Barcelona- nightlife edition

Hola amigos! Let's talk Barcelona!!

NIGHTLIFE- CLUB SCENE
Oh boy is this my kind of place! Well, add it to the list of my kind of places but it ranks highly. I'd put it in the Greece category. 

First of all I've been joined by my BFF Jen so right away we've got a new twist. This is her first overseas journey so I'm the tour guide. Our first night we just google Barcelona nightlife and a list of clubs pops up. We pick the first one, Razzmatazz, said to be totally hot, and head over. Here's a Mim travel tip: Amigos, please don't ever go there if you're in Barcelona! I don't know why I didn't just ask someone from our hotel which what I always do but I didn't. 

The cab lets us out and there's a long line. Good sign, right? Had we had just a moment more to actually look at the people on the line we'd have stayed in the cab but alas we did not. The line to get in looks like an open casting call for some grunge MTV reality show. It isn't just the odd piercings and tattoos. I'm pierced with a couple of tattoos, but the guy behind us has multiple piercings beneath his skin all over his face. Nobody is dressed for a club. Girls are in ratty dresses with Converse high-tops, etc. Guys look like they've rolled out of bed. Are you getting a visual? This is not what we're expecting. And here are Jen and I in little black mini-dresses and 5" heels.  

We immediately regret letting our cab go as we are quite far off the beaten path. Again, this is pre-Uber. We're fretting about our options as the line is moving us toward the door and we're surrounded by these people. We absolutely cannot stay but there's not a cab in sight. What to do?? When we finally reach the door we're met by two dwarves in tuxedos and a dominatrix-looking woman in a top hat holding a whip. WHAT goes on here?? We're ready ready to bolt so when she uses the whip to flip up the backs of our little  club dresses while the tuxedoed dwarves hoot and holler, we duck off the line not caring that we look like frightened school girls. 

Thankfully we find a cab immediately and I describe what we just witnessed and ask him to take us anywhere fun, which is another way I've started many an evening. He takes us to Opium, a Real Club, on the beach and flanked by a few other similar clubs. This has standard-size bouncers in Armani suits and now we're completely surrounded by Beautiful People. Now THIS is what we want! The club is rocking and, despite being stalked by a couple of local guys in whom we have no interest, we proceed to dance and party until 5am. Barcelona totally rocks!

The next night over a late dinner at the W Hotel our waiter Nelson tells us we should really check out the club Eclipse on top of the W. He also tells us of places near our hotel that aren't clubs as we really prefer a rowdy bar with great music that's not a Scene since we've already done that. So Nelson leads us up some back stairs and through the hotel to a lobby elevator where there is a velvet rope behind which is a tuxedoed bouncer and a beautiful girl with an iPad checking names on a guest list. 

Nelson has a few words with the bouncer who then opens the rope and puts us on the elevator, pushing an unidentified button above the numbers.  We're whisked to the club at the top which has a panoramic view of the beach and city and we're surrounded by more Beautiful People (young mostly) who absolutely adore us, the girls and the boys. We're inexplicably the most popular people there making all kinds of new friends. I'm even given a private lesson on how to twerk in the ladies' room by this one girl while Jen videos. Oh the hilarity!! When the club abruptly closes at 3 they insist we move on with them to the Opium area and party on with them. Having just done that the night before we say our good-byes while they're making us promise to go meet them. We lie and get in a cab home as we have tickets to the Sagrada Familia Basilica later this morning and don't want to be shattered. 

BAR FUN!
On Nelson's recommendation we go to Plaza Rial off La Rambla and a 5 minute walk from our hotel. There we discover a bar called El Rey de Copas which instantly becomes our new home base. Great music, lively crowd from all over and one of the hottest bartenders we've seen anywhere. His name is Jan (pronounced Yahn) and he looks like a Chippendale dancer. 

 Already crowded, at 2 or 3 an even larger crowd surges in and the music is pumping, people are dancing, drinking and the DJ rocks. Before you know it's 5am again. As we head home there are people waving tasty-smelling savory treats under my nose which I'm dying for  yet in a few short hours our awesome hotel breakfast will be served so I refrain. Our deal is we set the alarm, drag ourselves to breakfast, graze, then go back to sleep until 1. All in all, great night! We repeat this every night until we leave for France. Thank you, Nelson for that tip. 

Anyway, like I said, Barcelona is definitely my kind of place. I've loads more to report but for now, love and all that Razzmatazz- Mim 😊