Reasonably Certain

Power Outage in Spain, How I Plan Trips, & a 10 Day Barcelona Itinerary

• Ellen Larson • Episode 43

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EP #43: Spain and Portugal had a full power and internet outage at the end of April so that was interesting and not scary at all... Also Ellen dives into her trip planning process, diving into how to create the perfect itinerary while balancing busy and chill days. She also shares a 10 day itinerary for Barcelona and the details of the trip she put together for her parents when they recently visited.


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>> Ellen:

Hey guys. Welcome back to Reasonably Certain. My name is Ellen. This is episode 43. And in today's episode I'm gonna be talking about how I planned trips. Because like I mentioned in my last episode, my parents were just here visiting and they basically left it up to me to plan the whole trip because they didn't have any very specific things that they wanted to do. They kind of just let me be their tour guide for the entire week. the only thing that they had planned ahead of time was a, one day fishing trip. So the rest of it was pretty much up to me. And so I'll be telling you guys about that today. But now that we're kind of out of the white lotus, I'll go back to my normal schedule, which is talking about what I've been up to this week. So again, like, I have a PE brain I can never remember. Oh my God, it. I'm also filming this on April 30th. I can't believe we're already at the end of April. That's crazy. Oh, well, my parents left after Easter weekend, so then I spent Easter at the beach by myself. Tried to get a little bit of tan. But I've also mentioned in one of the previous episodes that like, if I want to get tan, I have to really not wear SPF. Like I don't know if I wear SPF even like SPF 10. It just blocks any tanning rays, and it doesn't reach me and it's very annoying. So I put on SPF 15 when I went to the beach. Didn't get a hint of sun after two and a half hours laying in the sun. And I was like, what is this? I can't be wasting all my effort, hours and hours and hours laying in the sun if I'm not even gonna get like a little red. Ridiculous. Then on Monday, Easter Monday, I went to Soho House with my friend Marley. And we were on the rooftop. And I didn't expect to be on the rooftop that long. but we were up there for like an hour and a half. And I didn't wear sunscreen that day. Oops. Because I didn't think we would be on the roof that long. Got super sunburns like on my chest. But I successfully turned it into a tan. And then the next day I went to my gym and it was finally warm enough to tan on the gym rooftop. So then I did the same thing. I was likekay, I'm not going to put sunscreen on right away. Cause I Want to get, like, maximum efficiency for all my effort laying in this sun. You know what? Don't come at me. I know I should be wearing spf, but I also feel much better, and I look much healthier with a natural tan from the sun, so. I don't know. I don't know. Anyway, so I did, like, 15 minutes front, 15 minutes back, and I got absolutely, like, scorched, but it turned into a tan. So it wasn't, like, so bad that it would peel, but it was, you know, a little too much. A little too much sun. So I think my new routine going forward is gonna be, like, maybe 10, 15 minutes front, 10, 15 minutes back. And maybe now that I have this, like, little base tan, maybe it won't, like, burn me so quickly. But it was, like, the first time my skin had seen the sun for, like, six months, so maybe it was just because it's been covered up all winter. anyways, so, yeah, I think I'm go going Toa do 10, 15 minutes front, 10, 15 minutes back, and then put SPF on, because if I put even SPF 15, it's just, like, I'm getting nothing for all my effort, and I just. That really annoys me. I'm not gonna lie. So that's really all I did this past week. And then I just went with my friend Marley to go get, like, a drink on a terrace and, like, people watch. And then on Sunday, I went with my friend Yoli to take photos. And then we also went to Guanabara. Guanabara, which is, like a Brazilian buffet restaurant. And we went there for dinner. And then on Monday, this was, like, the big event of the past week. We had a complete power outage and Internet cell service outage in Spain and Portugal. so that was crazy. I already had, like, a full day in the morning. On Monday, I, like, walked all the way to the beach to meet my friend Ellie for, like, a little coffee at Honest Screens. And then I walked all the way back home. I walked, like, almost six miles. And then I was opening up my laptop to start work. And then, like, legit five minutes before my first meeting, that's when the Internet went out and all my lights went out. And I was like, not again. So then I was trying to text my, like, handyman that is, like, in charge of our building. And I was like, hey, what was that trick you told me again for the light box? And then I was like, well, that's weird, because, like, my data is, like, not Working either. So that's sus. And my text wasn't going through to my handyman, so I was like, okay, let me just wait a minute. Maybe it's not just my apartment this time. Like maybe it is the full building and then in that case there's nothing I can do in the immediate future to fix that. So then I went out on the balcony to like just, you know, see what the vibe was outside if other people were noticing issues, if people were freaking out, like see if it was more than just my building. And then I saw like, I don't normally see that many people come out on their balconies on my street. And I noticed there must be quite a few offices on my street where it's not like a residential apartment. It's like somebody must rent it out as an office, which is like pretty common here. So then I see people that are clearly at work and then obviously if they're at work and all the lights shut off and they have no cell service, they're like, okay, shit, we're at work, what do we do? They'probably at mid meeting and everything gets cut off. So I just start slowly seeing people come out onto their balconies trying to get cell service. Because sometimes when you're in a building your phone just like doesn't connect to data for some reason. So I assume most people were going outside to try and like get a better signal. And then all of a sudden I see like just people coming out on their balconies and I was like, okay, this is obviously like at least a block wide issue. And so I'm pointing at them like ah, no funa no funiana. And no'll say, and I'll say. So we're all like pointing at each other like, okay, we are all experiencing some sort of issue. In that case it's at least our block and like we can all assume we can't really control it. And if we can't even, we don't even have service to call someone to fix it. So everyone's trying to get signal to call people. I don't even have cell service, let alone data. But I ended up just sitting on my balcony, refreshing my data, turning my phone on and off, trying to get some sort of data. I got data for like two minutes and I was like, oh my God, oh my God, I have data. So I called my mom and thankfully it went through on an audio call. And I just told her like as she's getting ready for work to go to the office. In the US I was like, hey, I don't think I have much time. I'm probably going toa lose connection. But look up on the news and see if something is happening in Spain because, like, I just lost all my power and it seems like it is happening to my whole block. And then as I was on the phone with my mom, I was checking, my WhatsApp groups because I'm in like a giant girls in Barcelona WhatsApp group that has like probably 1,000 girls in it. And I saw somebody text like, oh, there's a power outage in Spain and Portugal. And I was like, oh, shit, that's huge. So my mom saw it on the news already. Like, the news spread so fast. It was like within 20 minutes. And then, I didn't have dataate anymore. I was like, I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm just at my apartment, like, no biggie and whatever. So thankfully, like, I wasn't in danger. I wasn't like, it wasn't a big deal in my situation. I know some people were stuck in the metro, stuck on trains, stuck in elevators, stuck at amusement parks, on roller coasters. Like those situations would have freaked me out. But very luckily I was already in my apartment, like just trying to log on for a meeting and it just like everything cut off. So I was just sitting here, like, Twitter my thumbs. Like, okay, well, I mean, I would try and contact my friends. I sent them messages, but the messages didn't ever go through. And I was like, well, I don't know if they're home. I don't know, like, I could go walk over to my friend houses. But then if they're not home, it's like, okay, then I don't know where they are or how soon they will be back. So I was like, let me just stay put. There's no reason to like freak out. It's probably going toa come back on soon. Like, it's fine. And then, you know, even though I didn't really have connection, like my phone would get like one bar every like 10 or 20 minutes. Like it was trying. And so I couldn't send anything, I couldn't look up anything, I couldn't call anyone. But I think it was able to download like one or two what'sApp messages in that, like giant group chat. So I was like, occasionally seeing updates from girls who did have service in other places or they got like service for just a little bit to get an update. And so they were sharing updates, in the group and somebody said like oh, a Portugal radio station said it could be up to 72 hours. And I was like what? No way, no way. And then somebody said a non commercial FL flew, a non commercial plane flew into an electric center in the south of France, which has not been corroborated as true. But honestly I kind of believe that that could be more likely rather than the rare atmospheric phenomenon that like they're saying it was. Because I found out that the electricity grid that they call like the Iberian grid for Spain and Portugal is like connected by only two lines to the rest of Europe where all the energy comes from. And I guess like a lot of the center of the grid is in like around like Germany and Austria. So we only have like two lines that come out to our area. So if even one of those lines gets blocked for some reason, obviously that would cause like a lot of issues. So I could see that happening and being much more likely than like a rare atmospheric phenomenon. If there was an issue where there was a big accident, at like a center where the energy is coming from to feed our region, then like hello, that would obviously cause like a nationwide issue. We still don't know I think as of today. But anyway, so I spent probably like 3 hours on my balcony just people watching, looking to see if other people were coming out on their balconies, seeing like the general vibe of people if they were starting to freak out or not. And like no one was really freaking out. Like people at businesses were kind of confused on what to do because they couldn't call anyone and there was no lights inside the businesses. So a lot of businesses just closed because like without lights you can't use your. Well no one can really see. You can't make coffee, you can't use your POS system. So you had to pretty much rely on cash. And then yeah, so people were generally closing down their businesses until the power came back on. And yeah, so I was

like just waiting, waiting, waiting until 3:

