Barcelona
Barcelona is one of my favorite cities in the world. Especially for weekend trips, both with friends, with your loved one or with the whole family. It is just one of those places that satisfies a lot of my needs. You have the big city experience with great shopping, beautiful architecture, a lot of fantastic restaurants, excellent hotels in all price ranges, and then you have the ocean and the beach just a few steps away, if you need a break from the pavement.
When it comes to food, Tapas is of course the natural choice “when in Spain”, but if you are in town for several meals, there are lots of other options to explore.
Mallorca
Mallorca is also a new favorite. The countryside, the food, the people and wonderful hotels. What is there not to love? The island also has a great climate and beautiful nature. It is the perfect vacation place for almost everyone almost every day.
In Norway we have an expression called “Syden”, which initially means “the south”, but the word stands for so much more; A vacation destination which includes sun, beach, tanning and relaxation, but the expression also traditionally includes Norwegians getting drunk and crazy, leaving all their good behavior at home, tanning on cheap plastic beach- chairs in line with several other sun-seeking Scandinavians, flirting with the local boys and girls, cheap drinks, bad tattoos and dancing all night. Some of the countries that came under the umbrella “Syden” were The Canary Islands, Spain, and some of the Greek Islands.
Mallorca is one of the typical “Syden” destinations, but the island has so much more to offer. Even if it is small, it is still big enough so that you can stay outside the mainstream areas, dine on small, local taverns and enjoy the sound of Spanish talking people instead of Scandinavian. My previous memories of this island were put to shame, and I find myself wanting to go back and explore some more.
