Gypsy*Guide - Fall in Love with Barcelona

SURPRISE!!!! Some of you've guessed right! We are in Barcelonaaaaaa! I've only visited twice before and on both occasions I had very little time, so I'm thrilled that we'll have 3 entire days to explore the city with AC now. (This was my Christmas present for him! :) One of my best bloggie friends Farah, who currently resides in this amazing city was kind enough to prepare a little Barcelona guide for us, I hope you'll enjoy reading through her recommendations as much as I did. I'm so excited to check out all her favorite places and finally meet her in person! Thanks girl! See ya! 

By the way if you have any other suggestions on what not to miss, by all means do let me know. Happy Weekend lovelies! Thanks for this amazing week!

City Guide by Farah from Degaine

Barcelona is one of the best cities on earth and to truly understand why you must completely indulge yourself into the city and do it up like the locals. Barcelona has everything you need to enjoy yourself. From a sunny boardwalk along the sea filled with cozy cafes, bistros and seafood restaurants' to neighborhoods (Barrio's) filled with little side streets jammed with even more bistros and restaurants'. Here is a basic guide to see some of the most amazing sights and places Barcelona has to offer.

What To See:
Bouqueria - This is a famous and vibrant market filled with everything from fresh local and exotic fruit, to fresh juices, spices, sweets, baked goods and even seafood's, meats and cheeses. For the most succulent and delicious Patatas Bravas you will ever eat in your life, there is only one stop, and that's the original and long standing El Quim De La Bouqueria, a tapas bar located right inside the market, be sure to check it out.

Parc Guell - Parc Guell is one of the most magical places I have ever visited. Gaudi really created a playground here filled with twists and turns, each pathway leading to somewhere even more wonderful than the last. This is a definite must go no matter how long your visit.

Placa Reial - This is one of my favorite placa's in Barcelona. Bordered by quality and affordable restaurants' offering delicious food and filled with guitarists and palm trees, it's the perfect place for an afternoon bite.

El Born - This district is one of my favorites in Barcelona. With only a few tourists, you can enjoy all the local boutiques, cafe's and shops spotted about the neighborhood.

Where To Eat:

Barcelona restaurants' are affordable and offer good quality food. Here are some of my favourite restaurants', to name a few.

For Paella, La Barca Del Salamanca located in Port Olimpic is the best in town for fresh seafood and a great sunny atmosphere. (Moll de Gregal, 13-17. Port Olympic)

For fresh seafood at a decent price, La Paradeta is the place to go. Offering you a vast range
of seafood for you to choose from, each order is made to perfection.

Tapas are a big deal in Spain and so far, the best Tapa's I've had were at Cal Pep. You may
have to wait in a long line up to get your food but it's most definitely worth the wait. 

Where to Shop:

Barcelona is perfect for affordable shopping. Zara, Berskha, Stradivarius and other similar
stores are cheaper in Spain because products are made in Spain. Be sure to frolic along Portal Del Angel located right off of Placa Catalunya or take a stroll down Passeig de Gracia to check out all the shops. If you want more local boutiques, then the neighborhood of El Born is full of them.

What To Do:

Barceloneta - Barceloneta Beach is the perfect place to start your day with a cappuccino at

cafe Santa Marta or watch the sunset while resting on the sands. On weekends Barceloneta is full of people enjoying the sun, biking, rollerblading and frolicking about.

Flamenco Show - This is definitely something see and Tarantos has some of the best shows

I've seen so far, with three shows on every day of the week, it conveniently meets any schedule.

Nightlife: 

Port Olimpic is home to some of the best nightclubs in town from Opium to CDLC

to Catwalk, they offer music to satisfy every taste. If you are looking for more low key bars for the night, you can check out c/ Merce in Barrio Gotico, a neighborhood filled with uniquely designed and cozy bars such as Bollocks or Polaroid.

Gelato - Amorino offers the best gelato I have ever had in my life, be sure to stop by and enjoytheir flower shaped goodness on La Rambla after a busy day of exploring the city.

All images are courtesy of FashionDegaine 

P.S: You still have time to join the FOLEY+CORINNA giveaway if you haven't already! ;)

 

Gypsy*Friday - Postcards from 2010

Call me crazy but sometimes I do feel like I don't live up to the blog's name and I don't travel nearly as much as I should. :) On those days it's just lovely to look through old photos and think about all the places and faces that took my breath away. Here is my little travel roundup from 2010 (click on the pictures to hear the full stories). Where have you been this year?

 Let's hope that 2011 will carry at least as much mileage as this year has! :)

Gypsy*Friday - Travel Wishlist

It's been a while since I had a real full blown vacation on a far away place, so my passport is kinda begging me to use it again. I have been looking into some travel options and hopefully I'll be able to satisfy my milage cravings soon with one of these three destinations from my toplist:

Such a traveler's must and yet I've never been there! I wanna do all the touristy things, take all the cliche pictures and eat all the amazing cupcakes, hotdogs and nouvelle cuisine.... not to mention all the museums, bloggers, shops, neighbourhoods I just need to see for myself.  If I say I'm dying to go I'm very shy about my feelings! I'm absolutely DYING TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Barcelona is only the silver medalist on my wishlist behind NYC because I've already been there. Some hardcore, veteran Gypsy*Diaries readers might remember the times when I was planning to move there! Now it all seems so far away and I'm quite happy staying where I am, but oh Barcelona... I need to back there rather sooner than later!