30. And then I was like well my hands are tied, I can't really do much, I'm not in danger. But like, let me just take a nap and maybe by the time I wake up everything will be

back. And so I took a nap from like 3:

30 to

5:30. And then at 5:

30 I woke up and I still didn't see any news about any changes and everything was still off. So I was like, well if it does last up to 72 hours, like that one girl said in the group chat, then like, maybe I should start thinking about what I'm goingn eat and how I'mnna light my apartment when the sun goes down. So I was like, maybe I should venture out of my apartment and like see if theathlon is open so I could get like a flashlight or a lantern. Cause, all I had was my phone flashlight and I have a candle, but I don't really like lighting candles. Like it makes me very anxious. So I was like, I would really prefer to have a flashlight or a lantern, so maybe I can go find one. And then I also need pantry snacks because I don't want anything that has to be refrigerated or cooked because I have an electric stovetop and you can't cook without electricity. So I was like, okay, I just need like granola bars, protein bars, like stuff that you can just eat in the pantry that doesn't go bad very fast. If any stores were even open though. Like, I didn't really know what I would find because I was, you know, a lot of people freaked out right away and like immediately rushed to the stores and I, I don't know, that was just not my M.O. at all. Like, I didn't freak out. I was just like, oh, okay, well, I guess I can't work. Thankfully, I only had internal meetings so like, it wasn't the end of the world. I did get just enough data, like around the time I called my mom to update my slack status and be like, hey, unable to speak, no wi fi, no Internet, nothing. And then I just wasn't like that feeling. Like there was much urgency for anything. But then I was realizing as I woke up from my nap, like, well, as the sun goes down, it's gonna be pretty dark in here and I'm starting to get kind of hungry. And of course I just happen to not have that much food even in my fridge. Like I just had like half eaten yogurt and like a half drinking almond milk and some cheese. So I was like, oh, and like rice and pasta. But I was like, well I can't cook it so I really have nothing to eat. And then I had like some ice cream in the freezer, but I was like, I'm not even gonna bother opening the freezer because I don't want it to lose any cold. And so then I had like, I don't know, some pistachios in the cupboard and like gluten free crackers. And I was like, this is just sad. Like I need to go find food. So I left my house and then I Just like on chance happens to run into my friend Marley and her boyfriend on the way to decathlon. And they were like, we were just on the way to see if you were home because we were gonna just see if you were okay. And I was like, that's so nice. But, yeah, literally just happened to run into them. Like, what are the odds? And then, of course, decathlon was closed with a security guard in front of it because I think they wanted to avoid people, like, panic buying things like flashlights and food and whatever. So they completely closed to Kathlon and had a security guard in front of it. I was like, for real? I just need a flashlight. I'm not trying to panic by. I just want a flashlight. But okay, they're closed. I guess that's not an option. So then I just started wandering around looking for buildings that might have wi fi. And then I like, I don't know, I was just wandering and I was like, I guess I could wander over to my gluten free bakery and see if they're open. At least I can maybe get like a baguette and like an empanada or something. And then, on my way to the bakery, I wandered past a different street by my house. And I was like, wait, there's one streetl light that's working. And then next to that streetight, the street, like, it's a couple streets away from my house happened to have power. So somebody must have had a generator on that block, like maybe one of the landlords or something, that was powering, like maybe two or three buildings on the end of the block. And one of those buildings happened to be a grocery store. Hallelujah. So everyone was in there buying stuff. And I wasn't going to panic by either, but I was like, well, I'm honestly just really hungry, so I needed something to at least eat for dinner and maybe eat tomorrow. And so I just got like some gluten free granola bars, some rice cakes, and then, you can always get like, hone, like hon is cured. So it doesn't like, necessarily need to be refrigerated. but I was like, I'm probably just gonna eat it for dinner anyway. So I'm not sure that I need to, like, really refrigerate it after opening. Anyway, I got some more gluten free crackers. And then they had like, since their refrigerators were still working, they still had like some cheese and jmone by the checkout. And I was like, okay, perfect. I'm just gonna Eat cheese jmon with crackers for dinner. And then I have like some granola bars and rice cakes and stuff. And then I got like a bottle of water and like some apple juice and I was like, okay, that's probably good enough. And then of course, even though they had power, you couldn't check out with like a typical credit card, it was cash only, or a Spanish debit card with a pin, probably to like prevent fraud and stuff. So I thankfully had my Spanish debit card on me and I was able to just pay that way. but yeah, thankfully I just happened to go past it because most, like, I would say 90% of stores were closed because they didn't have any electricity. So. Hello. You, like, can't really buy anything. but I thankfully got like some crackers and some food to eat and then, yeah, so I just wandered past the gluten free bakery. Of course they were closed. And then I went home and I ate and I just kind of accepted my fate. And thankfully I had my power bank mostly charged because otherwise my phone would have for sure died by that point. Then I just, like, sat in bed and I was trying to write my blog posts because at first I was like, oh, my God, like, I can't work. I'm forced to not go on my phone and not work. Like, it's the perfect opportunity to film my podcast episode or knit or write my blog posts. And I was like, actually, no, I really don't feel like it. I'm not in the mood to knit. Also, I haven't knit for a few months and I kind of need a YouTube video to watch again because I don't want to F up the pieces that I have, like, halfway done. And I don't want to forget how to knit and then have to undo a bunch of rows. And also I wasn't really in the mindset to, like, just casually enjoy knitting. Like, even though I wasn't freaking out, I wasn't like, I wasn't in the mood to knit during that time. I don't know, I was like, still kind of, alert and, like, wondering what to do. And then I was like, no, I don't want to feel my podcast during this. Like, I don't have to be productive just because the power went out. Like, I can just wait and see what happens. Like, I don't have to milk every ounce of productivity out of my life just because, like, I don't have to go to meetings right now. Like, so I did end up just kind of writing blog Posts like in my notes app, on my laptop. And that was, it. And then my. So the electricity was out

from 12:30pm to 8:

