Mini getaway from Barcelona to Zaragoza and back
What a wonderful trip to Spain this was and now I’m feeling a bit sad to be back in Finland again, as usual. I never feel homesick when I’m travelling, but I always feel sad when I come back home, haha. Am I the only one like this?
This spanish mini-adventure started with a “small” 12hr journey from Tampere to Zaragoza. My plan was to go meet my friend who was an exchange student in Zaragoza at the time and I wanted to feel what it was like to travel solo for the first time too.
First I flew from Finland to Barcelona, Spain and from the airport I took a bus for 4 hours to Zaragoza. What a ride. The bus ride was as long as the flight between Helsinki and Barcelona and on top of that I had already spent two hours on the bus from Tampere to Helsinki before boarding the plane. So after a long time of sitting on the bus and the plane I finally arrived to my destination and met up with my friend.
Zaragoza is a really beautiful and interesting city with lots to see and to explore. It’s not on the beach side but it has great cultural features and nice restaurants. I got very familiar with the student life and watched the local lifestyle up close. In just a few days I wandered around the city on my own a lot and did some shopping too. My friend took me to see the sights and to eat some paella. The sun was shining very brightly and the weather was hot, just how I like it. By the way, the best and the most popular place for enjoying the sunshine is the Parque Grande (Grand Park), which is a gorgeous big park in the middle of the city.
After a few days of exploring in Zaragoza we went to Barcelona where we spent the last two days of my trip before leaving back home. I really fell in love with Barcelona and it’s lively atmosphere. Barcelona is so much more beautiful in the spring time than in the middle of the summer, because there aren’t that many summer tourists yet. I got my first hostel experience here too! We stayed at a great youth hostel right on the beach in the Barceloneta area and the hostel was fantastic. At least the location couldn’t have been any better!
We wandered around Barri Gotic, the old town, and had some lovely tapas, pintxos and wine. In Spain the best restaurants can be found by following the locals and going to the places that have the most people inside, because if the locals love it, it must be good! That’s how we found the best spots as well, sadly enough I can’t remember the names anymore.
The next day was a bit more cloudy, so we decided to go and do some sightseeing. We went to walk around the old town and the Las Ramblas, and also the Passeig de Gracia -street, that had beautiful buildings around it. We went to see the Gaudi designed architectural buildings and of course the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. It was stunning and big.
Last but not least we also went to walk around the Park Qüell to enjoy the wonderful views and beauty of the park. This was totally worth visiting!
For a short six day getaway this was a great experience and we got to see and do a lot. We even managed to chill and relax on the beach in the middle of all the exploring and sightseeing, perfect!
Until next time,
<3: Tiina Johanna