The IKEA store in Barcelona isn’t just a warehouse of cheap furniture with confusing pictographic assembly instructions and kitschy little knick-knacks. It’s a cross between Home Goods, Wayfair, World Market, H&M, Nordstrom Rack, Uncommon Goods, and Target with a K&W-style cafeteria (not quite Cliftons, but still delicious) located on the top floor. Even if you don’t actually purchase any of their goods, it’s still a fun place to walk around, get ideas and explore options.

Yes, the store offers primarily low-cost home furnishings that are mainly manufactured in China and based on Scandinavian designs. Yes, the store includes a self-serve warehouse where you will find some of the items too bulky to stock in large quantity on the showroom floor. And, yes, it is similar to other IKEAs in basic organizational design – prompting unidirectional traffic flow through seemingly well-ordered areas categorized based on their main product contents (lighting, linens, kitchenware, etc). Interestingly, I find that in order to locate the one or two items on my list that remain unascertainable, I may have to wander the entire store (often more than one time) regardless of the apparent zoning. In all likelihood, there is nothing specific I can put my finger on that makes this particular IKEA different from any other I have visited in Germany, France, United States or the United Kingdom, but, for some reason, I find I like it the best. So, it is hardly a surprise that I would plan a visit to my favorite Swedish establishment on this crisp autumn afternoon.

As usual, we arrived with a list of “necessary” items and our typical curiosity and desire, along with two large rolling bags for homeward transport of our final purchases. Each of us was sure to wear comfortable shoes for the ensuing long walk to and around the store, and we all agreed that we would end our adventure with a visit to the upstairs restaurant. I suspect we were all excited in our own way – me because I enjoy simply puttering about in this store, Mom because she may finally get the few remaining items on her wish list, and Allita because she’s missing the last hours of her school day to go shopping. The little things in life really do bring us the greatest pleasure.

In the end, after three hours of our lives invested in leisurely meandering and perusing plus an additional hour dedicated to the enjoyment of hot, local cuisine customized to our specifications and immediately served, we were satisfied, eager to return home and ready to enjoy our new acquisitions.