Laia Festival and Carnival 2013!

Well, January has sped by (at least for me) and the weather seems to be holding up as far as the cold is concerned, although it's very windy! The new year's resolutions have gone down the pan, the gym subscriptions have gone back to the drawing board and it's time to put off everything for another year, right?! So the second weekend of February in the Catalan Capital usually always conjures up two people: Carnastoltes and Laia.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about then, you should at least have realised that it's Carnival weekend all over the world, and that the best place if you're in Barcelona to celebrate is Sitges. As usual, my kids have been given their orders from Sa Majestat Carnestoltes and have been going to school this week in pyjamas, slippers and dressing gowns and the like.

Santa Eulalia, or Laia, as she's more affectionately known, is the children's saint and over the coming week, there are plenty of activities celebrating her - Tuesday 12th, for example, loads of Museums are free to visit and on the 16th and 17th, most others organise something special. Although many of the activities are created with children in mind (workshops, processions, puppet shows, expositions, etc.) there are also activities for adults, too - a great example is the audiovisual mapping of buildings as part of the Llumbcn festival with amazing shows from 19h to 2230h at Plaça Sant Jaume, revisiting some of the best shows of the past few years. There is literally far too much for me to explain in just one blog post, so click the lñinks I've left or download the programme here (pdf). Events occur all over the city, but principally around the old town - the cathedral (where she's buried), Plaça Padro (newly refurbished and the place she died), Las Ramblas, etc. See you there!!

Coming to Barcelona soon with friends ? Check out these great Apartments for groups in Barcelona from BCN Rentals for some fantastic deals.