I’m too old for foam parties.  And even if I wasn’t, I’m too Virgo to enjoy getting my clothes smothered or soap in my eyes. So could I enjoy a trip to Ibiza if I didn’t go near a nightclub? I decided to go for a day trip instead.

One of the advantages of living near Stansted airport is that it is Ryanair’s main UK base and there’s often a deal to be had. In this instance, it was a return flight for under £40, less than the price of a train ticket to London. I’d promised a friend to product trial a Sunwise kaftan so really I should have just holed up in a trendy beach club for the day. Instead, I couldn’t resist hiring a car for the day.

Though it was cheap, I decided to take out additional insurance on the car in case of a scrape. That’s the Virgo again – we’re not gamblers. And how fortunate that was.

Within an hour of exiting the airport car park, I left the car parked in a large space outside a church in the tiny village of Sant Carles de Peralta. Half an hour later I returned from having a coffee in Bar Anita to find a large scratch across the front wing and no note to say who was responsible.

Onwards and northwards, the hire car wound its way around the back lanes following the Cala de Sant Vicenç coast road for a few kilometres before ducking inland across the Serra de la Mala Costa. Turning north at Sant Joan de Labritja, I wriggled across the island on a tiny lane which led to the island’s rugged north coast.

The agricultural landscape was a world away from the Ibiza stereotype of package tourism resorts and clubs, and the view from Portinatx was splendid (see featured photo).

Back in the car, I drove to Sant Miquel de Balansat. Sited on top of the hill, its whitewashed church is impossible to miss, the second oldest on the island, after the cathedral. I noticed that it had three crosses on the front wall. Asking around, I soon learned it was the symbol of Golgotha and that it featured on all Ibiza’s churches.

By now, I was hungry and in Santa Gertrudis de Fruitera I ordered a huge plate of jamon serrano and queso manchego.

The village was characterful yet popular with day trippers and the cafe’s location, on the main plaza opposite the church, was ideal for people-watching. Moving on, I set off in the direction of Santa Agnès de Corona, passing olive groves, almond trees and orange trees laden with fruit. The odd ruined windmill popped up from time to time, a reminder that farming is never an easy occupation.

It was still only mid-afternoon and a late return flight meant I had time to explore Eivissa’s old town for a while (Eivissa means Ibiza in Catalan).

I arrived just after 4pm, serendipitous as it turned out – yellow parking spaces reserved for workers are free for anyone who finds them empty from that hour on. Dalt Vila, the old town, is the very antithesis of Ibiza’s media image: elegant, ancient and impressive.

The heavy fortifications that once protected Eivissa from marauding pirates now offer a vantage point from which you can admire the Mediterranean and watch the fishing boats bring their catch in, trailing clouds of seagulls in their wake.

This part of Eivissa is surprisingly old – dating from before the 7^th century BC – and its walls are even more ancient.

Today, Dalt Vila is threaded with alleyways and tunnels which, unsigned, are something of a lucky dip.

Stepping through a doorway, I had no idea where I’d emerge and fortuitously popped up in the Plaça d’Espanya. One of the tunnels here was a Civil War refuge; Ibiza was Republican for a time before Franco occupied the island and forced the Republicans to flee.

I wandered the streets of the old town in the early evening sunshine before ducking randomly into another tunnel. Emerging some considerable way below the higher ground of the old town, I took it as a sign for my lazy self to head back to the airport.

The details

• My Ryanair flight cost £19.99 each way.
• Car hire with Alamo purchased through the Ryanair website was a £31 for the day.

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Day Zero

I arrived in Barcelona relatively early for once and breezed through passport control and out to the taxi rank. There were public transport options but I would just miss a bus and have an hour wait so thought I’d bite the bullet and grab a cab. It’s not until I’m five minutes down the road that I realise I had made such good time through the airport that I probably could have caught the bus. Never mind – door to door service!

Ange and I were looking forward to the art in and near Barcelona: the city is the canvas of Gaudi and I’d always wanted to got ot the Picasso Museum as well. Dali’s museum is only a shiort train ride up towards France, so the extended weekend is looking to be quite full.

Day One

The latter weekends in our tour had been very well behaved weather-wise with a long run of brilliant blue skies and scorchingly hot days. Day One was no different as we headed out to visit the Gaudi Exhibition Center in order to give us some context to the rest of the art we would see of his in the city.

The Exhibition Center is next door to an impressive church which is open for free for certain restricted times, and we look over and see a line of people queuing to get in and the first person in the queue entreating the security guard to be allowed entrance. His gesticulations and exasperation are obvious even from fifty metres away.

Spread out across three floors, the Exhibition Center steps you through elements of Gaudi’s life and works, paying particular attention to the differences his training as a sculptor brings to his works. Rather amusingly the exhibits and audio-guide tend towards the hagiography – which is to say it makes Gaudi out to be a saint.

The tone starts off as a shock but by the end of the tour it’s actually a little humourish. The museum doesn’t allow photography, and for an additional 2 euro you can get a VR experience. Basically as you leave you ask about the fact you spent the extra money and they will take you back up to the 3rd floor, unlock a couple of Oculus Rift headsets and start a very short video which you can change the camera perspective. Barely worth the additional euros.

I must admit that even though the museum wasn’t the most expensive museum we’ve been to, it still was touch and go whether it was worth the money. It was admittedly good to get a bit of context on some of his works but so many questions went unanswered, both about the man and his works.

