Stay
I wanted to stay somewhere that was reasonable to low price but still in a good location for travel into the centre of Barcelona. Alex and I settled on the Hotel Ilunion Bel Art in Alfons X. The room we stayed was a disabled suite which was random as neither of us are disabled the hotel had just overbooked. We ended up not having breakfast at the hotel (an extra 26 euro, ouch) which was fine as there was lots of nice cafes nearby. Overall the hotel did the job. It wasn't anything to sing and dance about but it was clean and not too expensive so if you're traveling on a budget I would recommend it.
The hotel was a bit further out then some of the others but it was only a five minute walk to a tube station. The tube station was really easy to navigate, even for someone for whom getting lost is a regular occurrence and it was really quiet comparatively to London. Being further out of the touristy bits also meant that we had more of a taste of the local vibe. I actually ended up really enjoying exploring Alfons X. There were no crowds and it was nice to pretend to be a local (which is what I end up trying to do on holiday, seeing if I can get mistaken for a local).
Eat
The best meal we had is no doubt was in Alfons X if you're staying around that area I would definitely go there, the patatas bravas and tiramisu are heaven. Other times we went to more touristy locations to have dinner like around Barceloneta beach and Las Ramblas. I don't know whether we just got unlucky, however the vibe wasn’t great, it felt like they were wanting to rip us off and pushing us to buy as much as possible. Alex ended up buying a slice of Iberian ham for 45 euros without knowing the price beforehand. When we got the bill at the end we were like “say WHAT”?!. So if any staff ask casually if you would like to have some ham with the bread don't be like as and ask how much it is first.
Activities
My favourite thing was actually just chilling on Barceloneta Beach and people watching. The beach is so chill and has quite a relaxed hipster vibe, there were lots of people playing volley ball too. Another thing I noticed was lots of tattoos and not a single overweight person in sight, which was weird.
We then went to the touristy bits; the Gothic quarter, Catedral de Barcelona and also visited the La Boqueria market. If you want to check any of these out I would recommend getting there early or later on during the day as it can get really packed. Also if you fancy the Park Guell you'll probably need to book tickets a day in advance, or you can get there super early and it’s free/ you can pay at the door. Don't make the mistake me and Alex made of going there with no tickets and then not being able to get in, wahhh!. We had a nice time going around the free bit of the park though.
Outfit One
Top - JDY
Skirt - New Look similar here (in case its gone out of stock as I got it in the sale)
Shoes - Black Vans
Outfit Two
Dress - H&M from ages ago similar here and here
Shoes - Office
Outfit Three
Shorts - River Island similar here (as low in stock)
Gingham Bikini - New Look
White Shirt - Topshop sold out similar here and here
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