Half of our day was spent on a train. That in and of itself is stressful, add to that fact that the Spanish train lines and the French train lines are a different width and you have the recipe for a full blown Sarah meltdown. What this means in layman’s terms is that you are riding along your train which you assume goes to your destination when it suddenly stops and the operator announces (finally in spanish) that the train will go no further and you are thinking to yourself wtf does that mean. Suddenly everyone is just getting off and heading to another train WTF! Now I should have been semi expecting this as Philbert warned me the system is oddly broken and no one wants to pay to fix it. Given this dilemma however I somehow thought there would be an orderly process…a preemptive warning…something…yeah. nothing.

(Staircase designed to look like spinning cotton)That said I am in Barcelona, and I even have Jeff with me (yes he made it). We found our hotel, which is the best hotel in the history of ever and yes I will recommend it to you and anyone else who asks. ( The Cotton House Hotel) This hotel was originally the home of the cotton manufacturers guild, the designing interior architect kept the history intact (Neo classical Barcelona style) and added elements of the buildings history back into it’s design.(some parts of the lounge have a safari vibe to them, it turns out they have it decorated for an Indian themed pop-up restaurant. Perfect!)

The quickie Sarah breakdown is this, the building design has a feeling of old wealth to it. The mixture of wood detailing with gold leaf lends a richness. 

Tasteful cream cabinets and upholstery brighten up interior rooms, the lighting in the darker rooms is tastefully done to maintain a balance between the transitions.

Jeff says the feel of the hotel makes him feel like he has gone back in time and is sitting in a men’s cigar lounge. He loves the wood with leather accents, says it feels very masculine.

If you are looking at these pictures thinking “it couldn’t possibly be that cool” you would be wrong. It is hands down the coolest place I have ever stayed.

Honestly this restaurant we are at for dinner is in much the same way amazing. The Spanish have a whimsy in the way they are redesigning the interior of their classical buildings. It is really unexpected and fun. Current theme is parking garage (literally) meets industrial with a mix of the best old and new music.

There are 4 restaurants in El Nacional with two bars in the center, each quadrant of the building has a different theme fish, meat, tapas, and mediterranean. We had a tempernillo with dinner, it was amazing. Complete profile change from the french wines. We are jacked up for our Spanish wine tours!

Honestly if every space is as cool as the ones I’ve seen so far Barcelona will very quickly become my favorite city. Lol Jeff wants you to know nothing will ever beat Paris, we will see!