Daniel and I visited Barcelona Spain for the first time last month! We were overwhelmed with such excitement and awe the entire time. I have no shame in playing the tourist while traveling to different countries. I loved seeing all of the beautiful historic monuments and all the charm and culture of this amazing city. My husband Daniel’s side of the family (the Ballesteros family) originates from Spain and I loved that I got to experience a part of it. On our first day in Barcelona we went to La Rambla. We loved this street and all the surrounding shops and alleys near the Gothic Quarter. Dan really wanted a drawing of me by this really talented artist on the street. He was hilarious and super talented!  La Boqueria market was a fun experience too! It was their local “Farmers Market” type of market. We had our fair share of gelato here too 🙂 One of the first shops I went into was a cute thrift shop near the Gothic Quarter. I ended up finding a super cute neck scarf that I’ll most likely be wearing a lot this summer.  It was a great way to spend our first day in Spain. On our second day, we walked through Park Guell. We ended up taking the back way/ scenic route (unintentionally) but so glad we did! We took a peaceful stroll all the way up the hill, and got to see a view of the whole city at the top. On our way down we stopped to watch some kids play soccer then continued down the hill while we followed the sound of a beautiful song being played by a man playing a santoor. We found him playing near the entrance of the Park, then we continued on through these stone pillar arches and enjoyed all the beautiful architecture by Gaudi. We also ate our first Paella on our way back to the room and it was delicious. The next day we checked into a house with some of our friends, enjoyed some drinks and tapas, and checked out the Arc de Triomf. I saw some people dancing nearby when we were there and obviously I joined in on the fun. I’m in the process of making a video of all the highlights from our trip and can’t wait to share it. The next day we visited La Sagrada Familia, the most extravagant cathedral I’ve ever seen. We spent a good amount of time inside just staring at all the detail. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when all the construction is complete.  It’s supposed to be completed in 2026! We did our best not to over plan or try to cram in too many sites or adventures each day and really enjoy every destination. We also did our fair share of walking everywhere and mostly used the metro for longer distances. One of my favorite days in Barcelona was our beach day at Barceloneta Beach. We relaxed in the sun, ate a fancy seafood dinner at Salamanca, took a dip in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, had a massage on the beach, then I joined in on a volleyball game I saw happening. Each one of my teammates represented a different nationality from all over the world! I had a blast! We ended our day walking along the shore searching for beach glass. My grandpa collects beach glass and asked if I would bring him home some. I found soooo much sea glass and there were such unique and pretty colors I’ve never seen before. He was so happy to see what I brought home for him 🙂 On our last day, we walked through Parc Del Laberint D’ Horta, checked out Sant Pau, and enjoyed a nice lunch together. It was the perfect way to spend our last day in Spain. The next day we ventured on to Portugal where we photographed a wedding! Coming soon to the blog!