East Midlands ✈️ Pineda De Mar

Spain... what a beautiful place!

At the end of April, me and my husband celebrated our first wedding anniversary, so we booked a trip to Pineda De Mar to celebrate. I was obviously looking forward to all the usual holiday things; sunbathing, swimming, spending time together and generally switching off for a week. However, if you know me, you'll know I was equally excited about all of the food we were going to try!

Before The Trip

Before we headed to Spain, I already had a little food bucket list in mind.

Paella - We'd booked a cooking class in Barcelona, so not only would I get to try traditional Spanish paella, but I'd get to learn how to make it too.

Sangria - I'm not a huge drinker, so I'd never tried sangria before. It felt about time I changed that.

Pastries - I'd spent far too much time on TikTok watching videos of local bakeries and pastry shops, so I knew there would be plenty of pastries involved throughout the week.

All Inclusive Food - We were staying at an all-inclusive hotel, meaning unlimited opportunities to try new foods and hopefully discover some traditional Spanish dishes.

Tapas - Growing up, I was a real fussy eater. Thankfully my palate has broadened so much over the years, so I was ready to give tapas a proper go and try lots of different picky bits.

Crisps - Slightly less cultural, but I'd been dreaming about the Spanish Cheetos that you can't get back home. Priorities.

Fresh Drinks & Juices - Fresh fruit juices, cocktails, mocktails... I was ready for all of it under the Spanish sun.

All Inclusive

The all-inclusive restaurant was honestly one of the best we've had so far on our travels.

Each night had a different theme, there were freshly cooked food stations and the dessert table was HUGE. I managed to eat something different every evening, including fish, chicken, steak, pasta, burgers... the list goes on. My husband however… had pizza and chips.

The first night there was even a chocolate fountain which was lovely too, once you'd managed to push the kids out of the way... Ha!

What I loved most was how much choice there was. It would have been really easy to stick to foods I already knew, but I made a point of trying something different whenever I could. Safe to say, we definitely got our money's worth.

Barcelona

On Monday we travelled into Barcelona by train, only 23 euros return for two adults from Pineda De Mar. The UK could never!

Once we arrived, we started walking towards our paella class and happened to wander past the Hard Rock Cafe. Me and my husband always try to pop into a Hard Rock Cafe whenever one is nearby, so naturally we had to tick this one off the list. So far we’ve been to Newcastle, Copenhagen, Ibiza and Barcelona (somehow not London?)
We both grabbed a strawberry basil lemonade, had a sit down away from the busy streets and took a look around all of the memorabilia. A lovely little pit stop before the main event.

We arrived a bit early for the class, so we spent some time wandering around the nearby shops. We picked up a few little bits, including some artwork from a local artist. At home we have a wall dedicated to artwork we've collected whilst travelling, so it was the perfect addition.

Eventually we headed back to the meeting point and got seated at some reserved tables.

**Funny story...**

We sat down with some lovely people, got handed a glass of vermouth and some tapas, happily started chatting and eating, only to discover we'd joined the wrong experience group! Everyone was very polite about it and had a laugh, but I was mortified. We apologised, they apologised, and we all carried on with our days.

The chef soon arrived and instantly made an impression. She was lovely and told us about her ambition to open a bakery in Barcelona one day. She then led us through the city towards La Boqueria Market, where she'd already called ahead and arranged all of the seafood we'd be using.

As we walked, she pointed out local spots and shared information about Barcelona, the market and the city's history. You could tell how passionate she was about where she lived.

Once we arrived at the market, we were given around 15 minutes to wander around. We saw fish stalls, meat stalls, fruit stalls, bars and just about everything else you could imagine. It was amazing seeing how much fresh produce was available to locals and watching people do their shopping.

After meeting back up, we collected the seafood and followed the chef to the restaurant. It's only around a seven-minute walk, but the experience does involve a fair amount of walking around the market and surrounding streets, so it's worth bearing in mind if mobility is a concern.

When we arrived at the restaurant, there was a table laid out with tapas and sangriaaaaa.
This was my first time trying sangria and honestly... I really liked it! I couldn’t have too much as the wine after taste wasn’t for me, but it was still quite nice.
I also tried cheese that wasn't melted for the first time. I know that probably sounds ridiculous, but it's true. Paired with cured meats and croutons, it was actually delicious and something I'd happily eat again.