We then headed over to the nearby Picasso Museum. I’d been to Barcelona a couple of times before and had always tried to coincide my trip with the first Sunday of the month because the Picasso Museum is free on those days. When I had managed to line them up, the queue for tickets wound down the block and so each time I would decide to head out and explore the city further rather than wasting my time in a queue.

This time it wasn’t a Sunday and the queue was mercilessly small. After maybe ten minutes we were allowed in and started working our way through the exhibits. Much better than the Gaudi Exhibition Center! Even though you still couldn’t take photos, the illustration of the development of his work plus the additional context provided by the audio guide made this well worth the money – even at the higher price point.

We were wandering down the road, looking for somewhere cheap to eat and came across a Vietnamese fast food place called Wok and Bao. We liked the DIY ordering system: you tore off a copy of the menu and filled in how many of what you wanted with a little golf pencil and then took the completed form up to the counter and paid.

One of the fields was your name so when the food is ready they’d call out your name and you’d collect it from a counter. We ordered a couple of Bao (little baps) with langostini – figuring that they would be shrimp – plus Japanese crackers and Edame.

We then settled down to wait. After a startlingly short wait the lady behind the counter yelled out someones name. It really could have been anyones. We looked at each other and decided I should go to the counter and check. I pointed at the food and asked if it was mine and she made a brush off motion while saying “yes yes it’s yours”. I frowned a little – the food didn’t look like what we had ordered but still took it back to our table. We both frowned now. Nope: not shrimp. She’d seemed so adamant though.

Anyways, we finally figured out she’d given us someone else’s food so Ange duly returned it. We’d been photographing it so hadn’t actually eaten any of it – I’m not sure what the restauranter would have done if that had been the case. In a few moments more we got our food – definitely shrimps in that one! It was a bit of a pity really – the food was good and the ordering system novel, but the service was pretty bad. The staff didn’t seem to care who they gave the food to…

Ange had mentioned a movie that she had seen that she thought I might like – Personal Shopper, starring Kirsten Stewart. We’d kept an eye out for it and managed to find a cinema in Barcelona who were showing it, so headed over. It had been a mission finding someplace that would show it in English and unfortunately there were sections in French which meant that the translations were shown at the bottom of the screen in Spanish. Between the context and the smattering of French I could understand, I got the gist of it though.

After the movie, even though it was latish we decided to have tapas on the way home. Cervecera are local bars serving tapas open late. We stopped off at a few but either weren’t served or didn’t like the vibe. We had just given up and were a block or two from home when we saw one that looked alright. We ordered a few plates and enjoyed the evening that was just getting started for the locals, before heading home.

Day Two

Ange and I both like surrealist art, and I had raved about the Salvador Dali Theatre and Museum in Figueres, about an hour north of Barcelona, so we decided to do a day trip up to see it. We got up early to avoid any crowds and headed there by train, surprised by how cheap the tickets were.

What to say about the museum? It’s interesting – Espace Dali in Paris is more of a shop, but the Museum in Berlin has a good collection of his drawings and paintings. With the extra space in the theatre in Figueres, there’s more space for the larger pieces and the art requiring changes in perspective. It’s certainly worth the trip out, and swallows a couple of hours easy. The entrance is not upon the main street and is down a side street. It’s sign posted but there’s another entrance on the main road which everyone naturally goes to. I’ve been twice and I still go there first. Because we had arrived maybe fifteen minutes after it had opened, we managed to surf the wave of visitors, finishing up in time to have some tapas for lunch before heading back to the train station and the train back to Barcelona.

Upon arriving back to the hotel we visited the green grocer on the ground floor beneath the hotel, where with great smiles and banter, he proceeded to charge us a couple of euro for a banana. They go for a euro and a half for a kilogram. Muttering under my breath, we headed up to our room and made some sangria, and enjoyed the afternoon sun on the balcony overlooking the street. 

Ange had found a brilliant sushi restaurant just down the road (that’s the best part of Ange preceding me to destinations: she finds the best places to have dinner!) and so we made reservations for later that evening. We do try to have the local delicacies when we go places, but Ange assured me that the sushi was just that good.

After the sushi, which was every bit as good as Ange described, came the dessert. Now Ange had also raved about the dessert – saying that the New York cheesecake was to die for. And so I chose that and she tried out the lemon meringue. And although again the cheesecake was as promised, delicious, I still managed to look enviously across as Ange thoroughly enjoyed the lemony goodness.

Day Three

Changing hotels always soaks up time, and it’s not the travel between the hotels which does it. If you’re sleeping that night in the same room you wake up in, you can just shower, get dressed and head out. Whereas if you’re changing rooms you have to pack, schlep your stuff across town, and then either wait for the room to be ready, or else dump your bags and head out.

We’d chosen Monrooms because it was so close to Park Güell, so decided to visit first thing, then head back and check out for our next hotel.

Park Güell

We’re there early enough at Park Güell to beat the tour buses – and to figure out how it all works. There are ticket machines and kiosks at the entrances to the park, but these don’t give you tickets to the park. They instead give you access to the central bit at the entrance where the buildings are.

This means that you can stroll around the grounds for free, but to get access to the most photographed areas, plus the house, you need to pay.

The ticket only allows you one visit to those areas too: once you leave the ticket is scanned again and you can’t come back in. It’s a way of controlling the vast crowds which descend upon the park and which raise the hackles of some locals.

We saw anti-tourist grafitti close to the top of the hill – I couldn’t follow the nuances of the argument, but it seems one or more locals don’t appreciate tourists in their park, because it restricts them from using it? Interesting points, but it doesn’t seem to stop locals from jogging through the “tickets only” section without needing a ticket.

