Sunlight in Barcelona

I love taking photos, but in the winter, I tend to leave my camera at home. In January, the world is dark and most of the Northern Hemisphere is smothered in a blanket of black. Amsterdam is no exception, and in addition to very few hours of sunlight, we also get snow, hail, and rain . . . none of which are very conducive for a photographer who prefers shooting in natural light. However, Barcelona in the winter is a different story. Despite the Earth’s tilt, Spain still remains generally mild in the winter, and the sunshine is almost always present, despite the season. So although we ate a lot of amazing food, wandered down colorful alleys, past historic monuments, and into cozy cafes, my favorite part of Sunday was simply cradling my camera around the city with some great company.

On Sunday we left the hostel quite early, despite having all tricked in sometime around 7am. Side note: I’ve never stayed in a hostel before!! I’ve travel a lot, but usually spring for a unique AirBnb or jazzy hotel justified by the fact that I really *need* a luxurious bathtub while on holiday (life is sad in a small Amsterdam apartment without a tub!) But in Barcelona we stayed at the Box Port Hostel which was my first hostel experience. It was clean, and our accommodation was fun since the 16 of us gals literally took up one whole room. It was like a massive girl’s camp weekend, or elementary school sleepover, complete with bunk beds! The only part that sucked was the one shower. When 16 women all want to bathe at once, shit can get real (or just really early, and no one wants to wake up at 8am on holiday to bathe!) So after a marathon of blow dries and back to back showers, we hit the road early in search of some hearty hangover food.
We ended up at Bar Lobo for breakfast, and consumed bacon, eggs, and fresh squeezed OJ in the sunshine.While we sat outside, the inside of the restaurant was also quite atmospheric. This two-story wolf mural (below) was made up entirely of glass colored bulbs.After breakfast, we broke up into smaller groups to roam. Some ladies hit the museums, others went off for some shopping. I stuck with a small group that strolled towards the Cathedral of Barcelona, and enjoyed some tapas and sangria in the sun!Shout out to Melissa who awesomely insisted I get a photo of this massive owl ‘sitting’ on my head. I think this might have been my favorite landmark in Barcelona :)

Now, I know that earlier in this post I was complaining about the lack of sunshine in the winter, BUT there are some good things that happen after dark. One is dinner, which on this night consisted of the most delicious seafood paella ever. Behold the glory:There’s also the stunning concrete beauty of a man-lit city at night. The glowing neon lights always make me feel on the cusp of a new adventure, or something bigger.And maybe I am ;)

xo Ali

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