Guest post by Namrata Puri

Ive been wanting to share my travel experiences and adventures with people for as long as I can remember and its been hard to take time out from running a business and being a freelance stylist. If fashion is my stimulation, travel is my inspiration and I would much rather be exploring the world. I hope you enjoy reading about my Spanish adventures.

It’s no surprise that Spain is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world! This year approximately 1.5 million people traveled to Barcelona itself, and from my first trip back in 2012 to now, it felt super crowded.

The first time I visited Spain, I chose Barcelona because it seemed so attractive, it wasn’t such a popular destination then and I always wanted to visit the city that I had heard great things about, its architecture, food, culture , shopping (it’s the home of high street brands mango, Stradivarius and zara amongst others). Ok ill be honest having grown up watching friends and joey speak of that mysterious story of mount Tibidabo while he was backpacking in western Europe in Barcelona was stuck somewhere in my head haha! I had to go check this out and so I did! Much to my dismay I never quite “used” the story ……umm sorry guys but if you were born sometime after 2000 this may make no sense and to those born before if it doesn’t you were probably living under a rock no offence ☺

I love Barcelona, after Melbourne it’s the only place in the world that I could consider living in, like every city it has its positives and negatives but as a first time traveler it will not disappoint!
There is sooo much to do. Believe me its taken me several trips just to tick of the touristy stuff! I made sure I saw every fascinating Guadi building and ate every cuisine possible and walk till my feet were bruised and swollen, the city enchanted me from the get go and I am sure it will when you visit too!

It has a little reputation of being a place where pretty crimes take place, but my advise after my many trips back to the city or to any city in Europe is to be smart i.e. don’t look like a tourist –although Barcelona is pretty chilled and people don’t always dress up as much as say I saw in Madrid or even in Palma de Mallorca (more on that later ☺ ) it’s a good idea not to be carrying around your camera hung on your neck, or say for example opening up a map in the middle of the street and looking lost – my advise …get acquainted or lose yourself –either is fine!

Talk to the locals ask around, some may guide you the wrong way but that’s ok because you may end up seeing something you didn’t have on your list in the first place !! or just step out of your hotel/hostel and start walking –soak in he city, listen to what makes it tick, jump from a bar to another or a restaurant , join in on the tapas madness! It’s a super friendly city and I find and found it extremely safe even for girls to travel by themselves.

Catalans as the people of Barcelona like to call themselves are extremely proud of their heritage, their city (country) and there has long been a “war” of sorts for its independence still ongoing! Its an interesting time for the country and Barcelona in particular, locals speak very passionately about their desire for it to be an independent state…but I am no political expert! Just remember they don’t really like being called Spanish, they’re Catalan! I know this because im a big big FC barca fan and if I need to cheer the Catalan way not the Spanish way ☺

I think the most striking feature of Barcelona is the architecture and it deserves a little mention, its quirky yet sophisticated and so different from any other European city.
In 2013, my sister and I decided to take a holiday together we narrowed down on Amsterdam , Barcelona , Costa brava and Madrid.
Second time around I was ready to play tour guide , Barcelona felt like one of those cities that you could live in, move here and start a whole new life.. Some cities have that effect on you 🙂 I was ready to be the over enthusiastic tour guide to my sister – on the list were the places I didn’t manage to see the last time around – first on the agenda was parc guell one of Antoni Gaudi’s most celebrated and vivacious pieces of architecture !

Looks like it’s straight out of a fairytale! It’s sad that when I went back in 2015 it has become a paid entry place to enter. So book your tickets online in advance.
Barcelona has really grown in popularity the past few years and I’ve been witness to it ! From a chilled out relaxed time in the peak of July to it being packed even in May.

Things you must to in Barcelona if you are a first time visitor:

Place Reial
This gorgeous square is bustling with café’s restaurants and bars surrounded by neo classical buildings. The lampposts around this area are designed by Gaudi and they ae truly mesmerizing amidst the many fountains and that light up with colour at night.

Montjuic and Placa Catalunya

I guess pictures speak louder than words in this case. In summer you can see the Magic fountain performance which is pretty fascinating for the first time, against the backdrop of the picturesque castle these gorgeous sprays of water filled with colour dance to the music. Its pretty ☺ if you walk upto the castles you can get some pretty amazing views of the city!
Always always look up when you’re in Barcelona ! youll find something magical.