Suitably wowed by the architecture and the views, we headed back to the hotel to checkout. After another sushi meal taken away and eaten on our new hotel’s balcony, we headed over to the other famous Gaudi building, the Sagrada Familia.

Sagrada Familia

Gaudi’s masterwork, a cathedral that he knew would not be completed in his lifetime, is one of the truly unique churches in the world. We’d booked tickets for the Sagrada Familia online and had to choose which tower to go up and to climb down.

If you get this choice yourself, please don’t do what we do and select the Passion Tower – choose the Nativity Tower. The reason for this is that the Passion Tower is a simple trip up in the lift and then a boring descent in the spiral staircase of the tower. The Nativity Tower on the other hand has a couple of balconies that you can look out of – much more interesting!

The interior of the cathedral is a master class in the use of colour – brilliant stained glass windows of every hue capture the sunlight and bathe the neutral interiors with glorious beams. Definitely get the audio guide – there aren’t too many stops and what they have to say actually makes the experience even more enjoyable providing just the right level of context without being hamfisted or over-genuflecting (I’m looking at you Gaudi Exhibition Center!)

The audioguide deposits you outside in front of the cathedral, but inside the fences is not the best place to get shots capturing the full grandeur of the building, so we return the audioguide and leave, crossing the road and getting enough space for us to take shots which would show it off to its best advantage.

After a quick nip into one of the many souvenir shops for Ange to buy a fridge magnet, we pause on a park bench in the park nearby, alternately watching the families enjoying ice cream in the sun and gazing up at Gaudi’s masterpiece – still under construction with a estimated completion sometime in 2020.

Magic Fountain

We have just enough time to grab something to eat from the street vendors before grabbing a seat on the steps overlooking the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc, the show is supposed to start at 9pm. Before the light show a troupe of street performers give a 15 minute breakdancing performance before heading off to some other locations – I figure they’ll do the same show four times before the fountain show and we also see them afterwards on the way to the metro – they’re busy folks!

The show we actually came for though is a lights and water show set to music. It goes for about an hour and the thousands of photos you see online do not do it justice. It’s very good though people keep pushing past us and eventually we decide to move before Chris goes Hulk on them.

There’s something that appeals to my inner child about being wet by the performing fountain – and the steady procession of eighties music certainly shows who the target market is! We leave just before the show ends, our hope being that we get to the metro before the hordes do. We’re lucky and while the trains are full, they’re not sardine-like.

On the way back I finally figure out the itch in my brain. whenever we had taken the metro, I had seen a sign in Spanish and it had troubled me though I could not read it. When we were in the station on the way home I finally figured it out – there was going to be a strike the following day, so there would be restricted trains and they recommended finding alternate routes. Great! Just what we needed heading to the airport! We figured out the additional time we figured it would take and set our alarm accordingly.

Day Four

After breakfast we headed off early to catch the metro to the train station and from there to the airport. Barcelona as promised was an energetic and young city and for me would always be Gaudi’s city. his stamp was on the city, exemplified with an enduring landmark of Sagrada Familia. 

The post Summer 2017: Barcelona appeared first on etrip.tips.

Checking-in wasn’t an issue but they did make us surrender the keycard whenever we left the hotel – something which I’m still getting my head around. The lobby is a nice space, narrow with a lounge area with an honesty bar complete with fruit, scotch and other spirits. Theres also a piano(!), newspaper area and internet terminal.

We took the lift up to our room and when we got out the corridors had a 1970s feel to them. Ange and I looked at each other (we do that a lot), dreading what the room would look like. We needn’t have worried though, once we opened the door to our room we could see that the owners had significantly renovated the rooms, turning them into true modern aparthotels.

Room

At first glance I wondered what made this room an aparthotel – you had all the basics of a hotel: large room, bathroom, bedside tables and a desk. But the sliding doors along one wall slid apart to reveal a fully stocked kitchenette – very much like the aparthotels we’d stayed at in Budapest (St George & Milford Suites). There was also a locked door behind the sliding panel, just the right size for a washing machine and dryer, but we weren’t able to confirm that’s what was inside.

We weren’t interested in cooking though, so went out to grab some sushi from one of the local restaurants. Just on the corner was a little supermarket, so there’s certainly ample opportunity to keep the costs down and cook for yourself.

The sushi bar we went to didn’t have a sitting area so we dodged the delivery drivers and headed back with our loot. We decided to be civilised and sit out on the astroturfed deck and dine al fresco. We even decided to use the plates and cutlery in the kitchenette.

The deck was neat: large enough for the table and chairs plus a pair of sun loungers, and even had a clothes line and some pegs – further proof in my eyes that there was a washing machine lurking behind the locked door.

We looked at the dirty plates we’d made and were wondering if would be worth the trip to the supermarket for cleaning supplies when I noticed in one of the cupboards a bag with washing up equipment complete with single serve dish-washing liquid! I also found a large black and white device, about the same proportions as bathroom scales. It required plugging in so I put it to one side but squirrelled away that information.

After lunch we went out and hit the sights. This involved a lot of walking and we arrived back exhausted. After showering I recalled the little machine and pulled it out and plugged it in. There were two positions on the switch and so I tried the first one. The black footprints on the device glowed blue and marbles inside it started moving. It was a foot massager! The second position made the lights go red and the marbles heated up also. Eyes agleam I positioned myself on the device and massaged away the memory of all the steps from my feet.

