Tag Archives: Barcelona

6 best rooftops in Barcelona

There are a few essential things to do in Barcelona in my opinion in order to enjoy fully this city. One of them is having a drink on a rooftop if you are in the mood of “living the life”. Ok, it sounds like a summertime activity but in reality, there is no special moment for a rooftop drink. The proof? I was having a vermouth last saturday on the Pulitzer Hotel’s terrace. Why do I like rooftops so much? Because of the view from above, they are usually well decorated and with a nice setting belonging to luxurious hotels. Yes, I do like my fancy places. So here I wrote my 6 top rooftops in Barcelona.

1. The Pulitzer terrace at the Pulitzer Hotel
pulitzer hotel barcelonaMy top pick for a rooftop is the one of the Hotel Pulitzer. That is because it has an exotic feel to it but also because they offer musical activities all year long. It is quite a trendy spot. For winter and spring, between october and april, the hotel offers “musical vermouths”, basically an aperitive moment with Vermouth and DJs between 12h and 16H. Vermout’s price is not too bad: 3 Euros. The music is nice. This terrace is also my number one because this is the first terrace I visited in Barcelona and they also have musical evenings during the summer, the “Good Afternoon Pulitzer season” from May to September. My favourite event is on the wednesdays when they have live bands from the domains of pop, electronic or funk. Last time I went I had a really good time. On thursdays and fridays, they have DJ sessions.

Hotel Pulitzer

2. La Dolce Vitae of The Majestic

The Majestic is on Passeig de Gracia which means it is pretty central locationwise. On my first visit, I fell in love with the breathtaking view at sundown. Amazing. It was on a thursday night during the summer and there was a loungy music on. It was very enjoyable. Plus it has comfortable couches and it is pretty elegant. This is also the first place were I tried a sangria de cava and I really liked it.

Hotel Majestic

3. The 360º rooftop of the Barcelo Hotel

The rooftop offers a panoramic view due to its 360 situation. This rooftop is particularly amazing on a bright sunny day as you can see all of Barcelona.

Barcelo Hotel

4. The Yurbban rooftopyurbban barcelona

2015’s discovery. It is a cozy terrace with decent priced drinks.

Yurban Hotel


5. The Mandarin Oriental

The Mandarin Oriental is also situated in Passeig de Gracia. Terrat, its terrace, has a swiming pool that does the length of the terrace. It is relaxing and has a really strong luxurious feel. Drinks are quite pricey.

Mandarin Oriental

6. The Wet Deck at the W Hotel Barcelona

First time I went here was for the famous Sunday evening parties of the summer. It is beautiful with an equally beautiful view of the beach.

W Hotel Barcelcona

These terraces are all open to the public.

Japanese theme in Fiesta de Gracia in Carrer Verdi

Summer streetfest in Barcelona: The festa de Gracia 2015

Summer in Barcelona will not be summer without one major event: the festa major de Gracia.

So what is this “festa” about anyway? The festa (catalan for “fiesta” or “party”) major de Gracia is the big annual party of the Gracia neighbourhood. It is a free event where everyone can wander around the streets of Gracia and admire the detailed, intricated, well thought out decorations presented in some of them. The organisers provide maps that indicate the different attractions of the zone. Each street puts a lot of efforts into their work as they enter a fierce competition to win the prize of best decorated street each year. Yes, this party always occurs in august. This year, they were not so lucky as on the first day, it rained. But thankfully most of the papier mache artwork survived the week.

In the 3 years I have lived here, this is the most impressive neighbourhood festival I have witnessed in the city. Each neighbourhood of Barcelona has its own street fest. In this particular one, each competing street chooses a theme and no joking, standards are really high.  I have 5 favourite ones this time: the Japanese street in Carrer Verdi, the Avatar street in Carrer Progres, the Art street in Carrer Mozart, the French street in Travessia Sant Antoni, and the corn field in Carrer Tordera, really simple but visually effective with all the lighted up corn floating in the sky!!!

My top one is the Japanese theme in Carrer Verdi though. They also won this year. We were drawn into it from afar and were caught into a wave of people eager to see it last sunday. First, we had to pass the japanese entrance gate, then there was the pink/purplish roof with all the lights  and then we saw the long dragon floating to the other end. Two giant statues were guarding the back of the street. It is really well done!

