Christmas Lights - Pasta on the Streets

This month sees the start of the Christmas campaign around the city, with the city lights due to be turned on on the 28th November. With retail world-wide expecting a decent Christmas, it's important to draw in the crowds with a decent illumination display this year - something that many complained about last year.

High on the Barcelona residents' naughty list, was the lack of lights on major avenues such as Paseig de Gracia and Diagonal, and the incredible price of 214,000 Euros for 4 solar/bicing-powered "Christmas Trees" that looked straight out of a "todo a cien" shop.

Well, it looks like the mayor's office has sat up and taken notice. So as well as the aforementioned Passeig de Gracia/Diagonal commerce splashing out on 90,000 Euros to line the streets with close to 300 lamps, we'll have some festive inventions dotted around the city, too! The above image is one of those inventions and, yes, it is a huge piece of pasta, not a sea shell.



Catalan Traditional Christmas lunch is a thoroughly delicious broth-type soup called Escudella de Galets - the Galets being the pasta. It's a great soup with a load of ingredients (although I must admit will never convert me from my traditional Turkey Roast and Stuffing!). I think they look really cool, and can't wait to get out and see the creations. Apparently there are other such sculptures such as turkeys, chickens, bottles of cava and roscones (traditional biscuits) which will be distributed around the city, and hopefully get everyone in the mood to spend their Christmas cash. And according to this article citing a survey from Deliotte, the average family will be spending around 735 Euros on the festivities this year, which although is a 19% decrease in last year, I think sounds a lot?! Or am I totally out of touch?! Feel free to leave comments and let me know!

Thinking of coming to Barcelona this festive season? Try these apartments for rent in Barcelona, for an alternative to a hotel. And for a quick look at the best sights, see this Barcelona Guide.

Belly Laughs in Barcelona

November is a bit of a boring month in Barcelona - after the celebrations of Halloween and la Castanyada comes cold weather, coughs and colds, and although the Christmas lights have started to appear in the streets, it seems ages before another excuse for a party comes along. Not to worry, though, help is at hand from the Barcelona International Comedy Festival.

I've mentioned before that there's a great English Comedy scene in Barcelona, and this second year of the International comedy festival kicks off on the 22nd November, and lasts all week! The festival kicks off in Maremagnum with mainly Spanish artists, clowns and monologues, before moving to various locations around the city for the evening gigs.

Highly anticipated acts include sell-out "Made in Barcelona" comics "Que Four Comics Juan Vision" who are returning home after 15 back to back performances at the Edinburgh Festival. And top of the bill is the "Adam and Jason Show" - featuring Irishman Jason Byrne and Aussie Adam Hills. Byrne comes with the comfortable tag of being officially the biggest selling comic in the history of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and both he and Hills have been given free reigns on the night, so expectations are high - and rightly so.

Logan Murray is also giving a Stand Up comedy Workshop in Gracia, which has limited places, as well as a co-incidental Spanish monologue comedy on the weekend of the Barcelona vs Real Madrid game - all about both teams! Toni Moog, Toni Cano and Jorge Segura are performing "Barça vs Madrid; Derby de Comedia". Given the rivalry between the two teams never mind the cities, I'm sure there'll be plenty to chuckle about.

I think it's fantastic that there's an International Comedy Scene in Barcelona (there are also Dutch and Swedish performers amongst the other acts), and invite you to embrace the idea, too. Ticket prices are cheaper in advance than on the door and cost from 8 euros to around 20, which is a bargain considering the potential quality on offer. If you're planning on going, leave a comment, and let us know what you're looking forward to, of if you read this after you've been, give us your critique, and look forward to December - loooads of public holidays!! Woo-Hoo!

Coming to Barcelona this winter? There are some great last minute deals for Barcelona apartments to be had. And for a head start on what to visit while you're here, check out this Barcelona Guide.

Snow This Weekend in Barcelona - No Kidding

I've been here for ten years, and it's snowed about three times that I can remember. Last time was in about 2006 (?) and it reached the old town, too (usually just saved for Tibidabo). It never lays, I guess the salt in the sea air must play its part, and partly because it's never actually THAT cold. Obviously it's cold enough to snow, but only just.



