Life in Barcelona

If you are a racing enthusiast or even if you’re not, and have a bit of spare cash lying around, I would really recommend a trip to the Barcelona Grand Prix in Montmeló.

I’ve been two years in a row now and it really is a fantastic day (or weekend) out!
The race takes place each year in May, normally the first or second weekend, and the track is located about 20 minutes by train from Barcelona centre.

O.k. so the tickets are quite expensive and a bit of forward planning is involved, but it really is worth it. You can by tickets for the race day only, or 2 and 3 day tickets for the practise days. You can also see races for formula 2 cars and Maseratis. (more…)

Tags: Spanish+Grand+Prix, Formula+1+in+spain, racetrack+in+Catalunya, Barcelona+Grand+prix, Montmeló,

As you should already know, Barcelona is a city that never stops! Now, we’re still celebrating Christmas and New Year…but at the same time, we’re looking for the next big party: THE CARNIVAL!!

In Barcelona, this party is very popular and most of the people celebrate it with a lot of enthusiasm. There are many places to go, for example, Gracia, Eixample or the Gothic quarter, are places where you should go. However, if you are planning to have a crazy crazy carnival party, you should go to Sitges! No doubt! This town located around 40 km south from Barcelona is known because of its amazing carnival party (Sitges is also known for many other things…). If you go there for these dates, you will find the town crowded of people dressed up in fancy dress, dancing and drinking in the streets and in the clubs and enjoying the atmosphere. You cannot imagine how massive this party is!!! People go crazy dancing and drinking while they follow the parade. (more…)

Tags: Carnival+in+Barcelona, Sitges, Carnival+party, Carnival+in+Sitges, Carnival+in+Cataluña, Carnival+in+February

Hello everyone!

If you still have doubts about where to go next summer to celebrate, for your holidays, your graduation, your time off work or school, your birthday or just to have a wonderful time, then think no longer! BARCELONA is the direction to choose! It’s great if you fancy culture, mountains, sports, shopping, relaxing, the beach and the sun. If you enjoy partying, then Barcelona is definitely the place to be.

The thing I really enjoy about Barcelona is that there is a huge variety of places to go to, which means that there are nice places for all tastes in music and there is a place to go for any mood you might be in! For instance, if you just want to have a good time in the evening and you don’t want to party ´til the early morning, then there are lots of different kinds of bars you can go to such as salsa bars, pubs, jazz bars, sports bars, tapas bars, cocktail bars and bars for dancing. Or, you can have dinner at one of the many great restaurants in the city centre and after go for a glass of sangria or cava in one of the city’s authentic Spanish bars.

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Tags: Nightlife+in+Barcelona, Clubs+in+Barcelona, Summer+holiday, Port+Olympic, Club+Pacha, Roger+Sanchez, ,

You are mistaken if you believe I have ever watched a bull-fight! Personally, I think this mass bull killing is idiotic and annoying. As you perhaps know, Barcelona is an anti-bullfighting city. If you pay a little attention in Barcelona, you can often see that many cars, particularly taxis, do not have the famous black Spanish bull adhesive stuck onto the back of their car, but a donkey instead! An inhabitant told me, that this means that the driver is against bull-fighting.
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Tags: Barcelona, bull-fight, barcelona+bullfighting, Spanish, tourists, spanish+culture+tradition

It´s nine o’clock on 20th December and the ground in Plaza Catalunya is wet and slippery! The square was waiting for me, to tell me “good morning” and “hurry up it´s a new day!!” I´m sleepingwalking though…….I was so comfortable and warm in my bed….I´m walking like a robot…I am lucky…my legs know where I am going and they take me effortlessly!!

The gardeners are out working. I didn’t realise there were so many trees and birds here in the city centre. It’s a bit cold and it’s quite noisy I must say. I can see Banks - three or four big banks- the ´Hard Rock Café’ – ‘Habitat’, ‘El Corte Inglés’, beautiful modernist houses and buses, many, many buses!! “Alive”, Eddy and his velvet voice walking with me (http://www.pearljam.com/). The square is round and really big. There are many statues and lots of street lamps. There´s a huge fountain that changes shape. (more…)

Tags: plaza+catalunya, pigeons+in+plaza+catalunya, pearl+jam, ramblas, friends+meeting+point+in+plaza+catalunya, life+in+barcelona

Hi everybody!!

This time, I’m not going to write about places to visit close to Barcelona. The new year is quickly arriving and we have to start planning what to do on December 31st!!

Firstly, Barcelona is a very nice place to stay in the last night of the year and for Christmas in general. The city looks very beautiful with all the lights, the Christmas markets, all the shops full of people buying presents, etc.

Usually, Spanish families have dinner together at their home or in a restaurant. The dinner is usually very special and involves a lot of work. After the dinner, all the families get prepared for one of the most characteristic aspects of Christmas in Barcelona: the grapes!! In Spain, we celebrate the New Year eating 12 grapes during the last 12 seconds of the year. It is funny because it is very difficult to eat 12 grapes in only 12 seconds…so the normal image is seeing people around you laughing and laughing. In fact, I think I’ve never finished the 12 grapes…and I’m 24!!

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Tags: grapes, christmas+in+barcelona, parties, new+year+in+barcelona

If you are interested in nature you need to go to the beautiful area in in the northern region of Catalonia! This is the only national park in Catalonia and it is called Agüistortes and is situated not far away from the border to France, in the heart of the Pyrenees.

I was there a month ago, and even though it might be a bit far away from Barcelona, it is definitely worth going there if you have a couple of days off.

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Tags: Mountains+in+Barcelona, skiing+in+Catalunya, Catalunya, Pyrinees

Catalan is different. This has nowhere become so clear as during my journey to Barcelona the other day. Not only that Barcelona is completely full of Hippies, multicoloured transverse philosophers and immigrants, which contribute to the Ambience of the city as a melting pot, like in other cities as New York or Berlin for example.

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Tags: Catalan+people, Spanish+architecture, Catalan, Barcelona, Spanish

Strange Christmas traditions in Barcelona….the: CAGA TÍO!

Christmas time in Barcelona is wonderful, the weather is warm enough to take your time walking around the city, the city is full of Christmas lights and decorations,  and the Ramblas is always animated with street artists…there is a very good atmosphere!

I was walking around the Cathedral district, with my boyfriend….very romantic…when we arrived at the main square. In front of the church, there was a street market selling Christmas decorations and a strange statue called: …TIO DE NAVIDAD!

I was lost in my “Christmas dream” when I saw children hitting something and shouting: “Caga tío, Caga tío!” (poo guy, poo guy!).
What a shock!!!

So I had the pleasure to see an original tradition that is still very much alive….a really strange habit! I tried to understand what I had seen…a few hours later I read on the Internet why and what they were asking to poo!!

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Tags: Christmas+Crapper, Barcelona+Christmas+Tradition, Caga+Tio

For all the people who are coming to Barcelona for holidays, do not miss the opportunity to visit some towns close to Barcelona…there are also very nice places to go close to the city.

As an example, I would recommend you to visit a town called Sitges. It is located just 40 km south from Barcelona and you can go there by car, train or bus. One of the greatest things of Sitges is without any doubt its architecture. The streets are strait, there is also a great and beautiful church and there are lots of art galleries. In fact, many painters come to Sitges to get inspiration to their work because of its views, buildings and the general atmosphere.

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Tags: holidays+in+Barcelona, Sitges, bars+Sitges, Spanish+architecture