Barcelona Accommodation

My stay in Barcelona is one I always will remember as unusual. I’ve quite a lot of experience traveling. My favorite thing to do is to put my bicycle on an airplane and go somewhere foreign and spend a few weeks going from city to city. The lovely thing about countries that have been around longer than the United States is that the cities are never more than one day apart on bicycle because they were all founded long before motorized traffic.

Thus my first divergence from my normal travel. When I traveled to Spain I still took my bicycle but I planned to stay within a single city for the entire stay. Always before I rarely stayed in the same place for more than a few days. Having been to Ireland, Japan and Australia cycling from hostel to hostel after a day or two in the local hostel had always been lovely but I had determined that I would stay in Barcelona for the entire trip. My bicycle still came with me because my grandmother’s German streak of conserving money didn’t run deep enough to deter the purchase of the airplane ticket but still encouraged me to save on cab fares. Plus when flying internationally a bicycle counts only as a single piece of luggage because it falls under the “sporting goods” classification. And finally I just love biking. I had ridden my bicycle along the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and figured that it was time to add the Mediterranean to the list.

The second difference is that for the first time in my life I was going somewhere foreign to me not only in nationality but also in language. Speaking English is absolutely the best skill to have when you travel because there’s always someone somewhere nearby that you can communicate with. Especially in Ireland and Australia. When I went to Japan I had the advantage that I studied the language in college so despite my lack of fluency I was still able to say what I needed to with a little aid from my compact dictionary. But in high school I had taken French so to this day the only Spanish I know is what little I have learned from Sesame Street and various restaurant menus.

The third difference was that I was not staying at a hostel at all during my trip. Up until then I always did. They are wonderful places to stay and given a choice I will usually choose to stay at one. The biggest difference in my mind is that if you stay in a hotel at the end of the day you end up in your room watching TV. In a hostel at the end of the day you sit in a common room with a dozen strangers from a dozen different lands and tell stories about yourselves. That alone is worth the price of admissions. But on this trip I decided to stay in a holiday rental. Hostels are a lovely place to stay for a few days at a time and I would even consider them for a longer stay but I had never done a holiday rental before and wanted to try it if only for the sheer novelty.

For all those differences though I still wouldn’t recall that trip as unusual. The thing that makes it unusual happened on the first day I was there. I had arrived at the airport and after getting lost twice managed to get to the rental. I unpacked quickly mainly because I travel lightly and then went to the nearest market. When I got back and began to prepare dinner things were normal enough but as I set the pasta to boil and went to set the table I found that the dishes were Noritake Colorwave.

Suddenly my mind was sent back to my Grandmother’s kitchen for Thanksgiving dinner. I, being the tallest of the grandchildren, was always chosen as the one to pull down the nice plates from the high shelf. My grandmother loved those plates and to this day I couldn’t name any other plate maker or style I might see but after years of being asked to, “…get down the Noritake.” that’s something I’ll never forget.

I’ve traveled a lot and usually I would be away from home for four or five weeks at a stretch. Sometimes in the third week I would get a little nostalgic for the people back home but not what I would call homesick. Though I may have had a fleeting longing to be with them again it was never deep and moving. But my grandmother had just passed on eight months earlier and I can still remember being homesick for the first time in my life and on the first day of my trip. After that night I went on to have a wonderful two weeks in an amazing city but that feeling I got that first night still amazes me when I think about it.

The sea front goes under several names including Port Olympic. If you visit Barcelona and see the sea front it’s difficult to imagine that before the Olympic games were held here in 1992 that this area was heavily industrialised. The sea views are exquisite and the yachts that adorn the harbour make you realise exactly how sought after this area now is.

This is by far the most vibrant most decadent area of the city and a visit here will undoubtedly afford you the privilege of fairs, parties, balls and street carnivals a plenty. This area of the city is literally throbbing with excitement and if you re after an action packed, fun holiday this is the area for you.

El Born is quite unique to Barcelona and is essentially a small village in the middle of Barcelona. It is a very popular and trendy area and to rent an apartment can cost a lot of money, however, with lavishly designed buildings and glass blowers a plenty you would not be considered naive for paying a visit and perhaps watching the old men playing cards in the street. Yet another area of Barcelona with lots of history and plenty of culture.

As the name suggests this is the extension to the city that was built when the medieval ramparts were demolished. Being built around the middle of the 19th century the buildings are much more modern in this area than the rest of the city and there are plenty of nice apartments you can stay in at reasonable prices. There s plenty to see and do with the outdoor museum and the museum of Catalan music to name only two places of interest in The Extension.

The Gothic quarter is the historic centre of the city; built mostly aeround medieval times the architecture is something to behold and the small alleyways with tall buildings make it feel more like a walled maze than a city centre. Street traders and antique dealers line the streets and fill the numerous shops and the Gothic quarter has some of the oldest buildings, including the incredible cathedral and Royal Palace. Apartments can be difficult to book in this area so if you would like to stay in this heritage filled area then book early to try and avoid disappointment. It is well worth the wait.

Las Ramblas is actually an Arabic word meaning dry flowers and the Ramblas area of Barcelona combines many different things. A very vibrant, colourful and lively area there are five sections and each one of them is a Mecca for street artists and performers of every variety. Las Ramblas is where Barcelona locals meet and converse with one another. It also features numerous incredible monuments and is home to several enjoyable museums for the more cultured tourist. Renting an apartment around the Ramblas is the way to see the city from the eyes of the locals but still taking in some of the tourist attractions and sights.

There is no disputing that Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities in the entire world; it has undoubtedly got something for you whether you like beautiful scenery, stunning beaches or sizzling culture. However, as with all cities there are different priced apartments and there are different quality regions to Barcelona so you should pick carefully depending on your personal preferences and your budget.

What city in the world would be complete without a Ritz adorning one of its more exclusive streets. By staying at the Ritz you know that you are in for a real treat, and the Ritz in Barcelona is no exception. Now called the Palace Hotel, it features Scotch bars, beauty halls and boutiques so the only reason to leave your hotel is because you are in Barcelona and there’s just as much to see outside the four luxurious walls of the Ritz hotel. It also features a business centre that is more than lush enough to hold executive business meetings in.

The Claris is a very luxurious hotel and is targeted at guests who like the finer things in life, in particular fine art. Various superb examples of exquisite art are littered around the hallways of this converted palace and also in the rooms. Booking is almost impossible without years of notice but the sculptures aged from the 2nd through to the 7th century as well as 300 year old furniture make this a really lavish hotel for deep wallets.