It's actually quite rare for me to spend my birthday outside of the UK. For my 18th birthday, I went to Paris with my family, but not on the actual day itself. On my 27th birthday, we were living in Chile and celebrated at home in Santiago. The only previous time that I'd been on a trip away on the day itself was on my 22nd birthday, when I was living in Austria and went on a weekend away to Udine. So it felt very special to spend my 30th birthday in Barcelona!
We started the morning at Madeleine by Ferrières, a French café just around the corner from our hotel, where we had one of the best pains au chocolat and coffees that we've had in our life! I love France and French pastries, so it was the perfect birthday breakfast.
After breakfast, we went to a barbershop, because Claudio had wanted to get a haircut while in Spain, and after that, we went to Westfield Glòries mall, where we picked up some Spanish turrón to take home as gifts. Claudio also got himself a new shirt from Zara.
When leaving the mall, we passed by Torre Glòries, Barcelona's most famous skyscraper.
Our first sightseeing stop of the day was one of the city's most unmissable sights: the world famous Sagrada Família basilica.
This building, which is set to be finished next year, is so much bigger in real life than I imagined it to be. It also has a lot more little colourful details to it than can be seen clearly in photos, such as a Christmas tree and bunches of fruit. It's a really unique place.
It was also, unsurprisingly, the most crowded attraction we visited during our trip. We didn't fancy spending hours waiting in line and then shuffling through the building in a massive crowd, so decided we were happy to have seen it from the outside. Maybe on a future trip, we'll go inside.
This building, which is set to be finished next year, is so much bigger in real life than I imagined it to be. It also has a lot more little colourful details to it than can be seen clearly in photos, such as a Christmas tree and bunches of fruit. It's a really unique place.
It was also, unsurprisingly, the most crowded attraction we visited during our trip. We didn't fancy spending hours waiting in line and then shuffling through the building in a massive crowd, so decided we were happy to have seen it from the outside. Maybe on a future trip, we'll go inside.
For lunch, we went somewhere extra special: Más Que Sushi. This is actually a restaurant that was recommended to us by the barber who cut Claudio's hair in the morning. There were two reasons why we wanted to go:
1) We really like sushi.
2) One of the waiters is a robot cat!
It turned out to be a really special experience. The restaurant is beautiful, and the food was delicious. It was also great value, at 15 euros per person for all you can eat. The cat robot was so much fun - it smiles and talks to you when it comes to your table!
1) We really like sushi.
2) One of the waiters is a robot cat!
It turned out to be a really special experience. The restaurant is beautiful, and the food was delicious. It was also great value, at 15 euros per person for all you can eat. The cat robot was so much fun - it smiles and talks to you when it comes to your table!
It was after this that the day took a turn for the worse. We decided that a great way to continue the birthday celebrations would be by going for a swim at Barceloneta Beach.
As we knew that there was a risk of our belongings being stolen while we were swimming, we decided to leave our backpacks behind and take the paper bag we'd got from Zara earlier. We also left behind my phone and our cards and money, just taking towels, our room key cards and our metro cards. In the end, Claudio decided to also take his phone in order to find the bus route to Barceloneta.
We arrived at the beach, laid out our towels and put Claudio's phone at the bottom of the Zara bag, covering it with clothes, and made our way into the sea.
As we knew that there was a risk of our belongings being stolen while we were swimming, we decided to leave our backpacks behind and take the paper bag we'd got from Zara earlier. We also left behind my phone and our cards and money, just taking towels, our room key cards and our metro cards. In the end, Claudio decided to also take his phone in order to find the bus route to Barceloneta.
We arrived at the beach, laid out our towels and put Claudio's phone at the bottom of the Zara bag, covering it with clothes, and made our way into the sea.
We spent a few very nice minutes enjoying our swim in the surprisingly warm water. Swimming in the sea is one of our favourite things in the world, and it was especially nice to get to do it on my birthday.
We were regularly checking back to see that our belongings were still there. However, we must have both looked away for a matter of seconds at one point, because the next time we looked, the Zara bag had completely disappeared. We asked people sitting nearby, and no one had seen what had happened. I was worried we were going to have to walk hours back to the hotel in our towels and flip flops, as most of our clothes along with our metro cards had been taken.
Eventually, we ended up meeting a Colombian family who had also been robbed. They told us they had seen the thief going down a particular street with the Zara bag. We went to that street and found the bag ripped open on top of a car. The clothes, along with my metro card and hotel room key, were strewn across the street, but unfortunately, Claudio's phone (which had his metro card and room key in the case) was gone. The Colombian family were kind enough to give us one of their metro cards so that we could get back to the hotel.
We then spoke to two police officers, who told us to come with them to the station. We sat in the back of the police car, where I was trying not to have a panic attack, as the space was so cramped. At the station, Claudio tried to log in to his Apple account in order to find his serial number and make a report, but in the stress of the moment, he wasn't able to remember the password.
We were regularly checking back to see that our belongings were still there. However, we must have both looked away for a matter of seconds at one point, because the next time we looked, the Zara bag had completely disappeared. We asked people sitting nearby, and no one had seen what had happened. I was worried we were going to have to walk hours back to the hotel in our towels and flip flops, as most of our clothes along with our metro cards had been taken.
Eventually, we ended up meeting a Colombian family who had also been robbed. They told us they had seen the thief going down a particular street with the Zara bag. We went to that street and found the bag ripped open on top of a car. The clothes, along with my metro card and hotel room key, were strewn across the street, but unfortunately, Claudio's phone (which had his metro card and room key in the case) was gone. The Colombian family were kind enough to give us one of their metro cards so that we could get back to the hotel.
We then spoke to two police officers, who told us to come with them to the station. We sat in the back of the police car, where I was trying not to have a panic attack, as the space was so cramped. At the station, Claudio tried to log in to his Apple account in order to find his serial number and make a report, but in the stress of the moment, he wasn't able to remember the password.
We then went back to the hotel room, where Claudio spent some time on my phone, changing passwords and making sure that nothing important could be accessed on his phone.
Thankfully, his phone was old and had problems with its battery life. He had been planning on replacing it soon anyway. What happened was a massive inconvenience and very frustrating, especially after the measures we'd taken to make it look like the bag had no valuables in it, but it could have been a lot worse.
Thankfully, his phone was old and had problems with its battery life. He had been planning on replacing it soon anyway. What happened was a massive inconvenience and very frustrating, especially after the measures we'd taken to make it look like the bag had no valuables in it, but it could have been a lot worse.
We finished my birthday on a positive note with a surprisingly strong piña colada on the rooftop terrace. It did feel like my 30th birthday had been ruined more than a little bit by what had happened, so I decided then that the following day would also be my birthday! And luckily for us, it turned out to be a much better day than this one. I'll be writing about it next!
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