Every two years or so I try to take a vacation abroad with my partner. usually to catch a little sun and to bask in the warmth of the ocean nearer the equator or to do the complete opposite and aim for colder climates with rugged mountain ranges. This year we chose to take a short city break to Barcelona in Spain.

I personally had never been to Barcelona before but had always heard great reviews from friends and family, as far as city breaks go. Being a country girl living in a city back home, I often find myself yearning for more rural settings where the pace is often a little slower. Dan and I both have crazy busy jobs so we wanted to go somewhere sunny where we could relax and read a book. Somewhere that we wouldn’t need a car to get about. Somewhere we could ‘switch off’ and enjoy some time together.

After booking our flights, I looked for somewhere to stay. Normally we’d use Airbnb but as it was a very last minute booking, there weren’t a lot of options. We didn’t want to stay in the city centre itself but somewhere close enough that we could dip in and out, by bus or train, if we fancied it. That’s when we came across Apartamentos Porta Coeli in Castelldefels via Hotels.com.

We ended up booking the loft suite as Dan had some leftover euros from an earlier travel job and we could contribute them to our final balance, making it within our budget. Now, I know it’s not of traditional Spanish decor but the main reason we took the break abroad in the first place was to relax and unwind for a few days somewhere comfortable, modern and close to the beach. We were also quite glad that the apartment had its own pool but I only spent five minutes in it as it was FREEZING!

The apartment was brilliant, it had everything we needed and was just a five-minute walk to the waterfront. Free bike rental is available to guests and we must have cycled along the beach promenade twice daily creating the most wonderful memories.

The only downside to this beautiful little apartment is that it’s right under a noisy flight path. The first night seemed to be especially busy but it got a little better once the weekend had passed. Luckily I am used to sleeping next to a loud snorer so it didn’t bother me too much but it’s worth mentioning.

Castelldefels

Castelldefels is a municipality located just twenty kilometres from busy Barcelona. The beach town is famous for its five-kilometre-long coastline and is home to many of the neighbouring city’s professional football players. The town is named after the castle that sits high on a hill to the north. It was originally built for an Iberian community and later used as a Roman village.

There are two train stations, one by the beachfront itself and the other is located in the town centre. We bought a ticket called a T10 (from the hotel reception desk for just over ten euros) that enabled us to take ten single trips throughout our stay. That was enough to do all of our travelling to and from the city centre.

On the first morning, we were treated to a free breakfast at the main hotel where I found a new love for cantaloupe melon. We also ate out on the last night at a restaurant called ‘Marae’, right on the waterfront but sadly the service was terrible. Luckily the food was not. Other then those two meals, we bought all our food from local supermarkets accessible on foot.

Platja de Castelldefels

Located at the Costa del Garraf where you can also find Sitges or Garraf, Platja de Castelldefels is a long sweeping stretch of coastline with shallow waters, perfect for swimming. The ocean was a pleasant 24°C and surprisingly quiet for a mid-September vacation. There’s a different chiringuito located every four hundred meters or so, that serves drinks and small plates all hours of the day. You can also rent sun loungers and parasols from them to make your beach day more comfortable.

Barcelona

We spent the first full (non-travel) day pottering about the city, getting our bearings and taking it all in. We visited Park Güell, the free bit anyway and paid just over six euros to look around the Gaudí House Museum. All of which I found a little underwhelming but then I’ve never been one for crowds. We later headed to La Sagrada Familia only to find out they were fully booked for the day so we decided to head back to Castelldefels for the afternoon and book tickets for another day.

On our way to the station, we came across a cute boutique dessert cafe called La Cava Cakery which, exclusively sold cupcakes and cava. It was here that I had the BEST banana cupcake of my life! When I find something I really love, I hype it hard so to any kindred sweet tooths out there, I highly recommend dropping in for a bite.

After having actually booked tickets to the ‘Basílica de la Sagrada Família’, which came to sixty-four euros for the two of us, we returned to the city on our last full day, hoping that a mid-week visit might be less crowded. The building itself was spectacular. To be honest the photos I took below don’t really do it justice but it really is a work of art.

One of the main reasons I wanted to visit was because my dad had always wanted to go but sadly never made it. I thought it would be a nice gesture to go in his place and keep him in my mind throughout. I’m not a religious person but I did say a quiet prayer for him inside and I took some souvenirs home for my mum.

