Las Ramblas Florists in Danger of Fines

I blogged about 3 years ago about the proposed changes to Las Ramblas and the animal stalls - "ocellaires" - which used to occupy the top part of the most-walked street in the city, and sure enough, they have almost disappeared, with just a few remaining. I have to be honest, though, whilst I wasn't in 100% agreement or disagreement with the tiny sizes of the stalls, I think their replacement is a real let down. 

Those stupid ice cream stalls and bright yellow aprons with cheap industrial cakes and rubbish at high prices are exactly what Las Ramblas didn't need. There are enough of them on the actual sides of Ramblas (and of much better quality). So, whilst walking the other day through the city centre, I began to notice that all of the flower sellers have now, too, added a notice to their stalls:

Now, I don't care if the prices of the florists are more expensive than a normal florists elsewhere in the city, or if they've kind of had to adapt to the "crisis" by adding those material joke flowers and such like, can you imagine St Jordi without flowers on Las Ramblas? And their replacement to be what ?! More bloody waffle stalls and chatty necklaces?!

The photo above says "Keep the Florists of Las Ramblas in your prayers. Who will soon die for the hard line taken by The Town Council of Barcelona and for the incomprehension of Converència I Unio after a massive indigestion of tourism. The funerals will take place as soon as the first fines imposed by the Town Council of Barcelona will be administrated to Florists. We would appreciate your support by signing the Book of Condolences".

OK, so the translation leaves a lot to be desired, but you get the picture. The lady in the photograph was accompanied by an elderly gentleman (I assume her husband) who have been working the flower stalls in Las Ramblas ALL OF THEIR LIVES!!! I asked the man what they had in mind (me meaning the council) to replace the stalls and he cut me off and said they would begin a hunger strike, so they're clearly taking it all very seriously. It has to be said too, that up and down each side, the stalls were dotted with people signing and shaking their heads and generally being supportive of the stalls and their proprietors, and I have to say I agree, too. It would be a real shame for those people to lose their livlihood and Las Ramblas would lose yet another piece of its identity. What do you think? Agree ? Disagree? Let me know in the comments!

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Solidarity Rose for Sant Jordi

Next week is Sant Jordi in Catalunya, and is always a popular and well celebrated day. I compare it sometimes to England, as Saint George is also the patron saint of England, and the day goes by pretty much unnoticed. Ask any Catalan the date of Sant Jordi, and they'd tell you the 23rd April like a shot. I'd wager that around 20% of English would know!

As is customary with the day, Barcelona council supports a cause and promotes the idea on the web. This year the very worthy cause is the Solidarity Rose project which is in its 18th edition and is an initiative from amics del gent gran. The idea is that citizens buy either a rose or a book (as per the tradition) and take it to an elderly person they know, spend some time with them and thus raise awareness of the large numbers of old people who are lonely and much of the time alone. Participants are then encouranged to share their tale on Facebook and Twitter with hashtag #rosascontraelolvido. So you can take a real rose or you can pick up the one that has been made specifically for the day in many different outlets (200 in total including supermarkets, shops, etc.) and the price is 3,50€. Good idea I think and I hope it is a success. Being self employed I don't keep a strict clock with work, and have made lots of friends in and around my neighbourhood who are all retired and who I bump into a lot. I know that some of them are lonely despite having families here, so this is an even better idea for those people who have no-one.

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Cosmo Caixa Celebrates Barcelona's Forgotten Saint

Just in time for the Carnival celebrations this coming week, we have another reason to celebrate something dear to the children of Barcelona (or aren't we all children of Barcelona?) and that's the celebration of little Laia - Barcelona's forgotten Saint. Santa Eulalia, as she is better known, was a little girl who endured torture and a pretty gruesome death from the old Barcelona heirarchy due to her protests about the treatment of Christians. However, she's also remembered as the Children's patron saint of the city, and each year, the council prepares her festival, specifically centered around children's events.

So this year Cosmo Caixa is organising 3 events free of charge  - but with limited places - to tie in with the other festivities. There is an exhibition of stick insects, a seperate exhibition of fossils and dinosaurs from the Gobi desert, and a puppet show of different kinds of animals showing children the differences in nature through theatre. With more cold weather looking to come our way, might be an idea to get the kids in somewhere warm and entertan them!

There are of course, many other activities going on throughout the city to celebrate and remember Laia, and the official website for the full programme of events is here. The festival dates also co-incide with the festival of light in the city, which embraces the idea of the illumination of some of the city's best buildings and offers a different look at some of the most-seen edifices in the city - like the spectacular live "Magic House" which is broadcast onto the town hall facade and not even the rain from La Merçe last year could prevent people from "ooh-ing" and and "aah-ing". Clever stuff. There's also a clever instagram competition going on over the two days of the festival, so if you think you'll be a good snapper, check it out.