Breakfast

The next morning we had to head off early for our onwards flights, but luckily the breakfast started at 6am. There were some surprising additions to the standard continental offerings that we’d become used to: slices of potato frittata and some sort of green powder. While it looked like some sort of fine copper oxide fillings, I think it was more likely some sort of seaweed?

In addition was an outdoor eating area, also covered in astroturf. I guess the relentless Barcelona sun would fry anything else or maybe require too much watering.

Anyway, the breakfast was great and it set us up very nicely for the day.

Pros and Cons

Would I Go Back?

Absolutely: I think it was a great set up for a long term stay in Barcelona – it’s far enough away from the centre to get a more community feel, so you really do feel like you’re living like a local. And with the facilities you can live as cheaply or as touristy as you want.

Aparthotel Silver supported our Summer 2017: UNESCO tour by providing a complimentary stay. All opinions remain our own.

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I’m eager to get to Monrooms as I’ve been staying at a hostel for the last few nights. The thought of having a room and bathroom to myself, at least until Chris gets there, is bliss. It’s situated further up from La Rambla, in the Gràcia district of Barcelona and very near to Park Güell. The closest metro stop is Lesseps and I alight from the escalators into a green space with lots of trees, the shade is welcome as it’s a hot day.

I rock on up to Monrooms’ entrance and realise that I’ve told the host that I’ll be there between 1 – 2 pm. Since it’s only just past 11.30 am I have a while to wait. I buzz anyway but there’s no answer. Sighing at my own lack of foresight I trundle my bag back down the way I’ve come and think I’ll try and access a WiFi hot spot and see if I can contact the host so I can check in early.

I get a drink from a shop but it doesn’t have WiFi, I sit on a bench outside and idly look at Google Maps before spotting that there’s library nearby. So I head in there to hang out for an hour or so, at least it’s air conditioned.

Finally it’s time to check-in to Monrooms for the three night stay, so I retrace my steps. The host Jordi immediately opens the door on my buzz and I’m ushered inside. Relief!

Room

I’ve encountered this kind of set-up in Budapest with several rooms available on one floor of a building, a communal kitchen and a reception only open certain hours. The Monrooms set-up seems more streamlined, however, and our room (or should I say suite) has a private bathroom and balcony.

It’s generally basic accommodation but with added touches of personality here and there, each room has painted decals on the white walls, ours has Japanese bamboo, and there are travel quotes and artworks on the hallway walls.

There’s a balcony with a wooden love seat and with the afternoon sun streaming in you’d pretty much cook, but it’s perfect for drying washing. We do take advantage of it one afternoon with a session of homemade sangria.

I don’t really have any issues with the room apart from the fact that it has no air con and you need to have the doors and windows shut at night to take advantage of the double glazing. As it’s only early June it was slightly hot for us but the temperatures are worse in August. The receptionist we speak to the next morning (not Jordi) confesses that he feels sorry for guests who stay in August. There’s a ceiling fan connected to the light switch but it’s noisy and just moves the hot air around.

Breakfast

The communal kitchen has everything you need in terms of plates and cutlery for eating in and we get a shelf in a fridge for storing food items. I do a breakfast run to the grocery store directly next door and come away with cereal, juice, some kind of soy milk, croissants and bananas with the slight feeling I’ve been ripped off as the shop owner had to calculate the total so many times. The croissants are plastic wrapped and kind of inedible, and the soy milk has brown sludge in the bottom, the rest is ok.

We venture in there again in the afternoon to get orange juice for the homemade sangria and Chris gets ripped off by paying €1.50 for a banana, but we get free cherries.

Pros & Cons

Would I Go Back?

Yes I think so just not in the height of summer. This accommodation ticked most of our boxes and we loved the spacious room and having our own semi-private balcony. In hindsight, next time I’d source a nearby supermarket for food shopping rather than use the shop next door.

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Coming from Barcelona airport, I catch the R2 train to Leppig Gracia station. It’s a bit of a hike to the Rodamon Hostel where I’m staying for two nights. The hostel is situated on first floor of a 19th century building with character details. The front door opens on first push, there’s no need to ring a bell (after hours might be different).

The old lift is still in operation and a woman who looks after the lobby, has a little office. After enquiring if I’m after the hostel, she hustles me and my luggage into the lift and presses the button to the first floor. 

On arrival the hostel door is open and everything immediately looks new and inviting. It seriously looks like it’s just been renovated. There’s a spacious lounge seating area and also an outside terrace with sunloungers, chairs and tables and an outside laundry.

Check in is easy and I get shown around personally and told ‘what is what’ which is a nice service. I’m in hostel room 8, accessed by a key card. There are 8 beds in the female dorm and I’m in bed 6 on the bottom bunk. 

I’ve booked a room with an ensuite bathroom which saves having to go into the hallway.

 My fellow roommates are from Asia so there’s not much conversation because we don’t speak each other’s language, but everyone is friendly enough. I head out for dinner to a local cafe and, since I have a craving for noodles, try the ‘wok’ which is the Spanish version of wok noodles, which incorporates bacon, eggplant and a liberal sprinkling of sesame seeds. 

I know I need to order the food that countries do well but I’m not a big fan of paella and tapas don’t seem to you value for money because you have to order a lot of them to have a decent meal.

Afterwards I go for a walk down to Placa Catayuna the main Piazza that separates the old and new towns. It’s a long walk but interesting with lots of shops, people and sights to take in. The square itself is circular and filled with pigeons and people selling seed to feed them. I’m not too keen to get among them since pigeons aren’t the cleanest of creatures and tend to carry diseases. So I bypass and walk back to hostel.