Passeig de Gracia
This street of modernism contains some of the city’s most famous and interesting buildings from the modern era. Gaudi’s spectacular architecture continues to mesmerize you as you walk through this gorgeous street filled with high end luxury shops and some of the best restaurants the city has to offer. Casa Batllo and La Pedrera and Casa Lleo are some of the one you should stop and take some photos!

Parc Guell

Sagrada Familia

Barcelonetta Beach

Other Places you could visit are :

Bari Gotic
Nou Camp
Montana de Montserrat
Tibidabo
Las Ramblas

And if sight seeing and soaking in some culture isn’t your thing Barcelona is ONE BIG PARTY CITY! Clubs open up around 1 am (that’s pretty early as well) and stay open all night – why do u think siesta is almost religious here? And Sunday’s are Sunday’s. Shops are closed, almost all restaurants close early and you’ll only find the really touristy spots open and over charging you for everything!

Must eat at :
Flax and kale for the healthy ones 🙂
Although I truly believe one can order healthy no matter the restaurant unless of course it’s fast food- which personally I don’t eat at all!
Alzur’s cafe
– everything is amazing here and I have to give credit to a friend of mine whoae studying there to have introduced us to this place on my visit in 2015
Here’s a little sneak peek into what a typical brunch could possibly look like

Ikibana paralello – Japanese Brazilian fusion restaurant. That’s all I needed to here and believe me you won’t be disappointed. It’s slightly expensive but completely worth it.
Brunch and cake – this quickly became my most favourite place to go to , to reccomend and spend a few hours just soaking up the sun sipping on an array of drinks and eating some of the most exotic brunch

Bun bo restaurant- for my fix of Asian food I always run to this place – be it their top notch pho, noodle bowls ,shrimp wantons amongst lots more to choose from !

Onto Costa Brava !
In 2013 my sister and I went on road trip with a friend of mine from my uni in Australia. We decided to rent a car out of Girona and head up the coast each day and try and see as much of the coast and as many of the beaches as possible!

Costa Brava can both be fun yet not so exciting I feel! If you’ve traveled to say the south of France of Greece you may not think that much of it.. The beaches are small, they were crowded with children and families since it was peak holiday season and although the food and drinks were cheap there wasn’t much to do! In saying that, we enjoyed our adventure, stopping by at a new place, discovering new beaches and spending some time in the sun and the water was well worth it !

Tossa de Mar

We arrived in and spent the first night in Girona. Rented a car and visited a bunch of beaches along the coast .. We did the following
Tossa de mar
Aiguablava
S’agaro
L’estrait
Platja d’aro
Lloret de mar
Palafrugell

It’s a beautiful drive but different to one that you would probably experience in say France, since the terrain is more dry and the weather is warmer in summer. But the water is placid, cold and gorgeous for a swim!
S’agaro and aiguablava had particularly beautiful water and the beach at S’agaro was wide instead of a cove which I definitely prefer.
(Image aiguablava )
(Image s’agaro)
We ate lots of paella, seafood and kept hydrated since it was burning ….

Madrid

So, if you were all things Barcelona and found yourself traveling to the catalan state’s arch nemeses what would you want to do the most if you had 3 days ? if your favourite football team is Fcbarca and you think Messi is god and you’re one to always have a little chat with the locals…what were you going to do about this situation! Haha I was super excited.
I was visiting Madrid with my sister and one of my closest friends from when I was at uni in Australia! He works in Germany now and im so jealous that he gets to travel all over Europe whenever he gets some time of… allright so back to my Madrid adventures and lessons.
When u arrive in Madrid you get a very different vibe from one in Barcelona, firstly it doesn’t feel as touristy and feels very very Spanish. You see a lot of Spanish people going on their daily lives…my instant observation were the absolute contrast in architecture and if Gaudi’s quirky architecture gives Barcelona its undeniable beauty, Madrid’s architecture is stunning, contemporary and traditional at the same time.

One of the main streets with great architecture and an ornate décor has gained the reputation of being called the Spanish Broadway! The street that never sleeps, and its absolutely true, on our first night in Madrid we headed straight to this street and were not disappointed, bars and restaurants filled with people, and much to our surprise the madrilenos party even later into the night than the Catalans …clubs don’t open till 3 am and people just hang out in bars and drink and eat tapas till its time to get amongst it in one of the many many nightclubs that Madrid has to offer. I have to mention Fashion here,compared to other cities I have visited in Spain, instantly on arrival and through the course of my short visit I continuously noticed that people were very well dressed, there was a lot of influence from cities like London and Paris and having just come rom Barcelona which has an extremely relaxed and laid back sense of style, I was surprised and inspired- time to dress up !
Over all Madrid being a larger city than Barcelona had a sense of calm and its own style and way, the difference between the two were stark yet both are extremely endearing! Soak in some Spanish sun at the Buen Retiro Park, walk along the many streets filled with intermingling trees and gorgeous walkways, get amazed at the grandeur and beauty of the Plaza Mayor, watch the sunset over at the Debod Temple, a genuine Egyptian temple.

