Iron in the Old Town

Wandering through the old town today, in the Raval, I came accross a great public show of ironmongers at work.

There is a new iron workshop or taller which has opened just off Carrer Nou de la Rambla (where you can see Gaudi's Palau Güell) on nearby Carrer Sant Ramon, number 25. As part of the opening, the association of Forja Viva organised a street exposition of ironmongers working and making things for the public. As I wasn't expecting this, it was a great little distraction, so I thought I'd blog it.

As mentioned, the nearby Palau Güell - a UNESCO World Heritage site designed by Antonin Gaudi - is just along the street, and Gaudi himself was the son of an ironmonger. This influence is apparent is many of his works, such as La Pedrera on the balconies, and the gates and windows at Palau Güell. It's fair to say then, that some of the ironmongers on display had been influenced in turn by the great Reus-born architect, and that would be no surprise, but there were still a few gems in there.

According to the leaflets and website, it's the first time that anything like this has been done in the city and it aimed to "recognise the work of artesanal hands of the forge and (gain) respect that this...work deserves, relevant in our history and culture"


Unfortunately, I was stopped at taking photos at the small exhibition space along on Nou de la Rambla,with the simple reply that you can't take photos "porque no"! so my apologies if the post seems a bit limp - I would have liked to have added a few more photos, but I'm sure you get the drift.

One of the little gems was this funky Spider bottle holder thingy, which I thought was very original.


It's one of the reasons I love living in the old town - unexpected exhibitions (it may well have been publicised, but I didn't see it) and one you can enjoy in a local Barcelona apartment for rent, too.

For more information about the city, too, try this local Barcelona guide.

Lost in Translation? Surely yes!

I've always been drawn to the theatre, and living in Barcelona there are loads of theatres with often some cracking plays and musicals on, but I've only even been once (Stomp, the percussion with bin lids, about 5 years ago!).

Avenguda Paral·lel has the most concentrated amount of theatres in the city with some classics such as Cuitat Condal, Teatro Victoria, Apolo, Teatre Tivoli, and the Moulin Rouge style "El Molino" (the windmill) which is currently undergoing a full makeover (well overdue) and perhaps something that I'll post about soon. These are some of the most famous theatres in Barcelona, and often have full houses for many varied productions.

The problem for me, of course is that they're all in Catalan (very few are in Spanish). I'm not saying that I wouldn't be able to follow the plot or understand the lines, but many productions up and down Paral·lel are the broadway classics, and I just can't bring myself to listen to "Grease" or something similar in Spanish or Catalan?! Surely the songs translated don't even rhyme?!

I don't doubt that I'm missing out on possibly a great night, and some friends testify to have had a great night watching the cast of Mamma Mia (which was prolonged due to huge success) strut their stuff on the boards. Fame has also just left the city after record breaking ticket sales.

Cuitat Condal, for example, has the permanent fixture of Joan Pera, who is a right unto himself - if only because he is the voice double for Woody Allen in all his films (he even makes a cameo in Vicky Cristina Barcelona), amongst others. And Paral·lel metro station at Nou de la Rambla is neighbour co-incidentally to Bagdad "theatre" the city's live porn show.

So what I really find amusing, (and makes me feel like I'm not missing out on too much) is when I see something like Monty Python's Spamalot coming up - and having rave reviews!! The Catalans think that their humour is very satyrical and sarcastic, kind of like the English - TV3 for example shows repeats of the Young Ones and Blackadder at prime time (ask any Catalan if they know the series, you'll be surprised at the answer!). So I guess it's no surprise to me that Spamalot has done so well, even if we are all in "crisis". I suppose it's just as important to be able to laugh about life than get depressed about the crisis, right?! Good on them,I say, and maybe I'll sneak into a matinee this month and let you know how it goes....if not,I can always pop down to the nearby Llantiol Theatre in the Raval for some English comedy nights!

For more details about Apartments for rent in Barcelona check out BCN Rentals and for a good Barcelona Guide follow the link.

Old Town Oddeties - Artwork? Graffiti?

I was debating on whether on not to add this post, as it's not really a "sight" of Barcelona, but it's something which has had me wondering for a couple of months now, and each time I pass the places in the photos here, I think "Hmmm, I must add this to the blog, and see what people reckon?!"


The above photo was taken on Carrer Hospital in the old town of Barcelona just before the old hospital which is now the Catalonian Library - above one of the smallest bar in Barcelona (I'll do this on another post!). Check out the paintwork. And I'm not talking about the chunky tag - I'm talking about the coloured splats. Here's a closer image.


Now,I know you're thinking "what the...?" as it looks like someone has just splodged paint on a wall with no plan. Although you do need to consider the height. Maybe it was paint balloons in the style of water balloons, to be able to get to that height and drip, too? Well, I agree that it's all very boring and a waste of a wall if you ask me...........until I came accross the below wall:


This one I saw the day after it had been done - on Ronda Sant Pau, which is around 10-15 minutes from Carrer Hospital (no idea of the time between the two "wall splodges" as I saw this one before and only came accross the one on Carrer Hospital a couple of weeks later, sorry)but it clearly looks like someone has been doing this on purpose. I would not be surprised to see another couple of these around the city - and would love to hear if you guys have any info ???!! Leave your comments below as always.

