Although I had just visited Barcelona for the first time less than a year prior, in September 2018 (read about my trip here), I decided to return for a few days in August 2019 in between visits to Menorca and San Sebastián. I was already in Spain and wanted to check some more things off my Barcelona list, so why not? While I harbored similar concerns about visiting Barcelona in August as I did about visiting Paris in July, I went in to the trip with tempered expectations (lots of tourists, few locals, steamy weather, and restaurant closures for summer break – which meant no dining at Tickets again).

Staying at the Barcelona EDITION

My flight on Vueling Airlines (a low-cost Spanish carrier) was uneventful and I was at my hotel by 4pm.

As much as I had loved staying at Soho House on my previous visit, I wanted to check out a different property. The Barcelona EDITION had opened only a year ago, was conveniently located in El Born and featured a beautiful rooftop. I am also a sucker for the custom Le Labo bath products at EDITION hotels – they just smell so good.

While I wanted to walk around and see the city, it was still hot out, so I decided to check out the rooftop first.

Once I finished my Negroni, I escaped the rooftop, feeling sorry for the guy that had to listen to the self-absorbed model girl drone on and on. I hope he at least got laid. I didn’t have a big plan for the evening, so I just wandered around El Born until I got bored and decided it was time for my next cocktail.

I talked with Moe, one of the schmucks, and a new bartender who was an expat from California. The drinks were great, the hospitality was fantastic, and I’d return in a heartbeat.

Wine Tour in Penedès

I had two full days in Barcelona, and of course wanted to spend one of them wine tasting. The Penedès region of Spain is where almost all cava (Spanish sparking wine) is produced, and is less than an hour west of Barcelona. I booked a small group tour through Airbnb Experiences that would have us riding through wine country on e-bikes.

We met in the center of the city; our guide was a Frenchman named Thomas, and the group consisted of a diverse crew. There were a number of couples, a few other solo travelers, and only a couple other Americans. I gravitated toward the other singles: a girl (Irena) from Australia in her twenties, a guy (Lee) from the UK in his thirties and a woman (Asa) from Sweden in her forties. We took the train out to the town of Vilafranca del Penedès, where we walked to Thomas’s shop and collected our e-bikes.

I had never ridden an e-bike, but it was pretty easy. Our bikes had gears like a regular bike, and you could actually ride it without any power like a normal bicycle. However, they also had different power settings that would provide varying levels of assistance. I tried to use as little power as possible so I could get a workout in between wine tastings, but will admit that it was helpful to have the assistance going up hills, especially toward the end of the day.

We did a few trial rides through the streets of Vilafranca and we were off.

Once we returned the bikes safely to Thomas’s shop, he gave us two options: 1) We could return to Barcelona on the train on our own now, or 2) He could drive us to Sitges, where we could explore the seaside town, have lunch, and return to Barcelona on the train at our leisure. I had nothing planned for the afternoon, so I was in for the Sitges adventure, as were the three other solo travelers. We decided to stick together for lunch and more drinks.

Next, we found a beach club, where we introduced Lee and Asa to Aperol spritzes (I opted for my preferred spritz with Campari). We were all shocked when Asa told us that she had a 15 year daughter at home. She was on her first solo trip and even had a date planned later (via Tinder). I was quite proud of her. Finally, after downing our spritzes, we decided to walk around town for a bit before getting on the train back to the city.

At the end of the afternoon, we exchanged contact information, and Lee created a WhatsApp group for us to stay connected during our trip. Irena and I had discussed getting together the following evening for a sunset sail, so I hoped to at least see her again.

Visiting Park Güell

I had booked tickets to tour Park Güell at 10:30am the following morning. On my last visit I had learned the hard way that tickets are required to enter certain sections of the park – and they sell out. I was not going to make the same mistake this time.

I love Park Guell – Gaudí’s whimsical architectural style is on full display, the views of the city are incredible, and it’s fun to wander around the gardens. It was nice to be able to see Gaudí’s designs up close, but I was somewhat disappointing that I didn’t get to see that much more with a ticket.

Sunset Sail

For my last night in Barcelona, I had booked a sunset sail through Airbnb Experiences. However, after wandering around Park Güell and the city streets for a few hours, I received a last minute message that the conditions at sea were unsafe, and the host was cancelling the tour. What the eff. Irena had booked the same experience, so we were now both going to miss out on our sailboat ride.

Unwilling to accept the change in plans, I immediately began to reach out directly to other highly-rated hosts on Airbnb to see if they would take us out. This wasn’t the first time someone tried to bail on a boating excursion because of rough seas, and I had learned to not listen unless the conditions really did look dangerous. I had a strong stomach and could handle a few waves.

Sure enough, several hosts responded, saying that they would still go out that evening. I booked the experience with the first one that got back to me, and had Irena do the same. We were back on!

While relaxing on the not-rocky boat, Irena and I popped some cava and chatted. For someone in her mid-twenties, I was impressed with how well-traveled and independent she was. She had family in Croatia, so she was heading there next, and was also going to Portugal to meet a friend in Lisbon. This friend of hers lived in New York, and she had visited him recently, eating at restaurants such as Eleven Madison Park and Carbone. Sounded like we had some things in common. I told Irena I was going to be in Sydney in January, and we discussed getting together again then.

And that was the end of my second trip to Barcelona. It was nice to return, since I didn’t feel the need to cram a ton of sightseeing into a few days. That being said, there is still a lot more that I’d like to do in the city (eating at Tickets being at the very top of that list), so I’ll definitely be back. For now, I’d be leaving Catalonia and heading to Basque Country for return visit to another one of my favorite cities in Spain: San Sebastiàn.