30pm for me, but for some people it was out for like way longer, until like midnight or 1am And I don't know, maybe some people in smaller towns are still like struggling to get it back on. But yeah, so that obviously caused a lot of like concern about like, was it like a cyber attack? Was it Putin? Was it like. I don't know. I don't know. I have, I've been feeling very paranoid obviously with Trump and like the US and everything. And then also I think that kind of has a ripple effect on the rest of the world. So I've already been feeling quite paranoid. And me and Yoli literally on Sunday night were talking about how she has already started putting together like an emergency bag. And I was like, yeah, yeah, I'll get around to it. But it's annoying to buy everything again because I already had an emergency bag put together in the US When Covid started, I put together a full emergency bag with literally everything to live off grid in the woods, like with my car. In the beginning of COVID I was like, oh, oh. If I need to grab my bag and go live in the woods, I will. Like, so I was fully prepared and I still have all that stuff in the US But I was like, I'm not gonna bring it to Spain with me. Like, it just feels a bit silly. But then now that I'm here, I'm like, u okay, I have to make another one. I have to. I just. You never regret being over prepared. You hope you never have to use it, but in the case you do, you're like, oh, thank God past me did this. So you just, you, you buy it and you hope you never use it. And it feels a bit silly to buy things that you hope you never use. But, but like, yesterday for example, would have been really great to have a radio. Would have been really great to have a solar powered charger. And then would have been really great to have a flashlight or a lantern and maybe like some water and snacks. It wasn't a full emergency situation for me, but would have been nice to have those things because at the very least I wanted a way to ensure that I would have power to charge my devices if it would have like what if it would have been a week? You know what I mean? Like, that would have been very concerning and I wouldn't have had enough power in my battery. Like my Portable charger. My portable charger does last for like four full charges, so maybe it would have made me a week. But if I needed to go longer than that, or if I needed to charge more things than just my phone, I would have for sure ran out of power. So if you have a solar powered charging bank or solar powered charging, like, panel, then at least you can ensure that you can still charge your devices. And it's not just for your phone. Like, if I want to be able to charge everything that needs electricity, like headlamp, a flashlight, a radio, like, literally anything that emits signals or lights or like a walkie talkie. Would have been really nice to have a walkie talkie because literally Yoli and I were just talking about this on Sunday. Like, like that we were saying we should get walkie talkies. And I was like, yeah, yeah, we'll get around to it. Literally, Monday happens. We were like, were we not just talking about this last night at dinner? Were we not just talking about this? So I ordered walkie talkies, I ordered a survival kit, I ordered a waterproof tactical backpack, I ordered a water filter straw, I ordered, like, some extra cables, a headlamp, a lantern, a solar power charging bank, and, yeah, just like a few other things that I could keep in a bag that's like an emergency bag. And then I'll also fill it up with like a first aid kit, extra medications. My documents are already in like a. What are they call it? Like, a Faraday bag. I don't think mine's officially a Faraday bag, although I think it also functions as that. It's, my bag is for my documents. It's like a folder that's fireproof. so it's kind of like a mini safe in that way. But, so I have like a fireproof bag for all my documents. And I think it's like more or less water repellent as well. So I already have that. Just like, because I didn't want to buy a hole safe, but I was like, yeah, if I have like a bag that's like fireproof and water repellent, it's probably good enough. And yeah, so then I'll keep all my important things in my, like, emergency kit. And then if this happens again or God forbid, if something worse happens, hopefully I'll feel a bit more prepared. But, yeah, walkie talkies, I think we should bring back walkie talkies because as soon as. Honestly, the electricity going out didn't freak me out that much. It's like, I don't know, you can survive without electricity for a while. Like, it's not that big of a deal. But losing Internet and cell phone service is a very scary. That was what freaked me out more. Losing like lights and water and like AC and heat and, being able to cook on my stove, whatever. A little freaky, but like, I've had power outages in the past from storms and stuff. Like'it's eventually going to come back on. Like, it's not something that's usually cut off for that long. But the Internet and cell service. Yeah, that was a little freaky because if you can't communicate with people and tell people where you are and meet up with people and make plans and tell people that you're okay. That was the freaky part because I was totally alone except for like looking out and I could walk outside. Obviously I did at one point. But like, aside from just like seeing my neighbors on the balconies and being like, hey, I guess we're all just stuck here, you know, Like, I was like, oh, okay, I'm really alone now. Okay. so that was a bit of an uneasy feeling and I hope, it doesn't happen again, but if it does, I feel more prepared because now I will have like a survival kit of sorts and at least I will have like, the most important thing to me is like a flashlight and, a solar power bank so that I can charge things with solar power. Because m. I do not want to rely on full blown electric things that are gonna be of no use if you have no way to turn them back on. Like, my friend Naomi and Madrid couldn't even get into her building because it's an electric entry. She had to wait for someone to help her to get into her building because it's an electric entry. And like people who have electric entries to their apartment doors, like your literal apartment, you should always have an option to use a manual key. Like that became extremely apparent to me on Monday. I was like, I am so glad that my building is only a manual key for everything because, like, yeah, I don't want electric locks for everything. I think manual keys work just fine. I prefer it actually. So, yeah, it just. I don't. I love technology, don't get me wrong. But like, depending on it for everything and not. I would say having an electric option is great, but you should always have a backup option. Like a manual key option. An option to use the feature without any electricity. Like, that's the freaky part is if, like the electricity option is the only option. And then if it cuts off and you have no way to fix it, it's like, oh, oh, okay, we're really. We're screwed. That's scary. Same with the Internet and cell service. If you have no way to reach someone else, like, at least you can use walkie talkies. So, yeah, Yoli and I are gonna split, a pair of walkie talkies. And at least they go like 10 kilometers, which I think is a pretty good range. So I think that's like three miles. So I feel. I feel better about that. So we can at least be like, are you okay? Over. Okay. Sorry for the long intro, but yeah, that was kind of a big deal this week. And then I've just been catching up since then. but let's get into how I plan trips and my week itinerary for Barcelona, and hopefully you find this helpful. I'm very type A. I love planning trips, even hypothetical trips that I have no real plan to go on yet. I just like planning trips. So I'll tell you the general process of what I do when I decide that I want to go somewhere. Like, I've done this recently for Greece, London. Well, Miami. But now I'm going to Miami. So, like, I do it all the time just because I enjoy researching cities. And I also have, like, a weird obsession with maps. Where it's not that I love maps, it's that I love the security of having, like, a general idea of the layout of a city so that if I ever find myself there, I'm like, oh, yeah, I know how to get around. Like, I remember landmarks, I remember main streets. Like, I am not going to remember the whole map like the back of my hand. But if I at least know, like, north, south, east, west, or north, south, east, west. And then if I know, like, major landmarks and sites and maybe like, where a police station is, where a hospital is, and where, like, the city center is, then I feel much more comfortable. So I just love, like, absorbing the knowledge of layouts of cities so that if I find myself there, I'm like, oh, okay, I know where I am. I hate the feeling of feeling lost. So that's why I like, study maps, so that I'm like, oh, easy. I know where I am. Like, no problem. I can get around even if, like, I don't have a phone or something. So I, picked the destination where I would ideally like to go, and then I pick the days I would ideally like to go, hypothetically. Although, of course, you can Plan a trip without having a timeline in mind. Like maybe you're just like, I want to go to London sometime this year, but I don't know when I'm going to go. But maybe you have an idea in mind, like is it going to be a long weekend trip? Is it going to be a 10 day trip? Is it going toa be like a 3 week trip? Cause those are all very different trips, you know what I mean? So like the time or the length of your trip makes a difference in how you're planning. But most of this can still stay the same because like, even if you're going for two days or three weeks, like you still want to know the layout of the city, which is very important to me. And you still want to know if like the flight prices and hotel prices are generally feasible for the budget that you're planning for. but yeah, I pick like at least the length of time I would ideally like to go. And even better if you have like a month in mind that you want to go so you can narrow down flight prices and things like that. And so I automatically go straight to Google Flights. It's my preferred search engine for checking flights. I also have a vpn. So if I'm feeling like the prices are a bit higher or they're feeling a little sus, I will check through another country. Like I will turn the VPN on and then check Google Flights again. Sometimes the price changes significantly. I find usually it's about the same, but. But I don't know. When me and my mom are comparing flights from Spain and the U.S. sometimes she's seeing a totally different price than I am and I'm like, what the freak? So then I use my VPN to my advantage. So highly recommend Express VPN sponsor me. I've been using you for years. I love it. But yeah, I usually check Google Flights and me particularly, I'm like, I don't know, maybe now that I'm in Europe, if I take more quick trips I will be less loyal to Delta and the Delta partners. But for now I'm very loyal to Delta and Delta partners because I am just a bit bougie when it comes to traveling and I prefer to have like a nice airplane. So the most reliable nice airplanes in my case are like Delta, Air France, klm. Yeah, like those three airlines. So if I can, I go with them. But I've also flown Welling, I've flown Lufthana. I've flown like other airlines and it's not that bad. Like it's fine. But I mean, I mean if I can, I'm going to pick Delta. Okay. So that's like usually how I'm narrowing downight my flights. And then I obviously look by like non stop flights if I can. Or like the most, the least amount of stops, the least amount of time, the most optimal times to fly, depending on your schedule, of course. And once you narrow it down and then I like, sometimes I'll save it to price check. but I find that usually the day you're looking at it is probably the cheapest because usually every day more in the future you go, it gets more expensive. Like I don't find that it usually drops in price significantly. Like usually the day you're looking at it is probably the cheapest and it will probably most likely just only get it more expensive from there. Just so you're aware, unless you're looking like nine to 12 months in the future, okay, it's a bit too far out to really know like when the prices will settle. But if you're looking within three months, probably the price will not get lower. So whatever, just keep that in mind. Because sometimes I've been like, even for Miami, I was like looking in, I want to say early March maybe, and I was like, oh, maybe I should go to Miami for my birthday. But I don't know, I don't know. And the flights were only like €400 round trip on like Air France Delta. And I was like, oh my God, it's so cheap. It's like three times cheaper than it is for me to go to Minnesota. What the frick. So I was like, oh my God, the flights are so cheap. Like maybe I should just because the flight is so cheap, like. 'crazy and then I waited like three weeks and it literally doubled in price. And I was like, oh, okay, okay, okay. I should have booked it before. So yeah, that's just a good cautionary tale that like it's usually cheapest on the day that you're looking and it's probably not going to drop that much between the time that you're looking and the time of your trip. So I prefer to book the flight first and then figure out the other details later because there's only so many flights that you can take and there's a lot more accommodations that you can figure out. You can stay with a friend, you can find an Airbnb, you can do a vrbo, you can do like, There's even like so many like digital Nomad ish stay options now where you can, like, trade off your place with their place, and then you can also obviously stay at a hotel. Like, there's just so many more options for accommodations than there are flights. So that's why I always book flights first, because you got to get there before you can book a hotel. So if you at least know that you're going to be arriving there, then you can start looking at the hotels or at least check the hotel prices before you know if it's something you can swing. Like, sometimes I'll do a basic, quick just temp check on accommodations in the city I'm thinking of just to make sure it's something that's even like, feasible for me. But usually in most cities you can find something like. And I say something as like a very type a slightly bougie traveler. Like, I'm not doing hostels, I'm not doing motels, I'm not doing. I'm not doing apartment shares. You know what I mean? It's an option if you want to do that. For me, that's not happening. So I'm doing, like, I don't care if the hotel is like three stars or five stars, whatever. I care that it's clean and I prefer no carpet. And I, I don't need it to be in the perfect location. As long as it's like, near somewhere I can easily travel from or, like, get around. That's all I really care about. And that it's clean. So that's usually what I'm looking for. And then obviously within your budget, obviously. Otherwise, if the hotels are just totally out of range, like for me, Miami and London, the hotels are like, ridiculously expensive and they're not even that nice. Like, I'm talking$500 or 500 pounds a night for a hotel that's like, the equivalent of like the Hampton Inn in, like, Wisconsin Dells. Like, it's just insane. So I was like, literally, who is paying for that? Because I know it's not me. So I was like, okay, Airbnb in Miami for sure. And it's a beautiful, like the one I booked. Beautiful Airbnb, exactly the location I wanted. It's just simple, clean, like just a bed and like a couch and a TV and a kitchen. I don't need anything else. I don't need a bunch of other stuff. Just the basics. And it's only like $120 a night. And it's like, perfect. I was like, okay, so literally, why would I book a hotel anyway? So, yeah, I like to get a temp check on the accommodations, but the flight first, accommodation second for me. And