The city of Barcelona used to be confined until the 19th century to the outer walls of what we call the Old Town or the “Barrio Gótico”. Several towns and villages were situated at a short distance from the big town but were -proudly- independent. Today in the 21st century, all these places have been gobbled up by Barcelona and relegated to the status of neighbourhood. One such area in particular still resists the notion that it is no longer independent and this area is called...

Die Tapas Bar Jaica ist eine der bekanntesten typischen spanischen Bars um in Barcelona Tapas zu Essen. Sie liegt mitten im schönen Nachbarschaftsviertel Barceloneta, ganz in der Nähe vom Strand. Bar Jaica ist ein idealer Platz um nach dem Sonnen baden seinen Apetit zu stillen und die Spezialitäten Spaniens zu geniessen. In einer kleinen Vitrine an der Bar kannst du dir verschiedene Spezialitäten anschauen, wie z.B. Chocos, Calamares, Pimientos de Padron, Pulpo …. bevor du dich...

Dies de Dansa is an international festival of contemporary dance in Urban spaces in Barcelona. The next edition will be held from 1st of July until 5th of July 2010. It is an annual cultural project created in Barcelona and is part of the GREC, Festival de Verano de Barcelona (Summer Festival of Barcelona). During five days the buildings, parks, streets and squares of Barcelona come alive in this encounter with dance, public and urban space. The organizer are interested in promoting dance in...

A little bit of French on our Spanish course website. C'est la folie, we know. For the third time in history, Barcelona will welcome the crazy Tour de France circus. The caravan will arrive on Thursday 9th of July around 15:00 and the cyclists (heroes or performance enhancing drug addicts?) are expected round 17:00. The caravan will pass very close to our Spanish school in Barcelona so we may all quickly pop out to have a look. Barcelona always tries to do something special and this time,...

Ingredients: one set of parents, yours truly and 2 kids. Mix in sunny Saturday and a desire to see as much of Barcelona as possible. Shake well (don’t stir) and what you’re left with is a Barcelona sightseeing trip by bus! Queues at Plaza Catalunya for the bus There are two companies providing double decker tours through the city (both claim to be “official” which of course is, eh, nonsense) but the one that has been going for the longest time is “Barcelona Bus...

Es scheint merkwürdig, am 23. April unendlich viele verliebte Paare schlendernd mit Rosen und Büchern auf “Las Ramblas” in Barcelona beobachten zu können, die sich zwischen Openair-Buchläden hindurchschlängeln. An diesem ganz besonderen Tag im April, wird in Katalonien an den Patron Sant Jorge (Sant Jordi) gedacht, der gleichzeitig ein Symbol der Liebenden darstellt. Heutzutage wird dieser Tag oft mit dem Valentinstag verglichen. Traditioneller Weise werden an die Frauen Rosen und an...

Tibidabo in the snow I’m writing this, shivering from the cold in my office…in Barcelona. What is not right in this picture? Did I not move to Spain almost seven years ago to escape from the cold? Is this idea in my head about sunny, warm Spain all marketing? The short answer is yes and no. Yes, because Spain has a much more varied climate than the image of sun & sea portrayed outside of the country and no, because most of Spain has a lot more sunshine and higher temperatures...