On 20 and 21 of March ,Barcelona celebrates the 52nd edition of the prestigious "International Rally vintage car Barcelona - Sitges. It's a unique opportunity to see classics in perfect condition, more than 80 cars participate in the meeting, all of them predate 1928. The event is based in three days. The first day (Saturday, March 20) participants will exhibit their vehicles in a closed parc that is located in the central Paseo Lluis Companys, near the monument Arco de Triumfo of Barcelona.
The rally will take place on Sunday, March 21st. Departs from Plaza Sant Jaume de Barcelona, with participants dressed up with clothes of the period . The output will be held at 11 am, when the cars they headed towards the town Sitges, after running several streets of Barcelona and the towns of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Cornella de Llobregat, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Viladecans, Gava, Castelldefels and Coast of Garraf.
When the motorcade reached historic Sitges (Port D'Aiguadolç), following a parade through different streets,cars will be displayed in the campus again La Fragata. The point of this test is not there first, but will especially appreciate the aesthetic aspects and time.
Really an interesting show that has few references in Europe, another opportunity to see the tour of time, in this case in the automobile industry.
I'm going!
Miki from Barcelona, receptionist.
Drivers pictures. Andrew Bush spend half of the 90´s seated in his car with a gadget armed with an analogical camera and a flash roaming round roads and highways in Los Ángeles searching for photos of drivers. All type, color, humor and size. With brand new cars, beautiful, classics and horribles.To demostrate that even inside our car an extention of our prívate property that has the virtue of moving we are in the eye of anyone. Exhibited like anyone else. And at the end far from the social pretention is a curious collection of people caught in a day to day situation: talking alone, whistling singing, thinking in something else, looking at the sea…
Free entrance
Where: Galeria 3punts, c/ Aribau, 75
When: Mon. from 16:30h to 20:30h, Tue. to Sat. from 10:30h to 14h and from 16:30h to 20:30h and till the 30th of Abril
Eva Guiu, from Barcelona, morning receptionist.
Last weekend I had visitors staying over in Barcelona. It was there first time here and I wanted to give them an unforgettable impression of the city. So I took them to the magic fountain in the Monjuic area.
The Magic Fountain is a light and sound performance, shown at the big water fountain, which is in front of the breathtakingly beautiful Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. It is a tremendous setting and environment to what is an excellent show.
The Magic Fountain of Montjuic is a stunning attraction in Barcelona that was designed by Carles Buigas for the international exhibition in 1929.. The fountain apparently still uses the same mechanisms to run the show that it did back when it was created in 1929. It was forbidden during the Franco area but since the Olympic Games in 1992 it runs again on a regular basis. Tourists and locals usually go to Montjuic and enjoy seeing a great show. The water seems to dance to the rhythm of the music.
It is a must see when your are staying over the weekend in Barcelona. Be aware that on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the fountain doesn’t operate and in the wintertime (October-April) it only runs on Fridays and Saturdays.
One of the best aspects of the shows is that they run in session over and over again and it is well worth sticking around to watch the show from different viewpoints. Just be careful of pick pocking like you have to be in all Barcelona and above all around tourist attractions.
Before going to the Magic Fountain there are other things to see nearby such as: the National Museum of Art and the Caiaxa Forum Museum with exhibitions of contemporary art.
Finally I offered my friends an amazing introduction to Saturday nightlife. Feeling elated by the music and different colours we were absolutely prepared to hit the nightlife.
Elena Murray, from Germany, morning receptionist.
Even though the title sounds like something directly out of a science fiction movie, this is some kind of attempt at being a small article about a bar, despite the fact of this having quite a bit of pure fiction.
So here we are, just like it sounds, there still remains a genuine and authentic spot, where the the glow of the lights and it's glamor opens the book to it's history.
The hole we are talking about is called "El Marsella", situated in the very heart of the bustling neighborhood "El Raval" very close to where many of you guys are staying, the SOUND and MAR hostels.
