They were on girls' trips, guys' trips, family vacations and honeymoons.
They were on the train, sharing massive platters of seafood paella and packed into Anton Gaudí's mind-bending architectural jewels.
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They were on girls' trips, guys' trips, family vacations and honeymoons.
If you're taking a solo trip for the first time, a European city like Barcelona is a good place to start. The city is dynamic, the streets and cafes are always packed, it's safe to walk around at night and people mostly speak English.
This Oct. 14, 2019 photo shows the Basílica de Sagrada Família, Anton Gaudí’s unfinished landmark, under construction in Barcelona, Spain. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 14, 2019 photo shows colored light filtering through the stained-glass windows of Basílica de Sagrada Família, Anton Gaudí’s unfinished landmark, in Barcelona, Spain. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 7, 2019 photo shows the interior of Barcelona Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, Spain. If you’re taking a solo trip for the first time, a European city like Barcelona is a good place to start. The city is dynamic, the streets and cafes are always packed, it’s safe to walk around at night and people mostly speak English. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 7, 2019 photo tourists walking along a narrow street between two old buildings in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, Spain. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 13, 2019 photo shows the mountaintop monastery of Montserrat about an hour’s train ride from Barcelona, Spain. Take the cable car up to Montserrat for 360-degree views of the green valley below and rocky peaks ahead. The church is beautiful, but the mountain was the star. Montserrat boasts lots of walks, including a 3-mile jaunt on a paved path from the top of the peak to a viewpoint overlooking the monastery. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct.13, 2019 photo shows the green valley viewed from the top of the Montserrat mountains outside Barcelona. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 7, 2019 photo shows churros and other fried treats on display at Xurreria, a small shop famous for its churros and chocolate, in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, Spain. If you’re taking a solo trip for the first time, a European city like Barcelona is a good place to start. The city is dynamic, the streets and cafes are always packed, it’s safe to walk around at night and people mostly speak English. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 7, 2019 photo shows churros and other fried treats on display at Xurreria, a small shop famous for its churros and chocolate, in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, Spain. If you’re taking a solo trip for the first time, a European city like Barcelona is a good place to start. The city is dynamic, the streets and cafes are always packed, it’s safe to walk around at night and people mostly speak English. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 12, 2019 photo shows a chandelier hanging from a decorative roof near stained-glass doorways in Anton Gaudí’s Casa Batlló in Barcelona, Spain. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This combination of photos taken in Oct. 2019 show Anton Gaudí’s iconic Casa Batlló, which has a completely different look in the daylight and at night, in Barcelona, Spain. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 14, 2019 photo shows seafood paella at a restaurant in Barcelona, Spain. While tapas let you sample delicacies like cod croquettes and calamari, you don’t have to miss out on the paella that’s usually for two or more: Chefs would make a solo serving of the rice dish. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 14, 2019 photo shows the inside of Palau de la Música Catalana, built by famed architect Lluís Domènech I Montaner, in Barcelona, Spain. A required tour of the music hall’s crescendo of colorful stained glass and mosaics is pricey but worth it, and you may even catch musicians practicing. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
And then there was me. The solo female traveler in Barcelona.
This Oct. 14, 2019 photo shows Associated Press writer Courtney Bonnell posing in front of the mosaic-encrusted terrace of architect Lluís Domènech I Montaner’s Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Spain. f you’re taking a solo trip for the first time, a European city like Barcelona is a good place to start. The city is dynamic, the streets and cafes are always packed, it’s safe to walk around at night and people mostly speak English. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
If you're taking a solo trip for the first time, a European city like Barcelona is a good place to start. The city is dynamic, the streets and cafes are always packed, it's safe to walk around at night and people mostly speak English.
This Oct. 14, 2019 photo shows Sant Pau Recinte Modernista, a once-working hospital that was designed by Catalan architect, Lluís Domènech I Montaner, in Barcelona, Spain. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 14, 2019 photo shows the Basílica de Sagrada Família, Anton Gaudí’s unfinished landmark, under construction in Barcelona, Spain. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 14, 2019 photo shows colored light filtering through the stained-glass windows of Basílica de Sagrada Família, Anton Gaudí’s unfinished landmark, in Barcelona, Spain. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 7, 2019 photo shows the interior of Barcelona Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, Spain. If you’re taking a solo trip for the first time, a European city like Barcelona is a good place to start. The city is dynamic, the streets and cafes are always packed, it’s safe to walk around at night and people mostly speak English. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 7, 2019 photo tourists walking along a narrow street between two old buildings in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, Spain. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 13, 2019 photo shows the mountaintop monastery of Montserrat about an hour’s train ride from Barcelona, Spain. Take the cable car up to Montserrat for 360-degree views of the green valley below and rocky peaks ahead. The church is beautiful, but the mountain was the star. Montserrat boasts lots of walks, including a 3-mile jaunt on a paved path from the top of the peak to a viewpoint overlooking the monastery. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct.13, 2019 photo shows the green valley viewed from the top of the Montserrat mountains outside Barcelona. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 7, 2019 photo shows churros and other fried treats on display at Xurreria, a small shop famous for its churros and chocolate, in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, Spain. If you’re taking a solo trip for the first time, a European city like Barcelona is a good place to start. The city is dynamic, the streets and cafes are always packed, it’s safe to walk around at night and people mostly speak English. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 7, 2019 photo shows churros and other fried treats on display at Xurreria, a small shop famous for its churros and chocolate, in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, Spain. If you’re taking a solo trip for the first time, a European city like Barcelona is a good place to start. The city is dynamic, the streets and cafes are always packed, it’s safe to walk around at night and people mostly speak English. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 12, 2019 photo shows a chandelier hanging from a decorative roof near stained-glass doorways in Anton Gaudí’s Casa Batlló in Barcelona, Spain. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This combination of photos taken in Oct. 2019 show Anton Gaudí’s iconic Casa Batlló, which has a completely different look in the daylight and at night, in Barcelona, Spain. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 14, 2019 photo shows seafood paella at a restaurant in Barcelona, Spain. While tapas let you sample delicacies like cod croquettes and calamari, you don’t have to miss out on the paella that’s usually for two or more: Chefs would make a solo serving of the rice dish. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)
This Oct. 14, 2019 photo shows the inside of Palau de la Música Catalana, built by famed architect Lluís Domènech I Montaner, in Barcelona, Spain. A required tour of the music hall’s crescendo of colorful stained glass and mosaics is pricey but worth it, and you may even catch musicians practicing. (Courtney Bonnell via AP)