During the week, there are also various events that celebrate Catalan culture. Two of them I really like:

  • the “correfocs”or the devils parade with fireworks. The protagonists dress up as devils then light up flares and throw bangers in the streets. It is fun and it is more fun to go under the flares – a video will be up soon on my Facebook page. Everytime I watch a correfoc, the street makes me think of a war zone. That is because of the bangers noise, the sparkles from the flares and the smoke coming out of the whole set. Also because in order to protect themselves from the burning sparkles and the smoke, everyone covers their faces with scarfs and their heads with hoods. They do it for a good reason though. Last time I was dancing under the fireworks, I suffered from severe burns for three days and I had to throw my dress away. So make sure you cover yourself.
  • the “castelleres” or human towers: these are impressive: first you have the strongest members at the bottom to support the whole structure, usually adults. Then smaller sized members go on top to form a pyramid (generally teenagers and kids). At the end, when they decide they are high enough a small kid climbs nimbly to the top, remains proudly up there for a few seconds and then climb back down as fast as he\she climbed up in the first place. I am always fascinated by castellerers with the strength and sense of unity demonstrated by the whole group. Plus this little kid that is not afraid of heights…it is pretty risky up there…

During the week, there are also various shows and concerts happening at the despair of those who then have to spent sleepless nights for 7 days (and go to work in the morning…). Us, we came to enjoy. During the fest, you can dance in the different squares to lindy hop, to lambada, depending on the DJ. There are also street food and beers available everywhere. We used to get mojitos and beers then walk around, then buy more drinks, then stop in front of a band every now then keep on going on like this until the end of the night!

The party is over now but the festa de Sants has started this week end so let’s keep the party going!

PS: I put up more photos of the Festa de Gracia on my Facebook page, here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a Facebook page!!!

Hello readers,

I now have a Facebook page: click here to check it out!

Now you know what to do… Like, like, like and keep active in sharing or commenting posts!!!

 

 

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Barcelona Beer Festival 2015 this week end – March 13, 14, 15

Looking for something to do this week end? Barcelona Beer Festival is on until sunday.

I attended it before when it was in the Arenas in Plaza de Espanya. This time, they moved the event to a new venue: the Museu Maritim de Barcelona. For my part, this is a much better venue for the building itself – it has those intricated arches typical from gothic buildings. I find them really beautiful and fascinating to look at. – but also because the organizers have put tables and benches outside. There were more people and a much better atmosphere than in my memories of the one I attended.

It is 7 euros to enter. This price includes the glass you will use to drink during the whole festival. No glass? No drink. Don’t try to cheat, it is written Barcelona Beer Festival 2015 on it so you cannot bring your old one he he. The entrance is for the full festival: you just need to present your glass to enter for the rest of the week end. The 7 euros also includes 2 euros in tokens. You can only use tokens at the festival. There is a booth for exchanging cash to buy the beers but also some food.

So what is happening at the beer festival? You get to try more than 300 craftsman beers from different parts of Europe: Spain, Germany etc. for 2 or 3 tokens hence 2 or 3 euros. The beers are presented in a catalogue. There is also a big blackboard on which are written the beers on offer at each particular moment. They rotate to give a chance for each beer to be tasted. This list changes at every ringbell like in an old stockmarket.

I tried two beers a white beer from Germany and the festival one. I enjoyed them. I also tried my friends’, this is the benefit of going in groups. The diversity of tastes allows a richer experience. I can understand the interest of the festival. I don’t usually drink beer but I can appreciate the different tastes and after tastes of each drink. For the anecdot, one of the girls got a beer that taste like…pork, she said. Surprisingly, it was exact. It tasted like smoked pork because I suppose the ingredients were smoked. Don’t ask me for more details. I attended out of curiosity. It is not always easy to remember the different beers’ names or ingredients especially after the 3rd beer :). Plus they are strong. Some of them have 6% alcohol or more. The guys complained about the lack of music. Music would have made it a bit more enjoyable I agree. But without it, it is also easier to have conversations.

Luckily for me, they also had some food. Drinking with an empty stomach can lead to disasters. I am not surprised to see Mosquito among the food stands. It is a restaurant where they offer asian tapas and craft beers. I am planning to write a post on them as I like the place and have been there a few times.

In the meantime, enjoy the week end and drink moderately…

 

 

Sunday afternoon discovery: the Palo Alto market in Poblenou

What to do on a sunday afternoon in Barcelona?

This is one question I have been asking myself a few times since I have been here. Well, there are many activities to do here in Barcelona. However I am always looking for one that would entice my curiosity. And here we go!  Seen in my inbox: “Design, fashion, street market, boheme, gourmet street food, workshops, music and performances… all mixed in the coolest venue.”…I raise my eybrows, mmmh tell me more….”Palo Alto Market is a sophisticated and avantgarde street market…” Stop there, I am in! On my own or with people, I will go and check it out!