then I start researching the city. I will usually create a custom Google map. And then as I'm researching, I will add stuff to the Google map. And then you'll notice as you accumulate things that you save on the map, you'll kind of get like clusters and, and like, let's say you don't know the city center or like where people hang out. Because when you're looking at like the map of a city for the first time, you can kind of tell like what might be the center. But just because it's the center doesn't mean it's like where people hang out, you know what I mean? Or like where you want to hang out. So for example, when I first was researching Barcelona to move here, I looked at the map and I was like, what the fuck? I don't know where people hang out or like where the cool parts are. Like, I couldn't tell you anything about it. You just show me a map of Barcelona in 2022. And I was like, okay, I don't know anything about this. So as you create the map, you start seeing like clusters forming of where like the most popular things are, where most people probably gather, where the most touristic sites are, and then they kind of spread out from there and you can gauge like, okay, so if I'm in this general area, I'm probably close to most of the stuff I want to do. And then it narrows it down for you, like where you might want to stay. So I open a custom Google map. If you don't know how to do that, Google it. It's really easy. Just figure it out. I check TikTok, Google, Reddit, YouTube, maybe a few other places, but usually those are my go to spots. Sometimes I'll check chatoobt if I need to, but I prefer like more human responses or like blog posts too. Like I love reading up a traveler's blog post on their experience visiting or living in a city. So then I usually like make a favorites folder on Tik Tok. I save a bunch of videos there and then just like as, like I said, as I'm going through all the stuff I'm finding on the Internet, I'm adding it to the Google map. This is like the most fun part for me. I love collecting information and putting it in a map with information about each place. Like, it brings me so much joy. That's my favorite part. Then once you get an idea of like, like I said, once you see like the cluster of where stuff mostly is. You can get an idea of, like, kind of the area you'll want to stay in. And then you can start narrowing down accommodations. So either hotels or like, for me, if hotels aren't working, then my second option is usually Airbnb. So once I feel confident that I found a couple hotels that I'd feel comfortable staying in, I go back and I check flights. But this is like all like the research phase, right? So then I'll go back. I'll actually book the flight once I'm comfortable with, like, okay, I know I want to do these things. I know I want to stay in this area. I'm comfortable committing to the trip. Book the flight, then go back, re research the hotels or whatever that would be in the area you want to stay in. Book your hotel. And then I tried to plan an itinerary, a rough itinerary. You know, I might be a bit more of a planner than your average person, but it doesn't mean I'm trying to book up every hour of the day. Okay, I understand that, like, you might think you have energy and time to do like, ding, ding d d ding and like, do all these things, but that's never the case. That's never the case. I've learned that through trip planning. Like, usually you wake up unless you're doing an excursion or something. I find on most trips you're not like, trying to get out the door fast. And I, I prefer saving most of my energy for the afternoon slash evening. So I prefer saving most of my energy from like 4 to 10pm that's when I feel like most of the stuff that you're doing and enjoying will be happening. And then you can save the morning for like, exploring, grabbing a brunch or a lunch. And for budget reasons, like, I'm usually only planning like, that we will eat lunch or brunch and dinner. There's notnna be a ton for breakfast. Maybe there's an all, like an included breakfast at the hotel you're staying at. Or maybe you can just buy like some granola bars from the store. But generally I'm not going out of my way to pay for breakfast. I'm only going to be paying for like lunch and dinners. So that saves you, I guess, like a third meal each day of, like, budget wise. And like, usually if you're eating a big enough meal at both meals, like, you don't really need a third meal, if that makes sense. So I'm, I'm usually prioritizing like sleeping in a little bit, getting up, going to brunch, lunch, and then doing some sort of activity and then going to dinner. So if you haven't used Wander Log, I, like, I really enjoy it. I suggest it. but if it feels like a little bit too much at first because it's like, you'll see if you log on to Wander Log, it's like, it's really nice. It's great for group trips as well. If you wa want toa, like, share the itinerary with everyone and also split costs cost, it's a great way to do that so that everyone can be like, on the same page. Like, okay, here's where we're like, here's the days of the trip, here's the accommodation, here's the flight details, and then here's like, the general itinerary of, like, where we're going. And then it shows you on a map, like, the routes that you need to go to get to each, you know, activity. but if it feels like too much to do Wander Log, because it is, like, kind of intense sometimes I'll literally just write like, notes and an Apple note on my phone or my laptop or, like, do a Google sheet. Some people prefer, like, a Google sheet or an Excel sheet to just, like, write down activities, maybe especially for budgeting reasons. If you're splitting costs with friends, it's nice to do a Google sheet so that you can just say, like, okay, we for sure are paying for the flight. We're for sure paying for the hotel. We're for sure paying for this, this many dinners and this many activities. Let's put it all into a sheet. And like, at least you can get an idea of the cost. So sometimes that's helpful if you're doing a group trip. And then as far as, like, booking your flight, I always book a window seat for me. Like, I'm, I'm okay with paying for the seat because I'm not leaving that up to chance. No, I already hate being on the air, on the airplane. I hate going to the airport. I will do it because it's necessary to go on your trip, but I can't stand it. So at least to make it, like, a little bit less annoying, I will book myself a window seat so that I can at least guarantee that I will have the seat that I want. And then I can lean against the wall and just be like, as far away from people as possible and just be in my own little, like, cocoon in the corner and just be like, okay, wake me up when we get there. I don't want to like, hear anyone or smell anyone or like, I don't know, I don't, I just don't want to be here. So then I just like try to dissociate in the corner by the window until we arrive. And then I'm like, okay, are we there yet? Like, just get me off of this stupid thing. And then like I said, I will create an itinerary by identifying like, maybe like the top three activities that I want to do in the city while I'm there. Do I have enough time for all of them, depending on the length of my trip? Do I need to spread them out? Do I need to book additional travel, like rent a car or like book a tour guide or something? and then usually once I've picked the main attractions, I will try to like sprinkle in second tier options. So like, maybe like your second picks, you have like your top picks and then your second picks and then maybe like even third picks and then you kind of like sprinkle them in with each other depending on like the area of the city that they're in, how much energy you'll have during the day, or like, if it takes a lot of effort to do one specific activity, maybe that's just like the only activity you do for the day. It's usually fine. And then usually I'm separating the days of what we do by like an area of the city so that you're not like running around all the time. And you'll be like, okay, this day we're going to just do stuff that's in this area and then the next day we'll just do stuff that's in this area. And then at least you're kind of like reducing, like the running across all over the city. It's a bit hectic and you can just like do like little areas, you know, each day. That's typically how I spread it out. And I won't plan out every hour of the day, like I said. Because I don't want to overbook myself and be even more stressed than I usually already am on vacation. Like, the stressful part for me is like crowds and like the hotel and feeling dirty all the time. Like, I just, I will never feel like super clean and 100% relaxed on vacation. I just won't. That's just a me thing. Like, it's just not for me. So to reduce stress, I try to like already have the itinerary. The rough, itinerary in mind so that we at least know what we're doinguse. I hate searching on the spot and being like, oh, we're wasting time. We don't know what to do. No one's agreeing on plans. we don't know where to go, we don't know how to get there. That is so stressful and so annoying. So I'm like, no, no, no. Like, let's at least have an idea in mind of like, what we're gonna do. We can still, you know, change plans on the fly, but like, let's have like a general idea of what we're doing. Of course plans can change, but let's have like some, you know, first choice and then if we have to do a plan B, maybe a second choice of some ideas. But then we're not just like wandering around like chickens with their heads cut off and we don't know what the heck we're doing. I usually, like I said two restaurants per day and then one main activity for the day. So whatever I Else. Dec. Whatever else, you know, I decide or we decide. If I'm on a group trip, like, it can be decided on the fly, depending on like energy levels, moods, weather. All of that is depending. So I like to just have like lunch activity, dinner, maybe like a bar. Lunch activity, dinner, bar. Lunch activity, dinner, bar. And that's usually what I do for each day of the trip. Unless there's something like, oddly specific that we want to do that kind of changes that itinerary. So like, for example, my parents did a fishing trip one day. They had to leave super early in the morning, and then they got back by like two, and then they were tired so they took a N and then we got dinner later. So like, obviously that could change by the type of activity you're doing, but the general flow is like, lunch activity, dinner, bar. Okay, so now let's move on to the itinerary that I put together from my parents trip to Barcelona. So they were here from Wednesday, April 9th to Thursday, April 17th. Like they arrived on the 9th and then they flew out really early on the 18th. But like their last full day was the 17th. So let's get into it. Wednesday, April 9th, they arrived around 11am off the plane and then to the hotel. And I didn't know if they would get an early check in or not. So I was like, well, maybe we just have to wander around for a few hours until they can check in. But at the very least they can drop off their luggage at the hotel. But thankfully when they arrived they were allowed to do early check ins. So we just like checked into their room. I, you know, made sure it was clean and then we, you know, left their luggage and then we went to go get some food because after like a 14 hour travel day they were obviously very tired and hungry so we went to go get food quick and then they just like went back to their hotel. I knew it was going to be a very lazy day that day because after a 14 hour travel day, which is more than that really because 14 hours is just like when the flight takes off to when the flight lands in Barcelona. But it also had a layover in Amsterdam. But like getting to the airport, getting out of the airport, going through customs, like whatever, all that stuff is just very draining. And it was probably like really 17 or 18 hours in total. So it's just very exhausting. I'm very familiar with that flight path so you know, I get it. So I was likekay, we just got a light launch, then they took a nap, they refreshed, got ready and then I pre planned dinner reservations for the first few nights because you need to book out like a week in advance for some of the nicer restaurants in Bar/celona and especially if you have a group that's like larger than two and we were three. So I was like yeah, I'm not gonna leave this up to chance, like let me just book really far in advance. So yeah, I think I booked everything like seven, eight days in advance for the first like four nights. and then I kind of left the rest of it up to their decision. So I booked like Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and then I did like a lunch on Sunday and I booked the first. So like let's just say the first five days I booked everything and then they had Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday of the next week totally free. I didn't book anything, we didn't have any plans. I was like let's just see how the first half of the trip goes, see what they're feeling and then we can decide what we want to do for the rest of the trip. Because during like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, I would say you don't normally need to book so far in advance for those days because it's not like super desirable days of the week to go out to eats like as it compared to like Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, like those are going toa be more popular. So. So the first half of the trip was going toa be those days. And I was like I know we're gonna just not want to like be figuring out where to eat. They're justnna want to like experience the city. It was my dad's first time, my mom's second time, and so they kind of just let me pick everything. And yeah, they really had no input. I kept asking them like, where do you want to go? Or do you have any restaurants that you saw you want to go to? Do you have any siteights that you really want to see? And they were just kind of like, no, you can pick. I'm like, what? Okay, so, yeah, I pre planned dinner reservations for the first few nights. Lunch is easy. Like you don't normally need a reservation for lunch, but like dinner for sure you do. so the first night we went to tragalus. It's like one of my favorite restaurants. I love the tragalus group of restaurants, so highly recommend those. U it was a nice way to start the trip. Like, you know, yeah, so not a big deal. We went to Charaloo Thursday. We knew we wanted to do the hop on, hop off bus at some point. And I figured, like, I was just thinking, like, for energy levels and excitement, it is kind of a long trip to be here for like basically 10 days. Or they were here for like nine, nine days. So it's kind of a long trip. Especially if you're packing it with activities like every day it gets kind of exhausting. So I was like, let's just like front load the trip with all the like mega touristy stuff. And then that's why I left the second half of the trip kind of open. Because if they were like a bit tired of like being active every day, we could just have like super chill days for the remainder of the trip. But I was like, while the excitement is high, they're in Europe again. Like, let's just front load the trip with all the touristy stuff. And then as they see the city, they can decide like, oh, do we want to do more of this? Do we want to do less of that? So that was my point of view. It'like okay for the first like three or four days, I'm just going to have like, this is what we're doing. This is the itinerary for each day. And then I'll let my parents decide based off of the experience of the first four days. Like how they wanna create the rest of their trip. It's like a do it yourself. Like they can pick the rest. So we did the hop on hop off bus pretty early on Thursday morningus. We wanted to like have plenty of time to stop, get off the bus and look at stuff if we wanted to. Because on Thursday night I booked the Sagradaph

