Do’s and Don’ts

Before starting your amazing journey abroad, being nervous of the unknown is totally expected. Starting off with what to pack, it’s extremely important for you to do your research about the weather in Barcelona. Known for its amazing beach life, one would imagine to bring spring/summer clothing. Much to my surprise January through the end of March are still pretty chilly. Barcelona may be in the south of Europe, but they still have some winter weather. Keeping in mind the luggage limits for your airline, it’s important to pack smart instead of packing more. It’s ideal to pack clothes that can be mixed and matched, and especially bring layers. Barcelona can be very cold in the mornings but by the afternoon the sun tends to be almost hot.

Once settled into Barcelona after the extremely stressful process of packing and flying in, and finally across the globe with a bit of jet leg, it’s time to explore the beautiful city of Barcelona. Of course the first thing you want to do after your first steps here is walk on the the sand of the Mediterranean sea, and try Spain’s famous Paella. But DO NOT eat the paella on the beach!! Don’t eat at any restaurants with pictures of paella outside their doors. From my experience and advise of our orientation leaders, those restaurants usually have frozen paella, and not the original fresh cuisine that you are expecting. Paella takes hours to cook properly, so typically only the pre made and frozen versions will be sever along the beach. Save your paella adventures for something home made or in Valencia, the true home of paella.

Also, eating hours here are insanely different, lunch is served at 2pm and dinner usually at 9pm. So don’t be expecting restaurants to be open till at least 8pm. Keeping in mind that water is not free here. As like the rest of the world except for North America, water is charged, and is against regulations to give customers water from the faucet. Occasionally you will find places where the water is free with your alcoholic drink or juice, but do not assume it is free.

Abrazos