Stuck in London getting to Barcelona - Happy Xmas

Well, it has been an unpredictable year and mine has ended exactly that way also with all of the snow falling in the UK (despite global warming) and closing dozens of airports and meaning hundreds of cancelled flights, in the UK and around Europe.

So the long and short of the situation is that I missed my flight back to Barcelona and will not be in Barcelona for Christmas Day. Having a lot of family in England though, the thought of being forced to stay here and take advantage of:

• Minced pies and fresh cream.
• Traditional Roast dinners.
• Boxing Day (26th December) pub and sport.
• The Boxing Day sales.
• Around family.

There must be much worse places to be for Christmas. Wherever you are in the world and in whatever situation, have an excellent Christmas and hope 2009 was good for you and 2010 even better.

Madrid Barcelona - Barcelona's Best restaurant

I have eaten in probably a hundred plus restaurants, bars and cafes in Barcelona over the last few years and there is a clear winner in my mind when balancing quality, to cost, to service and to location.

I do not work for the restaurant and have no association with it - and my favourite restaurant and place to eat in Barcelona is the interestingly named Catalan restaurant "Madrid Barcelona".

'Madrid Barcelona' is located very centrally on Carrer d'Arago, 282 and generally open from around 8-830pm. The great thing about this place is that they serve very affordable food, have menus in different languages, are very efficient service wise and the food is outstanding.

This restaurant is based on the place where the old Madrid to Barcelona train used to stop at the start of the last century and this restaurant has remained one of the best places to eat every since. Yet, it is relatively unknown and discussed by tourist.

Christmas in Barcelona

If you are trying to think about whether or not to make Barcelona a location for a Christmas break, you could do worse. To be fair, Brussels and Prague both perhaps have better Christmas markets and both are also very good seasonal locations.

Barcelona though is excellent as a venue for a long weekend or Christmas Shopping breaks and most shops and restaurants stay open for most of the season. There is always something to do and see in fact in Barcelona every day of the year.

Barcelona Shopping is really a big plus for the city during the Christmas period and if you are making plans now, then you could do worse by visiting Barcelona. There are so many shops and covering all of the major fashions and names, but you can also find a significant number of small independent stores, whilst the Barri Gotic area has a variety of unusual and more unique products.

NYC travel is excellent for Xmas shopping but if you want to stay or to travel in Europe and combine Xmas shopping with an excuse to get away then I'd recommend Barcelona. Flights depend on your departure location although most major airlines fly into Barcelona International airport. For Barcelona accommodation there are a few providers for holiday apartments and plenty of hotels.

Tourist accommodation choices in Barcelona

Having made the decision to visit Barcelona and having found some well priced budget flights, the next thing to normally take care is the accommodation. And it can be overwhelming.

There are many things to consider including:

• Which area to stay in.
• What type of accommodation to stay in.
• How to book it.

Where to stay - In terms of where to stay in Barcelona it really depends on what you want. Las Ramblas is one of the most popular tourist areas. In terms of accommodation it can be a bit more expensive and noisy. On the other hand it is very central, connected by metro train and the centre of the action. Other areas you might want to consider are Borne and Eixample. Still very central but less hectic.
Type of accommodation: Again, it really depends on your needs. For the very budget conscious, there are several very good youth hostels in Barcelona to choose from. For short stays of 2 or 3 days, hotel accommodation is a good bet and companies such as bookings.com or expedia are good places to find decent prices. A fairly new and popular choice these days are holiday apartments. This option often gives you much more room and the chance to have a kitchen and proper living room included for your stay. Barcelona vacation rentals can be booked with a number of companies. Another option is Boutique Hotels for high end and unique accommodation and this is also becoming popular.

How to book - If you have Internet access these days, booking cannot be much easier and if online booking is not possible, then telephone booking will be possible.

Getting tickets for Barcelona games

Many people who visit Barcelona (particularly large stag groups and also corporate groups) are often keen to get tickets for an FC Barcelona game. As well as La Liga games (the Spanish league), there are also often Spanish Cup and European Champions League games to see at the Nou camp Stadium. Recent games have also included pre-season friendlies against teams such as Man City, England.

