WHAT A YEAR it’s been! After a whole year of waves of lockdowns, social distancing, mask-wearing, making difficult decisions of not going to visit family (it’s been almost 2 years of not seeing them) and saying no to meeting up with friends, ZERO travel, not getting on public transit, not taking cabs, avoiding crowded areas, baking bread, attending virtual parties, elbow tapping to say hi, considering visors on top of masks, visiting multiple stores around the city in search of hand sanitizer (&sometimes flour), exploring the various hidden gems in the city that we could get to walking…. you get the point I think! Here we are, two vaccine shots later, still wearing masks and maintaining social distance… this was our FIRST trip outside of the city in over a year! (while still being SUPER cautious and careful at all times).

Alright, let’s get into it! Cadaques - YOU BEAUT!

The first time I went to Cadaques was 2018, with a group of WONDERFUL new friends I had just made when I first moved to Barcelona through my Spanish language classes. I had a fantastic experience, but RJ hadn’t been there so I figured, what better time than his birthday weekend AND first day-trip post fully vaccinated to go there! Also, because for the time being, travel restrictions keep fluctuating around Europe, we’re opting to stay local and keep exploring this amazing country we live in!

There are a few ways to get to Cadaques like 1. Driving, 2. taking the train to Figueres or Girona and then a bus from there, but we chose option 3. to take a direct bus to Cadaques from Barcelona (early in the morning to avoid a crowded bus) which took about 2.5 hours - perfect time to catch up on all my missed podcast episodes of the week!

Why didn’t we just drive - you ask? Well, if you’re an expat in Spain from a country that doesn’t have agreements in place to convert your driving licence to the Spanish one…then you understand the whole ‘driving issue unless you go through the whole licence process again in Spanish’ and like us looking for ways to take trains or buses (for the time being until we can master the language). To be honest, public transit produces significantly less air pollution per passenger than a car, so whenever possible - that’s what we usually opt for anyways.

It may have been a little hot that day, but it’s the summer and I love being outdoors so I’m not complaining one bit!

Thinking of taking the bus? Here’s the link: Sarfa Buses
Or the train? You can check out the costs and schedules here: Renfe Trains

Have any recommendations for other spots for day-trips or weekend-trips you can get to via train or bus from Barcelona?! Share them with me!!

-A