Expect all the usual cultural shenannegans like castellers, gegants, xocalatadas, dances, parades, all sorts. And of course, many of the museums open their doors during the festival too, so it's a great opportunity to soak in some more culture for free!

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Nativity Scene at Plaça Sant Jaume

As is becoming customary with me, I'll take the kids to see the Christmas lights, Christmas Fair, often the Three Kings, and always the Nativity Scenes in the centre of the old town, too. The Plaça Sant Jaume is the usual place for the scene to be installed and each year takes a different form. Last year's scene was like a scale model Bethlehem with lights being projected onto the Town Hall in the background.

Well, this year's scene is perhaps a little more traditional  - as in old fashioned - and seems to echo the style of the abandoned frescos painted on the cielings of churches around Catalunya in the day - many of which can be seen at the MNAC over at Plaça Espanya. The paintings of Jospeh, Mary & the Kings are almost icon-ic and for me the whole faux-stone church is trying to evoke that.

For my ignorance, there may well be a very informative piece all about the designer and painter somewhere around the Plaça Sant Jamue, so I apologise if that's totally wrong!! haha!!! Well, anyway, I like it this year a bit more than last year - although there's no place for the classy dinner table with the caldo de galets like last year...shame!

And just as you're admiring the scenes and taking a few photos, there's your caganer out the back, looking like a mix between Edvard Munch's The Scream and a cardboard Muppet. Hang on a minute.....

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below about this year's decorations, and if anyone else has anything to suggest, please leave a comment, too!

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Christmas Market in Barcelona - Giant Cagatio!!

Every year the Feria de Santa Lucia brings a bit of Christmas Cheer to the city - it's a very long running tradition, and what started as a small market now takes up pretty much the whole of the Plaça in front of the city cathedral in the gothic quarter. Christmas tunes are playing from speakers just enough to keep things merry and not annoying (unless you work there, I imagine!) and it's great to just have a wander around and experience the different traditions and customs which Catalunya has embraced for Christmas.

As well as real Christmas trees (very overpriced, sorry) and decorations there are nativity scenes, ornaments, caganers, cagatios, and lots of plants and floral decorations. Into it's 224th edition, it's a must-visit for anyone visiting the city and even the residents here - especially those with children.

 And this year, there's yet another reason to get yourselves down there. Yes, it's a giant Cagatio!! The Barcelona council and getting good at making giant Christmas characters (see my linki for last year's enormous Caganer in Maremagnum!).

I happened to be there last weekend and it was just about to re-open for the afternoon "show" and there was a huuuuuuuggggge queue of people up towards the bridge of sighs - so we gave it a miss, but for those in fine voice for the song (oh, yes, people, he's got his own song!!). Also, this Saturday and Sunday you can see the traditional Sortidas de la Carassa - like the Christmas beast - from 12:30 onwards. The Fair is on until the 22nd December, so get yourselves down there to pick up a gift or those last minute decorations for your place!

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Monumental Curtains

It's widely accepted that the Catalans don't like bullfighting. That's something very Spanish - Osborne's monstrous black silhouettes around the country's highways and festivals such as San Isidrio in Andalucia are huge events for local people, and it has to be said that as an imagery to foreigners most people recognise Flamenco, Paella & Sangria and Bull fighting as a typical weekend in any Spaniard's diary. Not so in Catalunya. They mock the bull.

While the city has been the home of two bull rings over the years - Las Arenas and Monumental - it will be the proud owner of none come this Sunday. Saturday sees the very last appearance of bulls within Monumental, at least in  front of Matadores for the viewing public that is. Across town, Las Arenas has been converted (albeit very slowly) into a rather snazzy shopping mall with gyms, Rock Museum and endless shops and restaurants.

You can't say it hasn't been coming. From locals recording disgusted tourists on camera and then uploading the videos to youtube, to official protests and demonstrations, the whole thing went to court and the new law will be introduced and enforced as of 2012 - No bullfighting in Catalunya. I think if you ask the majority of locals what they think about, they'll agree that it doesn't bother them one bit. In fact, it's true to say that the majority of the seats at Monumental over the past few years have been filled by tourists, so it's hardly going to be missed.

So what will happen to Monumental? I have no idea, so welcome any comments of people who may be in the know. Of course it can stay as a concert venue, or sports venue of sorts, I don't think there's a need for another Mall of sorts, but surely the structure will be kept - as much as the locals don't like what goes on in there, it's become part of the urban landscape of the city and is extremely distinctive. Feel free to comment if you do know what's planned!

