Barcelona Recommendations

Clarence Bekker performing at the Palo Alto Market December 2nd (PC: Quinnie Phan)  This weekend, myself along with a few friends caught the tail end of the Palo Alto Market. After purchasing a 3-euro ticket online, I made my way to Poblenou, their typical winter location. Lights hung from all over, international food trucks lined walkways, and several clothing designers brought their pieces to sell filling the rest of the space. Lying in the nucleus of the market laid the Aperol Spritz stage. Jam packed with people, Sugar Drops took the stage. The band has been around for four years. They met in Barcelona at the Marula Café. Each Sunday their lead singer, Desirée Diouf, and the rest of the band would perform at WE FUNK jam sessions. The last singer to perform, Clarence Bekker, transformed the room with his smooth dance moves and soulful voice. Bekker, also a Dutchman, has taken his career all over the world. Mark Johnson, an American music producer, found Bekker playing on the

Mi Familia! My parents, sister, and grandpa flew across Atlantic last week to visit me in Barcelona. While their time here felt like minutes, seeing them reminded me how lucky I am to be blessed with extraordinary people in my corner. Together we walked around a few of my favorite parts of Barcelona, Eixample, the Gothic Quarter, Montjuic, El Born, El Poble-sec, and the Sagrada Familia. Exploring these neighborhoods with my family, fortunately, presented me with the opportunity to stop at a plentiful number of delicious tapas bars and restaurants. My recommendations, in order, are La Flauta, El 58, Restaurant Palermo, and Pulperia Can Lampazas. I ate an assortment of tapas at La Flauta. I recommend their Tortilla de Patata, pasta, bravas. . . you can't go wrong I found a new love for Spanish Padron Peppers Great tapas bar in Poblenou EL 58 colors Homie restaurant/tapas bar in Eixample  First Paella of the trip! One of us was brave eno

Rad Rocks Last weekend the SAI Barcelona family traveled to Montserrat for the day. It is located west of Barcelona taking us an hour to arrive at the base of the mountain. The train to Montserrat leaves once every hour from Placa d’Espanya, therefore, it is important to be punctual!  Montserrat formed under the ocean 45 million years ago. Eventually emerging after a tectonic plate shift. The sheer beauty of Montserrat left me wanting to come back and conquer the highest peak, Sant Jeroni (1,236 meters).  This mountain range is not only home to the beautiful terrain. The Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey notable for enshrining the image of the Virgin of Montserrat lies at highest point reachable by the railcar. Accompanying the abbey is the Basilica of Montserrat and inside you can find a statue of the Virgin herself. She is holding a sphere symbolizing the universe. Visitors from all over the world wait their turn to have a moment with the Virgin of Montserrat wh

No caption needed  The SAI Barcelona family flew to Seville two weekends ago to experience the south of Spain’s beloved culture. The capital city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Sevilla, is home to 700,000 people. We started the trip on a rare rainy day walking off the plane and finding ourselves in the middle of a taxi strike. Eventually, we settled into our hotel and walked to the Metropol Parasol located in the old quarter of Seville. We spent time admiring the 360-degree view of the city while trying to stay dry.  Metropol Parasol A gloomy view of Sevilla The following day the sun glistened off the colorful buildings bringing the city to life. Our second day in Sevilla consisted of touring La Giralda, the Cathedral, and the Real Alcazar de Sevilla. After lunch, Leticia and Sandrine guided us to La Maestranza, one of Spain’s oldest bullrings. At the bullfighting ring, we walked and listened to an audio tour sharing the history of the great dance

Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (Altare della Patria) Living next to an international airport opens the floodgates to visiting the rest of Europe at a reasonable cost. In the United States it is rare to find roundtrip flights for $50, but in Europe, this can be sought out frequently. I took advantage of the low fares and decided to spend a weekend in Rome, Italy. While visiting the walking museum of Rome, my roommates purchased a round-trip flight to Palma de Mallorca, Spain for only 28 euros!  Flying within Spain is also extremely affordable and an efficient way to see the whole country. The European Open-Skies Treaty of 1992 enabled airlines to fly anywhere in the European Union without government approval. Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air, and Norwegian along with other airlines took advantage of the Open-Skies Treaty and now offer low-fares to travel across the continent. My trip to Rome. . . We arrived in Rome at 10:00 am after an early flight out of BCN. My fr

Overlooking Zaragoza and the Ebro River Day 1 This past weekend I hopped on a bus and traveled to Zaragoza. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Aragon. WARNING: buses in Spain never arrive on time. Clara, an old friend, showed me around Zaragoza which is where she attends college. The surrounding areas of the University of Zaragoza reminded me of a lively college atmosphere back in the United States. I dropped my luggage off at her apartment and we were immediately out in the thick of the nightlife of Zaragoza. Since I had not eaten all day, our first stop was Londons—a simple college restaurant. Clara and her friends are frequent customers here for the cheap food and drinks. I scoffed down a Jamón Serrano sandwich with green chilis and sardines. Jamón Serrano is a type of dry-cured Spanish ham quite popular in Spain and one of Clara’s favorites. While we enjoyed our sandwiches, she told me a story about her arrival in the United States five years ago. Going