THE MIDDLE EAST & EUROPEAN SERIES PT13
ANDORRA, BARCELONA & MALTA
After the hangover of the Port crawl in Porto I made it to Barcelona and immediately got the bus up to Andorra.
BARCELONA HAS IT ALL
Andorra is tiny country within the Pyrenees mountains and famous for its winter skiing and low levels of tax.
WHERE IS ANDORRA?
Andorra, Barcelona & Malta
ANDORRA
As it was summer and out of season for any skiing I was stay for anything length time and just walked around the check the sites of the city, Andorra la Vella. Due to it being a tax haven it didn’t take long to experience the level of wealth, with the many expensive cars, jewellers and boutiques. It was also very charming and generally spotless!
BARCELONA
Barcelona is one of the most popular cities in Europe and for me is one of the best that has a beach! It is famed for its football, beer and architecture due to the unique style of Antoni Gaudi.
Andorra, Barcelona & Malta
GOTHIC QUARTER
I had initially booked into Fabrizzios Hostel for the first night but the following day had to move to Don Moustache Hostel as they had no space for me to extend. Shame as it was a good hostel!
Anyway, I first took a walk around the Gothic Quarter, which is a labyrinth of narrow medieval streets full of cafes, bars and Catalan restaurants. A nice yet busy part of the city but one not to be missed. If you enjoy a coffee and people watching, then this is the place to go.
RELATED READ: 1O THINGS TO DO IN BARCELONA
GAUDI
Antoni Gaudi is probably one of the most famous Catalans and certainly well remembered here in Barcelona. He was known to be well before his time and his architectural style is obvious yet unique, something that many architects struggle to achieve.
He is responsible for some of Barcelona’s most popular buildings. Being a bit of an architectural geek I was sure to check out as much of his work as possible. Casa Milà, Güell Palace and Park Güell are all worth a visit.
LA SAGRADA FAMILIA
However, the prize for his most accomplished (yet unaccomplished) piece of work goes to La Sagrada Familia, the city’s Basilica. Gaudi designed this over a number of years and unfortunately died just after a quarter of the project had been built. To give you an idea of his capabilities and expertise, engineers and architects to this day are working out a way to complete it, 150 years after construction began.
Andorra, Barcelona & Malta
THE BEACH
There aren’t many cities in the world that offer what Barcelona does and then on top of it all have 4km of beach to choose from. It’s not quite the Philippines but sitting here looking out you would think you were a million miles from a city. Being a beach bum, it’s one of the reasons I love Barcelona.
CAMP NOU
I’m never one to miss out on an opportunity to visit a new stadium and there are few bigger than Camp Nou. Seating close to 100,000 it is one of the biggest in the world and hosts one of the best football clubs. The tour takes you to almost every part of the stadium you would want; the trophy room, changing rooms, tunnel, press room and of course pitch side. It reminded me of River Plate’s stadium in Buenos Aires.
The good thing about being in Barcelona is the airport. It’s incredibly well connected and can get you pretty much anywhere, so I’m off to the small island of Malta.
RELATED READ: HELD FOR 5hrs IN AN ALGERIAN POLICE STATION
MALTA
What Malta lacks against the likes of Barcelona it makes up for in recent history and incredible beaches. It’s not one of the most popular island retreats but has managed to keep most of it’s charm and authenticity – I didn’t spot a single “pub” or “hen do”.
I checked into the Bayview Hotel just a short bus ride from the city, backpacking and hostels don’t seem to be a thing here just yet. Malta has also been at the centre of conflicts And being a small country was never able to adequately defend itself. This explains the many megalithic temples, Hypogeum and fortresses, most notably Fort Lascaris.
BARCELONA….
- PEOPLE – 8/10
- BACKPACKING – 8.5/10
- SAFETY – 7/10
- WEATHER – 8.5/10
- THINGS TO DO – 8.5/10
- FOOD – 8/10
- VALUE – 7.5/10
FINAL THOUGHTS
I am very lucky to live in Europe and this trip was a good example. Three entirely different locations, metropolitan city, mountainous city and an island getaway all within 1 hours drive or a 2 hour flight of each other.
NEXT UP
Off to Rome where I find out what all the Italian fuss is about and visiting my last remaining wonder of the world! Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
110/229
This post is part of The Middle East & European Series, click to explore or for episode 1 click here.