Before though, I will go to a social brunch with a bunch of ladies I don’t know but who seem pretty cool as they all want to meet up on Women’s day to celebrate ourselves being women. So I head. Brunch is great mainly because the group is fun and I overally had a good time although one of the girl’s bag got stolen and the bill was wrong…. Anyway, at some point during brunch, our host mentions an event that turned out to be the same market I wanted to go to so 4 of us decided to go and have a look.

The market is in Poblenou. For my part, not the most exciting part of the city and it looks all dead until we arrive in Carrer dels Pellaires and see a long queue. We line up, pay up and a nice food smell that was the one of pancetta grilling (sorry vegan/vegetarian friends) welcomes us. There is quite a crowd over here.  The venue is amazing, the garden looks like a lost garden in the middle of the city. In the evening, with the lights it is even cooler. There is a nice atmosphere reigning, quite hipstery but not clicky.

The description on the invitation was correct: there is gourmet street food and I see all those famous food trucks I hear so much about in fashion and trendy magazines and was looking for. We are feeling hungry out of a sudden, all of us. So we decide to explore all the food stalls to get something to eat. Quite a choice to be honest. And we all pick something different. I got steak tartar with gin tonic jelly on top and it was yummy, small, but yummy. We sat in one of the gardens eating and listening to the DJ.

Once our tummies full, we continued to explore. This is a market indeed: we see antiques for sale, jewelleries, accessoires, design products such as clothes, shoes, wooden glasses…I would not buy everything but it is all interesting.  I got a coat over there. Made by Pitagora, a Barcelona brand that produces limited edition. I needed to refresh my wardrobe and I have been wanting to have an oversized, masculine and asymetrical coat for a while. We were walking and around a corner… bam! Wish fulfilled! The best thing of having no expectations is that you cannot go wrong. And when the experience in itself is great, it gets even better.  The market is amazing, our state of mind happy. Our party was all enthusiastic about discovering and having a good time. It makes a big difference and a wonderful day.

We kept on walking around and then we saw the jazz club. There is even a jazz club within the market! Cool…Good singer! I found out later on who the band was: Khaoula & Friends Trio. Khaoula had a powerful voice, loads of good energy, good songs, a killer style with her mini shorts and maxi coat and she can move her hips – if I might even say they don’t lie :). Very nice concert it was!

All in all, it was a great day and I had a great time!

Palo Alto Market link: http://paloaltomarket.com/es

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Blue flame over absinthe

Turning back time, drinking absinthe in Marsella

Marsella Bar is a regular hang out for me and one of my group of friends. The bar is situated in an interesting place in Raval. The first time I walked in this street, I got a bit shocked. There was a line of prostitutes standing around. A parallel universe for me being used to a comfortable and cosy world. Of course, workers of the night are present in every city. Just that when you plan to spend a night out and to have fun with your friends, it is a harsh reality that pops in front of your eyes.

Marsella, a bar with a lot of characters

Passed the first moment of shock, I followed my friends into the building. And here we are in Marsella.  It was the first bar in Barcelona and as such the oldest bar in the city. It is pretty old alright but also has its charms and a lot of characters. The place has kept a feel of 19th century, not that I am that old to remember… I imagine a bar where French poet Arthur Rimbaud would go for a drink, hang out with Verlaine, get inspiration or just relax to be like this one. Marsella has mirrors all over the walls, shelves of really dusty old bottles, a peeling ceiling that would not mind a layer of paint. Also the colour of the walls (yellow/golden) gives the room a bohemian feel along with the chandeliers.

Everytime I come, the bar is crowded with groups of friends, expats and tourists. They all mix up here, all cool and happy. I like the atmosphere. And everytime I come, the place is full and all the tables busy but somehow one frees up magically when we enter. The waiter would place us and then ask for the order. “6 glasses of absinthe please!”  Yes, …absinthe …hence my reference earlier to Arthur Rimbaud. I suppose a place like Marsella would lose all of its magic with normal bar drinks such as G&T or beers.