Once we'd all had a chance to relax, and more importantly the chef had a chance to set everything up, we headed into the kitchen.

Everyone got involved prepping vegetables, cleaning seafood and helping put the paella together. Along the way we learned lots of little cooking tips and local facts, which made the whole experience feel really personal.

Then came the best bit... eating it.

The finished paella was genuinely the best I've ever had. Rich, packed with seafood flavour and completely different from any version I've tried before. We sat chatting with the other people on the course, enjoying our meal and comparing travel stories.
We left with full bellies, a recipe to take home and some fantastic memories.

Afterwards we spent some time wandering around Barcelona before heading back towards the train station. However...

We walked past a lady with a beautiful vintage camera setup.
I'd actually seen her on TikTok before and recognised her instantly.
She takes traditional photographs on a camera from the 1940s and develops them there and then for you to take home. As a bit of a creative nerd, I was fascinated.
My husband knew there was absolutely no chance we were walking past without stopping.
We spent around half an hour chatting whilst she took our photograph. She showed me the entire process, explained how everything worked and let me watch the image being developed.
No regrets whatsoever.
I absolutely loved it and now have a beautiful photograph that will always remind me of our anniversary trip.
Eventually we said goodbye and made our way back to the station for the journey home. The train was easy, comfortable and gave us a chance to reflect on what had been one of our favourite days of the holiday.

Bakery Adventures

Now onto one of my favourite parts of the trip... the bakeries.

Sauleda, Calella

On Tuesday we decided to walk into Calella in search of pastries.

The walk took around 35 minutes, but thankfully the weather was lovely and we had food motivation pushing us forwards.

Our first stop was Sauleda, a lovely little bakery right in the centre of town.

Walking in, I genuinely didn't know where to look first. There were pastries, cakes and sweet treats everywhere.

We eventually chose a pistachio doughnut and a flat croissant dipped in chocolate.

Both were absolutely delicious. Sweet, delicate and incredibly fresh. The pistachio flavour was lovely and the chocolate croissant disappeared far quicker than it should have.

Definitely worth the walk.

Forn Noé, Calella

Not content with one bakery, we headed over to Forn Noé afterwards.

This time we both went for doughnuts.

One was topped with chocolate and Biscoff crumb, while the other featured pistachio.

These things were absolutely stuffed with flavoured cream.

Every bite was packed with flavour and they somehow managed to be rich without feeling too heavy. The dough itself was soft and fluffy, whilst the toppings were generous enough that you got plenty in every mouthful.

Another fantastic bakery and another reason I have absolutely no regrets about all the walking.

Forn de Pa Isarn, Pineda De Mar

Wednesday brought another bakery recommendation.

Hidden away in the centre of Pineda De Mar, Forn de Pa Isarn was full of fresh bread, pastries and sweet treats.

We picked up a large glazed doughnut and a chocolate-filled croissant.

Sometimes simple is best, and these proved exactly that.

Soft, fresh, chocolatey and exactly what we wanted with a morning coffee whilst wandering around town.

The Rest Of The Week

The rest of the trip was exactly what we'd hoped for.
Lots of pool time, plenty of snacks, a few cocktails, a few mocktails, lots of sunshine and absolutely no rushing around.
We wandered through town, sat by the beach, enjoyed the hotel and generally embraced doing very little.
Honestly, it was perfect.

A Rainy Final Day

Friday brought rain and we weren't entirely sure what to do with ourselves.

Whilst wandering around the hotel, we somehow discovered something we'd completely missed all week...

A spa.

How we'd managed not to notice it until our final full day remains a mystery.

We paid 25 euros each and spent a couple of hours making the most of the facilities. There was a cold plunge pool, a boiling hot jacuzzi, bubble beds, rainfall showers and several saunas.

I didn't spend much time in the saunas because I was having a slight panic about breathing in orange-flavoured air...

Joe, however, absolutely loved them.

It ended up being the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon and a lovely final treat before heading home.

Later that evening we returned to our room and found a letter waiting under the door.

Because our flight was leaving early the next morning, the hotel had prepared us a picnic breakfast to collect before we left.

Such a thoughtful little gesture and the perfect way to end a wonderful stay.

Spain 2026

East Midlands ✈️ Pineda De Mar

Before The Trip

All Inclusive

Barcelona