Two weeks ago I was sitting at a little cafe on La Rambla sipping on a liter of Sangria. This year for spring break I decided to spoil myself and take a trip to Spain, it being my senior year this was my last spring break. I figured I would splurge the money for one last hoorah! My Boyfriend and I planned out this amazing 10-day excursion to explore the streets of Barcelona. However, I learned that things don't always go as planned when vacationing.
One of the struggles that come with taking a long trip or any trip at that is packing. You never know what exactly you'll need so you bring basically everything in order to avoid leaving any essentials at home. When I went to Barcelona I was told it was going to be pretty cold so immediately I am thinking I will need a lot of jackets and jeans. The problem with this is that those clothes take up room, especially in the tiny suitcase I was bringing because I subjected myself to only taking a carry-on. I suggest that you always carry-on when traveling a far distance with connecting flights because sometimes your checked bags won't make it to the destination with you.
Nothing is worse than ending up in a foreign country with no luggage. Nonetheless, I overpacked quite a bit and ended up only wearing about half the things I brought. I wish that I had packed more minimally because my suitcase weight was equivalent to that of a small child, which was not super fun to lug around four different airports. I had to have my boyfriend lift my suitcase into the overhead bin every time because it was too heavy.
With a city like Barcelona, there are thousands of things to do and it can be pretty overwhelming. So I would suggest looking into some of the musts and choosing just a few that you know you won't be able to go home without doing. Ask friends who have been there before of good places to eat and which tours to do because there are a lot of tourist traps where the food is not so good and the prices are sky-high.
The best restaurant we went to was one that was recommended to us by this guy who owned a bar in Barcelona, it was this hole-in-the-wall tapas place where all the locals ate and none of the waiters spoke English, it was the best calamari and wine I've ever had. It is important to plan ahead for your trip but to also leave yourself some free time in between all the things you want to do. You might find things you want to go see or do while you're there so it's key to leave some space in the schedule open. Also, it is not the end of the world if one day you don't get to go do everything that you wanted. When we were in Barcelona I wanted to go hike this mountain one morning but the hangover I had from the night before had other plans.
Here is a big don't when it comes to travel, don't miss your flight. Unfortunately, we had to experience this first hand, when we missed our flight back to the states. After a full week of traveling we were exhausted and ready to get home. We had to pay quite a bit to get back and what was supposed to be just 14 hours of traveling home turned into 36 hours. On the bright side, we got to spend a night in San Francisco and eat some local burritos.
Probably the most important travel tip I can give you is to enjoy the moment and take the experience all in both good and bad. Put down your phone and look around at all the things that are so different and new, I promise you don't need pictures of everything. Traveling can be such an eye-opening experience. There is so much to do in such a little time. There is no exact way to travel, you can't follow a list of do's and don'ts to a tee, some things are going to go bad and some really good. If I could do it all again, missing the flight and all I would, just to be back on the streets of Barcelona, sipping on sangria, and taking it all in.
