BARCELONA

"Barcelona is an enchanting seaside city with boundless culture, fabled architecture and a world-class drinking and dining scene." (Lonely Planet) That's pretty summarises what Barcelona is about. If you are heading to Spain, it is a destination for sun and fun seeking people. It is a cosmopolitan capital of Spain's Catalonia region. The famous landmarks of Barcelona you may know is for example La Sagrada Familia church or architectural buildings by Antoni Gaudi. In fact, all Barcelona landmarks will be around Gaudi's work.

Barcelona can be a very popular destination for both locals and tourists, due to the vibrant nightlife, drinking and dining scene, festival and beaches nearby. Whether you are looking for budget or high class travels, read more to get some further insights into what to do, see and where to go.

Things to do and see

1. La Sagrada Familia The large unfinished Roman Catholic church is designed by an architect Antoni Gaudi, from which you sill see many other landmarks around Barcelona. The fascinating building is surrounded by a park from which you can have great views too!
2. Park Guell The largest public park in Barcelona located on Carmel Hill at the north of the city. Come and visit the park and landmarks designed by Gaudi, make sure to purchase tickets in advance to avoid long queues. This park is also declared under UNESCO Heritage Sites.

3. Casa Battlo Casa Battlo is one of the buildings in the center of Barcelona deisgned by Antoni Gaudi and it is considered as one of his masterpieces. The house was redesigned in 1904 and refurbished several times after that. Like everything Gaudí designed, it is only identifiable as Modernisme or Art Nouveau in the broadest sense. The ground floor, in particular, has unusual tracery, irregular oval windows and flowing sculpted stone work. 
4. Casa Mila Not far from Casa Battlo, you will find Casa Mila, known also as La Pedrera or "The stone quarry". It is referred to rough appearance of the building. It was the last private residence designed by Gaudi between 1906 and 1912.
5. La Rambla La Rambla is a long boulevard in the city center of Barcelona, here you will many many street vendors, accommodations, entertainment and shopping places. Walking north, you will get to Gaudi's buildings and walking all the way down at La Rambla, you will get to the beach. And anywhere in between, you can get into Gothic Quarter. 



6. Gothic Quarter The charming Gothic Quarter or known as well as Barri Gotic is narrow medieval streets filled by bars, clubs, restaurants and shopping in the city center. Explore the quarter for Mediterranean vibe and markets.
7. Montjuic  Montjuic is a hilled area stretching from the seaside to Placa d'Espanya. Here you can find Magic fountains, National art museum of Catalunya or Montjuic castle. The stunning magic fountain is situated across several levels up to the museum, from where you can have beautiful views on Barcelona. Actually, this whole Montjuic hill area will give you spectacular views.
8. Place de Catalunya The large square in central Barcelona where thd old city and the 19th century Eixample meet. It is a hub for airport transport as well as a getaway to La Rambla and Old Quarter.




9. Picasso Museum Fan of Picasso? Then visit Picasso Museum for extensive collections of artworks by a Spanish artist. 
10. Cathedral of Barcelona The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia is also known as Barcelona Cathedral is located in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona. The cathedral was constructed from the 13 to 15th century.
11. La Barceloneta seaside La Barcelona is a neigborhood around the seaside of Barcelona. Great for afternoon chill, surg or sunbathing. What could be great to have a vibrant city life and nearby seaside for relaxation? The long promenade can somewhat look like LA with palms around around restaurants and bars. There is also a nearby cable car which will offer you panaromic city views on its way to Montjuic hill.
12. Ciutadella Park and Triumphal arch The park located in the north east of Barcelona is the only green space in the city. The park is beautiful in many ways, you will find parliament located in there, as well as ZOO or Cascada Monument.  Just across the park, you will be able to see Triumphal arch, a monumental structure in the shape of an archway.




13. Tibidabo cathedral and amusement park The Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor is a Roman catholic church with minor basilicas is located on the summit of Tibidabo hill. If you will travel to this area, visit also an amusement park and nearby parks. Tibidabo mount will give you breath taking views on the whole Barcelona!
14. Guel Palace The Palau Guell is a mansion designed by Gaudi between 1886 and 1888, situated in El Raval neigborhood. 15. Placa Reial The beautiful square close to La Rambla is a great spot for enterteinment, dining or drinks. It is a popular square for events and other celebrations. 
16. Place d'Espanya Plaza de Espana is one of Barcelona's most important squares, built on the occasion of the 1929 International Exhibition, held at the foot of Montjuïc district.
17. Casa Vicens Gaudi Casa Vicens is a house designed by Gaudi and now it is open as a museum. It is considered as one of the first buildings of Art Nouveau and the first house designed by Gaudi.