Construction of the basilica began in 1882, based on plans drawn up by the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. Antoni Gaudi was then commissioned to continue the project in 1883. The temple has always been an expiatory church, built only from donations and was consecrated as a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

A friend of mine described her experience of walking around the basilica's rainbow-drenched chasms as though she was “exploring fantasia”. I always thought that film was super trippy but wonderful at the same time so I could completely see where she was coming from. It must have taken extraordinary vision and imagination to form something so beautifully bizarre.

Pictured below is a very small section of the basilica’s famous ‘nativity façade’. You’ll have to type it into google to see the full scale of it, my camera lens simply wasn’t wide enough. It is composed of three ‘portals’ inspired by the Christian virtues, faith (right), hope (left) and charity (centre). I found myself particularly drawn to the hope portal with it’s intertwining flora and fauna, a nod to springtime when the earth blooms. Gaudi’s use of naturalism throughout his work is something I have enormous respect for.

I also enjoyed some of the more modern areas of the basilica, often wandering down less busy corridors and staring endlessly at ceilings. A crescendo of shapes, angles, shadows and reflections at every turn, completely different in style but still marrying perfectly.

Please note, this is still an active Catholic place of worship so respect when it comes to clothing and decorum must be given. Shoulders need to be covered at all times, swimwear or see-through clothing is not allowed, shorts and skirts need to be at least half a thigh in length and any clothing that is celebrity-oriented in any way or designed to attract attention for artistic, religious or promotional gain is not allowed. So nothing too revealing or flashy and you should be golden. You'll also have your bag searched on entry for security purposes. I had to hand over my bottle of water at the security gate so make sure you’ve had your fill before you enter.

Montserrat

I haven’t exactly stuck to a chronological order with this blog post but I was saving the best till last. I had done a little research regarding Montserrat before we left Bristol and mentioned it to Dan. After spending our first day walking around Barcelona a LOT we woke up pretty beat and almost bailed on the idea in favour of a relaxing ‘beach day’. I’m glad I gave myself a bit of a kick up the butt though as it turned out to be our favourite part of the entire trip.

After some breakfast, we headed into the city to catch our connecting train (the FGC) to Aeri De Montserrat. Aeri is an aerial cable car station at the foot of the mountain range, which provides access to the Monastery. It was opened back in 1930 and still runs today using all the original mechanisms and structure.

There is also a mountain train that you can take to the Monastery if heights aren’t your thing or a road you can drive along but we both felt like the cable car would really elevate our experience. We actually missed the stop for the cable car station and had to double back a short way on the next train so keep your eyes peeled for the yellow signage. It wasn’t such a bad thing though as we missed the initial surge of people who got off at the right stop and therefore had a whole cable car to ourselves. We felt very fortunate that a tiny negative turned into such a big positive!

Montserrat is a multi-peaked mountain range that lies around forty-five kilometres north-west of Barcelona. It is part of the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range and is well known for being home to the Benedictine Abbey and Santa Maria de Montserrat. The main peaks are Sant Jeroni (1,236m), Montgrós (1,120m) and Miranda de les Agulles (903m).

The basilica is made up of different architectural styles ranging from Gothic to the Renaissance. In the Monastery, there is a community of Benedictine monks who follow the ‘Rule of Saint Benedict’ and whose core objective is maintaining the mountain of Montserrat and the Sanctuary as a place for meeting and prayer.

"Montserrat" literally means "saw mountain" in Catalan. It describes its peculiar aspect with a multitude of rock formations, which are visible from a great distance. The mountain is composed of strikingly pink conglomerate, a form of sedimentary rock. Montserrat was designated as a National Park in 1987.

We took the Sant Joan funicular to the highest point of Montserrat Mountain, which turned out to be quite expensive along with all the other modes of transport. Therefore, we decided to just buy single tickets for the ascent and hike the trail back down. It seemed like the better option and when we came across the ‘money shot’ (below) as the sun was much lower in the sky, we knew we had made the right choice.

Please note that there are numerous maps of Montserrat trails dotted around the place but they are shown with South at the top. Just something to bear in mind when trying to orientate yourselves.

So there you have it, our version of a short city break. On reflection, we should have pre-booked our visit to La Sagrada Familia allowing us time to explore Mount Tibidabo on the first day instead. We also should have booked an additional day so we could relax in between big excursions but with every trip, you take away something to help plan the next.