Here is a video of Hayden getting a massage on the beach in Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain is one of my favorite cities in the world. It has so many things to offer. During the summer you are able to hit the beach all day long, take a siesta (nap), and then stay out all night! It is really easy to get to the beach from the street La Rambla. You just have to head down (south) the street towards the statue of Christopher Columbus. From there take the Passeig de Colom east around the marina until you can take a right. Then all you have to do is go straight to get to the beach. There are 5 main beaches in Barcelona: Barceloneta, Nova Icaria, Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella, and Bogatell. I would say that the easiest to get to and closest to La Rambla is Barceloneta. If you are looking to hang out with the locals of Barcelona I would head to Bogatell!
In this video we were on Barceloneta. The atmosphere here is unlike any beach I have ever been to. There is a lot of action up and down the beach. The first thing you notice is there are women that walk up and down the beach and say "masaje" all day long. You can get a 5 Euro massage for just your back or a 10 Euro massage for back and legs. It is kind of weird getting a massage on the beach while everybody around is looking at you, but it is definitely worth it after a long night of partying.
There is also an army of sales people selling drinks all day long. They sing a little song while they walk by you: coca, fanta, agua, cerveza fria. It is almost becomes comical, because they stand right by you and stare you down until you feel bad you're not buying anything. Even if you have a drink in your hand they stare at you and ask you if you want the same drink. If you go to the same spot a couple times in one week they will definitely remember you if you bought anything from them. Sometimes the police come around the beach to make sure things are going ok, and when they show up you will see the "army" and the women that give massages disappear.
Finally, there is this guy that sells donuts at the beach. He puts like 100 donuts on a tray, and then dances up and down the beach signing a song in the beach. They call him the Bomberino. I am not sure if you really want to eat a donut from some stranger who is selling them at the beach, but its almost worth buying one from him since he puts on a good show.
I know that there are museums, parks, and statues to see in Barcelona, but there is nothing like hanging out at a beach. It seemed like when I was living in Barcelona last year I would think about going site seeing, but some how I would always end up at the beach instead...it was basically mi oficina!
