The beach at Barceloneta

Barcelona will forever be, in my eyes, one of the most beautiful and enchanting cities in the world. Its vibrant atmosphere, laid back approach to life, glorious Mediterranean weather and unique charm doesn’t quite compare to the gloomy and overpriced London (the city where I was born and bred). Without a doubt my perfect day in Barcelona would take place mid-May – the weather is warm, but not unbearably hot, and tourists are beginning to flock in left, right and centre, giving the Catalan capital that vibrant buzz that I so adore. Not to mention, May is the month of my birthday and I’m sure all Taurus’ and Gemini’s would agree with me in saying that May is undeniably the best month of the year.

Whilst students are notorious for being lazy, some may find it ironic that I enjoy nothing more than an early rise and a productive day. Consequently, I would begin my perfect day in Barcelona with a 7am wake up, followed by a morning run along the golden sounds of the nearby Barceloneta beach. Not only is it a great workout and an opportunity to gather my thoughts for the day but I get to enjoy the city in its rare tranquil state. Read the rest of this article…

In English we have a saying – the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. But here in Badalona, you might say it’s through the ears.

Pont del Petroli, Badalona. This place is so perfect, I feel like showing you this photo is tantamount to bragging, I live in paradise.

Attempting to speak Catalan is the best way I’ve found to win smiles from vendors in the shops near my apartment. As I step into the street on a cloudless Saturday, I juggle new phrases for breakfast foods, but I find that the sound of the train rushing by on its way to Barcelona sends these precariously held sounds flying from my brain. No pasa nada – I consult my notebook as I walk toward the market. Read the rest of this article…

I spend half my time here alone as my partner works away, so of course the most perfect days are when he’s at home to enjoy this beautiful city with me, after all, that is why we moved here, for that “everyday perfect” lifestyle. April and May are my favourite times of year, not too hot but warm enough not to need a coat and not too busy with tourists. Russell makes the morning coffee as he always does and we sit in the living room as the sun streams through the window discussing our plan for the day. Coming from a seaside town, we both love to be near the water so spend a lot of time walking along the beach front and as a keen photographer, Barcelona is a great place for taking photos and today is a gloriously sunny day so I make sure I have my camera all packed up and off we head.

Beautiful Barri Gòtic

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What do you like least about Barcelona? The guys at OK Apartment Barcelona wanted to know. So they surveyed some of the expats in the city (850 people from 26 countries) to find out what they least liked about Barcelona. Read the rest of this article…

My perfect day in Barcelona would start with a nice long lie-in. It’s a day in early summer – not too hot yet but warm enough to go out without a jacket. My puppy would eventually drag me out of bed (he always does) so I could start off my day with a walk around Gràcia, greeting my neighbours as I pass, or rather allowing my neighbours to greet my dog.

I’d start off the day right with a chocolate-filled croissant from Knel·la bakery (c/ Milà i Fontanals 9) in Gràcia, or big helping of vegan French toast made with orange zest and topped with real maple syrup at DosTrece (c/ Carme, 40) in Gotico (or both if I was having a very gluttonous morning). As a food and travel writer, sometimes I like eating food I’ve already written about, so I don’t spend the whole time I’m eating it reviewing it in my head!

Vegan croissant from Knella bakery

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Esperança is an English-speaking volunteer group co-founded by Liverpudlian Julie Stephenson. The volunteers go out twice a week and distribute food, clothing and chat to the homeless in Barcelona.

I’ve been wanting to feature Esperança on the blog for a while now. When I first heard about it I felt it was deserving of as much publicity as possible, such a selfless act by Julie and her colleagues for the people of their adopted city.

So it was great to finally catch up with Julie and ask her about the project. Read the rest of this article…

I wake to the sound of Erica, Pablo and Chica purring at the foot of our bed, the smell of bread baking in the kitchen. A warm breeze floats in from the balcony and I rise to prepare a cafetiere of coffee and bash some eggs around in a pan. Rosana checks on our limonero (lemon tree) and yelps with joy as she discovers the beginnings of our first lemons. “It’s like a miracle!”

Ben preparing to cruise the boardwalk

The “Let’s go to the beach!” moment

Once the caffeine has revived us, we kiss our cats goodbye for the day, smear on a layer of suncream that smells like coconut and childhood memories and head out into the street. Rosana’s on her bike, I’m on my longboard.

We roll past the bakery and the Ethiopian restaurant next door, past the bodega where we only go to drink but not to eat because the camerero has the hands of a coal miner. Read the rest of this article…