Living in Barcelona means there’s always something to do. With good weather, amazing food, deep history, and timeless architecture, no two plans ever feel the same… at least if you know where to go. For those who’ve run out of ideas, there was TopFirstDates.
Originally conceived as a simple plan-sharing app, the project quickly evolved into something else. I pivoted the concept when I realized there was nothing quite like it in the market (and, honestly, because topfirstdates.com sounded too good for SEO to pass up).
The app was one of my most ambitious projects at the time. I worked with Firebase Auth for user management, built a backend in PHP, used AWS RDS for relational data storage, and gave Kotlin Flows a try for reactive programming. One particularly fun challenge was figuring out how to “hack” Instagram URLs to embed previews directly inside the app — something their API didn’t officially support.
The concept was simple but charming: users could create and share “date itineraries” as curated lists of steps. For example, starting at a cozy café (with an embedded post or map location), then moving on to a landmark with a short description or a reel. Other users could follow their favorite creators, discover new plans in their feed, and save their favorite date ideas for later.
In the end, the app looked great and worked well, but it completely flopped in terms of marketing. Still, it was an incredible playground for experimenting with backend integration, media embedding, and user experience design. Maybe one day I’ll bring it back.