Vaishali's apartment is located in El Poble Nou, a very spacious neighborhood in Barcelona. My husband said it reminded him a lot of San Diego. It is literally a 10 minute walk away from a very gorgeous beach that is more of a local retreat than a tourist beach. On the same block of the apartment you find a bakery, a few restaurants, and diagonally across the street, a churro truck with the best churros you'll ever taste! Sure you're not in the city center, but you're a convenient train ride away, and you're a 3 minute walk away from the largest shopping mall in Barcelona (much like an American shopping mall I would say) where you can get all of your creature comforts, and there is an Alcampo (sort of like a Walmart/Target hybrid) in the mall as well.

We had the opportunity to meet Vaishali, and her husband Sanjay as well. They were both welcoming and made it clear that if there was anything we needed at all while in Barcelona they were just a message (via email, airbnb, or whatsapp) away.

We have done a lot of traveling as a family (hubby, 4 year-old daughter, and I) so we were quite comfortable getting around, but I kept thinking to myself, this would be the *perfect* place for families with young children to stay, or "beginner" travelers too. Don't get me wrong it's a great apartment for anyone (the description and pictures are accurate) but Vaishali and Sanjay offer a type of hospitality that would be great for anyone who is a little less experienced with European travel.

While staying at Vaishali's we were able to hit the beach and also traveled to Eixample for the Guadi sites, Barceloneta for tapas and some drinks, and Parc Montjuic (which is not to be missed). It was nice to have our quiet, spacious retreat to El Poble Nou, cool off in our air conditioned bedrooms (2 of 3 bedrooms are air conditioned), and even hit the mall for some Starbucks or a movie if we wanted a change of pace.

Worth mentioning, Vaishali was very flexible letting us check in early, and even offered to arrange a taxi back to the airport for the end of our trip to Barcelona. If you are heading to Barcelona for a bar-hopping, sun-burned, spring-break type trip you might want to stay in a more bustling neighborhood. But if you want sun, beach, peace, and to see how Barcelonians live, you should stay here. Thanks again, Vaishali and Sanjay!