During the long weekend in August I visited a good friend I haven’t seen in a long time and on top of that, she lives near one of my favourite cities – Barcelona! I arrived late in the evening, decided to stay in the city the first night and chose a budget-friendly hostel… Well that night I found out that I’m getting too old for this type of accommodation because while I felt like I was the only one who seriously was looking for sleep, I didn’t get any at all. Fortunately it was only for one night and I was all excited to finally see a place in Barcelona I’ve missed during my last visits:
1. Parc Güell
Despite the lack of rest, I stuck to my plan and climbed up the hill inside Parc Güell in the morning. The gorgeous view and a simple breakfast from a nearby bakery woke me up while I was still by myself… This view! All the tiredness due to the journey and the sleepless night was one suddenly!
The Sagrada Familia in the distance, an eternal construction site…
2. Vilassar de Mar
I continued my journey to Vilassar de Mar – a non touristy, little town on the coast. Although I love Barcelona, I prefer to stay at my friend’s house with her lovely dogs and kids. So finally that afternoon it was beach and play time!
I haven’t seen V. for three years and it was amazing to meet her again – kids just grow too fast! Meanwhile she got a little brother and both are just super cute! We had a lot of fun together 😀
My friend isn’t only an amazing mother but also a great cook! Lucky me – being her guest – I got spoiled with lots of delicious (sea)food o_O
But she also convinced me to go on my first running challenge ever! Me! You should know that my last run (purposely) was in 2013, which means I was so. not. in. shape. Why not go on a 7 km night trail run straight then? You can see – before I was all cool and optimistic but after I was barely able to smile for the photo – it took me over an hour to finish the trail (which btw included forest, hills, stairs and sand) and I was SO exhausted! But at the same time I was super happy that I made it somehow 🙂 Btw the event took place in Lloret de Mar (Costa Brava) and was part of the WeFeelTrail Series by the discount chain LIDL.
3. Sitges
As expected, the next day(s) I was barely able to move thanks to an overwhelming soreness unlike any I ever had before… We definitely deserved a rest and drove to Sitges – a beautiful beach town with a charming, historic centre and lots of resorts. It was peak season and the weather was hot too, hence the beaches were full with people. Nevertheless we found everything we needed: Sun, sand and sangria – could I ask for a better finish of my (too) short getaway? The soreness however lasted long after I got home even 😛
Looking for more Mediterranean vibes? Have a look into these articles:
Grado – an Italian seaside resort in style
34 Comments
Barcelona looks absolutely beautiful! And the seafood dish looks delicious 🙂
Yeah I got really spoiled there 🙂 Looking forward to going back there one day…
barcelona – auch so ein punkt auf meiner bucketlist, der darauf wartet, abgehakt zu werden 🙂 dein strand-bild mit dem wasser ist soooo wunderschön und besonders mag ich die bilder von sitges. das sieht nach richtiger erholung aus.
sag mal, welche google-funktion ist das eigentlich mit der karte? ich bin irgendwie nicht in der lage, das zu finden und hätte das schon öfter mal gern gehabt ^.^
Ich bilde mir ein du warst schon längst dort, aber dann habe ich das wohl mit einen deiner zahlreichen Stadtporträts verwechselt 😉 Das ist übrigens ein Plugin names “Google Maps Easy”, wobei ich mir nicht sicher bin, ob das für wordpress.com auch verfügbar ist. Gesehen habe ich so ähnliche Funktionen aber schon auf solchen Seiten…
öha, ein plugin. nein, das gibts da leider nicht. sowas, das ist ja schade. naja, vielleicht, irgendwann, who knows.
nein, ich war leider noch nicht in barcelona 🙂 ich war in cadiz, malaga, cartagena und valencia letztes jahr – vielleicht deswegen ^.^
Na gut, dafür kennst du dich im Rest Spaniens ganz gut aus 😉
What a wonderful time away. Beautiful place and lovely to be with friends eating great food and doing a fun run. Great post with lovely photos. Quite a few years ago I did a half marathon along the shores of Sydney Harbour and around the Botanic Gardens. It was tough the last few kms but the scenery was great. Haven’t run that far since.