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Lovely Rita

The Barcelonans certainly love their saints, or at least the traditions. By now you should know about Santa Eulalia and how the locals like to celebrate her life and memory. Another less well known saint is revered this month, too, in a little corner of Raval.


22nd May is the feast day of Santa Rita, who is the patron Saint of lost causes. Her altar in Sant Agusti church is consistantly the most visited and decorated. However on the morning of the 22nd, it is traditional for locals to go to her altar and have their roses blessed on this day. Queues of people form all around the plaça outside to much confusion of the tourists passing by. It's a nice tradition and shows the faith of the few who still believe in the power of prayer.



The church is very central, just off Calle Hospital and is the starting point for many of the processions during the year, such as the Easter parades, so if you're close by, pop along and have a look.

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La Merçe Festival with Kids

Having two kids during the Merçe festivities has been great this year. I'm sure it's actually great every year, but mine have been maybe too small to appreciate. There are plenty of activities each year geared specifically for children, and in particular the area around Montjüic castle was full of puppet shows, trapeze artists and projections, face painting and circus acts. Whilst the ones we co-incided with were is Catalan, there were also some international acts (a couple of puppet shows from France we saw were funny, too).



One of the highlights was the giants parade on the Friday evening. Las Ramblas was closed off for traffic and the parade started from Carrer Pelai, all the way down Las Ramblas, preceeded by bands from the Guardia Urbana on horses.



Each neighbourhood has their "gegants" and it was great fun to watch the different neighbourhoods go past with their costumes, bands and giants.



All of the children lining the streets would touch the giants and try and shake hands or call their attention.



One of the lesser known animals called the beast sprayed water on the crowds as it went past, too.



And there was one who for me was the spitting image of Andy Garcia (admittedly with a fair bit of make-up) or is that just me?!



His and hers dragons, traditional animals and many many more that I didn't snap with my camera phone as the kids took over a bit!



Did you attend the parade? any impressions or comments? Let me know. BCN Rentals has a great selection of apartments for rent, too, if you're thinking of visiting the city this autumn.

La Merçe 2010 - Castellers at Plaça Sant Jaume

OK, so like every year, I try to take in as much of La Merçe as possible, and with so much choice, it's difficult to squeeze in everything while working, being full time parent, etc. It worked out as being a long weekend however, as Friday was a public holiday and meant that we could go out as a family and see some things that maybe weren't possible when the kids were so small.

Obviously it's difficult to resist the draw of the traditional elements of the festival and perhaps the most spectacular - so whilst I did go and check out the "Rices of the World" at the Rambla del Raval, it was almost finished at 13:30 (and advertised from 11am till 15h!!) so made our way to the Plaça Sant Jaume. So whilst last year I was there for the giants, this year was the human castles or castellers.



Despite making things look incredibly easy, there is a particular technique involved and it was interesting to see the big black "scarves" which were wrapped tightly around people's waist/lower back for support, and how the guys and girls bite their collars on their shirts when they join the tower, so the people who are standing on their shoulders don't slip on the fabric.



The youngsters have to wear protective helmets due to some unfortunate incidents in years gone by, but for me it doesn't spoil anything. Once the smallest child gets to the top, they have to raise their hand before beginning their descent. This is often literally a split second, so quite difficult to capture on camera, but I did ok!!



Did you see the castellers this year? Any impressions or take aways? Let me know in the comments! Are you thinking of visiting the city this Autumn ? Barcelona apartments are a great way to save money in groups, for example. And for a quick look at the city sights, see this Barcelona Guide.

Virtual Roses for Sant Jordi 2010

Whether or not the council was worried that the Volcanic ash cloud would scupper plans of the importing of 6 million roses to be sold tomorrow or not, it looks like there'll be plenty to go around. And even if you can't buy a rose for your loved one, the city's website has got an even eco-friendlier (and cheaper) version to help you out!



That's right, through the wonders of modern internet connections, citizens can send their girlfriends, wives and lovers a virtual rose for Sant Jordi! Not only that, but you can choose the colour of the rose you'd like to send, too!! And it's so easy, even your grandmother could manage it (assuming she has an email account).

For those of you wondering what I'm jabbering on about, it's that tomorrow is Saint George's Day - patron saint of Catalonia. For more details and history, see my post last year or the photos I took on the same day.

Let's hope the weather holds out, as last year was a great sunshine day, but the forecast is not too great for tomorrow!! Happy Sant Jordi day everyone!!