Getting tickets for FC Barcelona can sometimes be relatively simple and sometimes not so easy. A game such as Barcelona v Real Madrid for example is tougher. Normally though you can always get tickets and the trick I have found is to use of the affiliated agencies such as the English speaking and English run BarcelonaFootballTickets.com

• By sticking with an affiliated company you know you are getting genuine tickets.
• They will normally also deliver tickets to your hotel.

Below the affiliated badge for Barcelona Football Tickets. You can contact them on Telephone: 020 8133 2317 or see their site online.

Barcelona Zoo - join us at Parc de la Ciutadella

Barcelona Zoo is in a great location (located in Parc de la Ciutadella and near to the old city center and near the beach. It is a beautiful zoo, where animals live in spacious pens. Until 2003, a white gorilla called “Floquet de Neu” (snowflake) was the major attraction of the zoo. The animal died in that year to skin cancer, but this albino gorilla still has its own website on the Internet. This is not only to keep the memory of snowflake alive, but also knowledge about the endangered gorillas across. There are descendants of the albino gorilla in the zoo, but none has inherited the unique properties of snowflake.

Even without snowflake a visit to the zoo is worth it. You will not only find hippos, lions, tigers and monkeys, but also animals that occur only in Spain. Examples are the Iberian ibex and the Iberian wolf. Very nice is the Dolphinarium. Behind glass you can see how the 'nut' swimming in the water and often they are just curious to the window to see who they are now back to peep.

Like most zoos do, the Barcelona Zoo in maintaining many endangered species. For example, in a special native center, animals are bred and later they are released into the Donana, a protected area in Catalonia. Furthermore, the zoo has electric cars, picnic areas and a mini train.
In the park surrounding the zoo is a large pond, where you can rent a rowing boat. Parc Zoològic in Parc de la Ciutadella (also entrance on Carrer de Wellington).

Opening hours: 10.00 - 18.00 (summer 7pm)
Admission: adults €14.95, children 3 to 12 years €9

The Picasso Museum - Attractions Spotlight

The Picasso Museum in the district of La Ribera is one of the most popular attractions of Barcelona. It is located in five mercantile houses which are connected and all have beautiful courtyards. The main entrance is in the Palau Berenguer d'Aguilar of the 15th century.

The museum gives a nice overview of the development of Pablo Picasso. His works hang in chronological order. The museum has many pieces from his earlier period, when he lived and worked in Barcelona.

There are also many works that Picasso made in his last period. The period 1907 - 1937 is less well represented. Unfortunately, because in this period he made very famous works. The real masterpieces you will not find in this museum, but the exhibition gives a good insight into how Picasso developed his own style.

Besides paintings, the museum holds items of ceramics and graphic work of Picasso. In a separate section of the museum you can see the changing exhibitions, but you have to pay an extra price for this. The museum is situated at Montcada 15-23, 08003 Barcelona. Opening hours: 10.00 - 20.00 (Monday closed) Price: €6.

The Joan Miro museum (el Fundació Joan Miró)

The Miró museum is a museum of modern art in Barcelona. The museum was built by Josep Lluis Sert, a friend of Miro, and was officially opened on the 10th of June in 1975. It has many paintings and sculptures by Joan Miró, but also from other modern artists.

The museum is owned by the Fundació Joan Miró and contains more than 200 paintings by Miró. The Most of these works are donated to the museum by Miro itself or by his wife. The museum includes also a library with more than 25,000 books and catalogs, audiovisual items and newspapers.

Joan Miró was born in 1893 in the Spanish Montroig, near Barcelona. Miró was a Catalan, Spanish painter, sculptor, graphic artist and ceramist. From childhood he began to draw, but later he also made paintings, sculptures, textile work, theatrical and monumental sculptures. Miro art is known for its original style and one of the big three, next to Picasso and Dalí, of the Spanish 20th-century Modern art. He is also seen as one of the most visual artists of the 20th century by many art critics. He worked in different styles and in his younger years he was inspired by the impressionistic work of Van Gogh. But after his meeting with Pablo Picasso, he changed for a small period to the Cubism style.

