BARCELONA, SPAIN
Tara Stevens

Tara Stevens is a writer and one-half of Anajam Home: purveyors of handmade, modern Morocco Homewares.

I moved to Barcelona nearly 20 years ago in pursuit of something delicious to eat and drink and the man of my dreams. He didn’t work out, but the city, its bars and its restaurants did, and now there’s nowhere else on earth I’d rather be.

 

Sleep
—in my own bed, but if that fails Hotel Brummel because it’s the only boutique hotel in the barrio I call home - Poble Sec. It’s also got the cutest cobbled courtyard for drinks and a gorgeous rooftop pool.

Shop
– the Flea Market at Els Encants because you never know what treasure you’ll unearth and the contemporary, mirrored building they’ve put on top of it is breath-taking and fun.

 

See 
— the cityscape from Montjuïc, because you can see just about every landmark as well as the Mediterranean. It’s the first place I go when I’ve been away, and it always makes me feel re-connected.

Eat 
— a long walk on the beach, followed by Sunday paella or an arroz negre with unholy amounts of aioli at light and airy Barraca in Barceloneta. I love it best when there’s a storm rolling in.

Drink 
— the lemon ginger martini at the Bankers Bar at the Mandarin Oriental. Where I go when life’s been kicking me around and I need a grown-up treat.