The absolute wonder of the Mediterranean Sea, the status quo of the Dolce Vita, Cinque Terre is one of the most breathtaking places on Earth and I've been dying to visit for some time now. Rumor has it Nicolette is organising a little Photography Gateway to Cinque Terre next year and that will absolutely have to be a trip I cannot miss!

What's on top of your travel wishlist darlings? :)

Have a wonderful weekend and keep on dreaming...!

Gypsy*Friday - Mandina Eco Lodge

As a follow up to last week's Gambia post I wanted to dedicate this week's Gypsy*Friday to the most amazing hotel/lodge I ever spent a night in. It was basically by accident that we found this stunning stunning stunning place in the middle of the African bush, guarded by orangutans and crocodiles! :) As it was off season we were the only guests (as we decided to stay for the night the moment we saw the place) and enjoyed some great food, great wildlife, peace, sunset over the river and listened to the amazing travel stories of the owner Terence, who is seriously the biggest travel I have ever met! Don't miss this place should you ever visit the Gambia! It's also the best honeymoon spot ever :)

I'd love to hear which was the most amazing hotel you've ever stayed in!!! :)

Happy weekend chicas!

Gypsy*Friday - The Gambia

This is my weekly column about the amazing places I was fortunate to visit for shorter or longer times... let the journey continue! :)

 Last year we were hunting for last minute deals for our 2 week vacation when we stumbled upon an offer for the Gambia. Well... I'll be honest... we were not even 100% sure if it was a country, we needed to google it! :) (off to a good start right? :))

It seemed to be a very exotic West-African vacation spot for less than a price of a vacation in Spain, so we booked right away! In all fairness I did promise myself after this trip that I'd never go on a last minute trip to a country I never really heard of... :) you see, not knowing that it was rainy season and it would be raining 4 hours a day was a huge drawback, but oh well, we still tried to make the most of it. We hired a driver and started to explore... (but please take my advice, don't go in August! :)

We traveled around, discovered hidden gems and we almost even decided to open a backpacker hostel, which now seems to be way out of line... :) In the end we spent a few incredibly exotic, romantic, touching and "different" weeks in the Gambia. Such a different culture, such a different way of life. This was a kind of trip after which you return with updated priorities and a new outlook on life. I'll be eternally grateful for being able to see the things I've seen.

After Zanzibar, the Gambia, Tunisia and Egypt the last African territory to be explored remains South Africa... maybe next year! ;)

Have you ever been to Africa? It's certainly a place I'd love to return with my new camera for a little photography getaway... it feels like you're living on the pages of National Geographic over there. Amazing! :)

 

Gypsy*Friday - Photography Getaways

Lately all I have on my mind is photography. Running to photo shoots, researching lenses, getting ready for photo school, getting to know Photoshop, developing my photography blog, I guess we could say that I'm obsessed! :) What I unfortunately don't have enough time to do is the most important thing of all... actually taking pictures. During my travels I often wish I could stop time, set my camera and shoot for a few minutes, but oh well, there is always a boyfriend, a girlfriend or a mother waiting impatiently for me  not tolerating my slow motion one bit! :) Sounds familiar? I was just considering the idea of going on  a photo vacation by myself, when I found out that Nicolette, a dear blog friend of mine has just launched her company  Photography Getaways which offers photography travel workshops in scenic vacation destinations. Where do I sign up?! :)

Wouldn't it be amazing to spend a long weekend shooting the green beauty of the Irish countryside, the beautiful chateauxs of France or the majestic Alps in Austria accompanied by an experienced (and amazing :) photography instructor helping you with the ins and outs of your settings and composition? I hope I'll be able to make it to at least one of her trips in 2011. It's weekends like these when you can really take your photography to the next level and create once in a lifetime memories while enjoying the company of people sharing your passion! I'm thrilled to welcome Nicolette and Photography Getaways as our newest sponsor! She was kind enough to offer a $50 discount to all Gypsy*Diaries readers if you sign up before the end of the year to any of her trips (plus she has an early bird promotion until the end of September saving you another $50 bucks)! Check out her pretty new website and tell me, if you could spend a weekend anywhere in the world, just taking pictures, where would you go?

P.S: She also has a very cute personal blog here! ;)

 {All images in this post are courtesy of Photography Getaways}

Gypsy*Friday - Summer 2010

I have intended to make a photo-video thingy of my summer memories for you, but I have to say I'm a major beginner in this field. :) After hours of trying to make something enjoyable, this is all I could come up with :) many mistakes, unreadable text but here it is.... my very first attempt of creating a photo-video for you lovely readers!

I'm a little sad to see this summer go so quick but hey... it was hell of a good one! :D

If you have missed something just click on the links below to catch up ;) :

• Long weekend in Croatia with some friends
• Egypt tour with the family
• An incredible weekend in the Alps, Italy
• Quick road trip to Munich, Germany
• Lots of fun and shopping in London
• Summer kick-off in Tunisia

Thanks for being so incredibly kind and fun! It's a real pleasure sharing my journey with you!
Here is to a great autumn ahead of us! Cheers Babes!

Gypsy*Friday - Zagreb*Croatia

The only fight we had on our Croatian trip was whether we should stop in Zagreb for a mini sightseeing tour on the way home or not. Zagreb has been heavily affected by the war (almost completely destroyed) and to be honest it never really had a reputation of being a "charming" city. Majority ruled and we stopped for a short break and I have to admit I was very positively surprised! The city center is almost completely restored, with one small cafe on top of the other, beautiful folk markets, lots of flowers, beautiful buildings and lovely little cottages. I really have enjoyed the little time we had there and hope to explore it more in the near future!