Monday, September 19th 2011 – Barcelona, Spain

Our first morning in Barcelona was somewhat annoying; our hotel is undergoing construction and we had a hard time getting that much needed sleep we were looking forward to from not having touched a bed for 24 hours! But we managed to roll out of bed and make the most of our day.

Our hotel is centrally located so we were able to easily walk over to the port area where the air smells splendid and the streets are lined with palm trees making you feel like you’re on a beautiful tropical island. That is until we made our way to the world famous street La Rambla – a long street overcrowded with tourists and with every tacky thing that may appeal to them. It had to be seen but Lil and I were not too impressed so we quickly left.

We opted to grab something to eat instead. There are numerous squares around the neighbourhood and multiple areas around the city where you can sit down for some great food and to enjoy a drink or two… or more! Side note: you don’t need to tip as much in Spain as we do in North America. The wait staff are paid much better here so you usually have to just round up your bill for tipping. But it is completely discretionary!

After we ate, our goal was to visit the must-see Olympic Port but sleep took priority over sightseeing so we went back to our hotel for a nap. Anyone who knows Lil and me knows that we love our naps! So 3 hours later, we got dolled up and headed out again. Our online search led us to check out 7 Sins – apparently a great club. But after getting lost here and there and unsafely pulling out our map in the corner of dark streets, we located the spot only to find it totally deserted! Then it dawned on us that it was a Monday night and maybe Barcelona actually was a city that occasionally slept. Not ones to give up, we managed to find a crowded bar nearby. We downed some beer that Lil accidentally ordered in her confusion with the Spanish language, had some delicious sangria and tapas, and headed out to find a place to dance the night away.

Ironically enough, we ended up at La Rambla again where a pushy but useful club promoter ushered us into a lounge (can’t remember the name… of course due to my bad memory, not intoxication!). There, a very young Danish boy named August struck a conversation with us. At this point Lil proceeded to show us that geography is definitely not her forte. August asked us if we knew the capital of Denmark, and with extreme confidence, Lil shouted, ‘Oslo!’ Oh boy.

We left our young new friend, who was definitely hoping the 3 of us could be more, and headed to a club called Blvd. We ended our night there with some great dance music and an unfortunately younger crowd. But we had a great time nonetheless.

At this point of our night you’d think it was about 2:00 AM, right? Well it was. This really is a city that doesn’t sleep, or at least the people sleep really late, even on a weekday. Barcelona is definitely growing on us!

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Be sure to tune in to Part Two of Europe on the Fly with Shiv and Lil to find out what adventure awaits the ladies at their next destination!

– Kiana Amirpour