Setting Foot in Barcelona

I had Barcelona as one of my must-see cities in Europe.  Also, being a Meteor Garden (Taiwanese series) fan, I would love to visit the places where some of the Barcelona scenes were shot.

We took Vueling airlines flight from Orly Airport (ORY Paris) to Barcelona (BCN).  We got the Optima Fare (with 1 pc checked baggage up to 23kg) at Euro63.66.  Check-in at Orly airport was ok, although lines were a bit long.  We had our boarding passes printed but we were still given a (new) boarding pass upon check-in.  After passing through security gates, most of the people stand/sit near one of the monitors to wait for the boarding gates announcement.  Once boarding gates are announced (that is when the plane is already disembarking passengers), people flock to the gates.  Make sure you're lined up at the correct gate since, due to small waiting/boarding area, the gates are almost beside each other.  Aside from that, the flight was smooth, no delays (even for luggages).

At BCN airport, we took the Aerobus to the city center.  These buses are available at BCN T1 and T2 at certain schedules, fare is at Euro5.90 per person.  You can pay inside the bus (forgot if they give out change though).  The ride takes about 35-45 minutes to Placa de Catalunya, which is the terminal at the city center.

Aerobus ticket

When we got out of the bus, it was already dark.  Good thing is that our hostel is within walking distance from the stop.  We looked for Av. Portal de l'Angel, which is technically just across the street from Placa de Catalunya.  I had a printout of the booking confirmation and ask some vendors for direction.  It's less than 5-minute walk from the stop.  Sweet!

Since it was already late, we started our Barcelona experience the next day.  So it was just like a 1.5 day stop in this beautiful city.

Day 1: 
- Park Guell
- Sagrada Familia
- Passeig de Gracia
- Las Ramblas and Port Vell

Day 2: 
- Montjuic

To get around Barcelona, we bought a T10 transportation ticket for Euro10.30 at a vending machine in the metro station.  The ticket is valid for 10 journeys and can be shared by people in a group (in our case 2 persons).  It can be used in metro, bus, tram or local train within the city.  One trip is valid for 75 minutes, so if you ride again within 75 minutes, it will be considered as part of the previous journey.  We had this privilege twice so instead of using the ticket for 10 journeys, we've only used up 6.  So, for other people to be able to make use of it, we left the ticket at the hostal.

On our last day, we took the Aerobus back to BCN for a hassle-free trip to the airport (make sure to check which Terminal you need to go to and hop on the correct bus).  The airport was big and organized (better than ORY).  We took another Vueling flight which we got for Euro54.99 for the Optima fare.

BCN Airport

Vueling Airlines

Our Accommodation (Hostal Lausanne)

Besides having free wi-fi, this hostal boasts of great location.  It's on a shopping street, a block away from Las Ramblas (it's actually parallel to Las Ramblas), and about a 5-minute walk from Placa de Catalunya, which makes it very accessible.  The entrance to the hostal is near Stradivarius store, just look for the number of the building and press the doorbell for Hostal Lausanne.  They have a 24-hr reception desk so there's always somebody who would open up the door.  Upon entering the door, go straight to the small elevator (can fit up to 3 persons) and press 1.  The door to the hostal is on the left when you get out of the elevator.  Most likely the one who opened the main door would already be waiting for you at the doorway.

Hostal Lausanne location

Main door of the building

Interior of the building

Hostal Lausanne as seen from outside the building

Lift

Stairs

Hostal door

We booked this accommodation via booking.com for a total of Euro 88 for 2 nights for 2 persons plus a Euro 0.78 city tax/person/night.  The room that we booked does not have a private bathroom.  But the good thing is that the bathrooms are not the typical hostel bathrooms where there are cubicles inside the room.  It's more of like a private bathroom (there's 2) provided for the guests of the hostal.  During the time we were there, we did not experience waiting in line to use the bathroom, maybe it's because not a lot of people are there during our stay.

Our room has 2 single beds, there's a basin and a heater (no aircon though).  Towels are also provided.  The room given to us is beside the living room.  At night, we here some elders chatting here but at a tolerable level.

Living room beside our room which has a view of the street

Hallway

Inside our room

Inside our room

On our last day, we checked out early and left our luggage in the hostal.  We just went back for it before we took the bus back to the airport.