Travelling to Unwind and Find Inspiration
We all need to make time to unwind and rest, that’s when we find our inspiration. I find one of the disadvantages of being self-employed instead of working in a school is I miss having holiday time. That dedicated time when you make space for holidays.
Holidays to me are about fun, rest, and relaxation, having time in the day for excitement and exploring. This means finding nice places to eat, reading in the sun, walking and looking for adventures. It’s time for me to be ME.
We recently had 5 days in Barcelona. The temptation was to go everywhere and see everything. We carefully planned and organised our trips, so we visited one attraction a day and made sure to rest and relax. We saw a lot of Barcelona and enjoyed eating and drinking delicious Spanish food as well as relaxing on the roof terrace. It made our 5 days away feel like 2 weeks. It was disorientating getting home and feeling like we’d had a 2 week holiday to find out we were in the same week we left in.
Would I recommend Barcelona?
Probably! I wasn’t sure the first day we arrived, it was so busy. I didn’t know my way round or where we were going. Also I think I was tired having left home at 3am and a bit hungry. By the following morning I was loving it!
Our hotel was just off The Ramblas so was fairly central. The receptionist at the hotel gave us a list of restaurants and told us to avoid eating on the Ramblas, where he said the food wasn’t as good and would be expensive. He sent us to an amazing Tapas bar and we loved it. We sat at the bar and watched what dishes were coming out of the kitchen. We chose the dishes we liked the look of. I must admit I refused to eat the raw cod, it looked as if it should be in a packet in a supermarket.
Mercat de la Boqueria
One of my favourite places was the food market Mercat de la Boqueria. It had featured in a couple of YouTube videos we watched before we headed to Barcelona and it more than exceeded my expectations. We had breakfast there on the second morning, sitting at the counter with the locals. I felt like a real traveller, I felt adventurous, to me it was like being in Thailand, I’d never be that brave! I think a highlight of the breakfast was my cappuccino. We opted for eggs and Iberian ham not the beer and oysters enjoyed by our counter buddies.
After breakfast we wandered around the market and marvelled at all the piles of food. We walked passed a fish stall and I’m convinced the coquette styled fish were still moving – goodness knows what they were. There was loads of fresh fruit, stacked in beautiful sways of colour or cut into edible size pieces in cups to take away. Cones of Iberian ham with cheese and potato crisp spirals were popular take-aways.
The Hop On Hop Off bus was a great way to get a sense of the city and work out where things were. We loved Sagrada Familia and were amazed at the construction. I would like to go back and visit again when it’s not so hot and spend time looking at the outside. It was uncomfortable to be outside for too long at 40 degrees. We alos visited Gaudi’s Casa Batlio where I was mesmerised by his use of colour and texture. The effect of the coloured glass and smooth curved wooden surfaces were stunning, I’d love to have them in my home.
One Way to Relax and Unwind
We spent one evening enjoying a boat trip around the bay. The sea breeze helped to cool us down, the Aperols (no measures) helped us relax and unwind. The feature of this particular trip was the live band playing jazz. It was an idyllic way to spend a couple of hours and definitely helped me ease into the holiday mindset.
View from El Xalet de Montjuïc Restaurant
A trip to Barcelona would not be complete without a cable car ride to Montjuic, the views are breathtaking. I would advise you to visit on Sunday afternoon when it’s free to enter the castle on some weekends. We stopped at a restaurant before heading back to the hotel. The restaurant had the most incredible view of Barcelona and the food was exceptional.
Would I go back? Yes definitely!
Did I unwind and find inspiration? Yes definitely!
What did I learn from my trip? Spending time outside and with family is important. It revitalises and energises you and helps with a sense of well-being and happiness. Being outside is my calm place, whether its walking by the sea, hiking up a mountain or sitting enjoying a view with a drink, or even weeding on the allotment.
My favourite thing on holiday was eating really good food, drinking wine and being with my family, the sun and the views were an added bonus. I’m going to appreciate meal times with the family, be more present and enjoy the occasion.
