Travel Noire: Barcelona, Spain

at La Sagrada Familia

As some of you may know, my husband works for a major airline which comes with some pretty cool perks, most notably free flights. These came in handy when we were invited to go to Spain with our close friends and neighbors back at the end of July. They were going on this super long Mediterranean cruise and wanted us to hang out with a few family members before they left port. Lemme just say, a few family members to Jamaican families is like...20 people. But everyone was so warm, welcoming, and just downright entertaining, we can't wait for the next "family" trip.

Getting There

I had traveled to Italy 18 years ago  with my elementary school choir. The Euro was still a new concept, John Paul was still the Pope, Brexit wasn't a thing... you get the picture. Ashante had never left North America, so this trip was going to be a completely new experience for the both of us.  We were extremely blessed to cop first class seats on the way out. Delta ONE is amazing if you ever have the chance to upgrade to first, especially on a international flight. Being able to lay down and sleep is a game changer for those long flights.

Delta ONE pod

 We had pre-flight cocktails, appetizers, the full main course, dessert and optional post dinner drink. Waking up before landing we were served breakfast and snacks. We left the states via Baltimore-Atlanta around 5:30pm Saturday and landed in Barcelona at 8 something in the morning on Sunday. **(Shoutout to one of the loveliest flight attendants that saw me pumping after dinner and brought me ice for my milk, water, and snacks for the rest of the trip.) Headed straight to the hotel to wait out the rest of the group.

First class tings

Around Town

One we all arrived and got settled, we immediately started out in search for food and fun. Our first hotel was a 10 minute walk to the beach, so we went everyday. One thing that is a must in Barce is riding scooters through the city. Mediterraneans love to walk, but they love scooters and bikes a little more. The only time we took a car was to switch hotels and get to and from the airport.
The beaches were packed, and surprisingly rocky. If you managed to brave the terrain, you were welcomed by chilly, crystal clear waters. Notable attractions were La Sagrada Familia, an unfinished Gaudi cathedral that's still under construction- 120 years after inception! There are several other Gaudi architectural sites worth checking out that we didn't make it to, like Park Güell, Casa Vicens, La Pedrera, Palau Güell, Casa Batlló, among others. Hop on, hop off tours are a great way to see these. My favorite tourist spot were the cable cars (called the Teleferic) that took you to Castell de Montjüic.

Teleferic (cable cars)

Castell de Montjuic

Montjüic is really a big hill that has beautiful parks, winding roads that used to be part of a Formula One circuit, the Olympic stadiums and at the top the Castle. The Castle is actually an old fort and prison with walking trails and beautiful views of the city and port. Their train system was fairly straightforward, once you got past the language barrier and took a min to really look at the maps.We used the metro two days while we were there, and good thing we figured it out too, as the cabbies went on strike while we were there. There's also the regular buses, hop on/off tours, bike shares, and of course car rentals to get you where you need to go.

Cuisine

Paella

FOOD!! Omg the food! Naturally we had to have the Spanish dish Paella, which traditionally is a seafood laden  rice dish made with short grain yellow rice, cooked in this big skillet and eaten family style. Hubby wanted to try European  (Italian style) pizza, and a shop near the Sagrada Familia delivered with a thin crust pizza featuring a light tomato sauce, Galician beef, pepperoni, arugula (they call it rocket) and fresh soft  Burrata mozzarella balls.

 I wanted to experience the typical quaint Euro breakfast, so at our second hotel we found an adorable little cafe where nobody spoke English and had a lovely breakfast consisting of coffee, fresh squeezed OJ, croissants, and the Spanish version of grilled ham and cheese. My favorite dinner was the spinach and Ricotta ravioli in a Carbonara sauce. Dead and in Heaven. Gelato in Barceloneta was perfect for walking to the beach.

But... You're Still Breastfeeding?

This was the first time Nugget and I had been truly separated since her birth. We were gone essentially a week, so naturally I had to pump to maintain my supply while we are apart. As a breastfeeding mom this is CRUCIAL. You have to empty your breasts so your body knows to keep making milk, and in my case, I was so busy having fun I wasn't pumping as often as I could or should have. Fortunately I don't have a supply issue, and I knew if I pumped at least 5 or 6 times a day it would be just enough to keep me afloat till I got home and got attacked by the kid. I took my manual, bags, spare bottles, ice blocks, Ziploc bags and a soft sided cooler. I pumped probably every 5 to 6 hours and kept the milk cool with the ice blocks or cups of restaurant ice while out, and refrigerated it once back at the hotel. The first hotel had in- room refrigerators, but our second one didn't so I labeled my cooler "medical" and they kept the milk for me in the kitchen. (many hotels without in room appliances will do this if you ask, its treated the same as medicines that must be refrigerated. I didn't freeze because I didn't want to risk it thawing on the 9 hour flight home, 6 hours or less I probably would have). When traveling always factor your travel time to and from the airport, plus bag security and bag retrieval to determine your cooling and transport needs. Domestically, TSA will allow you to travel with breast milk or formula in excess of the 3.4 oz/ 100mL rule, I declare it as I go through the checkpoint and have had no issues. I came home with probably 100 oz, give or take. Internationally its a risk as to whether they'll enforce the rule or not so to be safe call the airport ahead of time to ask, or be like me and just put the milk in your checked luggage to your first stop in the US.

We still have a few trips left before we close out 2018 so stay tuned to see where we end up next. 

-xo

For a quick album of the trip, click here.