familia around like 6:

30 because I wanted to time it like perfectly with the sunset because

I've normally gone in the morning at like 9:

30, like the very first ticket. Which they're both good for different reasons. Like the first ticket in the morning is good if you want like minimal crowds. It will still be busy obviously, but I would say it's like the least busy time of day to go like right away in the morning. And so that's what I've done in the past and it's been more enjoyable, I'm not gonna lie, to go in the morning because you just have like less people that are annoying you and being around you and getting in the way of your photos and like, I don't know, I don't like crowds and they like really annoy me and I'm like trying to hold it together. It's like I'm holding it together like this, you know, so I'm like, okay. So normally I've gone in the morning. If you're really not into crowds like I am, I recommend the morning ticket. However, however I wanted to try a sunset visit this time because they always say like if you can go at sunset, there's so many huge beautiful stained glass windows at the Saada Familia that if you can time it to when the sun is like setting and coming through the windows, it's stunning. So I have to say I did time it perfectly for this time of year. It's notn toa be

6:

30 for the whole year. I literally pulled up like a map of the projection of the sun on the specific day that I was planning to go, which was April 10th. I pulled up like the Astral like the, or whatever, like a literal like Google Earth map of the trajection of the sun and that at a certain angle it would be to hit the sagradaphilia. ###Use it has like a, you can pick like oh, where would the angle of the sun be at this time of day on this day? So I did that and I was kind of playing around with the times and like the angle of the windows in the Saroo Familia. And I was like okay, I think

if we go at 6:

30 it will be like just perfect. And I was right. I was right. So we got like some amazing photos of the orange side of the church with the Stained glass windows, and it was really, really beautiful. So I was glad that we did that. However, the crowds.

The crowds at 6:

30 were diabolical. Like, I had to sit in a pew near the front because, like, there s. Tends to be less people near the pews in the front because there's ropes blocking it off. So you have to, like, walk down the back and then all the way up the front. So I was like, just get me away from people. I was like, mom, dad, I've taken my photos in here before. I've done it. I'm just gonna go sit and, like, try not to explode. And I was like, you guys just enjoy. I just need 10 minutes. So I was just sitting on a pew, being like, there's so many people here. There's so many people here. so the photos were worth it. It was very cool, but the crowds were kind of ruining it for me. Not gonna lie. Worth it for the photo. Not worth it. If you really want to, like, enjoy the audio guide and, like, really soak up every minute of it. Like, if you really want to soak up the audio guide and, like, really learn about it while you're there, go in the morning. But if you just want, like, some sick photos, go in the around sunset. We also paid for the Towers tour. I think we did the Passion Tower. The Passion Tower. We did the Passion Towers. Very cool. Very cool. I'm a little scared of heights. So when you initially get off the elevator that takes you to the top, I was like, okay. but as you walk down, it doesn't get as scary anymore. But, like, at the very top, I was like, whoa. All right, I'm gonna, like, throw up. This is crazy. but I would say the tower visit is definitely worth it. So that was the first time I did the Towers. And yeah, I would definitely recommend doing the Towers if you're there. but, yeah, so sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. We did the hop on, hop off bus we took. We took the route that, like, goes to Mont Week, and then it goes along the coast, and then it goes up to Dianal Mar, and then it circles back towards the Sagrada Familia and then back towards, Plaza Catalunia. So we got off and kind of, like, impromptu, decided to actually pay for entrances into Muso Nace Art Catalun. I really like that museum. I think it's worth it. So it has, like, a Roman Gothic, like, really cool art. And then you can also. There's like, a room on the second floor that shows you all the coins in like the Barcelona area from like zero, from like year zero. It's crazy. Like the coins have always been similar, but you can see that they were literally just using like little pounded little pebbles of like copper and silver and like nickel and stuff all the way up until now when they have like the traditional euro and everything. But that room is super cooluse I love. And it's also not very busy. Like I don't think people typically go in that room. But it's very cool, like to just see all the phases of all the money, all the different reigns, all the kings, all the different colonies that were in Barcelona around the time and like constantly putting another king's face on the coin. Like, no, I want to be on the coin. No, I want to be on the coin. Kind of cool though. So we went to Museoacional de Art Catalun. We ate at Terrsa Mna or something, whatever. but it's like one of the restaurants on Manjuee that looks over the beach. That was cool food. Not very good, but the view is worth it. And then we just stayed on the top of the bus for the rest of the route because we didn't want to lose our spots on the top. And that was it for the bus. And then we just took a little break, went to the Sottaph Familia, ate dinner at this spot that was. I purposely chose it in advance because I don't normally eat at like the more touristy spots, especially near the Segrado Familia. However, there was a newer one that had some gluten free options. So I was like, hey, okay, I'll take a chance on this one because they're on like the avenue that goes like northwest from the Saggrad Familia. And so you can sit on the middle of the avenue in the terrace, like on the outdoor seating and have a stunning view of thisgrataph Familia while you're eating. And I was like, okay, I feel like that's worth it. At least while my parents are here, I'm probably never goingna do it again because it' 'a little bit too touristy. so the view was really cool. Yoli joined us for dinner that night and my parents, we obviously sat them so that they were the ones facing the Saadaph Familia. So the view was super cool for eating dinner, like really cool. However, the food was super. It was the most expensive dinner that we ate. Really expensive. Food was not that good. Service was not that good. So that's just what you get with a touristy restaurant. Like, service food. Not that good. The view was worth it, I think. But would I go back? Fuck no. Fuck no. I'm never going back. so anyways, that was our day on Thursday. And then on Friday we went to Fisque Bar for lunch because, like, Thursday was a pretty big day. So Friday I didn't have much planned, but Yoli recommended that we try Fisabbar. And it's over a marina. My dad is really big into, like, sailboats and boating and the. The water. So I was like, okay, that will be a nice, like, kind of bougie little lunch moment. And my dad and my mom both eat fish. I don't really eat fish. So I got the roast beef and the patatas bravas, and they were very good. And so I highly recommend Fisar if you haven't been there. And then we just walked around Barcelontta because they hadn't seen the beach yet, except for from the top of the bus. So we just walked around the beach, kind of let them check out the area. And then we just went to, Elones for dinner because I, again, I didn't even realize that Fiscaarra was part of the Tragalus group. Like, we unintentionally just did, like, a Trogalus group tour the whole week of all the restaurants. I didn't even notice. But I love El Haones, and I know my parents also love sushi, so it was an easy choice to go to El haones for dinner. And we had such an amazing dinner on Friday night. Like, the food was amazing, the service was amazing, and we were just blown away. And then we also got dessert, which we don't, you know, normally do at every dinner, but we decided to get dessert, and we were just, like, blown away. Like, especially when the service at most restaurants here is not that good, to be completely honest. So we were just, like, blown away. The food was amazing. The service was amazing. The experience was amazing. I got the taro ice cream, and it tastes like cotton candy. It's so good. So we were just very thoroughly impressed. They were feeling very happy. And that was really. It was like a pretty chill day on Fridayus because again, we had a pretty busy day on Thursday. So then Saturday I kind of go, like, Wednesday chill, Thursday busy, Friday chill, Saturday busy, and kind of like, try to spread it out a little bit. So then Saturday, I decided was gonna be like our gothic quarter day. But then while we were on the bus, my mom and dad were like, wait, we want to see the Arc de Triompph. And I was like, okay. In my mind, as I'm living here, I'm like, boring. But they wanted to see it. So I was like, okay, why don't we just walk to the Arct de Trmp first? You can see it. We can walk through Park Toa, if you have to. So they want. I was like, okay, I don't really want to do it. But they're only here for a week. They. They can see whatever they want. So I was like, okay, let's just walk to Arctur trioiumph. Walk to Park Twoea. And then we're already down there. So then we can just walk through Bourne Gothic Quarter. They can see the whole Old Town area, and we'll just kind of like, meander around and see where the world takes us. I don't know. Cause I just knew we didn't get a super early start on Saturday because I knew that we were going toa stay out for our dinner reservations at Gourmet Sensei. So that is in, like, Gothic Quarter, kind of towards the water a little bit. So I was like, if we're staying out all day, it's going toa be a lot of walking. It's going to be a long day, so there's no reason to rush in the morning and, like, get out the door really fast. So we didn't even really do an official lunch or anything. We were just like, oh, we're not super hungry. Like, let's just see if we need to grab a snack along the way. We can just stop into, like, a restaurant quick and get like, a tapa or something. so that's what we did. And then we walked into Born, and we were on, like, Passig del Bournn. And then we walked towards Gothic Quarter, and there was a church there. And my dad grew up Catholic and my mom grew up Lutheran. But they were both, like, in that generation, like, church was, like, nailed into them a little. Nailed. Literally. They were both, like, drilled into them a little bit more than they did for me. Like, church just wasn't really a thing for me that much growing up. So my dad was like, oh, this is a cool church. And I was like, oh, yeah, I guess I walk by it all the time, but I've never had an interest in going insideus. Like, I don't really care. But it was Basilica. The Santa Maria del Mar or Basilica Santa Maria del Mar, right next to all the bars on Pass Deborn and my dad was like, oh, it's only, like, €5 to go in and€10 to go on the rooftop. And I was like, hey, this is your trip, so if you really feel passionate about going in there, let's go in. So we all paid, like, it was, like, €10 each to go in and then also have access to the rooftop. And honestly, really cool. Really cool. I think most people pass it up because they're just like, e. It's just another church. And the big. The big, you know, sights to see is Sgrataph Familia. So I think most people are not seeking out other churches as much, and especially not Santa Maria del Mar. Like, I don't think many people, even realize that you can go inside. Like, I think it gets passed up quite a lot. So, yeah, it was a Saturday afternoon, and there was, like, like, five people in there in the whole church. And it was built in, like, the 1400s. Like, so I actually really enjoyed it. I was like, wait, I'm loving that we just randomly decided to come in here. It's really cool. There was barely anyone in there, so we really got to, like, enjoy it and soak it in and, like, just look around and take our time, and we didn't feel rushed. And then when we went to the rooftop, there was, like, no one else up there, so it was really cool. We got, like, a private view of Barcelona from the rooftop with no one else. So that was really cool. And then we just continued walking over to Gothic Quarter because I wanted to show them the Barcelona cathedral. And then once we got to the cathedral, my dad was like, ee, we already saw the other church. Like, you know, we don't need to go into this one too. So I was like, okay. Thank Godus. I wasn't sure if they were gonna want him to go into both. And I was like, this is gonna be a long day of just staring at churches, because I don't really care that much. but, yeah, we saw the Barcelona cathedral from the outside. We saw Pont del Bisay, and then we just slowly made our way towards Gourmet Sensei, and we stopped at Laurel Cocktails for a drink. And I forgot. I think the owner there is from Wisconsin. So we were all kind of, like, having conversations with her and the other bartenders. And then we went to Gourmet Sensei for dinner. And it's a place that I've had on my bucket list for a while. I've been wanting to go there for a while. It's very good. Like, the Food was very good. The only annoying thing is it's very in demand. Like, you have to book, like, at least 10 days in advance if you want to get a spot. And it is so small. Like, I don't think they have many tables that are really built for more than two people. So I remember when I booked, they only had one table left, and they were like, well, it's technically a table for two, but, like, we could probably make it work for three people. And I was like, okay, I'll take it. Sure. And so we get there, and it literally was a table that only fits two people, but they just kind of turned us diagonally, so we were, like, really packed in to these other chairs. Like, we were like. Someone was, like, right here behind me eating. Someone was right here eating here. It was, like, a little too close for comfort. And they turned our table diagonal and just put us, like, 1, 2, 3. And all our knees were, like, touching in the middle. It felt like we were at, like, a little TV dinner table. And I was like, okay, well, the, comfort and the ambiance