#5 – Barcelona’s beaches
This was originally going to be #9 because it was definitely one of the top moments of the trip, but after the month we’ve had, I needed some sunshine a little earlier in my life. Boston has been walloped with more than seven feet of snow in the last three weeks, making this the snowiest month since weather was first recorded in the city in 1872. Let that sink in. But don’t get frostbite while you do it – the temps are so low that you can be at risk of losing fingers in just 10 minutes.
It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago, I was lying on a beach in Spain. Yes, it was fall. Yes, we had about 10 total hours of daylight each day to work with. But coming from New England, I was more than satisfied with the mere moments we were able to spend on the warm sand.
Le Barceloneta
This is the beach in Le Barceloneta. We walked all the way down to that harbor area with the ships, where there was a concert going on, including food truck and a DJ, whose smooth jams we heard up and down the beach all day.
We lay on the beach on the two small towels we brought with us, and Sara told us about how in Valencia, people give massages on the beach. Alas, here we “just” saw people selling mixed drinks out of coconuts, big beach blankets, bottles of water, etc. We liked to watch the drama unfold and see who else on the beach was giving into these passing temptations. And I declared that if Sara could materialize a masseuse for me, I would be the happiest person who ever killed her back lugging a suitcase for a month.
Then, behold! Someone did come by. An older woman who Sara was able to negotiate with in Spanish. She gave me one of the best massages of my life, and it only cost 5 euros for about 15 minutes. Ridiculous. It was a surreal, lush experience, to be lying on a blanket with my bare back to the sky, my friends sitting next to me, getting my shoulders rubbed. I would like to go back there right now, pretty please!
Barcelona beach stones
The other amazing thing about the beach was the sand itself. It contained so many large, beautiful stones, unlike any beach I’ve been on before. They were all about the size of your fingernails, and the most beautiful colors (the photo above has had zero editing!). They hurt to walk on after a bit, but Katie and I had a blast digging through them and filling our pockets with treasures.
Le Barceloneta with the W Hotel in the background
Because October is the off-season, we didn’t have to share the beach with many people, which was perfect for us. But getting here at all was a good reminder that even though we might not think of ourselves as beach people, even though we love the culture and history and gourmet food the actual city has to offer, we all need some time on the sand every now and then, whether or not we know it in advance. This has already played a big part in planning my next trip to Hawaii with my sister, where we’re trying to limit what we book ourselves for and instead leave ourselves lots of time for just soaking up the sunshine.
And next time I go back to Barcelona, I’m aiming to get a massage AND a drink out of a pineapple.
The #5 is brought to you from a sign in the Barcelona metro.
All photos are my own unless otherwise stated.
Sally and the City 