7 New Year’s Resolutions for Visitors (and Locals) in Barcelona
After we reflected back on 2017 and shared out intentions for 2018, we also wanted to set some new year’s resolutions for both visitors and locals in Barcelona, to keep up the reasons to visit our city, make sure good business keeps happening, and visitors enjoy their stay in a responsible fashion.
1 – Keep yourself and the planet healthy
Barcelona is a great city to walk and cycle, with very little rain and more and more bike lanes. Choosing stairs over elevators and public transport over car hire or taxis doesn’t just keep yourself fit and shows you more of the city, it also reduces CO2 emissions and helps keep the air clean. Barcelona suffers from air pollution during certain months so let’s not add more cars to the mix. For those of you coming by plane to Barcelona, think about taking the train if you can, or offsetting your CO2 emissions; we offset the rest of your stay at yök!
2 – Learn something new
Take advantage of being amongst a different culture; stimulate your mind, learn to do things differently and understand other viewpoints. Think about taking a course or meet new people, there are plenty of Meet Up Groups in Barcelona. Learn some Catalan and celebrate like the locals!
3 – Be mindful
Whether wondering around the city, waiting in a queue or sitting in a bar; be positive, open minded and lower your expectations. We need to make an increased effort to enjoy the moment, even when we are on holidays! Here Five Tips for Mindful Travel. Also, talk to the locals rather than believing everything that is written in the press, and keep visiting Barcelona!
4 – Be generous
If you enjoy somebody’s service, say so, with words and/or a tip. This goes especially for the invisible people like hotel cleaners, who are often overlooked. If you think of a loved one, send a nice postcard or take a locally-made gift. Invite someone for coffee, although not to Starbucks!
5 – Create lovely memories
Take nice photos but don’t cling to your phone, look around! Put your camera down, and maybe think of doing some writing or drawing like our guest Bruno (photo below), our little guests Chiara from Switzerland and Florence from London or professionals Marieta & Co. and illustrator Lapin!
6 – Drink local and moderately
A botellón is when lots of people gather in public places to drink alcohol together. This has become quite a custom in Spain since the 80ies, but recently major cities like Barcelona have banned street drinking for obvious reasons. So, even if alcohol is cheap here in Spain, we suggest moderate drinking out of respect for those around you and your own body. We also recommend local organic wines and beers- there is plenty of good stuff around!
7 – Breathe!
Last but not least: breathe! Go stand in front of the sea and take a deep breathe in and out! Or climb up Mount Tibidabo and fill your lungs with mediterranean air that smells of pine trees. Life (and especially holidays) is too short to not breathe at full capacity and it would be a shame to miss out on all the benefits! Deep breathing improves our sleep for example, which in turns makes us happier and better people.
Here some more New year’s Resolutions we like:
New Year’s Resolutions For A Divided Planet
7 (totally doable) New Year’s resolutions that will change your life
Thinking About Your New Year’s Resolutions? Try Focusing on the Good Life
Top photo by Kristopher Roller on Unsplash