So this weekend there's going to be some snow. Only it's artificial. and up on Montjüic this time. Yes, the Barcelona snow Show starts tomorrow! The web boasts some of the most advanced technology for making artificial snow, and will showcase freestyle skiers, snowboarders jumping around on Europe's largest man-made ramp - a whopping 35 metres. And it's not all just for fun - the points gained in the freestyle competition will count towards the International Ski Federation's World Cup, too.

The event has a "village" down on the pitch around the ramp, which will have shops, merchandise and other free stuff to give away, too. Things kick off at midday and go on until 10pm, with various qualifying rounds before two finals. Sunday also has more activities planned for all in attendance and the village remains open. At 15 Euros for the Saturday or 18 for Saturday and Sunday, it looks like it'll be a good turnout. Let's hope the recent windy conditions don't affect the plans (no refund if the event is cancelled due to the weather!). Are you going to the show? Let me know in the comments, if you read this afterwards, tell us how it went!

Coming to Barcelona this winter? Check out these apartments for rent in Barcelona as a great alternative to a hotel room.

Barcelona Day Trips: Sitges and Casteldefels

One question I often get asked is about the best beaches around Barcelona. For me, and for a city beach, both Barceloneta and the Olympic Village beaches are absolutely fine - but then again, I'm lazy and want everything on my doorstep! For those looking for an out-of-town beach, maybe a little quieter, then there are many choices - up towards the Costa Brava there are nudist beaches such as Sant Pol (they have a non-nudist section, too) which involves jumping the train lines to access. Little coves like Begur are wonderful sleepy fisherman's towns which are great places too, but as I've mentioned before in this series, I'm mainly writing these posts for people visiting the city with no transport of their own, and places easily accessible via public transport.



So for me, two of the best beaches you can access easily from Barcelona are Sitges and Casteldefels. The best way to get to either beach is to take the train from the main train station, Sants. The trains going in the direction of the airport usually always stop at Casteldefels and Sitges.

Sitges is a really nice little town, and is famous for it's gay community which light up the streets during Carnaval in February. It also has a great Cinema festival which leans towards horror movies, and is a beautiful little resort. Housing here is very expensive and many footballers and "famous" people live or have lived in and around Sitges. The beach itself is actually quite small, and it's almost like a cove - the church at the top of the town, overlooking the arched beach below. The beach itself is actually quite shallow - i.e. there's not a huge amount of room before you get to the waves, so sometimes it can get a little fight-for-your-towel-space, but it's immaculately kept with grass verges along the boardwalk, and some great little seafood restaurants, too. Sitges for me, also seems to have it's own macro climate, and many a time I've visited with friends and as we've left Barcelona it's been cloudy, and we plan to just have a look around the cobbled streets of the town, but on arrival it's clear skies and glorious sunshine!

Casteldefels actually has two train stops, and depending on how busy you want the beach to be, then you can choose. The stop marked Casteldefels actually drops you in the centre of town. From here, you can walk under the bridge around 10 minutes to the bottom and reach the sea (head towards the petrol station). This beach is huge in comparison to Sitges, with loads of room to lay down or play beach sports. There's only 1 bar, though, so if you plan on having lunch there, or want a little more variety, then maybe the next stop is for you. Casteldefels Platja (beach in Catalan) is the next stop along, and is a lot busier in terms of shops and bars, restaurants, etc. Although you're only around 15 minutes outside Barcelona, it can seem like another kind of holiday altogether, and a real escape from the city.

Coming to Barcelona soon? Check out these apartments for rent in Barcelona and for a quick look at the top sights, see this Barcelona guide.

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Barcelona Live Music Venues

I was considering making this post a series with a bit more detail about each venue, but reckon it's probably more useful all mixed into one. Feel free to chip in with the comments if you feel I've missed anything worth a mention.

Barcelona is a great place for live music. As well as smaller venues across the city playing live music every weekend, and endless musical festivals from Jazz to electronic, if you want to get your rocks off in Barcelona, there are plenty of places.



Let's start with the big guns - Palau Sant Jordi. Part of the 1992 Olympic Games, Palau is a very versatile arena, and is the place most of the big artists choose when touring here, as it has a capacity of 20,000. Elton John recently finished his Red Piano tour here and artists as diverse as Green Day, Red Hot Chili pappers, Beyonce, Madonna, Phil Collins and and George Michael (who started his 25 Live Tour here) have had no problem filling the seats. Palau Sant Jordi is located up on Montjüic, meaning there's plenty of space for revellers to queue up before hand and public transport links are excellent.