is not really what I would expect from, like, a restaurant of this caliber. It feels like they were supposed to have one row of tables, and that was probably how it was originally. And they were probably like, hey, what if we put in another row of tables and get twice the money and barely be able to fit between any of the tables and walk around because there's so many tables and chair. So really annoying because it's so packed with people like that. Even the waiters and waitresses probably get annoyed because there's barely enough room for them to, like, walk along the kitchen and, like, serve people. Like, it's a bit insane, Honestly. I think it was really cool to go to once, because the tapas, I'm not gonna lie, they were really good. So that kind of makes up for the annoying, like, spacing issue. But I guess there's also Sensei Tapas or, no, sorry, we went to Gourmet Sensei, and then there's Sensei Tapas. They're, like, a block away from each other. Sensei Tapas has a little bit more room in their restaurant. So if I were to go again, I would probably book Sensei Tapas, because the restaurant is not quite as packed. It is still a small restaurant, though. Like, the space physically is small, but they didn't try to pack in as many tables at Sensei Tapas as compared to Gourmet Sensei, for example. So, But it was really cool. So, yeah, On Saturday, we just kind of had, like, a Gothic Quarter exploring day. And then we, I don't know, went to Sensei and then went home. And then on Sunday, I booked us a lunch at El Tribut and we went for lunch, like, a late lunch. My friend Marley joined us, and it was beautiful. I've been wanting to go there because they had closed, Port Olympic ever since I moved here. And I was like, dang it, what the heck? Why did they close it? Because they were completely renovating it. And they made, like, four brand new, very fancy restaurants that are clearly to cater to, like, the yacht crowd because it's in a marina. But I wanted to go because the restaurant is stunning and it is, like, I would highly recommend going just for a photo inside the restaurant because, like, it's gorgeous. It is. It's really beautiful. But the service was so bad. The service was so bad. And it's like, okay, if you're trying to be, like, a yacht club level restaurant, what are you doing? What are you doing? I'm not even expecting, like, Michelin star service guys. I'm just expecting, like, the same level that I would get at, like, Perkins or Applebee's, and they couldn't even do that. It was like. It was bad. Like, I don't know. Quite frankly, if I was the owner, I would be very embarrassed. Just, like, we had, like, it wasn't that busy, first of all, because it was a late lunch on Sunday, and then the first waiter that came to take our order was not even paying attention. He acted like he didn't want to be there. He acted like I was annoyed that I was asking questions because they didn't have, like, clearly labeled what was gluten free and what wasn't on the menu. So I was just, like, verifying to make sure certain items were gluten free and, like, figuring out what we wanted to order and asking questions about the wine. And he's, like, looking around, like, not even paying attention, like, oh, yeah, okay. Yeah. I'm like, okay, I'm just going to get up and leave then. I'm just gonna get up and leave because what in the fuck? What in the fuck? Like, they acted like they didn't even want us to be there. I was like, okay, not off to a great start. Not off to a great start. Then he, like, wasn't our waiter for the rest of the time. I don't really know. So then another girl comes over and she starts, like, you know, bringing our food and, you know, checking in and so then they didn't check if we needed, like, salt, how the food was. They, you know, did pour our wine. But then they were like, okay, like, just let us know when you need a refill. We'll come over and refill it. And they never came to check again if we needed a refill, if we needed to order anything else. finally they came around and my dad was like, oh, yeah, I'll have another beer. And so then another girl brings the beer, but there's like two, you know, two. Two person tables put together. And so there's a crack. And they were, uneven in the middle. So, like, one table was a bit higher than the other. And even though there's a tablecloth over them, like, you can clearly see the crack. And I don't know why she kept trying to serve from, like, the farthest side of the table. She could have just come between me and Marley, for example, and set it down. But she kept trying to serve from, like, the farthest corner from my dad. And I was like, girl, just, you can serve it between our, like, or around the other side of Mart. Like, I don't know. I don't know why she kept choosing to serve from one corner of the table. I was like, maybe that's a rule they have. But, like, if you're going toa spill drinks, then maybe don't. I don't know. Like, I totally get. Accidents happen. I'm not blaming her for this at all, but just like, I don't know if she didn't see the crack, but she sat down like a whole full glass of beer on the crack and it fell and started spilling. And thankfully my dad has quick reflexes and he grabbed it before the whole thing spilled. But, like, it got our whole tablecloth wet and almost spilled on Marley. And thankfully it just got to the edge of the tablecloth and didn't fully spill. So then I used my napkin to start soaking it up because I was like, oh, my God, like, we don't want it to, like, fall through the tablecloth and get everywhere and whatever. And so then she's like, oh, so sorry. Like, I get it. Accidents happens. Truly, that is not what bothered me. It was like the general service in general. But then she's like, oh, I'll bring you another beer. I'm so sorry. Totally fine. Brings the second beer, goes to the same corner of the table that's hardest to reach where my dad is, does the same thing again. We were like, oh, like, we're all watching her put it down right? Like, don't do it again. Don't do it again. She puts it right on the same spot and it spill. It starts to spill again. But my dad was waiting for it to happen. So then he grabs it right away as it's about to spill and she's like, oh, I'm so sorry. And we're like, girl, what? Fuck. Like, maybe she was just having an off day. It's fine. Like it was not her fault. Like, whatever. She's maybe having an off day. But the first guy was rude. They weren't very attentive. They never came back to check if we needed to pour wine again. So I was just doing it for us because they were so far away in the corner that like, even if we were trying to flag their attention, they weren't looking at us. So I was like, seriously, like, okay, I'm just gonna pour the wine then. Cause I'm not waiting for you to come all the way over here. Whatever. I'll just pour the wine and then, yeah, just. Just not good service. Genuinely just not good service. Like I've had a way better service at Applebe's and Perkins and Buffalo Wild Wings. Like it's just like, what are we doing? What are we doing? So that wasn't really the best experience, but the restaurant was beautiful. So maybe we just had an off day. Maybe they were newbies and they weren't. They've never worked at a restaurant before. But to be honest, I've never done. I've never been a waiter or a waitress before. I've been a barista. But like I've eaten out at enough restaurants that I know what like basic restaurant etiquette is from a server and this. Especially if you're not busy. It's like there's four of you hanging out in the corner gossping and you're not even like, you know, like, what are we doing? Anyways, so then, what did we do? So that was Sunday and we just did the lunch and then I knew my parents were gonna have an early morning on Monday, so we just kind of like ate at the big, like a big meal at lunch and that was like our day. And then they went to bed early and because I knew on Monday morning they were go goingna have to leave super early in the morning for their fishing trip, which my dad did not really research very well. And I was assuming they would be taking off from like Port Olympic or something. And then he's like, hey, where is this address? And I'm like, Mataro. Dad, where are you? What the. I was like, where are you going? And he's like, oh, I guess it's in Mataro. I was like, that's like 40 minutes away by car. Like, what? So they paid a lot of money in taxis because they weren't comfortable taking the train because they've never taken it before and they didn't have me to go with them and they also didn't really want to sit on the train, to be completely honest. So they just booked a taxi on the way there and then they paid for a taxi on the way back. And I think they paid like €200 in taxi fees for that fishing trip. So. Yeah, and it also wasn't ideal fishing time, but my dad was like, well, I'm on the Mediterranean, like the one thing I have to do is a fishing trip. And I was like, hey, that's all you. I'm not going toa go because I can't stand fishing and just sitting in the middle of the ocean for nothing. But like, if that's something you want to do, live your truth, book it, you research it, that's your thing, do it. So him and my mom went together and they still had fun even though it wasn't like peak fishing time. So they saw like an octopus and they caught like a few mackerel and stuff and they brought it back to the marina in Mataro where they were and like had a lunch and they cooked up their fish for them and they hung out with like all the people at the marina. Like the. There wasn't a ton of tourists there because it's like in mataro, it's like 30 minutes north of Barcelona. But they were hanging out with like all the people that work there and then they took their car back and. But then I just had a day working from home because I needed to catch up on work because we're also preparing for performance reviews. So I had to do that. And then my mom and I just went on like a walk to a gluten free bakery and then we went to a gluten free pizza st place because they were both pretty tired and wiped out from the fishing trip. So we didn't want to like have to book another place for dinner. So we just got takeout and then we ate at my apartment. That was actually really nice because yeah, I think we were a bit wiped out from like the previous like four days straight of activities. and then Tuesday, like we really just didn't have any plans. I kept asking them what they wanted to do. And they were just like, oh, like we're up for whatever. I'm like, okay, we have to have some idea in mind or we're just going to be sitting around. And then you guys are going, to be annoyed that you're wasting your trip. So I had to make more executive decisions. But I was likekay, Tuesday morning, let's go on a hike. It looks like the weather will be nice. So I took them up to Car Terra del la Aguas and you just take the FGC metro to the funicular and then you take the funicular up to the first stop and then you get off and it's like a completely flat trail and it is stunning. And we just walked all the way to, I don't know, there's like this one point in the trail that I always get off at and then I just walk down through the city all the way back to my house. So, we just did that. We went on a little hike and then we just meandered and took our time just like seeing the neighborhoods like Saria Ah and San Gervasi. And we stopped at this bakery called the Sana Locura, which is gluten free. And it was so good. They had bagels. U so I bought bagels to bring home. And then we just got like some drinks and some like my d. My mom and daddy each got like an empanata and like a little sandwich and we just brought our little baggie full of food to a park nearby and just sat on the bench and ate lunch in the park that was totally unplanned. Like, that's what I love is when you're just kind of like, hey, like what are we feeling? Are we feeling hungry? And then we're just like, yeah, let's just. They don't have any tables here, so let's just go to the park. So that was cute. And then we went to El Haane for dinner again because we were craving, first of all, craving good service and good food. So we had a great time at Elones again. And then on Wednesday we filmed a podcast episode together because they were thinking it might be nice since they also never tell