Settling in and getting to know the culture in Barcelona, Spain

My first week living in Barcelona was eventful to say the least. I met new people, learned new phrases, shopped, slept, and so much more. Regardless of how tired and jetlagged I was, my first night in Barcelona was a crazy one, as we attempted to ride the metro and get dinner, and decided to go to a club called Sutton. My roommate and I, who know little to nothing about public transportation in Europe, attempted to take the metro to dinner. We ended up taking the wrong line and going the opposite direction, then hopping off and getting completely lost. Although it was stressful at the moment, we could not stop laughing about how stupid we probably look to all of the locals. We attempted to get to dinner two more times and after getting lost for a third time, we gave up and took a taxi home. Eating Pringles and Oreos for dinner definitely wasn’t ideal, but considering our dinner reservation was missed it was our only option before heading to Sutton. Sutton is a great spot to go to as an American studying abroad because the majority of the crowd there is also studying abroad. It is definitely aimed towards younger crowds, with most people being 19-23 years old. We had a great time meeting new people, seeing friends from other schools, and listening to music. The rest of the week we were determined to figure out how to use the metro considering we would be using it everyday. We realized it’s actually quite simple and that we just didn’t read enough signs and didn’t look in the right directions. We bought metro passes and felt pretty accomplished for finally figuring it out. I recommend buying a T-joven metro pass so that you can use it as many times as you want for up to 90 days. 

The rest of my week in Barcelona was smoother. We tried new restaurants and had fun exploring the city. One of the first restaurants we went to was called Billie’s Brunch, where I got a chicken sandwich and my roommate got the eggs benedict. It is definitely a great staple place for a simple and inexpensive brunch that is fast and easy. The second restaurant we went to is one of my personal favorites in Barcelona, called Luigis. Luigi’s is an upscale Italian restaurant that serves pizza and pasta, and a few other things like salads, etc. Being a picky eater, I was really nervous about trying new restaurants abroad but Luigi’s pizza is definitely a must have, and their pasta was great as well. I continue to order their pizza for delivery pretty frequently.

 Coming from the United States, I was really shocked to see the price differences between restaurants here. Back home, a dinner at a nice restaurant in the city, including an appetizer, wine, and an entree, would most likely be around $60-70 per person. At Luigis, and every other upscale restaurant I have been to so far, my bill comes out to be around $20-30. This was definitely a culture shock when we got the bill and saw the price, but most certainly in the best way possible. I’m excited to try more restaurants as I navigate my way through the city over the next few months!