See Self Catering Apartments for rent in Barcelona and this great Barcelona Guide for more information.

Funky Old Town Art Gallery

I was walking through the old town today (as usual), and stumbled upon this cool art gallery in Carrer Doctor Dou, number 4, which I think is a bit of a piss-take on the modern art world. It asks the question "Can you make a piece without it being 'Art'?"
· ¿Se pueden hacer obras que no sean de arte?

The result is a pretty cool...erm...art work? by 9 local artists which is titled "Art Converters. El Basar del xino 4º edicó". The idea was to acquire materials purely from the Chinese shops/warehouses around the city and then create the plastic sculpture which runs all the way around the gallery space.

View from inside, looking out.

It opened in December, and I only found out after returning home that today was supposed to be "open doors" to actually dismantle the piece. Maybe I could have taken home a couple of souvenirs?! There were 3 guys in there chatting and one photographer who I assume were documenting the last few hours maybe? I congratulated them on the piece, and my little boy, Jack, told them that he thought it was a Christmas tree (he's 3) and they loved that!

I thought it was really cool, and such a funny thing to come across without even meaning to. You can see here below the traditional caganers and even a "pissingner"?!

Back wall centrepiece.




I'll keep my eyes out for what might crop up here shortly, and post again if it's anything of interest! Comments welcome as always guys!

For more information on Barcelona, see this Barcelona Guide about the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. And for Apartments for rent in Barcelona, look no further than BCN Rentals.

Everything set for a Night of Magic!

I was walking with my family the other day along Las Ramblas, and we saw a couple of model Camels and people entering the Gallery Space around half way down Las Ramblas, and I remembered of the tradition so we stepped in to take a look.

Similar to the way kids around the world write a wish list to Father Christmas, kids in Spain write to "their Majesties the Magic Kings" and instead of visiting a Santa's grotto, often just leave the letter to be posted. However, bigger cities often organise a similar kind of thing to the grotto, with the Kings collecting children's letters, and ensuring they have been good little boys and girls.

The weather was threatening to put a literal dampener on celebrations for the night tonight, but so far the rain has held off, and I hope it does! It's not supposed to be great tomorrow, the last thing the majority of kids' parents want is their kids getting a cold 2 days before school term is about to re-start!
It was great to see the innocence in the young kids faces as they observed the throned king from the small queue of kids in front of them, unable to believe their luck! My 2 kids were too young to really know what was going on, although Jack wanted to join the queue of kids just to get a sweet that one of the other Kings appeared top be giving out! When I explained that he'd then have to sit on the King's knee and drop off a letter, he suddenly changed his opinion and we made a sharp exit!

For more information on Barcelona, check out this great Barcelona Guide and apartments for rent Barcelona with BCN Rentals.

Barcelona Scams. The School Questionnaire.

This is a fairly recent addition, and I have to confess that I've never seen it happen or heard of anyone falling victim, but I've read about it on Barcelona forums and thought it might be worth adding.

On the occasions that the scam has unfolded, it's been a Sunday morning, fairly early (so that's like 10am for those of you yet to get to grips with Barcelona lifestyle) and involves children and a supposed questionnaire.

It seems that those targeted were usually couples, although I suppose the scam could work for a small group, too. This scam relies on Innocence. The children were alleged to be around 12-13 years old, which is smart enough to scam but also innocent enough to be believable. Here's how the scam unfolds...

Lazy Sunday morning, and a couple deciding what to do for the day are mobbed at the bottom of Las Ramblas/Christopher Columbus monument/streets around Carrer Ample but a group of young teenagers, asking them to fill in a school questionnaire complete with clipboard and pen. They speak a foreign language (some reported that they didn't seem Spanish), and are very in-your-face.

It's all very confusing for the holiday couple who try and explain that they don't understand, while the circling youths seem to insist and even look offended that they willingly want to damage this terms grades. The couple lose sigh of each other, and then the children run off, in the easy access of the Gothic Quarter nooks and crannies. Tourist couple dust themselves down, annoyed, and realise that their backpack is open/wallet has gone, etc. Clever little pickpockets.

Now this is not your usual distraction technique, partly because it's the LAST thing you expect from young kids, and I think this is all part of the success of the technique. As a consequence it's a little damning to offer advice "to stay away from little kids in the Gothic Quarter" as this will be virtually impossible and also may ruin your holidays and turn you into a paranoid maniac! I suppose the tell-tale sign to sit up and take notice would be the clip boards, and if you see them, to try and shoo the kids away without looking like 100% unfriendly tourists by the onlookers!

For planning your trip against any possible mishaps, see this detailed Barcelona Guide and check out my other recent posts on Barcelona Scams:

The Reverse Parking Scam
3 Cups Scam
The Map Readers Scam
The Football Dance Scam
The Flat Tyre Scam
The Ketchup Squirt Scam
The Dancing Dollies Scam