me about their life. Like, I learned so much information from us talking on Wednesday that I was like, see, you guys just never tell me this stuff about your life growing up. Like I don't know anything about it. So it was nice. I kind of like interviewed them. I'm notnna post it. Cause it's like personal and private, but I was just basically interviewing them about their lives and, like, then their opinions about Barcelona and stuff. And it was kind of like also like a milestone because I'm turning 30. So it was like, how do you feel about now? You're like, for them, they've also been parents for almost 30 years. So I was like, how do you feel about now? You've been parents for almost 30 years. Like, that's kind of a crazy thing to think about as well. So we just talked about that and recorded it. And then we went to, like, again, we didn't really have any plans for the afternoon. So I was like, well, you guys haven't really seen Gracia yet, so, like, maybe let's just go wander around and see where the day takes us. And I've always wanted to eat at Tabernna del Cura or Bota Fo, but Bota Uido, I didn't realize was like €100 per person to eat. And I was like, okay, maybe not, maybe not. But Taberna del Cura is right next door. And it's also in, like, a very historical building. But we were going to eat at a very awkward time, so we were legit, like, the only people in there. And I wish the food was better. I wish, like, the food wasn't bad, but something my dad was saying, because my dad is like the grill master. But we ordered grilled vegetables and a tortilla and some like, jmon and cheese plate. And that was actually like a really good tapas'meal for us. Like, that. We were just eating, like, grilled vegetables, a tortilla and jmon and cheese. And the grilled vegetables would have been so good because they were cooked to like, a really good point. But they tasted like straight up propane. And my dad was like, they did not scrape off enough of the char and they must have not cooked off enough of the propane before they put the vegetables on. So it was like too chary and too propane. Like, it legit tasted like I was eating a bite of propane with every bite. And I was like, we were all, like, trying to enjoy it. The tortilla was really good. The humon and cheese was good, but the grilled vegetables were like, oh, they just tasted like straight up gasoline. Like, it was not. It was not very good. so just from that experience alone, unfortunately, I don't think I'll be back because, like, I can't get the propane taste out of my mind. And that kind of ruined it for me. But then we decided to just walk around Gracia and like, I decided to show them some of the plazas. And then we sat down in a random plaza for a drink. The drinks weren't very good eitheruse. to be honest, we were at like a beer and wine sort of drink spot. And then my mom and I were like, we want margaritas. And they like didn't know how to make margaritas. It was really bad. I mean, they had it on the menu. They should know how to make it. But when they brought us the margaritas, me and my mom looked at each other and we were like, what the fuck is this? This is not a margarita. That was a bit disappointing. But the plaza was cute and the, the area was nice. So we just kind of enjoyed sitting outside, and just seeing the locals hang out in the plaza. And then we walked to Anita gelato. And my parents were obs obsessed. I mean, anito gelato is really good. But they were like, this is so good. This ice cream is so good. Or gelato. Sorry. But it was really good. Definitely recommend going there. And then. Yeah, we just had a chill night because we kind of ate early. Like again, we ate at a bit of a weird time. So we got our gelato and we just kind of like went and hung. Hung out before we went to bed. And then Thursday was the last day, so we went to brunch and cake for like a lunch brunch. Cause we hadn't really done a proper brunch yet. And I was like, maybe let's try a brunch spot. Cause Barcelona does have some pretty good brunch spots. So brunch and cake is always a good one for me. It's very reliable. I know I can get a good meal there, so. And it's also gluten free. Like I always get like the black corn waffles and they're really good. So I got like the, Me and my mom both got like the avocado bennies. I think that's what it's called. It's like eggs Benedict with avocado and a black, corn waffle. And that was really good. And then we just went to Barcelona and then we just took the bus. I got them on the bus, guys. I was like, you can't be here and not take the bus. I think we did the metro one day. First grad familia, and then we did the bus. And on Thursday, the last day they were here. And I was like, you don't understand. It's just so Much walking. Like, if we want to really enjoy our day, like, let's limit the walking a little bit and not walk all the way to Barcelonta from my house. Like, let's just take the bus halfway there and then we can like, walk the rest of the way. And at least it cuts out, like, you know, a good 40 minutes of walking. So that's what we did. I took them on the bus and they were like, oh, the bus. Like, I don't know, like, should we do the bus? I was like, guys, I know. I remember the feeling. I felt the same way when I first came here. But, like, now I am a bus queen. I love the bus. So, yeah, I got them on the bus. That was fun to, like, see their reactions because they've never really been on public transportation like a bus before. It's kind of crazy, but like a city bus, obviously. They've been on like, coach buses and whatever, but it's different. It's different. Okay, then we just went to Barcelonta. the weather was great. We did some bar hopping along, like, the cheating gitos and stuff. And then we went to like, Gallito underneath the W. And we were waiting for 6pm because my dad really wanted to go up to Knox at the W. But we weren't like, we didn't really plan ahead properly. And if we did, I would have just made a dinner reservation. Because you can't reserve for just a drink at Knox. It's like the tall bar that's at the top of the W that has like a crazy good view of the city. So I guess you can only reserve if you're doing a dinner reservation. And I was like, I should have just done dinner. And we could just get like a tapa or something and it wouldn't really matter. But you can't reserve if you just want drinks. So I was like, okay, but if maybe if we go like right at 6o on a Thursday, like, maybe it won't be so bad. But then I saw a line outside of the front of the W Hotel. And I was like, nah, that can't be for Knox. And I asked the doorman like, hey, like, can we go up to Knox? And he's like, well, you can, but there's the line. And I'm like, what? And it was already like 30 people in line. And I'm like, bro, I don't care that much. And I was like, how long do you think the weight is? And he's like, probably 45 minutes to an hour at least. And I'm like dude, what? Fuck no, I'm not doing that. So then I was like okay guys, realistically I don't think we care that much so let's just skip. And then I was like wait, there's that Azul rooftop that I always walk by when I come to the W. And I like walk by it when I'm going to the bus stop. And I was like heay, maybe let's try that. Like let's just see if it's any good. And honestly, really liked it. The drinks were really good. The view is amazing. They have all like plexiglass like window covers because it was super windy that day. So we still got to be on the rooftop but like completely covered from the wind. So actually it was like amazing. I really enjoyed Azul Rooftop. I'll definitely be going back. Yeah, then we just went to like this random pizza restaurant for dinner because my dad was really craving like not gluten free pizza. So my mom actually they gave me or they had the option for gluten free pasta. So I got that and then my mom just got a salad. So pretty chill. Like we were just really going with the flow for the last day and yeah, so that was what we did. But you can see the general vibe that I planned. Like in the beginning I loaded it with more stuff. We had like a chill day, a busy day, a chill day, a busy day. And then the rest of the time we were just kind of like where is the wind taking us today? Like what do we want to do? And it worked out really well. And so I know this podcast has gone on long enough. I do just want to say now that the White Lotus is over, I'm watching the Last of Us season two and oh my God, I kind of know the video game because my sister has played it. I've never personally played it. Like I get a little bit too scared. Cause when I was living at home in 2022, like we have the Xbox at my parents house and so my sister was trying to get me to play the Last of Us and I, I played like a tiny bit of it. But honestly I, I do so terribly with like horror games where you have to like shoot things when you're scared because I, when they jump out of a hiding spot, I'm like oh, I can't aim. I can't aim. So I tried playing it and I have watched her play it so I know I pretty much knew the storyline of The Last of Us 1 and then the Last of Us 1 show came out. So then I already knew that. And then I kind of knew the last of us two from what my sister kind of told me. And I had watched her play a little bit of it, but, I forgot most of the plot points. So then now I'm watching season two on hbo, and I was like, oh, my God, I forgot that this happens. I had a totally different storyline in my head that I thought I was remembering correctly, and then I was actually super wrong. And now I remember kind of the general plot line, but because I think my sister already told me what happens, so I kind of know what happens. But, yeah, I was totally forgetting how the second last of us get started, and I was like, what? So, totally forgot about that, but super crazy. I don't want to spoil anything for you guys, though, so just tell me if you've watched it. We can, you know, enjoy and discuss in the comments. And then just for you guys to know, I might be talking about you on Netflix because I. I'm finally watching it. I've, like, avoided watching it for so long because, like, I'm already paranoid and distrustful of men as it is. So I didn't want to, like, put any fuel on the fire, so to say, by watching you. Because all I knew was that, like, Joe Goldberg is, like, kind of a creepy stalker. And I was like, oh, right. So I don't need to, like, fuel my fear of men being stalkers any more than I already am worried about it. But I talked about it with Yi, and she was like, okay, the first season is the only season that's, like, really creepy. And then it gets, like, really fun and crazy from there. And I was like, okay, fine, I will watch it. And I've already almost finished season one in one day. And it is. It is pretty good. Like, he's not, like, super scary. And it gives me. And I've never even fully watched Dexter, but I know what Dexter is, and it gives me, like, Dexter vibes where he's, like, not fully evil, but he's creepy. But also he's, like, very caring, and it's, like, very complex. Like, ultimately, he's a creepy freak, right? Like, ultimately, he's a creepy freak, but he's not so totally creepy. Like, he has, like, some good qualities. I don't know. It's kind of confusing, but it's complex. I don't know. Anyway, so I'm almost done with season one of you finally watching it. Cause I was like, oh, my God, they're already on the fifth season. And I've still never seen it. Maybe I should watch it just so I know what's going on. Yeah. And then I'm just glad that it's finally getting to be summer. It's May tomorrow. It's gonna be my birthday month. Oh, my God. I'm turning 30. So I'm just very excited. It's getting warm out. I'm finally able to go get 10. So, yeah, this. I feel like I had so much to talk about because I had so much to catch up on because the past few weeks I've been very busy with, obviously, my parents being here and just. I've just been extremely busy. So I'm hoping I can be a bit more on track now. I just really wanted to, like, dedicate time to the White Lotus, but, girl, I'm not a TV reviewer, so I'm not going to keep doing that in the future because, honestly, it takes a lot of extra effort. So, yeah, we're back to regularly scheduled programming. Thank you for watching and listening, and I will see you guys in the next episode. Bye.