Drinking absinthe, a ritual

Our drinks arrive. 6 glasses of a golden liquor, 2 bottles of water with a pierced cap, sugar and forks. There is a ritual to follow to drink absinthe. Firstly, I soak my cube of sugar in the alcohol and then burn it with a lighter. This I believe is to improve the taste of the drink, quite strong and bitter. I like watching the blue flame taking over the sugar, taking life and slowly fading away. Then I pour the water in the glass until the drink is a clearer yellow. The real technique implies that the water is dripped on the sugar cube. I suppose again that like this the sugar dissolves easily in the drink and one would not have to toss it like I do when-I-put-sugar-in-my-coffee as my friend notices.

The drink is sweet and anisy and before my lips even touch the glass, I already know that this is a treacherous drink. I sip it but I keep in the back of my mind that tomorrow I could have a strong headache and probable hangover…All the more that I find myself betting with another friend of mine about who is going to drink faster our second glass. What has got into me? Absinthe drunk like a shot… At least, I won – a chicken curry dinner cooked by him. Hopefully A. will remember it when he sobers up … He does not admit defeat though and challenges me with a 4 vodka shots drinking competition so we head towards the bar. The barman turns his back on us and completely ignores A.’s calls. It is time to close and pack up. Thank God, I am saved by the bell!

Marsella – C/Sant Pau 65, El Raval, Barcelona

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It is time for calcots – one calcotada

This is this time of the year again! What time would you ask? Well, it is the time of the calcots and the calcotadas. If you were French, you would ask me kesaco? as in what (the heck) is that?

There is this tradition here in Catalunya, in wintertime, of the calcotada. Well that is my friend the time were friends (I suppose also families) gather to eat sweet white onions and enjoy it. Yeah….You heard me! Let’s start with a bit of history. This tradition of the calcots seems to come from the end of the 19th century in Tarragona. And then calcots cooked on a barbecue became very popular from the beginning of the 20th century. Thanks again Wikipédia!

Now in practice, you gather a group of happy people you would consider friends and you book a date, ours was last saturday, a bright, shiny and sunny day. Then you book a place, usually outdoorsy because as stated above it is like a barbecue. Our restaurant was situated a bit outside the city, in Collserola park, uphill,  a really steep uphill place. So I can tell that we all deserved what was going to wait for us! The place had a big open fire barbecue where the calcots were grilling and tables outside. We were inside though and that was good because it is still wintertime here and this girl got sensitive to cold after her first year living in the sun. When I think that I never minded Ireland’s rainy days. Ntsss…Anyway, as soon as everyone is present, the party begins. The eating and drinking party begins…

The feast start with pan con tomate (bread with tomato), a do it yourself one: you peel your own piece of garlic, grate it against the bread then the tomato and then a bit of salt and olive oïl. The order is important because if you put the tomato before the garlic, the garlic won’t stick as the bread is too humid. I like making my own pan con tomate, this is cool. I can put as much garlic as I want and it is ok because everyone does the same and everyone will be equally garlic smelly. Then come the infamous calcots. Dark on the outside and white on the inside. But wait, before you eat, you need to put on your bib because eating calcots is quite filthy – in a good way, just not so good if you wear a nice clear blue dress with white polka dots and I am going to tell you why. To eat calcots, you need to tear off the black burnt outside leaves by holding it in one hand and pulling off the leaves with the other hand, bare hands please! Some fancy people use the plastic gloves on offer but really this is one of the rarest moments when getting dirty while eating is required. The remaining onions in your hand is dipped into the salvitxada, a red sauce that contains red peppers, onions, tomatoes, garlic and almonds among other ingredients. All I know is that it is tasty. Then you hold this whole lot upright and slowly slide it down into your mouth. It is a whole process with loads of skills involved: pinching calcots, right opening of the mouth, no sauce on the clothes not even on the bib. Lol. Then comes the meat. A plate of ribs, butifarra and morcilla and some potatoes and also a salad. But somehow, my appetite stopped after one rib and a butifarra bite. This is too much food.

During this calcotada, we also had the right to drink some really really bad wine. Alas, because it is unlimited wine on offer in the price, we did not get a grand cru… Thank God, they brought us some gaseosa, kind of soda water/limonade to mix with the wine, a very popular drink here in Spain. I like it more in summertime but while, this time, the wine on its own won’t do. But it is unlimited, yay for the others – if you have read my post about Michael Collins, I still have not started binge drinking so… Although, there is some ground for an alcoholic start here  as after all this wine, we get a carajillo or coffee with baileys and then cava and then white wine for the road with a plan to drink more in a bar…. The dessert is not a highlight, but you don’t go to a calcotada for the dessert. You go for the fun of getting dirty and seeing your friends getting dirty and enjoying the calcots and the meat and drinking. You go for the pleasure of having fun and enjoying a pleasant time with your friends. We even sang songs at the initiative of our Catalan bit of the group.