18. Haudi House Museum The Gaudi house museum is located within the Park Guel and it was a residence of Antoni Gaudi for almost 20 years. It is now open as a historic home museum and you can come explore the architect's collection and life.
19. Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar Santa Maria del Mar is a church built between 1329 and 1383 is an example of Catalan Gothic architecture.
20. Camp Nou stadium What more to say to football fans? Visit Camp Nou stadium, a home for FC Barcelona. This stadium is the largest in Spain and Europe apparently.
21. Fundacio Joan Miro Lovers of modern art should visit this museum honoring Joan Miro located on the hill of Montjulic. A space to discover his contemporary work. 
22. Hospital de Sant Pau Who would expect that a hospital would be also under UNESCO World Heritage Site, right? This former hospital in the neigborhood of El Guinardo is a complex built in 101 and 1930 designed by the Catalan modernisme architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner . Until 2009 it was a full functional hospital until when they opened a new hospital building nearby and use this as a museum and event space.

23. Cable car ride There are two types of cable cars which you can take in Barcelona, either Port cable car or Montjuic cable car. Both of them will give an amazing city view and a s shortcut way to the other end.
24. Pont Gotic On this small medieval street Carrer del Bisbe also called as Bishop's street, you will find a stunning neo-Gothic bridge (Pont Gotic). This street is located not far from Barcelona cathedral in the Gothic quarter.
25. "El beso" de Joan Fontcuberta Just a last thing to mention if you are already scrolling around the gothic quarter, you may find a rural exhibit of a kissing scene known as "El beso" by Joan Fontcuberta. It is an interesting piece of outdoor art, because this whole image is composed of many small pictures.

Food & drink

In Barcelona you will never struggle to find a place to eat and drink. Whether you are looking for brunch, tapas, sangria or snacks.

From international cuisine to local vendors, Barcelona has a wide offering and here is a list of 10 places to visit. From coffee shop, brunch place to tapas place. Don't forget that Spanish people enjoys their siesta times between 2-5ish and a lot of shops will be closed, so what is the best time to sit down for some tapas or 1L of sangria? Make sure to try out paella, Spanish tortilla or garlic prawns.

1. Mercado de la Boqueria (food and drink market)
2. Federal Cafe (brunch and coffee shop)
3. Enkel Barcelona (European restaurant)
4. The Benedict Barcelona (brunch and coffee shop)
5. Ocana (Spanish restaurant)
6. Picnic (brunch and coffee shop)
7. Espai Joliu (coffee shop)
8. Oma Bistro (restaurant)
9. Bohl (restaurant)
10. Sensi (tapas restaurant)

Where to stay?

The city is full of accommodation choices. Whether you are looking nearby the beach or in a city, you have it all at different price points. For this trip, we have opt in for Airbnb stay on La Rambla, which ease our access to walk around whenever we needed as well as get the tube just in front of our stay easily. As I always recommend, check both Airbnb and Hotels situations and compare to what it will be the best for you. Make sure to also use the links via my blog to get some discounts!
                                                

How to get around

Barcelona is fairly walkable. However, it is well connected by metro as well. One way single ticket costs 2.20 Euros. However, if you are planning to use multiple times, then maybe it is worth to consider buying 10 tickets or more in bulk for 10,20 Euros. 
You can get tube or bus to the airport from Plaza Espana or Plaza Catalunya. The one way ticket to the airport cost anything between 4,50 euros to 5,90 euros. If travelling by bus, you don't need to change anywhere and no need to buy tickets in advance.
You can also consider hiring bicycle if you would like to cycle around the boulevard or Barcelonata.                        

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BEIJING

If you are regularly following me either on blog or on Instagram, early this year, I made a trip to Vietnam. Before heading off for Lunar New Year in Hanoi, we had our transit in Beijing, China. While booking the trip, we took the opportunity for a long haul transit which will allow us to go out from the airport and explore the city a bit. Not only the tickets are usually cheaper when you have big gaps between changes, but also we spend in Beijing about 12 hours, so long enough to see the city and get in and out from the airport.

Now, I will share with you some insights and tips to what to do in your layover time in Beijing as well as the whole process to get out to the city.




Is layover worth it?

First of all, check whether you need visa at the destination where you planning to have a layover. Some countries, like China, offers 24h or 72h transit visa on the day (applicable to some countries only). Always do your research prior, and check whether your passport is valid for it, and whether you have to apply online or on the day. Check what documents and policies are for these applications.

Secondly, airports can reject your transit visa due to not sufficient hours in between, so always make sure that your time frame is doable. Take in consideration that it will take you more then an hour to get out from the airport to the city (if lucky that there won't be visa queues)  and then you have to be back at the airport 1-2 h before your next departure. Check how far is the airport from the city and check how you will get our and back.

Thirdly, budget yourself. Ask yourself questions like how much it will cost you to spend a day in that city. Is there enough things to do for your time frame? How easy is it to get around there? Or will you have hand luggage with your or where will you leave them? Again, it comes to some research prior booking tickets. Research the city and how easy is it to get around to see sights. In addition, check what time you arriving and departing. If you are arriving in the evening or late night times, I don't think there is much to do out in a city, right? (unless you would like to layover to go have a drink or clubbing).



12 h in Beijing, what to do?

