Salon Erotico Barcelona

I tell you what. I've been here for 11 years now, and I'm still amazed at the attitude towards sex and the sex industry over here. Maybe I'm a stuffy Brit, but I'm still a firm believer in the 9pm watershed, for example, and things of this nature. I distinctly remember waking up one Saturday morning when we had Canal+ and it was very early, like 8:30am, and they had Hannibal on the Movie channel. Like for you to just send your kids to watch TV whilst you stay in bed for a lie in and then traumatise them for life as Anthony Hopkins eats brains from Ray Liotta's skull. I know that example is not sex-related but I still found myself shaking my head and tutting.

I still find it incredible that you have so many sex shops and ahem "puti clubs" alongside normal blocks of flats in the city centre with no particular regard of where exactly. And I KNOW there's absolutely nothing wrong with it and that it goes on everywhere and would happen anyway so I'm not saying hide it, BUT this coming weekend does have me a little puzzled.

Yes, this Thursday sees the return of the Barcelona Erotic Show in nearby Cornella. You may have spotted those descreet bright pink posters with a woman's nipple around the town? The Salon Erotic is exactly what it says on the tin - a whole shebang of everything you can possibly imagine under one roof: porn stars, live shows, workshops, sex shops, galleries, massages, gay sections, S&M, you name it, it'll be there with bells on. Literally.

So here's my confusion. Who actually goes to these events ?! Ok, I can envisage a lot of geeky hormonal males and dirty old men going, but apart from that??? I keep thinking that it could be interesting but imagine if you bumped into someone you know...or just as you're leaving...my thoughts could go on...!! My guess is that you'll probably get some very "open" couples going too - given that there's a swingers area...anyone reading going?! Drop me a comment below!

Fancy a trip to Barcelona this Autumn? Why not rent a Barcelona apartment instead of a stuffy hotel room ? And for a quick look at the best sights, check out this guide to Barcelona.

Sitges Film Festival 2011

It's that time of the year again. It completely doesn't feel like it, with the "hottest October since 1940-whatever" cos we're normally used to a bit more of a chill nowadays (pun intended) but it is indeed time for the 44th Annual Festival de Cine de Sitges. What started as a small festival back in 1968 has gone from strength to strength and is a must-visit for any fantasy/horror fan - there simply is too much to choose from with Asia heavily represented, of course, local cinema, classic horror legends and new screenings to choose from and compete for the awards. Don't just take my word for it, the press page speaks for itself. 300 screenings to over 100,000 people attracting 430 different media outlets from around the globe. And that's not even mentioning the über fun Zombie Walk - this year on the 14th October.



It's normal for the festival to honour a figure in the world of fantasy cinema be it an actor, director or whoever, and this year it's a younger man - Bryan Singer - who is honoured for his fantasy/comic direction with such films as X-Men and Superman under his belt and another X-Men in pre-production. He's also the man responsible for bringing Battlestar Galactica back to the big screen and the man who produced the House series and (one of my favourite films) The Usual suspects. That man deserves a pat on the back.

With the 10th anniversary of Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence Movie here, the festival also takes a look at the way AI has been portrayed in movies from Spielberg to Kubrik, and indeed the official posters are at first glance a man and a woman but are in fact robots from Japan. The idea is to provoke and arouse ambiguity and interest to take a further look. What do you think? Planning on attending this year, or hobbling along to the zombie walk? Let me know in the comments.

And if you're looking to take advantage of all this good weather for a last gasp beach trip, check out BCN Rentals apartments for a great deal on accommodation. And for some information about other Barcelona Day trips aside from Sitges, check the link.