Barcelona Recommendations

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...

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 gre...