Another popular place for the alternative crowd is Razzmatazz. This is actually a huge club with various different areas catering for all people's tastes and is located over in Poble Nou. This is a great venue to see bands who have not quite stamped their mark on the Spanish pop map just yet, and often bands play here before returning to the larger venues once their fame has took off. I've seen some great bands here; Coldplay in 2003 who later returned the same year to fill Palau Sant Jordi, Travis, Keane, NOFX, to name but a few. An excellent and intimate venue which is here to stay.




One of those intermediate venues is the Pavello Olympic in Badalona. This is an ideal venue for those bands who have a fairly large following, but can't quite fill Palau Sant Jordi (sting played a couple of years ago and should have gone here!). with a capacity of 12,500, the likes of Take That and the Backstreet Boys are happy to get bums on seats here and it's a decent size sports arena with great acoustics.

FC Barcelona's Camp Nou is reserved for only special guests, and obviously plays off season. The most notable acts over previous years have been Irish rockers U2, who played here in 2006 and started their recent 360º World Tour here with a double bill on 30th June and 2nd July this year. Camp Nou is an amazing concert venue, saved for über-stars, and was packed to the rafters on both occasions (I was lucky enough to go on both tours). The recent Go Crazy video was shot in Camp Nou (although they played the more upbeat version!).



Sala Bikini is a really small venue up near Diagonal, and again, is a great place to see some famous bands who have not necessarily made the grade over here yet. One of the best concerts I saw here was years ago when Supergrass played here - such a small venue and there was no barriers between the band and the crowd, it was amazing. Another place which I haven't seen many return, but is still a decent sized venue is Pavello de la Valle d'Hebron, in the north east of the city. Oasis famously cancelled a gig here in 2000 which was the slippery slope to where they are now, as they then returned without Noel and played the fastest concert I've seen (all the songs played at twice the speed up to finish earlier). When they finished, there was no encore, and Liam Gallagher said "Right we've been here now, f#*k off" - as if it was a simple contractual agreement! Never mind!

There are then some equally cool but more sporadic venues around town, where live music can almost always be found. This is where I'll need your help in the comments guys! I'm talking about the classic places like London Bar, Harlem Jazz Club, Jamboree, Pipas Bar, etc. These are institutions in Barcelona, and many a night we've stumbled across a live band jamming away and spent a great, un-planned night in one of these places.

Coming to see a band in Barcelona soon? Check out these apartments for rent in Barcelona and for a heads up on the rest of the city, see this great Barcelona Guide.

Barcelona in the Year 2159 ?

This year sees the 150 year anniversary of Ildefons Cerdà's plans for Eixample being approved. Who? Well Mr Cerdà was the brain behind the biggest neighbourhood in Barcelona, the extension between the old town and the little villages such as Sarria, Gracia and Poble Nou. Eixample now houses some of Barcelona's biggest attractions, including 5 of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. Despite the current acceptance of Eixample as the city's biggest neighbourhood and it's relatively few problems coping with traffic and the like, apparently the plans were not universally accepted at the time. Either way, this year marks 150 euros since the plans were approved by the council, and there are various activities to celebrate this fact.



So, in a clever move by the council, it's up to us residents to think about what Barcelona will be like in another 150 years - in 2159. Not only that, but a web has been built and everyone is encouraged to leave their message or time capsule right there on the web for others to see. AND these time capsules will be sealed and opened again in Barcelona in the year 2159!! Sounds cool, right? Well, check out the link for some funny videos and predictions from the residents of the city so far. There are some cool ideas....and some odd ones, too. Unfortunately the website is all flash, so I can't link to individual entries. Go and check it out yourself.

So, it has left me thinking. 150 Euros is a long time, and with the technological advances we have made only in the last 50 years, it's scary/impossible to predict what life will be like. Obviously (without trying to be too down about it all!) we'd have to sort out major issues with fuel sources and energy to power ever increasing computer servers and the like (robots?!). Just too hard to think about, really!
What do you think? I'd love to hear your comments and ideas. Feel free to comment below.

Coming to Barcelona soon? Try these apartments for rent in Barcelona as a great choice instead of a hotel room.