SOCIAL MEDIA

Monday 14 January 2019

Travel Diary: Primavera Sound 2018 in Barcelona


These are a series of posts covering my 5 weeks in Europe, and each country I see in bite sizes. Or as my best friend likes to say, “speed touristing.” I visited most places for 4 days, with the exception of Germany and some day trips. This is my way of taking you guys on my adventures through Europe, giving you guys my thoughts on each place and any tips I’ve picked up!

Primavera Sound 2018 in Barcelona



I can’t really say I visited Barcelona because I barely saw any of it. Instead, I went to Barcelona to attend the Primavera Sound Music Festival. I extended my Europe trip just to attend this because the line up was insane, or to be specific, A$AP Rocky was headlining and that was all the persuasion I needed. 

Barcelona was the only place I visited where I didn’t have a friend to visit, and was the first time since Stockholm where I had only my company to enjoy. It made the whole experience a lot more interesting. I was use to eating by myself but going to a festival alone was a first. 

I got to Barcelona a day before attending Primavera Sound just to settle in and sightsee a little. By sightsee I mean seeing what Barcelona’s night life is like. There are a ton of clubs along the beach to hit up, most very well-known. I opted for Opium, which is located right next to Shoko and Pacha (yes, the same club as the one in Ibiza), both popular clubs as well. You can get free entry as well - I just googled which club to go to and it came up with websites to receive free entry! I’ve been clubbing alone before so to me that wasn’t anything new. Barcelona is a city that really never sleeps, it was easy to go to and from the place and feel quite safe being alone.

Heading to the music festival I knew exactly which artists I wanted to see and what time to get there. Preparation 101 guys. The place also has a great range of food selection and various drink stands. It is cash only though, but there are ATMs available to withdraw. Parc del Forum is huge!! There are stages everywhere and there were times I, and other people, would have to sprint to stages not to miss artists we wanted to see. 

The artists I came to see were: 

Day One - Kelela, Vince Staples and CHRVCHES

Day Two - The Internet and Tyler, the Creator

Day Three - Lorde, Arctic Monkeys, A$AP Rocky and Skepta

Hands down day three was the best! I ended up being “adopted” by an English group, who were there to see Arctic Monkeys, and then found a group from Ireland whilst at the A$AP Rocky stage. We saw Skepta together and didn’t leave the place until 6AM. All artists I saw were amazing, had great stage presence and were great at hyping the crowd.

I saw other artists here and there, whilst running around trying to find stages and artists, but don’t quite remember. I do remember seeing Bjork for a bit and never thought I’d be seeing such an artist live, so I enjoyed that! The festival had a great line up, with artists I listen to now and didn’t even know was playing! Primavera Sound has released 2019’s line up so check it out! It runs over a number of days from 6PM to 6AM. 

The last two days there I tried to see as much of the area I was in, mostly Placa del Catalunya. I had a friend from Canada who was also in Barcelona so we ended spending most of the 2nd last day together, eating and playing board games in a cafe. A great way to end a crazy few days!

Accomodation

This is a fancy hostel, with a huge lounge area, modern rooms and a rooftop pool! Do expect it to be on the pricier end of hostels.

Places I Ate At

All I did was brunch in Barcelona, which was really strange.


Flax and Kale and Teresa Carles are from the same company, focused on promoting healthy and organic meals. Teresa Carles is vegetarian/vegan only! Caravelle had a line every time I tried to visit but I finally got a spot. 

I did try La Taperia de el Nacional, which is a tapas place that I loved; the concept was that the waiters would run around yelling out what tapas plate they had and we would have to raise our hands if we wanted it. 

Sunday 6 January 2019

Travel Diary: Eating My Way Through Berlin



These are a series of posts covering my 5 weeks in Europe, and each country I see in bite sizes. Or as my best friend likes to say, “speed touristing.” I visited most places for 4 days, with the exception of Germany and some day trips. This is my way of taking you guys on my adventures through Europe, giving you guys my thoughts on each place and any tips I’ve picked up!

Eating My Way Through Berlin


Berlin fast became one of my other favourite cities, besides Amsterdam. I loved it so much that my original plan to visit Munich and Salzburg got scrapped and I stayed in Berlin for longer. I wouldn’t say I got up to a whole heap for the time I spent there though. I wasn’t jetting around the city visiting every tourist attraction and making sure I was taking in all of its culture. By this point I’m pretty sure I just wanted to take some time out after flying three times during the week and being in three different countries. If I was going to be honest, Berlin became more of a food adventure for me, which I’m not complaining about. Since leaving London, I hadn’t found a country that offered a selection of foods from different cultures that I could say was enjoyable. Thank god for my friend Lan and her love for food as well. I’m sure we got told by the waiters/waitresses who served us at two different places that the amount of food we ordered was more than what they would recommend for two people. I ate so much during my time in Berlin, it was incredible. 

Where To Eat



Green Tea Cafe Mamecha 
I LOVE green tea (emphasis on love) and this cafe is dedicated to it
Ishin
Lan visits this place often so she knew exactly what to order for us. We had a selection of sushi rolls, grilled skewers, miso based steamed fish and dumplings. 

Rausch 
Think Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory in real life but just a tad smaller in scale. There was so much to choose from, I was at a loss, but loved everything I tried! We had a mini mango tart, strawberries and ice cream and a dark chocolate slice with raspberries, which was my favourite of the three. 

Lon Men’s Noodle House
At this point in my trip I was really craving good Asian food, and this place delivered authentic beef noodle soup and dumplings. Quick tip: it’s cash only!

Peter Pane Burger Bar & Grill
Great selection of burgers, including vegetarian. 

Schwiliko 
To be quite honest, I don’t know what we ordered, only because we got the owner to surprise us. It was such a random place to eat at but we wanted to try something different and we liked most of what we were served. 

Where To Visit


Besides the historical monuments and infamous clubs/bars, Berlin has a few other things to offer. 

Badeschiff Berlin
Badeschiff is a beach bar, with a swimming pool built off the Spree. It’s open during the Spring and Summer only and offers you the option to sunbathe in the sand or take a dip to cool off. I would consider it a man-made beach concept. During the Summer they host beach parties and events there, which I missed out, but still really liked the vibe of the place. Just make sure to head in early or be ready to wait in a long queue as the place does get busy quite easily. You also have to pay for admission alongside locker and key hire.

Mauerpark 
Europe is FULL of parks, you can walk anywhere and find yourself in one. What’s cool about Mauerpark is the activities that happen on Sunday. A flea market opens during the day with some really unique items to discover and food to try. The biggest crowd drawer though would be the amphitheater where the audience are invited to come up onto stage and belt their lungs out to any song on the karaoke machine. It’s amazing to watch how brave these people are but also how incredibly talented some of them are as well. People sing-a-long and it’s just a great experience overall. You also get smaller groups scattered around the park with their own speakers and music blasting, which invites others to join them and dance in the open. 

I did have an unfortunate night where I cannot account for a few hours of my night but hey just another story to bring home right (hahah ...)!