El Marsella was established in 1820, and has the honor of being known as the oldest bar in Barcelona, and since that very first day of it's inauguration the dust have never been cleared off any the bottles.
Nothing more than crossing this threshold, and your senses carry you to another dimension. The sweet anisette smell of the the ABSINTHE, otherwise known as “The Green Fairy”, hits you directly in the deepest part of your lungs, and before your eyes a gran spectacle appears, that seems to have come right out of one of the great Bukowsky's "black novels". It is here in the dirty den, among this smoke and alcohol, where the old shaking ceiling fans continue to stir up that smoke and it's history at the same time.
The grotto is modernistic in style with the noble and hardwood decor that are responsible for finishing off it's mysterious and truly bohemian look.
If you are observant and at the same time fortunate in finding yourself someplace to sit, (you'd better get there before midnight) you'll be able to see mixed up fauna of all kinds; veterans at the bar who look like they have come directly from Vietnam, the local folk chatting it up happily, and why not, a few spaced-out tourists putting on their amazed faces.
Within this decadent ambiance the shining star is definitely without a doubt the Absinthe, a drink discovered by a doctor in France in 1792, which was made by the combining of aniseed and wormwood, originally used as a medicinal treatment.
During the 19th and 20th centuries it was consumed primarily by artists and bohemians alike who made it the fashionable drink, mainly because it intensified their own creativity due entirely to the psychosomatic colloidal properties of wormwood which chemically resembles marijuana. It is especially dark green or blue in color, with a strong aroma, a biter taste, and a very high alcohol content.
The most habitual way to prepare it, is putting a spoon with a lump of sugar just over the top part of an empty glass, then pouring the absinthe bit by bit over top of the sugar. Then the sugar must be melted, once caramelized, the sugar is then added to the glass of Absinthe, and can be mixed with either water, or any kind of lemon or orange soft drink.
Throughout many decades it has been strictly prohibited in Europe, with the exception of Portugal and Spain, yet now having legalized it's consumption in other countries, Spain and Portugal remain the only two that continue to distill it using the traditional method.
Great geniuses like Manet, Degas, Van Gogh, Picasso make reference in their works of art to “Absinthe” and many others like Bodeleire, Oscar Wilde, Toulouse Lautrec, Monticelli, Hemingway, Rimbaud were the the greatest consumers of this potion, are the regulars you would have found at this bar in their time. Most recently, this bar played it's part in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, making it a sure bet.
Here, you can drink whatever, but if you decide to go for “The Green Fairy”, control your yourself, and don't get on the night receptionists nerves, or I'll refuse to divulge you any more secrets of the Barcelona occult.
And now, it's your turn, step through the door, and welcome, a hallucinating trip...
Mele, from Canary Islands, morning Receptionist.
Every year during the last weekend in January the Barcelonian neigborhood of Gracia celebrates the Mallorcan festival of ¨Sa Pobla¨ In honor of Mallorca’s patron saint of animals and farmers, San Antoni Abad.
It`s a festival of arts and entertainment that originated on the island of Mallorca which is part of the balearic islands.
Gracia`s plazas fill with colourful processions and red devils. Everyone gathers around open bonfires and dance to Malloran folk instruments.
On Friday, concerts begin at 10pm in the Centre Artesà Tradicionàrius (CAT) with unique performances from some traditional Mallorcan groups. The festivals main events take place from 11am on the 30th with artisan markets, typical food and drink, castellers (towering over the crowds), lively parades, carrefocs and customary dances. The bonfire is finally lit at 11pm and the celebrations continue on into the night. In addition, until 28 February, the CAT and the Ayuntamiento de Gràcia show a collective exhibition combining the work of 30 new and established Mallorcan artists.
Irene from Colombia-Catalunya, afternon receptionist.