On the way I spy a shop selling ‘happy pills’. On closer inspection its a pick-a-mix shop with jars and jars of lollies.  

On return to the hostel I’m knackered so head to bed quite early. It’s good having an ensuite but the girls have been using it and it’s pretty much solidly doused in water from their ablutions.

Next morning breakfast looks good so I pay €4.50 for the next two mornings’ meals. Unlike Wombats hostel in Vienna it’s less of a feeding frenzy as the hostel is smaller. There’s cereals, breads, fruit, yoghurt, meat, cheese, coffee/tea, and plenty of room at the tables to eat it. 

Free walking tour

I decide to go on the free walking tour of the Gothic quarter which I’ve been told meets at 11 am but the pick up from the hotel is 10.10 which is a detail I must’ve missed. So I head back down to Placa Catauyna to meet them.

This time I catch the metro but get confused which line I’m meant to be on. Eventually I find the right one and make it to the square in time. It’s a large group which is divided up into 1 Spanish and 4 English tours. Our guide is Luke who is South African and been living in Barcelona for 5 years.

He’s enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the city and its history which stretches back to Roman times. I tend to switch off when people start relaying historical dates and facts but he makes it interactive and interesting enough to keep everyone’s attention, highlighting historical figures, telling anecdotes, asking us questions and giving teasers like “in 1936 something momentous happened but I won’t tell you now” etc.

He also makes us takes photos of certain street names so we’ll remember them, such as Carrer de Petritxol, which he tells us has the oldest coffee shops in Barcelona. Respectful of people trying to go about their daily lives,  Luke tells us to keep away from shop entrances and to the right side of the streets. 

It’s a tightly run tour but he says we have enough time to go into the cathedral for 5 mins  ‘German minutes not Spanish minutes’ as it’s cold enough and mostly everyone is wearing long sleeves and trousers. But the exit is not thru the same door so it’s a matter of coming out a side entrance and finding the way back to the front. I tell him people might be lost and he goes off to round up the group.

After everyone gets back it’s more like 15 mins than 5. We have a 10 minute break in a designated coffee shop which also sells beer (you can carry around outside if it’s in a plastic cup). I try the chocolate donut, delish!

And chat to a Finnish guy who’s in Barcelona for a few days before going to a wedding in Girona. He says he was thinking he probably wouldn’t go to the Sagrada Familia as it seems a bit busy. But Luke has said it’s the number 1 must do thing in Barcelona so he thinks he might have to do it now.

The tour concludes in Piazza Reina which is ringed with palm trees. After paying a tip of €5 I head to the market the guide has mentioned which is packed with people having lunch, there’s all kinds of stalls. I grab a beef pastry and a plastic cup of strawberries and head up to Placa Cataluyna to catch the metro back to the hostel.

The rest of the afternoon passes uneventfully until the drills start up on the ceiling from people renovating the floor above. It’s intermittent but loud enough to be headache inducing. I enquire at reception how long it will go on and she said they have an arrangement that it will stop around 6pm, apparently it’s been going on for a month. I go out for dinner and it’s stopped when I get back.

The next morning I’m packing to check out and a waterfall of water comes rushing down the wall onto my bunk. I let out a yell but no one else in the room comes to investigate. The girl above who’s gone out has left the top off her 1 litre bottle of water and it’s tipped over drenching everything.

I finish packing and tell the guy at reception who doesn’t look too bothered “Two beds wet? I’ll tell the staff”. I check out soon after and head to the metro to my next hotel, feeling glad I don’t have to deal with wet bunks and bedding.

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Where do you stay after a cruise? Our cruise around the Western Mediterranean ended in Palma so it was natural for us to stay overnight and have a look around before moving on to our next adventure, but we wanted somewhere cultured and sophisticated. Enter the Art Hotel Palma.

We arrived and were made to feel welcome – a glass of the local bubbles plus candied nuts while our luggage was whisked away to our room. The walls are adorned with paintings and the landings feature object d’art. The staff even wear the black turtlenecks favoured by art historians!

Room

We then head up to the room. It’s a good size and looks out onto the inner courtyard. But the bed is the star – it’s huge! It’s also very comfortable – perfect for adjusting to life back on solid land. After the bathroom in our cabin which was barely large enough to turn round in, the bathroom in our room is pure luxury. There are two – count them two – sinks! and a power shower with six power nozzles, a rainforest shower head and a handheld shower head. I’m almost at a loss for what configuration to use! The rest of the furnishings are a combination of ultra modern electronics and classic solid furniture, but before long hunger and sightseeing beckon and we head out.

Mari-lin

We’d been given a card by the Art Hotel for free tapas at a local restaurant and decided to check it out. It was very close to the hotel and after an enjoyable spring roll and croquette we decided to stay for dinner. We’d managed to get seats out on the footpath, just beside the corner of the street on a bit of a hill, near the steps outside the church.

The weather was balmy and a steady stream of pedestrians walked by, interspersed with rollerbladers and bicyclists, some taking the blind corner at speed. I had the pizza and Ange had the chicken curry. The pizza was good, but the curry left a lot to be desired.

I’d just thought of asking for the bill when the waiter brought over a tiramisu and indicated that the owner sends his regards.