I will not recommend the place we went to because I thought some of my calcots were too old and not so tasty. A gourmet still remains a gourmet… But I definitely recommend you to go to a calcotada with good fun friends (preferably).

Tuesday night is Pub Quiz night in Michael Collins…

I first found out about Pub quiz nights while living in Ireland where it is quite popular. You can do it for fun but most people participate for charity fundraising. So no surprise that when I found out that 1) – I had a local irish pub (yay, feels like being in Dublin still) and that 2) – they have a pub quiz night…I planned a few nights out there.

I love pubs. In Ireland, it is a social place where you meet with your friends, drinks loads of beer (in average 7 pints according to my own statistics) and talk shite (pronounce sh-iii-te). You could spend hours doing that and having a good craic (good fun). The atmosphere is always nice and friendly. The music is generally loud so you have to shout and the day after you can barely speak (ok… not always). That was my experience of irish pubs! I like Michael Collins because when I am there, I feel like I am in Ireland again! When entering, you see a first room.  Then there is a corridor along the bar and at the back a bigger room with a fire place and a lot of wooden chairs and table. It has all of those irish pictures and references to irish culture. They also have irish pub food like bangers and mash. Nothing different from an irish pub in Ireland I tell you.

Music, politics, history, roll on the pub quiz!

Now down to business. For those of you who don’t know what a pub quiz is, well it is a series of questions about general knowledge, politics, geography, history, movies and music…It is generally set in rounds that are marked. You come with your own group and you compete with other groups that probably know more things than you. They will end up winning the week-end trip in a 4-star hotel you want so much or in the case of Michael Collins the bottle of whisky they give to the best team. But, hey, that is life!

Pub quizes can wreck your head. Try to remember this band that were singing this so famous song about 500 miles that you have heard on and on again on the radio. Their name is on the tip of your tongue but you cannot damn remember it. Then there are the discussions about whether the third country crossed by the Equator is Venezuela or Colombia. You try to remember your world map, put forward your arguments in favour of “your country” and then the team votes on “the right answer”. It could be yours if you are loud and convincing enough. You need to be assertive in those moments. But it is always good fun especially when you can sing along that song from a 1982 band. And it is even more fun when you get your markings and you see 8 instead of the 5 points you thought you were going to get. And even more than even more fun (can it be possible?) when you are among the first 10 prize winners (even if you are joint 9th with some-other-group-with-a-funny-name) and you go home with a bottle of white wine.

I will come back…

In summary, it was the 6th time I went to Michael Collins on a tuesday night and I will go again and I will drag some more friends with me because I am eyeing that first place AND that bottle of whisky. And I will get there people, I will!

http://michaelcollinspubs.com/

MICHAEL COLLINS PUB

Plaça de la Sagrada Família, 4, 08013 Barcelona

Phone: 934 59 19 64

Travel blog - Barceloneta in the morning light

A travel blog: my first words on this new adventure

After a bit of time spreading around that I did not like Barcelona – I was not very impressed by the city on my first visit and found it cold and soulless -, here I am starting a travel blog about…Barcelona! And now, I am sharing my first words with you!!!

The turnaround

So why the turnaround? Why this new project?

Well, I was struck by lightning (really?). I realised that I have decided to come and live in this city. Nobody forced me to do so. So I might as well make the most out of it!  And since then, this is a way of thinking I have adopted. You know, like a life philosophy: make the most out of everything…I also recently had a walk through a few neighbourhoods and realised how charming the city is. That day on I had a fresh new eye on Barcelona

I also have a passion for travelling. However, most time I don’t find the kind of information I am looking for. To change this, I have decided to share my adventures in case someone out there likes the same things as me… And don’t find the information they need either.

My new adventure: starting a blog

As a result, here I am, signing up for a WordPress blog and writing my very first post related to my relationship with Barcelona. I am very very very excited and pretty curious on where all this will lead me! Here, you can find everything I like about Barcelona and all around the world. There are reviews of places to eat and drink, exhibitions, things to do, my impressions on travelling and of course, on living in Barcelona…

I suppose at this stage I also have the opportunity for a bit of legal info: most pictures posted on this blog are under copyrights and belong to me. If not, they are credited for. And all opinions expressed here are my very own unless stated otherwise.

I will also be happy if you could participate to the life of this blog. Leave a comment, write to me or share any post you like! I am looking forward to hearing from you…

Besos from Barcelona,

T

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