We were lucky that there wasn't any queue for transit visa (maybe just 3 people in front of us), so the whole process was quick. I have just fill in a form, and have my passport and next ticket with me ready to show them. After the verification, all was done and I was ready to leave the airport to go out.

Since, I have been in Beijing many and many years ago, it was nice to re-visit. Prior coming to here, I have checked some places where I wanted to go, but because we get to Beijing in the afternoon, we did not have much time to go do touristy stuff, as many places were closed by 5 or 6 pm. Hence, me and my boyfriend just head to the main Tianamen square and Forbidden city where we were until the closing time.

Unfortunately, main tourist attractions or even the Great China Wall is scattered around from each other, so always plan where you would like to visit prior, to avoid unnecessary transport and time costs. Pick an area or couple points to fully explore rather than trying to fit everything in one day. Moreover, there are many travel agencies offering layover tour packages, where they would pick you up as well. Therefore, if you don't want to risk your time and take the hassle by exploring yourself in such short time frame, check for available layover tours.







From the airport, we took the Airport Line and then change to metro to get to Tiananmen square station. We took a walk around this big square, passing National Museum of China, gates and other museums to the monumental entrance of the Forbidden city, where we got our tickets for 40 Yuan (during off-peak time). Make sure to withdraw money at the airport before you will go out!

The Forbidden City is a palace complex in the central of Beijing. It is a massive place with former Chinese imperial palace, temples, Palace museum and gardens. Allow yourself at least 2h to be here to see everything.

When exiting through the north gate from the Forbidden city, you will be surrounded by Jingshan park in front and Beihai Park on the west. Take a stroll around the park to see the beautiful temples and monuments. I would recommend to go to Beihai park, as it is a 1000 year old imperial park with beautiful lake and surrounding.

If you have time to explore more, not far from this location, you can go visit Lama temple. A Buddhist temple and monastery located in Dongcheng district. The building combines Han Chinese and Tibetan style.



However, we were running out of time and many places were closed by evening. Hence, we have decided to walk down to Wangfujing street. The famous shopping and commercial street. Here we have passed St Joseph's Wangfujing church and the night market where you can try some quirky bites of insects. You will also find many shopping malls and shops around, so it is a good opportunity to maybe buy some gifts or souvenirs. However, our main goal was to find a place to eat some Chinese cuisine. Don't miss out some Beijing duck or dim sum dishes while in there! We went to Grandma's restaurant in one of the malls on Wangfujing street.

After our dinner, we slowly get back to catch a last train to the airport (around 10pm). And that was pretty much it for the day! And our total costs of spending during this layover mini trip? £44 (cost for for two people)!

So overall, 12h is more then enough to get a relaxing visit to a city. It is worth is especially if you are re-visiting the city or want to get a taste of it before deciding to go here for holidays. Moreover, prior our research and buying the tickets, we found out that we don't need visa (as they are offering 24h and 72h transit visas) as well as the city is pretty cheap. Hence, more reasons to go for a layover trip. Lastly, the tickets to final destination (Vietnam) were much cheaper by going this way, even though you loose basically one day of Vietnam (but hey, you are actually visiting 2 countries in one go!)

People’s lifestyle has already changed. It has become so complex and complicated because of new activities that people engage themselves in. As compared to what people are doing few decades ago, the tasks that people do today are consuming most of their time. You will not see a regular working adult who would just sit there and do nothing the whole day. People seem to be busier and more distracted these days. But no matter how busy you are, you should not forget the most important thing, your health.

Oral hygiene is very important because it determines your level of confidence and your overall health. More and more people are becoming busier each day. With this, they tend to forget about their oral health. Imagine yourself rushing during the morning. In this kind of scenario, most people would just take their coffee and head to work without thinking about the effect of coffee to their teeth. If you do not want your busy schedule to affect your oral hygiene, here are some tips that you should consider:

1) Preventive Care

Prevention is always better than cure. This is a cliché that can also be applied in the aspect of dental and oral health. If you do not want to deal with grave oral problems in the future, you have to start considering preventive measures now. Firstly, you have to g for regular dental check-ups and cleaning. To be able to follow this religiously, you have to make sure that it is part of your regular schedule. If you are going to have an overseas or out of town trip where you will be spending some months outside your residence, you should go for a dental check up first. This way, you will be able to prevent any complications that may happen while you are outside your comfort zone.

2) Carry Sugar-free Gum

Chewing sugar-free gum can help you generate saliva and eliminate the food particles and build-up. Instead of eating candies and other sugary products, you can just chew a piece of sugar-free gum. This will not only help you avoid cavities and sugary build-ups but will surely help you maintain a better teeth condition.

3) Use Interdental Brushes

Interdental brushes can be very useful for you. If you need to go out and you know that you do not have enough time to really do some regular brushing, you can use interdental brushes instead of the regular one. However, you have to remember that you cannot use this type of brush as an alternative for your regular brush. Interdental brushes are useful in eliminating the food particles in the teeth and it can also be used as floss. It comes in different sizes and you can just choose the one that you think can be helpful for you.