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All Change for Las Ramblas Animal Stalls

This month's city magazine had a back cover story about the bird sellers on Las Ramblas, who appear to have bowed to the pressure from the protest groups. Or perhaps the council has decided for them. Known locally as "ocellaires", many of the stalls are passed down through generations, as Monica Trias asserts in the story in the city magazine.

I remember when I first arrived that many an evening I passed the closed stalls on Las Ramblas, and didn't even realise that they were the same animal stalls. They are kind of tardis-like, folding in on themselves and no-one would imagine what they are while viewing them on an evening. During the day, they open up fairly wide if you consider the size of the closed cabin, and sell various animals, from tortoises and rabbits to birds and fish. They are a constant attraction to tourists who stop to look at the animals (although rarely buy, for obvious reasons).

They have also raised a great amount of protest over the years, especially since 2003, as this website explains. There are also a couple of Facebook pages dedicated to the protest. I remember on a couple of occasions seeing the caged humans in protest over the years, but after seeing the pratice continue, I assumed it was a futile attempt at a demonstration.

In all the years that I've been in Barcelona, I'd never seen any retaliation or attempt at defending their trade from the animal sellers. Apart from one time. I rue not taking a photo of the card which was hung on the cage of one of the animals, but fortunately found the image after a search online. I can't remember exactly when the card was put up, but I do remember returning a couple of days later with the idea of taking a photo and the card had gone. Credit here.



In case you don't want to click on the photo to enlarge, this is what it says:

"Dear Visitors,

This is a city where people work and live, not a theme park.

Stores in "La Rambla" have a 150 year history

Before you arrive, we were very happy

Please show some respect for the city and its inhabitants"

What do you think? I was very surprised, and have seen other examples since which also leave me baffled.

So, the animal stalls are to be changed to stalls selling locally-produced artisan goods. All but one, which will remain an animal stall. Apparently negotiations with the council and the Association of Ocellaires were lengthy and tough. With 150 years of history, I can understand why, but part of me is happy about the outcome. I'm no animal rights activist, and have to say that I've stopped to look at the stalls on many occasions with friends and family over the years, but something tells me this is for the best. What do you think? Is leaving one animal stall a cheeky move from the council? Should they have rid Las Ramblas from the stalls completely? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts, as always, so please feel free to comment.

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Random Merce Photos 2009

Every year I try and see as much of La Merce as possible, and many times I've never taken a camera (I didn't blog in those days!). So this weekend, although I was fairly busy with work, I tried to get out and about and see some of the things I thought were new this year, and that the kids would like! If you want to see some great Barcelona photos, then check out Carlos Lorenzo's photoblog and in the meantime, here's a few from this weekend!



First ones are the Barcelona Giants. Ceremony dictates that the giants come out and dance in the Plaça Sant Jamue, and the weekend of La Merçe is a great weekend to see this (if you can squeeze through the crowds!).



For the rest of the weekend, the giants went back to Las Ramblas number 99, in the Institute of Culture building. This time however, there were some additions to the usual giants, and they were out of the glass cases on display for all to see.



There were some smaller horse models, dragons, lions, and a beast which apparently is the animal which is least known about in the history of the gegants. I thought that would merit a photo!



And the horses..


Barcelona Port also got in on the act with concerts on the stage near the markets opposite Columbus monument, and there were activities for children, old-style board games and a huge Jenga (which I think nobody knew what it was - I was dying to start the game!).



And probably the coolest thing I saw all weekend was parked outside the Maritime Museum. I think it was called the soundbox and is way cooler than the name suggests. If you look at the image, you can see metal meshing/sheeting underneath the blue frame. Inside the box, there were some speakers, probably a computer and some high-tech sensors. Everybody was just walking past it, but I sensed it must do something, so went for a closer look. The way it worked was if you touched any two of the metal parts (windows?) the box emitted a sound. And the sound was different if you used your whole hand, or just the tips of your fingers, or a combination of both. Sounds a bit daft, right? Well it was bloody cool, and as soon as I worked it out, loads of people came over as well and the box made loads of different funny noises !!



Did you see anything at this year's Merce? Let me know what you liked in the comments. And if you're coming to Barcelona soon, try these apartments for rent in Barcelona, which are right in the heart of the city.

La Merce 2009 - Barcelona's Festival Week

September is a great month in Barcelona. The Patron Saint (or one of them) Our Lady of Mercy has her feast day on the 24th September, and this is a great excuse to dust down some Catalan traditions and festival celebrations in a week-long party which involves the whole of the city.

