Contact Us

We’re here to help, so hit us on any of the channels below or scroll on down for the contact form.

Email
BARCELONA BOATS Email
san sebastian surf Email
Phone
WhatsApp
BARCELONA BOATS WhatsApp
SAN SEBASTIAN SURF HOUSE WhatsApp
Social





























    The View of a Lonely Traveler Visiting Barcelona

    Stokepedia

    Posted by Stoke Media Team
    8 years ago | April 14, 2016

    The View of a Lonely Traveler Visiting Barcelona

    I’ve been waiting for it to hit me. Barcelona, the incredible city I’ve run off to to hide from all the boring parts of life that have been slowly becoming more and more necessary. Obviously sangria and tapas beat tax codes and angry e-mails from landlords every time, right? Fucking yes. The decision to come here was so easy that it just never hit me; the excitement, the hugeness of what was about to happen.
    It only became a problem when the people who I told about the trip were more excited than I was. Partly this was deliberate; not wanting to rub my amazing luck into their faces. But it was also just because the closer I got to leaving, the less real Barcelona seemed, even when constantly listening to the stories (everyone has stories and will tell you all of them), and fanatically reading Lonely Planet guidebooks.

    bike_slider02
    I thought maybe it would hit me on the drive to the airport, a last minute rush of excitement, anything. It didn’t. It didn’t hit me when I went through customs, not on either of my eleven-hour flights, not as I sat in a sweaty daze waiting for my bag to appear on the conveyor belt.
    When I finally got into my taxi, I rode into town with a lovely middle-aged Spanish man who made uncomfortably frequent eye contact with me while singing It’s Raining Men along with the radio. He was creepy in a nice way and everything was so confusing. When he dropped me off at what was supposedly my new apartment, I felt sad to see him go.
    Being alone in Barcelona, standing, looking, maybe freaking out a tiny bit, I realised that no 
amount of looking at maps that my parents shoved in my face, no amount of imagining or dreaming can prepare for you for a big, bustling, pulsing city. So fucking alive. Hearing the stories, looking at the pictures, it just isn’t the same.

    IMG_0752
    It felt hot, but also breezy. Busy but also relaxed. Full and empty. Dirty but clean. Long straight roads and winding alleyways. It’s an impossible place to explain because it’s such a mix of originality and clichés. There’s live music everywhere in the streets at night, markets full of colour and enough choice to make your brain explode. It smells like spice, sweat, occasionally pee. There are too many adjectives, superlatives and adverbs I could use, but also not enough to really describe anything. I could eat an entire thesaurus and still not be able to shit out enough words to explain this place. I can’t explain it to anyone because I can’t even explain it to myself.
    Even when I know exactly where I’m going, I still feel a little bit lost. Having so much to take in and discover, that’s what’s exciting about Barcelona, and what makes any pre-trip excitement a mere shadow of what you’ll feel once you’re here. Barcelona never hit me because there is no way to imagine it until you are in it, and even then it’s so big and full that it’s hard to believe where you are. It never hits anyone, it just introduces itself with a series of tiny bitch slaps – the good, kinky sex kind of slap that hurts for the right reasons.
    bolg01
    That’s why you’ve just got to fucking get here. Drop your briefcases, your Bic pens, burn your textbooks and give your shitty retail job the finger. Nothing in life is as important as walking down Las Ramblas with minimal ideas about where the fuck you are going, or picking tapas off a menu without really knowing what you’re spending your money on. You think you can “quench a thirst” by following a few whimsical travel Instagrams and watching Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but how is that meant to work when you don’t even really understand what you’re thirsty for?
    Sell your shitty car for parts, borrow your Dad’s old tramping pack, tell yourself that you’re better at speaking Spanish than you really are. Just say yes. Get on a plane. Get here. And if you’re scared, the city won’t look after you. But I know a few people who will.


    Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

    Related Trips
    The America’s Cup in Barcelona 2024
    Barcelona
    Barcelona Wine Tours And Tastings
    Barcelona
    Poble De Los Freaks | La Terrrazza Club
    Barcelona
    Barcelona Cocktail Class
    Barcelona
    The Spanish
    Spain
    Barcelona City Break 2022
    Spain
    Barcelona Boat Party and Cruises
    Barcelona
    Barcelona Cooking Class
    Barcelona
    Barcelona Kayaking & Snorkeling Costa Brava
    Europe
    San Juan
    Europe
    San Vino Wine Fight Festival Spain 2024
    Haro
    Sonar Festival
    Europe
    Related Articles
    The Best Places To Eat Paella In Barcelona

    By K.P. our resident food critic Paella is one of Spain’s national joys (as you probably know) and is hands down the one dish you HAVE to wrap your mouth…

    Read More

    Best Tapas In Barcelona

    By KP, our resident food critic Now we’re talking, good old authentic tapas, shared plates of deliciousness – Spanish specialities done in Barcelona with a particularly Catalan flair. These little…

    Read More

    The Best Brunch In Barcelona

    By KP, our resident food critic Surely you know that StokeTravel do a bottomless brunch with unlimited mimosas at all of our destinations, because we know that nothing beats a…

    Read More

    Best Coffee Spots In Barcelona

    By KP, our resident food critic Us Stokies know good coffee (comes with being so regularly hungover/busy), and while Spain has always had a coffee drinking culture of some sort,…

    Read More

    Best Burgers In Barcelona

    By KP, our resident foodie Up there with kebabs and curries as the ultimate hangover food, there’s nothing quite like chewing away the previous night’s sins – or doubling down…

    Read More

    Best Italian Food In Barcelona

    By KP, our resident food critic Italian food is a classic favourite amongst the masses. To be fair, I don’t think I have ever met a soul that didn’t enjoy…

    Read More

    Barcelona’s Best Curries (Indian and Thai)

    By KP, Stoke’s resident Barcelona food critic When you think of Barcelona you don’t think of curry… or do you? With thriving Indian, Pakistani and Thai communities, there are plenty…

    Read More

    Best Bars In Central Barcelona (Born and Gothic Areas)

    Barcelona’s bar scene is renowned for its cheap drinks, funky music and sexy occupants. But between the gems there are lots of lemons – particularly in the more touristy centre…

    Read More

    THE BEST PLACES TO STUDY ABROAD IN EUROPE 

    Everyone knows Europe is the place to study abroad, but it can be hard to decide what country, let alone city, you should spend the next few months in. To…

    Read More

    The Easy to Find Drugs in Barcelona 

    You don’t need to look hard to find something to get you going.  Coffee Who said Pablo Escobar needed to be involved to get you high? South America’s second favourite…

    Read More

    Press Release: Barcelona gets bizarre weekly with Poble de los Freaks

    Just when we thought Barcelona couldn’t get any freakier, Stoke’s teamed up with La Terrrazza for the Poble de los Freaks, the city’s wildest daytime festival. Kicking off on July…

    Read More

    Barcelona Pride Boat Parties and What’s On

    Iconic high heel races, drag exhibitions, and vibrant parades: Barcelona’s Pride celebration has it all. As the biggest Pride in the Meditteranean, there’s no shortage of wild parties, events, and…

    Read More

    Search Stoke Travel Search by Trip, Destination, Month...