I turned and a mustachioed gent was toasting us from the balcony of the restaurant. I nodded our thanks and shared the dessert with Ange, before heading out to enjoy the evening. Revisiting their website the photos under the Mari-lin pages are nothing like the restaurant – so don’t expect a sea view!

Breakfast

When we’d checked in I had told the staff that I had an ungodly flight in the morning so would have to get up at 4am, and could I get a taxi for the airport. They asked if I still wanted breakfast, and I expressed surprise that I’d be able to get breakfast that early. “No problem” they answered, and I believed that nothing would be too much trouble for them. I was almost more surprised that Ange accompanied me down to watch me have breakfast.

She was then in a good position to compare my experience with their standard breakfast. I enjoyed coffee, and orange juice plus a good continental – cheeses and cold meats with breads and fruit. Later, Ange let me know that the standard breakfast featured more of a range of items and a chef who would cook your boiled eggs however you liked them.

Pros & Cons

Would I Return?

Definitely! It’s a no-brainer – the room is comfortable, the staff attentive and the bed enormous. Now that we’ve figured out the air con it’s perfect!

Art Hotel Palma supported our Summer 2017: UNESCO tour by providing a complimentary stay. All opinions remain our own.

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We discovered the waffle station (on the last morning!) and so had pancakes and waffles with bacon.

The buffet restaurant was packed – the excursions were leaving later when we docked so the only thing for people to do was to eat. Unsurprisingly because of the weather the decks were empty. After breakfast we went down to finish packing. Even though disembarkation wasn’t until 3pm, we had to have our baggage packed and outside the door all labelled by 9am and had to vacate the cabin by 1.30pm.

The weather is actually a good thing – there’s nothing to do so we work from our cabin until the designated kick out time and then head down to the English pub ‘The White Lion’ and work from there. For lunch we have some pub food, and then head to the lounge to wait to be called by section.

We’re “yellow”, matching the colouring of our luggage tags. We’re herded off the boat and then begin the long walk to the luggage collection point. and then nothing. No thank you, farewell or goodbye. Just like that our cruise is over. A bit anticlimactic really.

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But that’s not all: often there’ll be a stop or two that really doesn’t interest me. Why should I waste my holiday, I figure, paying to visit somewhere I have no desire to see?

Third, organised tours are expensive. Even without the whole single supplement issue, you’re effectively paying someone else to do the legwork for you, making the bookings and organising a programme that works logistically.

And finally, I’m a control freak. I don’t like being told where to go or what to do, and certainly not while I’m on vacation. Be grateful; I’d be a nightmare to have on your tour bus.

It’s not that I haven’t tried organised tours. A few years ago I won a ten day coach trip to America’s Deep South. Not unexpectedly, I locked horns with the tour guide on Day 2.

On arrival in New Orleans, I let her know that I was off to explore the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and she spat the proverbial dummy. She argued that New Orleans was one of the most dangerous places in the US. I countered that my last trip had been to San Pedro Sula, the Honduran city that often gains the epithet “notorious” shortly followed by “murder capital of the world”. She conceded, but still looked relieved when I joined the group for dinner.

So independent travel is my modus operandi and with that come the processes involved with creating a trip to a budget. Last summer, I decided to visit Extremadura, a little-visited region in central Spain.

Here’s how I worked out a trip plan and a budget.

How to get there

The Extremadura region has no international airport, so catching a flight from the UK was going to involve going to either Sevilla, to the south, or Madrid, to the north east. I decided I wanted to cover a lot of ground, so plumped for an open jaw option, flying into one airport, travelling overland and then flying out of another.

Both British Airways and their codeshare partner Iberia offer a good range of departures from London Heathrow and Gatwick. However, budget airlines work best for me in terms of geography; my nearest airport is Ryanair’s hub Stansted. Luckily, Ryanair operates flights from both Sevilla and Madrid to Stansted.

When to go

Trip planning in our household involves juggling business trips to ensure someone is home for the dogs. I ended up with a window of opportunity that spanned the first two weeks of July.

An Extremaduran native colleague of mine was horrified, exclaiming that her home region was so hot in the summer months that I’d melt. She wasn’t entirely wrong. However, travelling in July had two advantages: it was outside the school holidays and no sane person would consider heading into what’s often called the frying pan of Spain during the height of summer so flights would most likely be cheap.

Booking flights

The Ryanair website makes it simple to search for flights a week at a time, so I had a look to see how prices compared. It didn’t matter whether I began in Madrid or Sevilla. In the event, flying out to Sevilla and back from Madrid worked out about £10 cheaper for the dates I’d chosen. In the end, I paid £40.79 for the outbound leg and €32.63 for the return.

In total, that worked out at under £70 in total. As a bonus, my husband said the flight times were “sociable for a change” so he’d drop me off and pick me up, saving me the cost of airport parking.

As is my habit, I only take carry-on; it saves money and also there’s no wasting precious holiday time at the baggage carousel. Choosing a small backpack meant I would be able to sightsee on the move without being forced to find a safe place to store luggage.

Sevilla

I’ve been to Sevilla several times before, so I knew that on this occasion I would only stay one night. I planned to take the airport bus into the city, which was a factor in where I chose to stay, to avoid having to carry my bag in the heat of the afternoon.

I also wanted somewhere near to good bars and restaurants, which meant the Santa Cruz neighbourhood was a good fit. I’d stayed there previously on a very tight budget, spending just £18 on a basic room with a shared bathroom; this time I decided to up the budget a little.

There are lots of excellent websites out there offering accommodation, but my go-to site is www.booking.com which has always proved reliable and accurate. What I found was a gem: a suite so spacious I could pirouette across its hardwood floors without stubbing my toes, for the amazingly cheap price of just €57.

