm, and i’m not sure if it runs every day either.
- Share a taxi with other passengers. A taxi to Barcelona will cost you more than EUR 100/way, so the more you share, the less you pay. Or, if you travel with group of friends, you can also rent a car from the airport.
- The last option is to take the normal bus L50 to Reus train station. You can buy the ticket for EUR 3/way/person on the bus and it leaves every hour. Then continue with an express train from Reus train station to Barcelona for EUR 9,55/way/person. This connection takes 1 hour longer than the first two options.
Due to delays and waiting time, we arrived in the city center around 10pm. We stayed in this very nice hostel in Passeig de Gracia area, called Hipstel, which is a perfect place for backpackers or any budget travelers. The location is perfect, 5min walk to Casa Batllo, 20min walk to Sagrada Familia, 20min walk to La Rambla/Gothic quarter, and 5min walk to train station Pg. de Gracia, where you can find good connection to visit Park Guell or other tourist attractions. We shared a room with 2 other girls and 1 shared bathroom on our floor, but don’t worry, you are allowed to use shared bathrooms on the other floors. We only paid EUR 33/person for 3 nights with (optional) extra EUR 3 for breakfast and EUR 5,50 for dinner, and i can assure you, this hostel is decent and clean.
Day 1. The first morning, we had brunch at Restaurant La Flauta. I had Huevos cabreados egg style and my friend got one of their sandwiches. Never had huevos cabreados before, but as a foodie who is not a fan of half fried egg, i can say it was delish and the portion was fair for 2. I also took a bite of my friend’s sandwich, and Oh I’m in love with spanish ham… So goooodd! Must visit-must try!
We decided to walk around the shopping street before visiting Sagrada Familia. To avoid a long queue, our roommates advised us to book the entry tickets online the night before. The reason being only certain amount of people per time slot are allowed to get in. As we did so, we had time to shop or do more in our trip.
We had an early dinner at Buenos Aires Grill restaurant. This one is fancier than i thought. The service was very good; awhile after we got seated, the waiter came with sample of some meats served on a big plate. They explained us the difference and gave us time to think before they took our order, fancy, rite?! I had the 200g Sirloin steak with mushroom sauce and french fries, which was perfectly cooked👌🏻. Before heading back to the hostel, we walked around Placa de Catalunya (Catalunya square) where shopping mall and stores operate till 10pm every day. We ended our night with a glass of sangria at a restaurant next to Casa Batllo.
Day 2. As Park Guell is 1 hour walk from our hostel, we decided to travel around Barcelona with metro that day. We bought 1 day ticket at the station for about EUR 7.60 and you can also use it for commuting by bus. We took metro L3 from Pg. de Gracia towards Trinitat Nova and got off at Vallcarca. A little tip if you plan to visit Park Guell in the morning or midday, pack your breakfast/brunch and enjoy it from the top of Park Guell. Trust me, it’s worth the hike😉. There’s also picnic area at Park Guell if you prefer to save more energy. Breakfast with view and fresh air, good day guaranteed!
When we got out from Park Guell, we were not sure where to go from there. To waste no time, we just jumped into the bus and asked the driver for the closest metro station from there. The bus brought us to Lesseps metro station, we continued with metro L3 towards Universitaria and got off at Liceu. Mercat de la Boqueria (La Rambla) is right next to the Liceu station’s exit.
We took a round in the market… We were stunned by variation of fresh foods available in this market, especially the tropical fruits… It brought back memories of my childhood. Anyways, my friend bought the infamous spanish dried ham (Jamon Iberico) for snack, they sold it for EUR 2 per box. The portion looked small as they cut the dried ham into small pieces and put it in a small wrap, like the french fries box from McDonalds, however, turned out she had hard time to finish that alone, so… Yes, i enjoyed every bite of it.
My friend insisted to see the coast as we were already close to it. The view was ok, all i see was sailing boats parked along the coast and flock of birds flying low waiting for our food to fall, but besides that, it was a good place to enjoy the warmth of December sun. We also strolled around Gothic quarter before we stopped at Restaurant Casa Guinart for dinner. My favorite from this restaurant was the croquetas caseras. We tried the paella and small fishes as recommended bu the waiter, but it was too fishy for me.
On our last day, we couldn’t do much. Even though our flight was not until 4pm, we had to leave Barcelona at 11:50 the latest for another 2.5h trip to Reus airport. They didn’t have a better connection or schedule for this destination. Despite the long travel time, i enjoyed this trip very much. Above all, I love how generous Spaniards are when it comes to (serving) foods. No surprise, i succesfully gained 2kg from this trip, hahaha…