Finally, Joan Miró created, by the influence of surrealist writers and painters, a distinctive and unique style and is counted by the art of surrealism. This unique style of painting is a style that was never practiced by other people.

This style includes that the artist disconnects the technical objects of a spontaneous poetic dream world of their original function to enable them to integrate them in a graphic world. These organic figures world was dominated by the sexual issues, nature, the moon, the star, but also women. Spontaneous spring poetry is the main show.Joan Miró died in 1983 at an age of 93 years.

The museum Fundació Joan Miró is situated on the mountain Montjuic in Barcelona.

Tibidabo Tibidabo - Touring the mountains near Barcelona

Tibidabo Tibidabo, the top of mountain Serra Collserola is the highest place of Barcelona. On this place you have a beautiful panoramic view over the city but there is also an attraction park and a church. From almost every spot in Barcelona you can see the highest point of the mountain and especially the church Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor.

The church is the eye catcher of the mountain and is the first thing you see when you step out the funicular (cable car). You can visit the church for free, only for the lift you will have to pay €2,-. But when you are not interested in the church, you can also visit the old attraction park. This park is not really changed since it opened its doors in 1899. Some attractions of that time are still working.

One of this attractions is the red airplane L’avió. This plane turns circles since 1928. One century ago, this airplane was used for flights between Barcelona and Madrid.

Transport The Tibibus brings you from Plaça Catalunya directly to the attractionpark Tibidabo. But you can also take the train to Avenida de Tibidabo, this is line L7. And from there you can take bus 195 who brings you to the funicular. But in place of this bus, you can also take the historic Tramvia Blau.

Bike Tours in Barcelona

For the people who like to visit Barcelona in a very interactive way, then maybe a bike tour is a nice option.

ButgetBikes is a company that offers a couple of different bike tours around Barcelona. Barcelona is an excellent city to enjoy a bicycle tour. A tour guide will accompany you and explain about the culture and history of Barcelona along the route.

Gaudi tour - When you are interested in architectural buildings designed by Antoni Gaudi , you can choose for a cycling route that shows you all the highlights of Antoni Gaudi. Besides La Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlló and Casa Mila by Gaudi, you will visit other less-well known but very interesting architecture in the city. Along the way, your guide will tell you the facts and history of Barcelona’s buildings. The main route leads through the centre of the city via the neighborhood Eixample. The trip will take 3 hours.

Flamenco tour - This cycling route takes you through a colorful part of Barcelona, La Barceloneta. During the bike tour, your guide will tell you everything about flamenco in Barcelona. This bike tour is included with a Flamenco Workshop. A professional flamenco dancer will learn you the basic of Flamenco dancing. This trip will take 4 hours.

Tapas Tour - This culinary cycling tour shows you Barcelona’s most characteristic Tapas-bars and restaurants. During a few stops at these tapas bars and restaurants, you can taste the Catalan Tapas. This trip takes you through El Raval, La Ribera, El Borne and La Barceloneta. Your guide will tell you everything about the delicious culinary culture of Spain. The tapas are not included in the price. This trip will take 3,5 hours.

Pink tours - BudgetBikes also offers a guided gay-tour by bicycle through Barcelona. Men and women are welcome to enjoy the route. This tour serves as a good preparation for approaching the nightlife, highlighting the hottest Bars and Discos in Barcelona. Also during this trip, you will see some cultural aspects, some spectacular 19th century Barcelonese Modernist-style architecture and visit some gay bookstores in Barrio Gotico. This trip will take 3 hours.

The Spanish and the Salsa in Barcelona

Would you like to have a holiday in Barcelona, but you have seen the sights of Barcelona already and is it time for something new?

