Crema Catalana, a sweet substitute for love!
Wednesday, February 14th, 2007
Ok, ok, it is Valentine’s Day, but not everyone is lucky enough to have a partner to share a romantic dinner with, or to offer a cute cuddly toy or flowers to! And so??
Archive for February, 2007
Barcelona, when love is in the air!
Tuesday, February 13th, 2007Tomorrow is the day when LOVE is in the air! Who hasn´t heard of SAINT VALENTINE´S DAY! This is the day for declaring your love to the ones you really care about, whether or not you disclose your identity is up to you!
It is quite curious that so many people around the world know about this special day, originally to honour the saint called Valentine who unknowingly became the patron saint of couples in love! According to the legend, when the Christian religion was persecuted, he secretly married couples under Church ritual. It didn´t take long for the shops to make the most of the romantic concept of St. Valentine´s day, offering chocolate hearts, cute red cards to send to your ’special friend’ and heart shaped pillows. Well, every object you could ever need to show your affection can be found in every store in town!
Spain´s first Oxygen Bar!
Monday, February 12th, 2007Go out and get a buzz with a difference! Located in the heart of the
Eixample, the Shadow Lounge, on Consell de Cent 223 in Barcelona is pioneering what has become a new trend in bars and night clubs from London to San Francisco since the late 1990s – the Oxygen Bar! This is supposed to be the next generation of excitement on a night out! The concept of a healthy and casual OXYGEN BAR, is partying, combined with healing! It involves inhaling oxygen with a soothing aroma to enhance your mood and wellbeing. (more…)
How to be a tourist for a day!
Friday, February 9th, 2007Who hasn´t seen the colourful tourist buses passing by in the city centre
every day, full of camera-crazy, smiling, nodding people, twisting their necks this way and that, according to the loud speaker instructions?! “Nooooo, that´s not for me! I prefer to explore the city at my own pace” you might say. Well at least that´s what I thought, until one fine day of enlightenment… (more…)
Shopping heaven in Barcelona!
Thursday, February 8th, 2007
I have just moved house in Barcelona and I have been lucky enough to land in the trendy, old town, El Born district, behind the city cathedral! The one big problem about living in Barcelona is how many TEMPTATIONS there are, with regards to shopping!
You need to take care of your money in this city – as you are likely to spend it! Barcelona is on its way to becoming one of the top shopping capitals in Europe. In contrast to London, Berlin or Amsterdam, Barcelona is not only fashionable and trendy but, in my opinion, it also offers much more reasonable prices! (more…)
CHURROS y CHOCOLATE – The end to a perfect Barcelona night!!
Wednesday, February 7th, 2007Hello everybody!!
I feel the necessity to talk about my last Saturday night out in Barcelona. I had what I call the “perfect evening”! I’m not just talking about going out with friends and coming back home around 6am (actually, as most people who live in Barcelona do). What I’m talking about is much better!! A really, really fantastic evening that only happens every now and again (it’s difficult to keep up with the lack of sleep every weekend!!).
So, the evening started at 7 pm, meeting with friends in a bar in the city centre. We stayed for around 2 hours, having a few beers. Then, we decided that we had had enough beer and we went for dinner to a very nice restaurant. We ate pasta and pizza, accompanied by good red and rosé wine. Mmmmmm, we had an incredible dinner and we decided to continue with the evening’s entertainment… 
we went to a pub at around 12 pm…you know, just more drinking and dancing 
And finally, we still had energy to go out to one of the big clubs in Barcelona!
The Circus is coming to town! – Cirque du Soleil in Barcelona
Tuesday, February 6th, 2007From February 22nd to April 20th the worldwide success ‘Cirque de Soleil’ is coming to Barcelona, so whether you’ve already planned your trip to the city, or you are wondering when to come, this is a great time to combine a fantastic city break with an unforgettable show!
I saw Cirque du Soleil many years ago in London, and have been meaning to go again for a long, long time. Now that they are coming to Barcelona, I certainly won’t miss it. (more…)
IMAX – Barcelona’s fantasy world!
Monday, February 5th, 2007Who hasn’t toyed with the idea of jumping into an action film and co-staring with their favourite characters??? The closest you can come to this experience is to visit the IMAX Cinema in Port Vell in Barcelona!
You can actually let your senses be immersed by the huge screen that covers the whole eyesight spectrum, and an enormous surround system gives you the illusion that you are right in the middle of everything! It’s wicked!
Winter-sun in Barcelona at the weekend!
Friday, February 2nd, 2007The sun does not only shine in the summer in Barcelona! 
It is 15.30 hours on this beautiful, warm and sunny WINTER FRIDAY AFTERNOON in the city! The feeling of walking out into the city and feeling the sun on your face at this time of year is incredible.
I´ve just returned to my desk after a few errands at lunchtime, during which I spotted FLIP FLOPS already, on the feet of passers-by. FLIP FLOPS IN WINTER!??! YA-HOOOO! (more…)
Barcelona - Land of the Giants!
Thursday, February 1st, 2007I just saw the last post about Castells in Barcelona, and it reminds of another strange and impressive tradition – The Giants (Gigantes)!
The giants are huge papier-mâché statues carried through the streets on someone’s shoulders (someone with very strong shoulders!!) They are used in major festivals throughout Spain (of course in my opinion the Barcelona Giants are the best!!!) People gather round to watch the procession and to see the giants dance, which is no mean feat, bearing in mind how much they can weigh!
The first time I saw the ‘Desfile de los Gigantes’ (parade of the giants), was at the Barcelona Mercé festival, which takes place every September, but the giants do appear at many other annual events.
A friend of mine is part of one of the teams who construct the huge figures (they compete to see who can make the most impressive giant) and he thought it would be a good idea for me to try to carry the giant, assuring me that there is really nothing to it.