Situated in the annex of Hostal Plaza Santa Cruz in a delightful historic townhouse, it was just a stone’s throw from my favourite jamon ibérico joint. Around the corner I watched flamenco in Casa de la Guitarra, a venue so intimate I watched beads of sweat fall to the floor of the stage alongside loosened hairpins.

Mérida

I’d decided to aim for the ancient Roman settlement of Mérida the next day. It was easiest to go by bus; the most convenient departure, given that I knew I’d be up late in Sevilla, was the 9.45am bus. On a whim, I decided to break my journey for lunch in Zafra, Extremaduran but with the appearance of one of Andalusia’s famous pueblos blancos.

It cost me a few extra euros but the ticket hadn’t cost much anyway. I picked a restaurant that seemed to contain half of Zafra’s elderly male population which meant the food was as cheap as it was tasty. In Mérida, though the bus station was a few kilometres out of town, my hotel was not.

A single in the very modern Hostal Emeritae cost €36, leaving me a little spare cash to fund a taxi to and from the bus station, a bonus in the heat. I spent a fruitful afternoon exploring the many Roman ruins scattered about the place, purchasing a combo ticket at the first to get a discount on admission.

Cáceres

On the move again my next stop was just an hour away but in fact, I changed buses, leaving my bag in a left luggage locker and hopping on another bus for the short journey to Trujillo.

I’d double checked the LEDA bus company’s website before setting off so I knew which departures connected the best and arrived back in Cáceres by late afternoon. I’d chosen another central hotel, this time the Hostal Alameda Plaza Mayor; not the warmest of welcomes from the surly receptionist but good value at €40. I’d read on an online forum that though the restaurants on the main Plaza Mayor were good, the prices were higher than elsewhere; a ten minute walk got me a huge plate of suckling pig for a much more reasonable price.

The next day, I wanted to see some of the surrounding countryside, so I’d hired a car. Keen to be able to manoeuvre in the tightest of village alleys, I’d opted for a tiny Smart car. It wasn’t cheap at about £60 for the day but it was the only way to visit stunning Monfragüe National Park and the charming villages of the Vera valley. Feasting on creamy local cheese and crusty bread with not a tourist in sight, I was pleased I’d splurged on a car, despite the cost.

Home via Madrid

Given the choice, I always choose train over bus (more legroom and less chance of being travel sick) and finally the schedules worked in my favour for the final leg towards the Spanish capital. The three and a half hour ride across the starkly beautiful central plains cost me €32.95.

I could have saved about 10 euros by taking the bus but the extra money was worth it not to sit in traffic all the way into Madrid. There was plenty of time for lunch and a stroll through Retiro Park before catching the metro to the airport. Even with the airport supplement that was less than €5.

Total budget

In total, including food, petrol, transfers and everything detailed above including the flamenco show, I spent somewhere in the region of £550 for my five-day visit. The hotels I chose were all what you describe as mid-range and all en-suite; hostal in Spanish means “hotel” not “hostel”. A similar tour if bought as a package is likely to set you back somewhere in the region of £1100 to £1200. It pays to be independent!

Plus food approx £20 per day for five days

And if you wanted to categorise the spend

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So, I decided to tick Barcelona off my life in June this year. My holiday was action packed, and certainly bustling, as this is one city where there is always something going on. The trip was such a success I decided to return for this coming New Year!

We know that Barcelona is the capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, and it sits on the Mediterranean coastline, lending itself to wonderfully warm weather throughout the year.

My travel logistics

I visited for a long weekend in June, on a low-cost flight from Manchester (UK) to Barcelona’s rather interestingly named El Prat International Airport. The flight was a little over two hours and was smooth enough.

When you arrive, the best advice is to look at your options on how to get to the city itself. I took the Aerobus, which is a shuttle into the city centre, and despite the driver quoting me a half an hour drive, it did take somewhere around the hour mark, thanks to my rather ill-timed flight landing in the middle of rush hour. The ticket only cost 2 euros, so no major complaints, and I was told that a taxi would have been considerably more, and I would have been sat in the same traffic.

As you wonder around this huge city, you have a few options. I’ll mention that you should try to see as much as you can on foot, as meandering around the busy city will allow you to capture the essence and charm of Barcelona.

If you do want to save your feet however, you could go down the tourist route and use the hop on hop off Barcelona Bus Turistic. Granted, it is quite touristy, however it serves a major purpose because out of the three routes, you will get to see everything without fuss. I didn’t use the bus, but it’s not something I would shy away from. One word of advice however: I wouldn’t recommend hiring a car – the drivers are slightly crazy!

Of course, you could go native and just use the Metro. I did this a couple of times and it wasn’t at all scary! Zone 1 covers most of the city’s major tourist attractions, and a ten-ride ticket only costs just under 10 euros, so you’re getting great value for money.

Where to lay your head

I went down the usual Booking.com route when finding my accommodation, and my first impression was that it was expensive. Barcelona hotels are quite pricey, however there are many hostel options which offer value for money and comfort. I decided to go for a hotel however, not for any particular reason, I simply wanted privacy during my stay. For that reason I chose the SM Hotel Sant Antoni, which was only a stone’s throw from the famous Sagrada Familia.

My hotel was a three star. It was comfortable enough, right in the heart of where I wanted to be and it gave me a continental breakfast to start my day. The hotel was stylish and modern, and cost just under €300 euros for three nights. There are cheaper options, so next time I would perhaps go with those, because I didn’t spend that much time in the hotel, other than showering and sleeping.