According to the city website, this year celebrates 150 years since Ildefons Cerdà's plans for Eixample were approved, so expect some big goings on in Barcelona's biggest neighbourhood. Plaças and streets are filled with stages and open air concerts, and like other years, the festival embraces other cultures and countries, too. From the official site, it states that

"the Mercè likes to travel without leaving home. That is why this year it has invited Istanbul, which will be Europe’s Capital of Culture in 2010, to offer the people of Barcelona a taste of Turkish culture. And not only the most traditional elements, best represented perhaps by the whirling dance of the dervish Akin Çakmut (Maritime Museum), but also by the newest. Among other events, we will see an exhibition of contemporary artists from Barcelona and Istanbul (La Capella), we will hear the Eastern dub of the Baba Zula, a group that combines the purest oriental tradition with electronic sounds, and we will see the shadow theatre of Gengiz Ozek (Maritime Museum), a renovator of the tradition of what is called karagöz."

Expect the other fireworks displays, fire-runs (said to be under threat due to new EU regulations on the handling of fireworks for minors), dances and castellers, there's a circus up on Montjüic from the 24th to 27th, the Party in the Sky, as well as plenty of live events at the Greek Theatre, and music events all around the city centre. It's impossible to detail all of the events and highlights, especially as there may be some things I would prefer than other readers (like the Hives playing at the old Damm factory, or the magicians for my kids at the circus!) so you can read a full programme here. Unfortunately, like other years, the programme is only in Catalan - and I would pretty much bet that it stays that way. This is a very "local" festival, and whilst everyone is welcome to the celebrations, it's not greatly advertised around and translated into other languages, as other events are. Things kick off this weekend with the Marathon around the city centre, with many streets cut off temporarily during the morning and lunch hour, so if you're thinking of coming in the car, don't!

Coming to Barcelona for La Merçe? Leave a comment and tell us whet you'll be looking forward to seeing! I'd love to hear from you. And if you're still stuck for a place to stay, try these apartments for rent in Barcelona.

Sant Jordi Photos

Although I'm no photographer, I wanted to add a couple of photos to show you what Sant Jordi is all about. The patron Saint of Catalonia is Sant George and it's tradition for a rose to be presented to a woman and a book for a man (if you're curious as to why, check out my last post clicking on the link above!)


This year was really sunny, and a great day for walking around the city centre admiring the bookstalls and florists, especially those on Las Ramblas - which is closed to traffic for the day, too. Some of the flowers on sale were stunning, and multi-coloured, as I tried to show in the first couple of images here.


Everyone participates in the celebration, and there is a real festival feel to the city - kids of all ages from schools and abroad with paintings and pictures, and it's also a multi cultural event embraced by the locals and immigrants alike in the old town Raval for example - the next photo here to your left.



The book stalls on Las Ramblas and all around the city centre were as busy as ever:

The trees on Las Ramblas gave a welcome sahde from the sunshine beating down on the crowds.



Hope you like them!


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Sant Jordi, Books and Roses in Barcelona

This month sees a couple of public holidays in Catalonia, don't you just love April (and September) in Barcelona?! Apart from the Easter break we've just had, there's another perhaps more famous one to come.

The Patron Saint of Catalonia is Saint George, and on the 23rd April falls "Sant Jordi" - Saint George's Day - which is a real festival and celebration in Catalonia, with the capital Barcelona really going to town. Flags are hung out on balconies, hardly anybody goes to work, the bakers fill with "cocas" and it is tradition for boys to present a rose to the girls, representing the blood of the dragon slain by Saint George.

Gaudi himself even paid homage to Saint George on various occasions, with the rooftop of Casa Mila having it's central chimney as a George's cross, and nearby Casa Battló's rooftop having an uncanny resemblance to a dragon's scaly back.

So after the presentation of the rose, the boys receive in return perhaps a strange comparison - a book -until you realise that the 23rd April is also the anniversary of Spain's most famous Author, Miguel Cervantes - Spain's Shakespeare if you like. The days around San Jordi see the streets of Passeig de Gracia and many other open spaces such as Portal del Angel and the Cathedral fill with mobile bookstores, and needless to say Las Ramblas itself is a sea of people with different coloured roses. It's a fantastic spectacle to see, and the local TV stations such as TV3 and 33 often have cameras around the city, or even despite the weather last year in Plaça Catalunya for bird's eye coverage of the celebrations.

Sant Jordi is a great time to visit Barcelona, and if you happen to be visiting the city at this time, I'm sure you'll be overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the locals in the streets - it's a real celebration of culture. Why not look into apartments for rent in Barcelona if you're thinking of coming to the city ? If you're lucky enough to get an apartment located withing the old town, near to Las Ramblas, you'll be able to see all the fun from your own apartment balcony or window!