Barcelona Spain: the lifestyle

As many of you know, Rise Up (the nonprofit I work for) partners with a clothing line to help raise money for our programs all over the world. Rise Up clothing is currently featured in over 125 boutiques all over the world. Although my day to day involvement with the fashion industry is quite minimal, in a sudden turn of events...I was asked to travel to Barcelona, Spain to act as sales rep for our booth at the global fashion tradeshow called Bread & Butter.

Two weeks later, I found myself en route to this incredible city.



People have been asking me what I liked most about my trip. Was it the modernisme Gaudi architecture? The museos? The gastronomical genius? The nightlife? My answer: The lifestyle.


My favorite moments of the trip were not found in the "destination spots." Rather, the best moments arose in the unexpected- the conversations with people from all over the world, the incredible narrow walkways spiraling through neighborhoods, the energy that lasted 'til sunrise when people went straight to work...and the afternoon siestas that made this spark possible, the i pod walks through unexpected parks and courtyards, the love for sweet boots and fresh scarves, the open-air markets, surprisingly amazing Guns n' Roses cover bands and believe it or not...lots of spontaneous dancing.


The Spanish willingness to jump into the unknown, ruminated throughout my soul as I took in as much as I could in the three days before "work" at the tradeshow began. Barcelona quickly joined my list of favorite cities in Europe. And finally, as Erin and I begin to plan a June Euro-trip...Barcelona has become a must.


What are your "must-see" cities... y por que?