Life in Barcelona

…And say goodbye to your split-ends! The English-speaking community in Barcelona may have several common fears and one of them is, without a doubt, finding a suitable hairdressers, without having to pay an arm and a leg (and half of your torso if you want a blowdry also)!

True Spanish hairdressers sometimes tot up your final bill in separate parts, according to whether you have received their shampoo, their conditioner, if you have drank a cup of their coffee, with or without a biscuit and then you are perhaps charged an extra 3 euros for a few particles of a spray that you were given no choice about in the first place!

So, panic spread with the closing of the Barcelona ‘Toni & Guy’ salon, which used to be located in the north of the city centre on ‘Diagonal’ and which was the popular favourite for all those inhabitants who are still learning Spanish and all who put their faith in the ‘Toni&Guy’ logo! But now we can all breathe a sigh of relief, thanks to the opening of a new salon by the former Barcelona ‘Toni & Guy’ team!!

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Tags: Hairdressers+in+Barcelona, Toni&Guy+in+Barcelona, Beautysalon+in+Barcelona, Barcelona+hairsalons

What about watching a shark pass you by with just 30cm distance between the two of you?

Well, the idea would scare me to death if I didn’t know that there was a thick piece of glass dividing my world from the beast on the other side. I am talking about a visit to the Barcelona Aquarium in Port Vell, which is considered one of the best in Europe! As I hadn’t visited this kind of spectacle for a decade or so, I thought it would be a great way of spending a Saturday afternoon.

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Tags: aquarium+in+barcelona, barcelona+fish, underwater+life+in+barcelona, barcelona+aquarium

Are you looking for a beautiful spot by the sea? If you are here in Barcelona for a while and you want to explore the area, or to go somewhere new for a day, then there are so many options and the choice is often really difficult!

If you visit any tourist information office or website then you will find out about the most common day trips and the most popular tourist attractions in Catalunya, such as a visit to the magical mountains of Monserrat, or to the nearby Dali museum in Figueres, or a short train ride to the pretty nearby city of Girona.

However, situated right on the Cap de Creus peninsula around 30 minutes from the French border, the enchanting white village of Cadaqués  is one of the most symbolic places on the Costa Brava and quite a well-kept secret! (more…)

Tags: Cadaqués, Day+trips+from+Barcelona, Barcelona+excursions, Cap+de+Creus+National+Park, Costa+Brava

Well it may only be February, but tickets are already on sale for the 2007 Summercase festival in Barcelona, and if last year is anything to go by it’ll be sold out before we know it!

The Summercase festival is a very popular music event that takes place at the ‘Parc del Forum’ in Barcelona, in July. It’s a fantastic venue right next to the sea, with lots of stages and tents, and even fairground rides. Lots of big names have already confirmed for this year, including Chemical Brothers, Kaiser Chiefs, DJ shadow and PJ Harvey.

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Tags: Summercase+Barcelona, music+festivals, barcelona+summercase+festival, Summercase+2007

As Bob Marley sang in one of his songs… “the sun is shining and the weather is sweet”, but not all days in Barcelona are good days. Actually, today is one of the saddest ones I remember.

As I’m sure you know, Barça lost yesterday the most important game of the season up until now. I cannot say that Barça didn’t play well, but our players were supposed to be more intelligent and show their experience playing in these sorts of games. However, what I saw yesterday is a naïve team that couldn’t manage a positive result of 1-0, at home, in Camp Nou. I cannot understand how Barça could let Liverpool score 2 goals…the defence yesterday was horrible and forwards such as Ronaldinho or Saviola hadn’t had a good day. And where was Eto’o?? Eto’o was in the stand, not in the starting team or even on the bench.

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Tags: Barça, Barça+against+Liverpool, Football+in+Barcelona, Champions+League

What is it all about with dogs and clothes here in Barcelona? Every time I go out I see these little mini dogs doing a catwalk with their tiny colourful jerseys covering their back while they are walking their owner around the block.

Actually I find it quite funny coming from freezing Sweden where I have never seen any dogs with clothes on, despite the fact that the temperature easily goes below -20ºC! They seem to be happy using their own fur against the northern wind and the white snow.

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Tags: fashion+dogs, dogs+barcelona, dog+clothes, animal+fashion+barcelona

When you feel strange, mystical or just need a change of scenery to watch the world from another viewpoint, well in that situation I go straight to Park Guell! Let me speak about one of the most fabulous places in Barcelona , which I always think is a cross-between Alice in Wonderland and Lord of Rings.

The park was originally part of a commercially unsuccessful housing site, the idea of Count Eusebi de Güell, whom the park was named after. The buildings are very original and remarkable with fantastically shaped roofs with unusual pinnacles.

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Tags: Parc+Guell+in+Barcelona, Barcelona+Parks, Barcelona+Modernisme, Gaudi+works+in+Barcelona, Park+Guell

Hi everybody!!

I hope that most of you had the chance to go to Sitges last weekend! For those who didn’t, it’s not a problem…you have the last opportunity to go on Tuesday!! Without any doubt, it’s something you cannot miss if you are staying in Barcelona.

In my case, I decided to go on Saturday. Although it is not one of the big days of Carnival in Sitges (the important days are on Friday, Sunday and Tuesday), the party was totally amazing!!! The town was bursting at the seams; it’s incredible how many people were outside in the streets and inside the many pubs!! And obviously, most of the people were dressed up…me also (more…)

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

Barcelona has many symbols, whether it be Gaudi’s famous Sagrada Familia, the colour-changing fountains of Plaza España or the Ramblas, but for me an important and always visible symbol of Barcelona is ‘Tibidabo’. But what is it????

Well, it is quite simply a mountain to the North of the city, topped with a huge white church which can be seen from all corners. Tibidabo literally means ‘I will give to you ( all that you see)” which is apparently what the Devil said to Jesus whilst stood at the top of the hill. And he would have got a lot, since you can see the entire city from this point, from the Olympic park to the twin towers and beyond. On a clear day (which we are blessed with many of in Barcelona), you can see the bright blue coastline and even a boat or two if you have very good eyesight.

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Tags: Tibidabo, Tibidabo+park, Barcelona+funicular, Barcelona+fairground, symbols+of+Barcelona

Yes!! We are the winners, we are the winners! Last Sunday saw the first title of the year, “La Copa del Rey”…go to the basketball team of Barça! I know that basketball is not as important as football here in Barcelona…but Barça supporters also follow how well the basketball team is doing.

Do you know what the best thing about that win is??? Barça defeated its archrival Real Madrid with a result of 69-53…16 points difference against the actual leader of the Spanish Basketball League, we thrashed them!! And believe me, beating Real Madrid in any sport is very, very important! Actually, all the managers, players and the press considered Real Madrid as the favourite to win this cup. However, Barça is always there trying to win, even when nobody believed they could do it. You can never underestimate Barça’s potential in any sport!! In basketball, we haven’t only won a lot of national and international titles, but also, lots of the best European players have played defending the ‘Azulgrana’, such as Sarunas Jasikevicius, Dejan Bodiroga, Juan Carlos Navarro and, obviously, the best Spanish player ever…Pau Gasol, who is an all-star in the NBA! (more…)

Tags: Barça, basketball+in+Barcelona, Copa+del+Rey, Barça+champions,