A rainy Tuesday night, time for some drinks to cut the week in half. At 7PM I met with some friends in La Champañeria, the most famous Cava bar in Barcelona and our favourite place to splurge on cava and tasty, greasy food! Cava is the Spanish variant of Champagne and is mainly produced in Catalunya. Of course we started with some glasses of cava for €0,85 each and croquetas. Followed by more glasses of cava and bocadillos (sandwiches). Don´t even think about sitting down and relaxing in La Champañeria! It´s standing in a crowd, made up of locals and tourists, old and young, and using your elbows to get to the bar to order. After finishing the delicious bocadillos, you can just throw your napkins on the floor. Who said anything about etiquette?! When we were all very happy and satisfied, everybody went their own way. My friend and I ended up in a cute little French bar called Pastis, not far from ´Barcelona Mar Hostel´. This bar featured strange pieces of decoration, cards, pictures etc. everywhere, French music and the right amount of cigarette smoke to make it look cozy but not disgusting. We were lucky ´cause after a glass of red wine, a duo started playing tango music on guitar and accordion. So we decided to stay a bit longer. We found out that this bar has live music a couple of nights a week! We´ll come back for sure!
www.canpaixano.com
www.barpastis.com
-Tamar from Holland, morning receptionist
If you are bored of the busy shopping streets of Barcelona, go to The Outlet Off Shop, held for the first time this Saturday the 9th of January. A small but completely different market in Barcelona. This market is an outlet. You can find clothes and accessories but also fabulous vintage pieces, artwork and heaps of other stuff. Apart from shopping, you can enjoy the performance of Estel Seguí from the group Circodelirium and have a bite to eat. The market starts at 12PM till 8PM. To get there you can take the metro line 1 till Marina. The building is called Art Factory T45, the street name Calle Ali Bei 114.
Annalisa from Italy, Morning Reception Trainee
Santa María del Mar is the best and only finished example of Catalan Gothic in Barcelona. It is located in the Ribera quarter, near the Passeo del Borne and it has been built between 1329 and 1383.
On the 23rd of April, Barcelona celebrates the Catalan Patron Saint Sant Jordi (St. George in English). The main particularity of this event is that locals consider it as their St. Valentine’s day, thanks to the legend which describes St. George as a very romantic character.
The legend also says that the Saint killed the dragon which was threatening the population since a long time. From the monster’s blood, wonderful red roses grew. This is the reason why, since the Middle Age, men are supposed to offer a red rose to women in this particular day. Later, in XX century, the date was also associated to the national day of books, for an editor’s marketing reason. This is how it was started the tradition of women offering a book to men as an exchange of the rose received.
Els calçots són una varietat de cebes tendres, cebes poc bulboses i més suaus, que s'escaliven calçant-les a mesura que creixen.
Sobre l'origen del calçot hi ha diverses versions però la més coneguda és la que atribueix a en Xat de Benaiges, un camperol que va viure a Valls a la fi del segle XIX, la invenció d'aquest cultiu. En Xat de Benaiges va posar un parell de brots de cebes al foc i va descobrir per atzar un plat que a la primeria del segle XX ja havia esdevingut habitual en moltes llars de Valls.
De llavors ençà el consum dels calçots o calçotada ha esdevingut una festa gastronòmica coneguda arreu, especialment a Catalunya. Els calçots es consumeixen habitualment durant els mesos de gener, febrer i març, es couen amb llenya provinent de sarments o rodals de vinya i es consumeixen acompanyats d'una salsa típica, la dita salvitxada, que és una salsa de tipus romesco.
No fou fins mitjans del segle passat que el calçot es va fer conèixer fora de l'Alt Camp, especialment per la divulgació feta per la colla artística i humorística l'Olla. La festa del calçot de Valls, que se celebra el darrer diumenge del mes de gener, va complir 100 anys l'any 1996. S'hi celebren tres concursos : el concurs de cultivadors de calçots, el concurs de salsa de la 'calçotada' i el concurs de menjadors de calçots.
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Malia W., Australia
It offered what was advertised.
[ + ] 05-02-2010Leandro B., Brazil
I`ve been travelling for 6 countries and Barcelona Sound was the best hostel! [ + ]
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