Wow Sue, I’m impressed! I’m really bad with running and would never be able to complete a half marathon! Thanks so much for your nice words 🙂
I’ve not been to Barcelona – waaaahhh!! Well done on the run! I haven’t run in a race in ages, but I did enjoy them!
Ahaha, I feel you, I’m definitely not a hostel girl anymore!!
Haha, yes I need 8 hours proper sleep at least 😉 Thank you Julie!
ohh this sounds like such a cool weekend! I’ve never been to Barcelona but I’ve heard a lot about it and after seeing your pics I’m even more convinced to go! Great job for the run, especially if you weren’t on shape!! I couldn’t have done that at all! 😀 But it’s also great when you have a friend to do it with so that you can share the experience and encourage each other!
Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Thank you dear! At the end I was only walking, so I’m sure you could’ve done it too! But definitely, my friend helped me a lot 😉
Nice and productive getaway! 🙂 And uhhh so yummy seafoods, I am jealous. I participated in a run before – work related. It was fun done with colleagues. Socialisation outside work for a cause. 🙂
Barcelona is still in my list! Want to see Sagrada. 🙂
Sounds great! I think it’s more fun when it’s more people! Sagrada is still under construction, so you’ll have plenty of time to visit it 😉
Hello Julia!
Barcelona is really amazing! The wonderful Parc Guell, the architecture, and the combination of a city and the sea & beach is fantastic!
Seems like you enjoyed a perfect weekend!
Very pretty pictures!
Ciao Markus
http://www.markusjerko.at/photos/barcelona/
Thanks Markus, you’re right – Barcelona has it all! Definitely a weekend to remember!
The beaches of Barcelona look so inviting! I haven’t done a run in so long, I would be so sore haha. I’d like to get back into running (especially before winter arrives).
I felt like I so deserved the beach so much after the run… And yes, I was super sore 😀
Just walking up and down the hills in Barcelona was enough for me… I could not imagine running through them!
Me neither, and I still wonder how I survived 😛
It looked like you had a great time with your friend! Lovely trip! If I were in town we could have met up 🙂
Hooray to you for participating in that run, as you hadn’t done that since 2013. Thats very very very impressive indeed. Big thumbs up from me! And I think your finish time is excellent. I’m supposed to be training for a 10km race in October… I say supposed because this week I didn’t have any time to run. Plus I still haven’t reached the 10km mark yet, but I do run about 8km, like you did in the mountains and trails, sort of “above Barcelona”. The steep slopes can be gruelling so I take that as the equivalent of 10km or more on flatter land 😉
Next time we definitely should! Thanks so much for your kind words 😀 I think if you can run 8km, you should be able to complete 10 without problems 😉
Looks like a busy and productive getaway! My first (and last) run was early 2015. It was 6KM and I am not in shape at all. I finished it in an hour and a half and my friends had to leave me because I was already just walking, hahaha.
xx, Richel Goes Places
At least you completed it, that’s awesome! I had to walk at the end too, otherwise I would have fainted 🙂
Barcelona is really beautiful. I’m looking forward to visit Barcelona too. Thank you for sharing the beautiful photos.
Oh enjoy and thank you for the nice comment!
Barcelona is such a wonderful city. Can’t believe they’re still working on that church! 🙂 Well done, completing that night run. I’m considering going on a hike today myself:)
Haha I guess they’ll work on that church for the next 100 years 😉
wow, beautiful pictures! It’s always very convenient to have friends in other countries so you have your own little tour guides – who can also cook local food for you 😉 I can’t even remember the last time I had Sangría and I love drinking it on hot summer days 🙂
It’s great isn’t it? I haven’t had Sangria for ages too and I have to admit if it’s not too sweet, it’s quite refreshing 😉
Looks like you’re having way too much fun!! 🙂
Is that even possible? 😛
Looks definitely like a lovely holiday. Puts Barcelona back up on the TTT (To Travel To) list.
Have a nice week-end
It’s very much worth it! Thanks, have a great weekend too 🙂