To me, Barcelona had only ever been one of those places that I heard about and saw in movies. It was like a place that existed on some fantasy planet where everything was beautiful and perfect. It was a place where I could only dream of visiting, and this weekend, it happened.

I can honestly say that when we landed in the city, I shed a couple tears of excitement, and that happiness that I felt in that moment stayed with me during the whole duration of the trip.

My mom and I were lucky enough to have our own personal tourist. A family friend was kind enough to take time out of his weekend to show us around the city, local style.

The weather was perfect. It was 80 degrees every day that we were there, but it wasn’t the type of hot where the air felt humid and standing in the sun didn’t make you feel like you were going to faint.

For breakfast we tried out different local cafes and came to learn that the Spanish rarely have big breakfasts. To them, a breakfast usually consists of some sort of pastry and a café con leche.

The lunches in Barcelona are usually the biggest meals. Of course we had to try tapas at almost every restaurant we went to. We had fried octopus, potatoes with red sauce, and bread with fresh tomato spread, to name a few. For dinner one night I had a super soft and juicy beef steak with french fries, and the second day a delicious pizza.

The restaurants are all very little. There is almost no walking space between tables, but this is something the people are used to and is normal. The ingredients tasted so fresh, my favorite was the fresh juices and cheeses. I have never tasted a more delicious pizza in my life. Something else we learned was normal was that at every single restaurant the food came out incredibly quick, this was a pleasant surprise.

While in Barcelona we visited places including The Sagrada Familia, a building so beautifully detailed that just admiring the work on the outside of the building could take you hours. We also visited Gaudi’s famous Parc Guell, which had astonishing views of the whole city and walking trails that went for miles.

We took a walking tour where we learned a lot about the history of the city. A fun fact that I learned was that if there was ever a square in front of a church then that meant that there used to be a cemetery there.

And of course we couldn’t leave without visiting the beach, which was my favorite part. There was a market that went for miles and you could hear people laughing everywhere you turned. Something that I loved was that the people in Barcelona don’t care about what others think, and are fearless in everything they do. There were topless women, and men acting like kids, and the best thing was that no one seemed to mind one bit.

Walking around the city admiring the astonishing architecture, eating delicious food, and being amongst the beautiful people of Barcelona was an experience that I will never forget. Barcelona, regresare por ti, I will be back for you!