Hola, amigos! As most of you know, I had the luxury of going to Spain for about a week to ring in the new year with my family. I had never been to the beautiful, culture filled country, and I can’t wait to go back some day and explore even more. I visited Barcelona first, celebrated the start of 2018 there, and then took a train to Madrid. Let me just say, I’m in love with Madrid.

I was going to make my first ever vlog for you guys, but ran into some issues while abroad. On our first night there, my phone got stolen at a nightclub. I know, bummer. You can read all about my phone-less experience here. So, my first vlog will just have to be about something else. Feel free to let me know anything you guys would be interested in me vlogging about! I’m always open to suggestions from my beautiful followers.

We spent three days in each city, and when the last day came, I wasn’t ready to come home. Madrid, you have a piece of my heart & I promise I’ll be back.

Here’s a quick list of things you should do if you ever find yourself in Barcelona:

1. Walk down La Rambla. It’s a fun road filled with the best food, culture, and atmosphere.
2. Visit La Sagrada Familia. This cathedral has been being built since 1882 and is set to be finished in 2026. It’s a breathtaking piece of history that everyone should visit.
   

   La Sagrada Familia

   

   Detailed architecture

   

   

   

   
3. Take a teleférico up to the Montjuïc. It’s a fort that dates back to the 1600s in Barcelona.
   

   My sister & I on the teleférico

   

   Me, my sister, & my step dad at the top of the fort

   

   View of Barcelona from the top of the fort

   
    
4. Walk around La Barceloneta. It’s a seaside neighborhood in Barça filled with markets, fresh seafood restaurants, and beautiful sights. Warning, paella in Spain includes animal heads and bodies, just saying.
   

   

   

   
    
5. Eat at Cervesería Catalana. This place seriously had some of the best tapas I had on my whole trip.

Barcelona was amazing all in all, and I didn’t notice a problem with locals being rude, something that happens in a lot of European countries. Then again, everyone in Miami is rude af, so I can’t imagine what’s said about us. We ate at a super cute restaurant called La Dama for New Years Eve, and then took our bottle of champagne to La Rambla and celebrated a little longer.

Madrid had an entirely different vibe than Barça did.

It was more city like, which is why I think I liked it better. I don’t even have words to describe why I liked it so much, but I did. Here’s a quick list of must-do’s in Madrid.

1. El Palacio Real. A gorgeous palace filled with history, and it currently inhabits the King & Queen of Spain! 
2. Mercado de San Miguel. This market was so cute and literally had the best food/wine. We spent a couple hours just hanging out as a family- drinking and eating! 
3. Walk around Parque del Buen Retiro.
   

   

   

   

   

   

   

    

4. Museo del Prado. If you like art, history, and art history, this is the perfect place for you. Even if you’re not that into it, I highly recommend going & getting a tour guide to explain the history of all the paintings. It was a great experience.

European cities have so much culture and history and I’m so glad I got to go on this trip. It was great knowing the language and even better getting to practice it every day. I can’t wait to come back! Here’s the link to my album on Facebook. Make sure you like & follow my Facebook page, too! LINK

I also made an observation while in Spain, partially because I didn’t have my phone. People there aren’t connected to their phones. They don’t walk around the mall or the park with their phone in their hand, constantly checking on everyone. They’re actually living their lives, which I think is something super important. We need to make more of an effort to look up every once in a while! Life moves fast, the last thing we wanna do is miss it ’cause we were stalking someone on Instagram.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post! My trip was amazing and I can’t wait to keep traveling and sharing my experiences with you guys. My goal is to start vlogging this year, so definitely feel free to let me know what kind of vlogs you want to see!

Xx,

Nicki G.