Last weekend saw the return of two annual events here in Barcelona. 'La Nits dels Museus' on Saturday night where all the major museums open for free from 7pm till 1am (yes, past midnight!) and 'Los Coros de la Barceloneta' which is an annual parade that happens on the Saturday and Monday for Pentecost, which is also known as 'Segunda Pascua' (second easter) here and Whitsun in the UK. I'm not religious but I enjoyed the holiday from work on Monday and the music, dancing, drinking and street fireworks were great fun too.
It's very difficult to find information on Los Coros, it doesn't really get a lot of publicity in the city. I think this may be because it tends to get a bit raucous as the day progresses on Monday. The parade consists of marching bands who belong to various local workers' associations. They all march through Barceloneta all day making stops at various points, finally finishing beneath fireworks at midnight. Saturday is a bit of a practice run, they all take off somewhere for a jolly on coaches on the Sunday, then back to go at it full pelt on the Monday. Check out the video of one of the bands this year. I've also taken some photos to give you a bit of a taster. They're not great but that's what happens when you're wandering around drinking beers, dancing and generally forgetting that you have your camera with you ;-)
Band in St. Miquel's Square
Fireworks
Dancing in the streets
The museum night was obviously a lot more subdued but it was good to have the contrast otherwise the whole weekend may have ended up a bit too lively. We decided to visit MNAC, the national art museum of Catalunya. I did hear of huge queues at some of the others but we waltzed straight in to MNAC. The building is massive so was well able to cope with the hordes of extra visitors. My favourite part is the Romanesque collection. The murals have to be seen to be fully appreciated but you can get an idea here of how beautiful they are.
I was too busy looking to take a lot of photos and I don't think they would have done the art much justice but I did get a few of the main auditorium to give you an idea of how big the building is.
Pillars in auditorium of MNAC
Free jazz concert
Main auditorium
Roof of central hall at MNAC
Primavera Sound is this weekend and even though I'm not going to the main event there are also some smaller gigs being arranged by the organisers to coincide with the big festival, so I may pop along to some of those. After that we have Sonar and Sant Joan to look forward to so there'll be no rest for a while yet.
I recently went sale shopping with His Nibs to L'Illa shopping centre, which is very close to where he works. It's pretty good as far as shopping centres go, mainly because it has a really good food hall, but as usual I didn't end up finding anything I liked. I'm finding that I'm getting really fussy in my old age and have to really fall in love with something before I can buy it, even at reduced prices. A good thing for my bank balance, at least.
It wasn't a total wash out though as they have an exhibition of classic bikes of the 20th century which is on till the 16th of February. Get up there if you can as it's well worth seeing, I was practically drooling over how gorgeous some of them were, especially the amazing side cars. I must have gotten my love for classic bikes from my step-dad who is a dedicated Harley owner and a member of an MC.
Here are a few photos from my Instagram account to give you a taste, it seems I'm not alone in my love for these beautiful machines as they're probably the most popular photos I've ever put up there.
Today is a very wet and miserable day in Barcelona, not that unusual for January. The perfect type of day for heading to a museum in fact, and if you are here or planning to be before the end of February, I strongly recommend that you head to CCCB for the El Paral·lel, 1894-1939 exhibition.
We went last weekend and ended up being there for almost 3 hours as there was so much information to take in. We're planning to go again as we liked it so much. It tells the story of the development of the area from a wasteland outside the city walls and how it became an entertainment mecca, red light area and more.
The exhibition explores the stories of the performers who became famous in the theatres, the political groups who found it perfect for recruiting new members and the various incarnations of the buildings and businesses. There's a fascinating room which covers the seedy side and the victims of various excesses which could be indulged in the area. You can also see some fabulous paintings depicting life on the avenue, including a few early Picassos.
The exhibition runs until February 24, entrance is 5 euros (free between 3 and 8 on Sundays) and CCCB is open every day except Monday from 11am to 8pm.
Well, it's been quite the month, with everything from a huge protest march to massive street parties and all sorts in between. Here's a snapshot of what we've done so far.
