Barcelona is no doubt one of my favorite cities – Gaudi’s architecture, amazing sea food (mussels!), Barcelona beach right in the city center, the weather, the vibe and Park Güell – it all creates a city that is vibrant and a one you always want to come back to.
So when we realized that our next company team offsite is going to be held in the BCN for 2 amazing, activities fully-packed days in the home to Sagrada Familia and modernism, we screamed of joy!
We were booked an early flight to take the most advantage out of the 2-days stay. As there is no direct flight from Szczecin to Barcelona we were flying from Berlin. We took a shuttle bus at 3am from Szczecin to Berlin–Schönefeld Airport (SXF) and arrived 5:30am comfortably on time for the 7am flight with Easyjet. I was mostly sleeping or napping on the way.
We landed at the Barcelona–El Prat airport after a smooth flight and took a yellow-black taxi straight to the hotel. Fun fact is that there’s a taxi guard awaiting outside the airport who diligently ensures that everyone in the queue gets a taxi at the right time. How convenient! It took us circa 20 min to get to the hotel. Barcelona welcomed us with a humid and not so hot weather, surprisingly cloudy at this time of the year. I really enjoyed a talk with our taxi driver who was telling us about the current political situation between Catalonia and Barcelona, or how to eat one of the Catalonia’s famous vegetable – Calçots, and also why she’s fan of Maria from The Simpsons after I noticed a set of small figures representing the whole family. She said – because she’s super intelligent!
Local Starbucks nearby our hotel where we sat and connected for work.
We were staying at the Meliá Barcelona Sarrià, a 16-floor hotel, right in the city centre, only 30 min walk from Passeig de Gràcia and 1h walk from Barcelonetta beach was convenient. I recommend the hotel for short stays. It has a nice lounge area and a bar with long tables (great for team work), hubs and a good wi-fi for when you need to get some work done. Look at the view from the 14th floor!
El Kiosko
Our first food-heaven spot was El Kiosko – a good-energy restaurant packed with wooden wine boxes, lamps made out of drink bottle, cool tables, nice garden with lots of plants and amazing food. You can already tell a place is a good match when it’s fully packed during the lunch time. We’ve ordered a set of typical Spanish tapas like Patatas Bravas, Hamon, a set of cheeses and olives and more! Check them out on Instagram for lovely and yummy photos.
Address: Av. de Josep Tarradellas, 153, 08029 Barcelona, Spain
El National Barcelona – a Gatsby-like interior and traditional Spanish food experience
If you want to feel the vibe of Gatsby-like interiors and find yourself in an emblematic building full of history, reflecting the industrial architecture of the 1920s then this is your spot. I was amazed by this post-theater building that is now a home to five different culinary spots where you can try traditional recipes from around the Spain. From tapas to beers, oysters steak jamon pasta – I loved it there! Check them out on Instagram.
Address: Passeig de Gràcia, 24 Bis, 08007 Barcelona, Spain
Arenal Restaurant – Barcelonetta lunch
Had lunch here with the team sitting inside still overlooking the beachfront. Lovely setting with lovely food. We had different time of food, from paellas to fish and ham and some starters to share. Service was excellent, very friendly.
Address: Passeig Marítim La Barceloneta, s/n, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
I loved the stay. It was not only one of the best team building experience – we are sat in various offices across Europe – connecting regularly on Google Hangout – so it was really lovely to get together and spend some quality time talking through our daily work, challenges, finding solutions but also having fun over food (food connects people!) and team building events but also one of the best culinary experience I had in Barcelona and I am ever grateful for the opportunity!
Hope this comes come in handy and gives you some inspiration for your next travel.
Safe trips!
Lidia
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