BE BARCELONA
  • Your Barcelona, now! Live Barcelona. See Barcelona. Be Barcelona.

Observations from an Expat

Worker bees lived here

4/27/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
Francesca took me to Colonia Guell to bring to life Barcelona’s industrial age.  Here is an old textile factory worker’s colony, and a half built Gaudi church.  The factory donated a community...housing, schools and a church... in exchange for long hours of backbreaking work.  There were lots and lots of these villages in and around Barcelona.  Not very many survive all in one piece like this.  Very cool little expedition 20 minutes from downtown.  Ask for Ramon!!!
0 Comments

Rafa!

4/24/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
Here’s another example of what is great about Barcelona.  It’s big enough to attract the ATP World Tennis Tour and small enough that you can go watch it without getting a nose bleed.  We clapped and ole’d through today’s Barcelona Open finals between the  #1 and #4 ranked players in the world from row 12...all for 85 euros.  And throw in the doubles final, plus a front row seat to watch Rafa’s warm ups! (He’s much taller from the ground than he looks on tv.)




Ok, update.  2012 tickets went on sale March 5 and these same seats I was bragging about are now unfortunately priced at 105 euros a piece.
0 Comments

Saint Jordi slayed the dragon for a princess...

4/23/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
And now everyone claims him as their own.  He’s the patron saint of Catalunya (and all kinds of other places) and today is his day of celebration.  Millions of roses and over 800,000 books are sold today in Barcelona.  The boys give the roses...like Sant Jordi slayed the dragon, the girls give the books...because in the 1920s, a clever bookseller noticed that Shakespeare and Cervantes both died on his day too.  We “swam” in a hoard of people (think Times Square at New Years) through Plaza Catalunya to the Palau de la Generalitat, which opens its doors once a year to the public on this day.  A beautiful gothic structure, the seat of government and Sant Jordi is everywhere, in paintings, statues, carvings and tapestries.
0 Comments

Footpaths by the sea. La Selva to Sant Pere des Rodes.

4/20/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
Ok, ok, we couldn’t do it.  8 km straight up a mountain.  So we cheated and drove.  Rocky terrain covered with wildflowers and a magnificent monument at the top and fabulous views.  Bring a picnic!
0 Comments

Footpaths by the sea. Sa Tuna to Punta des Plom

4/19/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
A short 20 minute walk, from the cute village of sa tuna to the beach on the peninsula.  Take the path leading out of the village to your right.  Huge schools of fish we could see straight through the water from way up high!
0 Comments

Footpaths by the sea. Llafranc to Playa Tamariu.

4/18/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
Starting at the light house at sant sebastia, 1.5 hours with steep stairs and slippery inclines, passing cliff top views, pasture land, a small fishing cove, and ending at the beach in tamariu.  This was our favorite walk so far!
0 Comments

Footpaths by the sea. Sant Esteve de Mar to Platja de Castell

4/17/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Costa Brava begins just over an hour north of Barcelona by car and stretches north to France.  Flat, steep, rugged, elegant, solitary, crowded, it’s a mixture of pretty nature and vacation central.  We spent our time here following some of the old footpaths etched by fishermen and  bootleg patrolmen.

North of Palamos, begin at Sant Esteve de Mar, a ruin at the end of tacky Cala La Fosca and follow the signs to Platja de Castell.  An easy walk 45 minutes each way.  Platja de Castell is a rustic gem, a large cove, no modern development.  16th century fishing huts, an early 1900s estate and a historic villa dot the beachline instead.


0 Comments

Footpaths by the sea. Calella to Platja Golfet and Cap Roig

4/17/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
Starting from the south end of the town of Calella, an easy walk of about 30 minutes to the very small, hidden Platja Golfet.  Mild ups and downs and lots of little tunnels along the way.  We drove to Cap Roig botanical gardens later in the day, but you can also make the steep climb by foot.
0 Comments

Three blocks of color.

4/15/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
Sweet, colorful market along Rambla de Catalunya between Arigo and Diputacio on the days ahead of Palm Sunday.  We borrowed Zoe’s tradition and picked out a few tchotchkes to decorate our Mona cake.  Also in the stalls, lots of palm fronds, straight and ribboned or delicate crochet-like creations, all mixed in with the tacky little goodies.
0 Comments

How big is the Easter Bunny here?

4/13/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
Gorgeous candy in the shops these days getting ready for the holiday.  First there are the eggs and rabbits and chickens for Easter day.  
Then on Easter Monday, there is more of the sugar fest, with the Mona cakes.  Cakes decorated with huge chocolate tiaras of kid-themed fun, or simply adorned with boiled eggs and feathers...Godfather brings this to the children.  
0 Comments
<<Previous

    By Maia Pay Ozguc

    Barcelona Impressions.Be curious. Be present. Be Barcelona! 

    Categories

    All
    Best Beaches
    Eat
    Everyday Life
    Go And See
    Kid Stuff
    Moving To Barcelona
    Shopping
    Things To Take Home
    Travel: Around Spain
    Travel: Costa Brava
    Travel: Islands Nearby
    Walking And Biking

    Archives

    December 2018
    February 2016
    December 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

  • Your Barcelona, now! Live Barcelona. See Barcelona. Be Barcelona.