I love Barcelona, the beach, the city, close to the mountains as well. The one area I like the most is the beach which is open all year round! It is free as well, so you can have fun without it costing. There are several meetup activities on the beach such as volleyball training. There is also a swimming meetup, I have never been as the sea is a little cold for me.
The Bogetell beach and Nova Icaria have many meetups. Throughout the year people are at the beach. There are many people biking along the beach. You can easily rent a bike and cycle all the way from Barceloneta to El Maresme Forum.
La Merce
This is a fun and family friendly festival in Barcelona. There are lots of free and cheap things to do including concerts. I did not make it to see Manu Chau but I did go to the wine and cava tasting near arc de triomf. The more tickets you purchased the better value for money. For example 22 tickets cost 20 Euros, whereas 5 tickets cost 6 Euros.
In the Parc de la Ciutadella , there were many food stands. There was so much choice, it was a great place to go for everyone, young and old.
On the night of the last day of the Merce, there are fireworks in Plaza Espana. The fireworks are for 30 minutes,but people do get there early. The fireworks start at 10:00 but people arrive from 7:30pm to get a good view. As it was raining, many people had not arrived and when we came there around 9:00pm it was not crowded and we had a great view of the fireworks.
Brunch
This restaurant, Itaka, is owned by an American who loves Barcelona and saw there was a gap in the market. This place has great service and is one of my favorite places to go on the weekends for brunch or even an early dinner. They serve a variety of foods, from nachos and burritos to Philly Cheesesteaks and healthy salads. There is a terrace outside which gets the sun for most of the day. Great coffee here too !
Calcots
I went to my first Calcots this year and loved it. I love all BBQs. Calcots is a type of spring onion and is popular around February time. You roast them on a BBQ as shown in the photo below and then you cook your meats and combine all with salad. A delicious meal and even better on a sunny day.
Barcelona has so much to see and do for the weekend. The best times to visit are outside of the peak season (July – August) as it can be very hot in Barcelona and it is more expensive for flights at this time. I will be updating this blog with more fun things to see and do in Barcelona. If there is something I have not mentioned, please feel free to contact me on Twitter or Facebook.
