Life in Barcelona

When you live and work in a city every day, then you start to take it for granted and sometimes you forget about all of the possible things there are to do and places there are to visit!!! …But it is nice have a break from the routine and to do these things every so often! Last weekend a friend of mine came to visit and I switched to ‘tourist lifestyle’!

I recalled a wonderful place: the Magic Fountains of Montjuic! Why magic? Because the water in the fountains comes to life and dances to the rhythm of the music! The foot of the Montjuic hill, between the two towers on Plaza Espanya and the last fountain before the museum, is transformed into a huge light show! The water of the fountain is illuminated by wonderful coloured lights, which create abstract forms and continuous patterns and which then move to the sounds of internationally famous pieces of music and theme tunes from accross the world! The show is repeated every 30 minutes, so there is more than one chance to see it! Unfortunately we actually arrived too late on Saturday and so we tried again on Sunday, at the right time!

During the winter months, the shows take place from 19.00 hours to 21.00 hours at the weekends. During the summer period, from 20.00 hours to midnight!

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Tags: Magic+Fountain, Montjuic+Fountain, Magic+Barcelona, Fuentes+de+Montjuic

Easter is coming in only 2 weeks…and, certainly, Barcelona will be ready to welcome this holiday, which is noted in all Spanish calendars. It is a religious holiday, and it is amazing if you have the chance to see the numerous processions that take place every year throughout Spain.

Barcelona celebrates Easter enthusiastically (normally accompanied with very nice weather), the city is crowded with people celebrating these religious days. There are a lot of activities organized during the holidays that you cannot miss!

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Tags: Easter+in+Barcelona, La+Mona+de+Pascua, Festivities+in+Barcelona

What the hell is “World Water Day” ? - I hear you murmer. Yesterday, March 22nd, was “World Water Day”. Here in Barcelona it is, of course, another excuse to stage a weekend of celebrations, music and dance! And why ever not indeed?!

The international observance of the World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. The theme for this year`s World Water Day was ‘Coping with Water Scarcity’.

This weekend, Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th of March, from 16.00 hours, Barcelona is celebrating this day on Pg. Lluís Companys, between the ‘Arc de Triomf’ and the ‘Ciutadella Park’, with a lot of cultural and artistic activities. From flamenco, rumba and theatre on Saturday, to a concert by Lucrecia – a Cuban born singer - on Sunday! (more…)

Tags: World+Water+Day+in+Barcelona, Lucrecia+concert+Barcelona, World+Water+Day,

I’ve celebrated St. Patrick’s every year since I was old enough to go to the pub, not because I’m Irish, but because it’s such a famous celebration that you’re guaranteed a good night out, and Barcelona’s St. Patrick’s day merriment was certainly no exception.

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Tags: St.+Patrick's+day, Barcelona+nightlife, pubs+in+Barcelona, Barcelona+bar+crawls

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

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,

Tomorrow 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!

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Tags: saint+valentine+barcelona, san+jordi+barcelona, romantic+barcelona, rose+festival,

From 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…)

Tags: Cirque+du+Soleil+Barcelona, Barcelona+city+break, Forum+Barcelona, Cirque+du+Soleil

I 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.

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Tags: gigantes+barcelona´Mercé+festival, Barcelona+traditions, giants+barcelona, barcelona+festivals

One of the most typical traditions during the local celebrations of Barcelona and Catalunya, are the “Castells”, the HUMAN SKYSCRAPERS!This is an old Catalan tradition from the 18th century, originating in Tarragona (around one and a half hours from Barcelona by car). The Castells was originally acted out as a rivalry between two groups of “dancers”, competing to see who could build the highest human tower!

The towers are erected to the sound of traditional catalan music and the “castellers” (climbers), have to bear in mind many factors (including the laws of physics!), to ensure their saftey. The strongest people are at the bottom of the tower to support the humongous weight, with the lightest people/children at the top. The last person to climb the castle is a young child, who salutes with his/her hand to the crowd below, when they have reached the top. It is at this moment that the castle is considered complete and a second later the climbers begin to descend the tower to loud cheers and applause.

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Tags: Castells+in+Barcelona, Castellers+in+Barcelona, Human+skyscrapers+in+Barcellona, Catala+Traditions, Barcelona+Festivals