We watched the people of Catalunya march for independence from Spain in a protest on their Diada Nacional de Catalunya. This is a highly emotive subject for both sides and I won't go into it here but I will say that the sheer scale and the peaceful atmosphere was something to behold.
Mooched around La Ribera checking out the street art.
Saw the amazing Madrid band Luger for free as part of La Mercè. Make sure you give them a listen if you're in to psychedelic krautrock (I'm sure you all are).
Oh yes, we also walked down Via Laietana with fire breathing dragons and demons. Par for the course in Barcelona. Nothing quite like a brisk Correfoc to get the adrenaline flowing.
Don't worry, some lovely firemen (or Bombers as they're known here) came and soaked us all later to be safe.
We're having our local Festa Major in Barceloneta this weekend so I'll let you know all about that. After that, I need some time to relax. Although as every weekend in October has something good happening and I also have to go to work in between, I'm not sure how or when that's going to happen.
There’s been quite the long radio silence on this blog of mine, for which I can only blame the amazing weather and huge amount of activities that I’ve been going to this summer in Barcelona. Not to mention the busy work schedule I’ve had. I’m going to resume a more regular service now, but in the meantime, here are a few snapshots of what we’ve been doing and where we’ve been this summer. Walking on Tibidabo
Going to a festa in Llorenç del Penedes to celebrate the annual return of the Perseids, or the Llàgrimes de Sant Llorenç (Tears of Saint Lawrence) as they are known here.
And last but not least, going to see the street decorations at the Festa Major de Gràcia
All of this without even mentioning Sonar and Off Sonar, which gave us many hours of fun. There’s still plenty of good stuff to look forward to in September, I’ll be keeping you all informed. Hasta luego!
The madness of Sonar has finally abated and life is returning to normal (or as normal as possible in tourist season).
Last night saw us take the opportunity to get a culture fix by popping along to check out the latest exhibition at the Cream Espai Creatiu, a compact space for exhibiting and selling work by up and coming artists. At the moment they're showing the work of artist Maria Herreros, whose illustrations of well known people past and present, and interpretations of iconic photos, are intriguing and a little bit disturbing.
If you're here in Barcelona go along and check it out. We had a quick look last night as we got there late, but I'm very tempted to go back and even to buy a print of her work, which doesn't often happen.
Last weekend we had the annual Festa Major Barceloneta. The streets were decorated with flags and the marching bands were out in force. Music and people filled the narrow streets and much fun was had by all. His Nibs filmed the closing fireworks to give you all a taste of our local celebrations. You can check out his video on Vimeo here....
May is one of my favourite months in Barcelona. The sun
starts to shine and everyone comes out on the streets to socialise and gossip.
We also start to see a lot more events being organised and of course, the
chiringuitos (beach bars) open up for summer.
We kicked off the month with a visit to the Feria de abril de Cataluña .
The event is Barcelona’s version of the Feria de abril de Sevilla and takes place over the last week of April and first week of May every year.
It’s a great opportunity to see flamenco dancers and singers as well as eating
some amazing food. There’s a funfair as well so lots of good entertainment all
round.
I also took a trip to Sitges with my friend Bryan for a lunch by the
sea at La Concha.
The lunch was good and the fixed price menu was great value. Possibly the
best thing about it was the view of Sant Sebastià beach.
Sitges is one of my favourite towns and I love the beaches here, as well as the
friendly people and the beautiful church and old buildings. I recommend a day
trip (or longer) to anyone who comes to Barcelona, it’s well worth it. We had a
stroll through the town after lunch, did a spot of birdwatching of the numerous
Swifts flying around the church and ended up having a swift drink at a chiringuito.
Another great thing about this city is the amount of free
events that they have here. His Nibs and I popped along to a free one day music
festival called La Plaça Odissea that was held at Maremagnum, a big shopping centre in the port. We went to see the Icelandic band FM Belfast
who are worth catching live if you get the chance. Their shows are always
energetic and fun, check out the video below for a taste of what to expect from
them. The hot weather caused them some grief, with the whole band taking their
trousers off to cool down halfway through their set.
There’s more to come from May (I told you things start
kicking off this month!) but I’ll tell you about it in my next post. Hasta
luego!
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