Barcelona in less than 15 hours

Preparing your trip
What is slowly becoming a reflex when I'm traveling to a new or known destination is first to check if there is an available spotted by locals guide. Then to buy the app and/or check the online version and finally contact the local bloggers to see if any of them has some time to share with me once I reach their city. I did that last year for Boston, New-York and last earlier this month for Copenhagen. This time - it was a first time  in Barcelona - I had the chance to meet one of the spotters (Cynthia website in Spanish) and to be guided in the city without thinking if I had to turn right or left, I just had to talk and to follow.

First evening in town

I met Ana Cynthia in front of the Liceu theater. The central pavement is almost full of people. I'm looking around watching the people. On the other side of the street an inevitable bachelor party group. English men this time, what a fun evening to be drunk with your buddies. The future happy married man in underwear completely wasted, laying on the ground when his friends are gently beating him, so much fun.

Then my tour starts. I have a very short introduction to Barcelona and the old city district. Slaloming between the small streets, places and churches and arriving in front of the first bar. It's closed. No worries the city seems to be full of other options. Some meters away we enter the passage for a first real stop at the Bar Pasajes.

We were two, then beer glasses and olives came, then we were three, then there was live music in the second bar, it was crowded, then we left because hungry and the bar was empty of food, then we were surrounded by tapas and spoiler alert we won. I don't say that one or two tapas pieces left the table alive, but 95% did finish in our stomachs.

First Saturday in town

A very nice thing with the Spotted by Locals app - and i'm not only saying that because I'm part of Berlin team - when you are traveling in foreign country - and what is a foreign country when you are already living a foreign country - is that you have all information offline. The great advantage is that you look less like a tourist, you still look like a compulsive smartphone user for sure but it's becoming tricky to sort between tourists and locals addicted to their phone. You can browse the city map stored offline on your device without stress, you always know where you are.

Let's say you are at the under-construction cathedral, it's full of ugly tourists including myself, you walked around, took pictures and you want to run away as soon as possible to your next destination. No stress, take one road that inspires you, especially the one without tourists, walk some minutes and delicately check on your app if you are going in the right direction. You already look like a local and soon people will ask you their way.

Now it's time to reach the airport, I could hang around for still one hour but I feel frustrated to not be able to move as I usually do, which means with my bike. I got to the airport bus, some minutes later I'm entering the terminal and quickly start to put some words down about the last 15 hours. A lot to tell.