Too much to see, too little time!

The best advice I could give for your visit to Barcelona is to plan it out, because I didn’t do that, and I feel like I missed out on a lot.

I stuck to the main tourist areas, because I wanted to see the Ciutat Vella, which is the Old City. Of course, this part of the city is home to the famous Las Rambla, with its street performers, pavement café vibe, and palm trees. Beware of pickpockets in this part of the city; thankfully I wasn’t a victim of this, but a lady in my hotel was, so be warned.

The old gothic architecture in the Old City really should be appreciated, so take your time when wandering around this rather busy district. Sagrada Familia is somewhere you have to visit, even if you don’t go anywhere else. This is what Barcelona is famous for in many ways, Gaudi’s unfinished, UNESCO listed, cathedral which is so jaw-droppingly beautiful, you won’t believe your eyes.

The musical fountains at Placa d’Espanya are a must visit, and they run in the main summer season from 9pm at night. This is a half an hour show, free of charge (always a bonus), and is a great place to sit and relax. If you want further views, head to the Harbour Cable Car and enjoy the ride; one piece of advice here however, I queued for one hour to even get in a cable car, so go as early as possible – don’t make my mistake and rock up at 11am!

I was told to go to Montserrat, which is around 90 minutes away; if I can recommend one other place aside from Sagrada Familia, it’s this. The natural mountain surroundings are perfect for clearing your head, and the hiking opportunities are some of the best around. Of course, you could cut down on travel time and instead head to the beach – there are many to choose from but I went to Barceloneta, enjoying the long pedestrianised boardwalk, and warm waters of the Mediterranean.

I have to go back, simply because I didn’t see many of the places I really wanted to, and that’s on my list for next time. If you’ve always wanted to go to Barcelona, my advice is to simply book a cheap flight and go – you won’t be disappointed.

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There are a wealth of things to see and do in Palma. For lovers of architecture, it has many historic buildings; for lovers of Spanish food, there’s always a restaurant in arm’s reach, and there is even a small beach, C’an Pere Antoni, just a kilometre away from the city. I couldn’t drive at the time and went to all my destinations either walking or by taxi and I found it very easy to get around.

There are three attractions in particular that stuck with me.

Royal Palace of Almudaina

The first attraction I visited in Palma was the Royal Palace of Almudaina. The palace is historic, being in its current state since the 13th century, but is still in use.

I didn’t know of the palace until I visited Palma and was glad I did. The building itself is very simple and distinctly Arabian-looking. The inside offers a lot of space, with significant Moorish influence.  It’s not particularly big, I only spent an hour there, but there are far less crowds than the nearby La Seu Cathedral. So, if you want a quiet walk while admiring traditional Spanish architecture and some nice paintings, this is a great place to visit. A basic tickets costs €7 and children under 5 visit for free.

La Seu (Cathedral of Santa Maria)

Speaking of La Seu – a representation of Palma’s colourful history, this former Roman temple is the jewel of the city. Almost impossible to miss as it can be seen from most parts of Palma, this is considered the must-see attraction. As opposed to the Moorish influence of the palace, the cathedral is Gothic and more what I’m accustomed to seeing in the UK or other parts of northern Europe. It’s the huge, colourful stained-glass windows and towering pillars of the typical Medieval cathedrals.

It’s gorgeous to look at, and it’s certainly larger and more magnificent than the Palace, but I actually preferred the Palace a little more only because I had spent a few years living near a Gothic cathedral and was accustomed to the style. The Moorish style is slightly more interesting to me – maybe only because it’s something I don’t see in my own country. Still, it’s undeniably beautiful, and you can’t really argue with €7 for entrance.

Palma Aquarium

I loved La Seu and the Palace of Almudaina, but it was on my final day that I ended up visiting my favourite attraction – the Palma aquarium. Now, I will admit my own bias, as a lover of all things from the sea, I always make sure to go to zoos or aquariums wherever I visit, but this aquarium really impressed me. My favourite parts were the rooftop garden, made to look and feel like a tropical jungle (including the humidity!), and the towering tank of my favourite aquatic animal, the jellyfish.

Here you can find a massive variety of beautiful fish and live coral in some of Europe’s largest tanks, educational exhibits and audio information for each tank, available in several languages, and even pretty good food – I’m usually disappointed by zoo/aquarium café food. Beware going during school holidays, as I did, because the crowds can be insane and the ticket price isn’t cheap at €23 per adult.

Other things to do in Palma

I would also strongly recommend taking a walk around the old quarter. Cars aren’t permitted here, so you can have a lovely stroll without traffic all around you and you can see the more traditional, historic side of the city.

There’s  something for everyone in Palma, I have only outlined my own tastes but there are also plenty of places to play sport, go clubbing, see concerts etc. You would have a difficult time not finding anything to enjoy, but it is a big city and big cities always have more options. The only downside I would give to Palma is that it is very much a tourist city.

Although some quieter and more traditional areas exist, it’s a big, bustling, noisy city – and the summer months are brutal for crowds. If you’re looking for a quiet town where you can sit in a mostly empty café with only the sounds of the birds and the chattering of Spanish abuelas, this isn’t the destination for you.

I also wouldn’t recommend it for beach-seekers – there is only one very small beach close the city, and you’ll have to travel out to find the bigger, better beaches. But, for everyone else, Palma could be your next holiday destination.

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