One of my favorite moments in Madrid was getting a fabulous panoramic view of the city from a top the Ada hotel from the 360 degree terrace, it gives you the feeling of almost touching the statue of the winged victory in the magnificent dome of the metropolis building in Gran Via, or the circle of fine arts and even the bank of Spain!
Enjoy their fabulous décor and soak in the atmosphere for a truly beautiful evening or laid back brunch!

For details on where to stay shop and eat i essentially looked into these two websites that really has all the info I needed. We stayed in away from the main tourist area, one of my most followed rules while traveling and stayed close to the business and local university area. Absolutely loved the locality and the vibe of the area, the next door restaurants and bars were well priced and served some delicious food and drinks. For more details I recommend you go through the following links :

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/nov/23/madrid-city-guide-where-eat-drink-stay-sightseeing

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/10971634/Madrid-a-girls-guide-to-the-best-shops-hotels-and-restaurants.html

Palma De Mallorca

On my most recent visit to Spain with a few friends we decided to skip the usual let’s go to Ibiza and went a little of the main road and zeroed in on the island of Palma de Mallorca !
Initially all I knew was that this island was home to my most favourite athlete in the world – Rafaeal Nadal, I was inquisitive to see what it was about this island that unlike many of his contemporaries, he’s chosen to live here than possible in any other to part of the world. My curiousity was solved within a day of having landed in this gorgeous island !

This is just one of the many gorgeous beaches along the southern coast of Mallorca – Es Trenc …. I could spend days just listening to the sound of the waves and rolling around the softest white sand 🙂
Just look at that backdrop ! We are ham and melon at a local beach shack and continued to enjoy the view of the vastness of this beautiful beach !

Mallorca can be anything you like it to be – it’s got tons of things to do for adventure enthusiasts – all kind of water sports , for kids – water parks galore and the nightlife at magaluf is known to be no short of a night out in Ibiza town !

We also explored the beautiful beach of Puerto Portal and did all sorts of fun things as you can see that day ! The best thing about Spain is everything is surly economical and nothing’s really pinches the pocket ! 20 euros for an hour of paddle boarding was completely worth it!

Puerto Portal has a reputation of being the st. Tropez of Mallorca with a few Michelin star restaurants lined up across its gorgeous walkways overlooking an array of yachts and fancy cars .. You know you’re in a special place!
Puerto Portal – I still dream of this place ! Who wouldn’t ?!!

The island is fairly simple and straightforward to go around ! We rented a car and drove to most of the places suggested to us by a local but missed out on a few like Soller – which I’ve heard is this quaint picturesque little town. Never mind though I’m sure there will be a next time 🙂
Depending on what your agenda is you can choose to stay in different parts of the island .. We rented a gorgeous apartment by Airbnb in Palma itself and our host was one the loveliest girls I’ve ever met 🙂 I would highly recommend renting that out if you were to visit Mallorca. Get in touch and I’ll be happy to share all the details 🙂 till then here’s a sneak peak but pictures do no justice to it!

Palma itself was the cutest town and I loved exploring it’s cafes restaurants shops and sites
Views from the city of Palma 🙂

If your looking for a peaceful yet fun easy going escape from your city holidays in Spain I would recommend this place any given day of the week and I totally understand why Rafa wouldn’t wanna live anywhere else 😉
Strolling around the city of Palma while stopping to get one last group photo !

Hope you enjoyed reading my Spain expeditions and I’ll be sure to write more soon 🙂

About Me-
Born in raised in India, Namrata moved to Melbourne to study and started her career in fashion and styling when she returned. She set up Doe Designs in 2012 and travelled to all major cities and drew inspiration from her travels; she also participated in shopping soirees in Goa. Namrata loves to travel and is a self confessed beach bum and would happily be on the next flight to Europe or Australia if work would permit. Catch her on Instagram at @doedesigns and @namratap

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