Things I’ve learned first time traveling solo in Barcelona Spain
So today is day one of traveling solo in Barcelona Spain the #1 problem I had was the wifi connection problem. Now Barcelona “say’s” that they provide free wifi throughout the city but it barely works at all. So when I first went out I felt so lost trying to find anything and I went back to my room to find some downloadable apps and I came across this app called maps.me and basically you can star places, create routes, and the app will guide you even when your offline. It helped me so much because I starred the place I was staying and was always able to find it again. I was also able to find some certain restaurants, hotels, sights, wifi etc. using the app while I was offline. It was a HUGE lifesaver.
One thing I was incredibly nervous about was the pick pocket-ors since that was probably the #1 warning I got from almost every person I spoke to and I have to say I didn’t really see anyone or at least from all the places I’ve been to. I made sure to bring my back pack since I know that they like to cut purses and just take stuff from peoples back pockets but I’m glad to see I haven’t seen any pickpocketing so far at least.
Almost everyone spoke english, anytime I went to a coffee shop, restaurant, or grocery store the people that worked there would speak english to me. Even most of the people around me in restaurants and walking around were speaking english themselves so I think english has become one of the main languages that everyone just knows.
I grabbed a taxi heading over to my airbnb that night since I was so tired from flying 8.5 hours then having a 5.5 hour layover then a 4.5 hour plane ride and doing this barely on any sleep. My ride was about 20–30 minutes and when I paid for the cab I didn’t realize how expensive it would be it was $44! Usually a ride like that in San Francisco would be somewhere around $20–30 so I would just recommend staying far away from taxi’s unless you wanna fork up that extra cash.
Another thing I thought was interesting is that no one drinks from the faucet everyone drinks bottled water. I’m so used to drinking from the sink in Hawaii and San Francisco and I was about to get some water from the sink one night and my hostess stopped me and told me no once drinks from the faucet. They also don’t serve water at restaurants you need to buy a bottle of water if you want to drink it which really sucks, so just be prepared for that.
Get ready for some MAJOR PDA in Barcelona, I think I’ve seen more people passionately making out in the past 2 weeks I’ve spent in Barcelona then in the past 9 years I’ve lived in San Francisco. Everyone is very passionate and they are not afraid to give intense kisses where ever they go. I’ve seen people making out in the trains, grocery stores, parks, you name it just be ready for it because it definitely seems like the normal thing to do.
The best part in my opinion would have to be the architecture. It truly is everything I thought it would be and more I just love how grand the buildings are with such smooth soft lines and such great detail to it. It is so breathtaking to stand in front of such beautiful art that has so much history to it.
Lastly I didn’t expect it but I honestly felt so at home being in a foreign country half the world away from all my family and friends I don’t know what it is I guess just stepping into a brand new environment and being able to explore things myself there really is something so magical about it. I’m so excited to see what day 2 brings for me!
I will be adding more if I find anything interesting or useful!
