Aquí Vamos! The Candidate Take Barcelona!

What a year it’s been so far at The Candidate! To celebrate new milestones, a growing team, and all the successes 2022 has brought so far, we celebrated with a weekend away in Barcelona!

The first trip abroad since covid, The Candidate do an annual holiday for all staff if performance targets are achieved - all expenses paid! Previous destinations include Lisbon, Barcelona (twice before!), The Lake District, and London - it's one of the biggest and best perks of working at The Candidate!

Keep reading to find out what we got up to on our holiday (we already can't wait for next year's trip!)...

Thursday

A very early start (and huge queues at Manchester Airport!) meant that a few mimosas, beers, and coffees were very much needed pre-flight! Colin made it onto the plane in the nick of time (to a big round of applause from all the team, which I’m sure he enjoyed!), and we were off!

Once we’d made it to Barcelona, Laura, Colin, and Brian went to check out their hotel, whilst the boys (+ Sara and Alice) headed off to their AirBnB, and the girls hopped in a taxi to theirs. Everyone was made up with their digs for the weekend, especially the girls who had a rooftop pool that was perfect to cool off in with some music, drinks, and nibbles.

We all reunited for some mojitos before dinner in a bar near Las Ramblas, where the drinks got two thumbs up from Colin!

We then walked to El Nacional for some tapas and sangria – expert ordering by Vic meant that we ate some great food including croquettes, mussels, paella, patatas bravas, and more!

Then to round off the evening, we hit the streets of Barcelona to check out the nightlife, ending up at some great bars and nightclubs! And then a much needed sleep (after 24+ hours!).

Friday

The day started with some refuelling at a beachside restaurant, accompanied by rendition of La Bamba from Colin! (Luckily for him, I’ll leave out the video evidence!)

We then headed across to the beach for a dip in the sea and a chill in the sun. We were quickly approached by a variety of vendors selling everything from massages to tattoos! Chris was given some ‘Candidate Purple’ hair braids, whilst Brian ordered us all some Mojitos from a man with a bottle of rum and some plastic cups! Then it was over to a tiki bar, were we all enjoyed some margaritas and Gaviscon (are we getting old?). Phil and Brian had an arm wrestle, and in true recruiter fashion, Elliot tried to interview one of the waitresses.

That evening we went out for some food in smaller groups, before meeting up for drinks later on.

Saturday

What a great few days! As Evie, Nat, and Laura made their way home to Manchester very early on Saturday morning, the rest of the team stayed out for an extra couple of days, and enjoyed some classic tourist activities!

We all had a brilliant time, and can’t wait for next years holiday already!