Think of a Spanish language course in combination with salsa lessons. For almost everyone it is possible to learn the Spanish language and to learn salsa dancing. Especially with a sense of language and feeling for rhythm it cannot be a problem. There is made a program per week. The program for each week is as follows; you will receive 20 Spanish lessons and 5 Salsa lessons.

With this high frequency of lessons you will progress quickly. You have Spanish classes in the morning or in the evening from Monday to Friday. In this way you have enough time to explore the city or go to the beach. You get 1 Salsa lesson per day from Monday to Friday and you have at least two times per week the opportunity to practice your salsa dance in one of the many salsa clubs in Barcelona. During the salsa lessons, you will change regularly from dance partner so you learn to know your classmates better. If you do enjoy dance, you might perhaps also enjoy trying bellydance in Spain.

The duration of 1 Spanish lesson if you choose salsa is 50 minutes. The duration of 1 salsa lesson is 60 minutes. The accommodation where you stay is your choice, ranging from a guest family to a hotel room or apartment. Associated with these different types of accommodation, the catering is also varied from self-catering until 3 full meals per day. The price for a course in Spanish with salsa lessons, based on 1 week, is 380 euro.

Diving with sharks in Barcelona

The aquarium “L’Aquàrium Barcelona” is situated in the port of Barcelona. This attraction is suitable for young and old. Thousands of large and small fishes are swimming around in large basins. There are three water tanks. One is used for the ocean and can be seen in the Oceanarium. This basin includes 4 million liters of water. Two other tanks are devoted for the tropical waters and the Mediterranean Sea. There are special tunnels where you can walk through. You have the idea that you are really under water and that the fishes swim next to you.

Experienced divers can swim in the aquarium with sharks. But there are a couple of conditions. First of all, you must follow a course where you learn all about sharks and their behavior. After that you go into the basin and discover the 15 sharks who swimming around, a unique experience. Of course, you must be in good condition and take your diver license with you. The activity includes three parts.

Part one is a guided tour. You make a guided tour in L’Aquàrium Barcelona and see a lot of different sharks such as the black tip reef shark, the sandbar shark and the sand tiger shark. Part two is the theoretical class. The course has different parts in relation with the sharks and their behavior and habitats. Part three is the dive in the Oceanarium. After all the information about the sharks, their behavior and the rules for in the basin, you can make your dive and discover all the theory about the sharks in real. This is an unique experience.

This shark dive is only intended for qualified divers, the maximum number of people is 4 divers per dive. Only on Wednesdays and in the weekends you can make this dive. The price for this shark dive is Euro 300. This price includes the guided tour of L’Aquàrium de Barcelona, theoretical class on sharks, dive in the Oceanarium, diving equipment and material, souvenir of the activity, insurance and free entrance to L’Aquàrium for 2 people.

If you are travelling to Spain, ensure you have insurance for Barcelona.

25th birthday of Desigual, Barcelona.

For the people who have the idea go to Barcelona, there you can find the exclusive brand, Desigual. Desigual is a Catalan brand and has its 25th birthday this year.

Desigual stands for ‘be different’. The collection always has a playful touch and contains many original prints. Desigual has got many colors in the collection. The designs are very feminine and that is where the customers are looking for. Everyone chooses the pieces that fit the best in their personal style and that is perfectly possible in this large collection of Desigual.

This brand is very popular in Barcelona. In 2008, this Catalan brand won the ‘Mapic Eg Retail Award’ for the best retail concept of 2008. It is going very well with this brand. Desigual is for a couple of years already very well presented on the trendy fashion fair ‘Bread and Butter’. They have also opened store after store and so grow very fast. Recently, Desigual has also opened its first store in the Kalverstraat in Amsterdam. All the stores of Desigual are designed by local street artists.

What is so different on this brand in comparison with other brands?The different lies in the tops, designs, prints and in the combination of colors. In Belgium, where Desigual has also some retail points, the clothes are offered in stores with more than one brand. Desigual fits perfect in this picture, but knows how to create another view in relation with other brands.