Barcelona for beginners - Five travel tips for novices

It's fine and dandy to blog about abstract concepts and vague themes but us travel bloggers are occasionally obligated to return to the actual basis of our expertise and blog about an actual place that we've actually been to. After all, we can't expect you readers to live vicariously through us if we're not actually going anywhere. And so, to Barcelona I went.

Were I a braver soul, my flight may have involved me annoying fellow passengers with football chants (Barcelona FC style) and attempting to converse with EasyJet's very British staff in Spanish, such was my excitement. However, shy and retiring wallflower that I am, I contented myself with an imported Frankie mag and the conversation of my travel buddy. After all, wannabe Geordie I am but wannabe Geordie Shore I will never be. 

A Spanish holiday tends to end up being either a glorified art gallery tour or a foodie/wino's dream of sangria and paella. I attempted to mix both together and it all ended up a bit higgledy piggledy. Trust me, if you're not absolututely obsessed with Gaudi; craning your neck to stare at his buildings does get old eventually. 

And so, for the average joe travellers of the world: Here's my guide to enjoying Barcelona.

1. Try and stay relatively close to the city centre as the metro and buses are going to cost you two euro each time you step on and a long walk can be a miserably hot affair. We stayed at Ona Barcelona which, whilst being a liiiitle noisy and a bit boring, was in a brilliant location, had very friendly staff and was absolutely, spotlessly clean. I definitely recommend staying on the fifth floor if you can where it's hotter, but much quieter. The showers on our floor (and really the bathrooms in general) were the best I've ever come across in a hostel. Ever.

Ever the Work-In-Progress: Gaudi's Sagrada Familia

2. Pick and choose your Gaudi carefully. The buildings are lovely, the church is lovely, the park is lovely, but after a while it will all start to seem a bit sameish and frankly garish. With costs of entry being around 15-20 euros, I'd hate to see you all bored by him. I recommend the park, which is free and makes for a nice bit of exercise if you've been ordering one too many tapas dishes for your table. The others can all be happily viewed from the outside without feeling you've missed out on something significant. Of course, when doing anything outdoors in Barcelona: be prepared to feel like you're in the middle of a friggin dust storm.

3. Practice your Spanish, but be prepared for some scathing looks. Still brimming with pride from last year's very successful South American trip, I felt my basic spanish should at least be up to par for ordering food. Yeah, turns out not. It wasn't pretty. I still maintain it's far better to try and fail, but unlike many other countries where attempting the language gets you smiles of appreciation, here it seemed more to annoy. So feel free just to point to things on the menu and save yourself the embarrassment, but try not to resort to too much English. At least remember to say por favor and gracias. It's quite literally the least you can do.

4. Explore the Gothic Quarter. Hands down, this was my favourite part of the whole trip. All those tiny alleyways, all those beautiful boutiques, all those quirky folks and eyebrow raising artworks. Absolutely darling. Fab. Spend an afternoon there if you can and seek out La Clandestina when you're ready for a tea/coffee/fresh juice break. Best cafe in the whole city. I won't tell you exactly where it is because I truly can't remember. Right at the green door, left at the ruin and past the tattoo parlour I think? Or was it left at the museum? Whatever, I'm sure you'll find it... eventually. 

5. Ask first, order later. The Santa Caterina Market is definitely worth your time, if only to check out the ruins beneath before heading on to the Chocolate Museum (Best museum idea ever, by the way. I mean, you get to eat the entry ticket!) but watch out for those wily fruit sellers. Make sure you ask how much something is first even if it's labelled. Otherwise you'll have it wrapped and bagged with your money already changing hands before you'll find out it's suddenly ten euros for a tiny punnet of raspberries. Good luck getting your change back at that point. 

Getting sick on holidays

As someone whose health has been consistently and fondly described as tragic for the past who-knows-how-long, vacations are usually just an excuse for me to go and test out the health care system of various countries. Singapore: yay, Cambodia: nay, Britain: not sure, but I'll bet you $100 (stupid computer not having a pound symbol) that I'll be able to tell you within a month or two. 


It was at a fairly young age that I perfected the quavering smile and self effacing chuckle all sickly youths use to earn the title of 'Brave Little Tyke', but in reality I'm still a total sook when it comes to illness. At the merest hint of a sniffle I will immediately move to take refuge in the relative safety of my mother's home and couch for a few days, from where I moan and groan whilst being provided with endless cups of tea and vegemite on toast (nature's cure-all). Sadly, however, this is not an option that is available to me when travelling. My first solo trip overseas resulted in a mostly untreated bout of whooping cough, which very nearly sent my dear mama half way round the world just to drive me to the doctor. 


In the years that followed this; I've become better and better prepared for the many ailments which seem to always find me, wherever I happen to be. Things like vaccinations and insurance (neither of which have ever really concerned me in Australia) suddenly take high priority when you're travelling. But there are other things I've figured out over the years. Learning how to say things like "emergency" "sick" and "doctor" in whatever the local language happens to be, taking note of where hospitals are so that you can direct "lost" taxi drivers and making friends with hostel owners so they're more likely to think to check on you if you're looking sickly are three good examples. Don't take your "sickness planning" too far, though. You do need to be careful, but make sure you don't get too carried away and miss out on half your trip out of false concern for your own health. 


For example: unless there's an actual health warning out, you can probably forego the face masks and -whilst it's always a good idea to be careful of your water supply and keep clean hands- you can pretty much take it for granted that at some point you're going to eat something that won't agree with you. An upset stomach won't kill you and avoiding local food just means missing out on some of the best made food in any country. 


The only other tip I can really give is to have a contingency budget. Planning a $3000 trip to fit within your $3000 of savings is going to leave you in deep, deep trouble should something go wrong. Your insurance won't kick in the very instant you get sick and in some cases, you won't be able to get any treatment at all until you have the insurance funds to pay for it. Make sure you've got at least $500 in extra savings that you can call on, whether you just need to visit a GP for antibiotics, or whether you need to pay for immediate blood tests  or xrays. It might mean you wait longer to take your dream trip, but it will be far less painful in the long run.