Local Expert
ReginaWB
A writer and photographer with chronic wanderlust; living in Spain's bonita Barcelona-
A writer and photographer with chronic wanderlust; living in Spain's bonita Barcelona-
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“Taxi….taxi! TAXI!” Hailing a cab in Barcelona is usually no big deal. There are plenty of them about during the day and at night. The only tricky times are when the clubs and bars close 2pm to 6pm and early morning trips to the airport. In the wee hours of the morning a taxi may be scarce as a sober 20-something at Felini’s Disco……best not to take any chances.
Instead of getting up an hour early and waiting in the pre-morn darkness willing a cab to come, try calling one the night before. You may need to speak Spanish….so good luck with that.
Here are some reliable taxi cab numbers for Barcelona:
1- BARNATAXI – 93 357 77 55
2- RADIOTAXI – 93 225 00 00
3- TAXI GROC – 93 322 22 22
4- SERVI TAXI – 93 330 0300
Here in Barcelona King’s Day, which comes every January 6th, is more important than Christmas….well, at least when it comes to gift giving. I’ll hand it to the Spanish, some things they do here just make a lot more sense than the way we do it back home. The metric system for example, or using military time – it’s just easier than feet and a.m./p.m. The same is true with King’s Day. If Jesus was born on the 25th of December the Kings (or wise men) would have been notified of his birth and then would have had to pack up the camels and hightail it to Bethlehem. Going at camel-speed, this journey would have taken at least 11 days.
This is why the kings, with all their gifts for Jesus, show up on the 5th of January. In Barcelona the ‘Kings’ arrive in an enormous evening parade which everyone in the city attends. Sometimes there are even real camels which accompany the Kings. At home, children receive loads of gifts from the generous Kings which are left beside their shoes. On the 6th, families eat a special Rascon de Reyes or King’s Cake. Inside this round cake is a mini King. If you end up with the mini King in your slice of cake, you will be awarded good luck for the whole year and get to wear an adorable golden crown! If you are in Barcelona or anywhere else in Spain for King’s Day, make sure to check out this important event.
More here on Barcelona’s parade: http://www.bcn.cat/english/ihome.htm
The other day at a dinner party the topic of superhuman powers came up again. We were presented with three options and had to choose just one: 1) invisibility, 2) flight or 3) use of a time machine. The rule was that we could only use our superhuman power for a day. Clearly it was a hard decision. While others dreamed of visiting the days of the Dinos, I chose flight because I knew I could go back in time any day of the year right here in Barcelona.
That’s right. I’m talking time travel but with cocktails. Stepping into Palau Dalmases Espai Borroc is like jumping in a time capsule and zipping back a few hundred years. It’s located inside an old and creepy palace in the gothic quarter of the city, and decorated to the hilt with antiques. There’s a grand piano too, (don’t touch!) and a stuffed alligator with wicked glass eyes.
On Thursday’s at 11pm there is live Opera for a mere €20 (drink included) presenting music by Händel, Purcell and Mozart. Any other day of the week expect to pay €8 a drink, whether you order red wine or a coca-cola. Expensive? Yes. But it is the experience you’re paying for. Try this wonderfully weird place on a Saturday night from 8pm to 2am. PS: the barman and manager is a real nasty one, so try to ignore him.
What: opera, drinks, alligator
Where: c/ Montcada, 20 - Barcelona (El Born)
More: 93 310 06 73
Price: €8 and up
1
CaixaForum
Av. Marquès de Comillas 6-8, Barcel...
Banks. These days they are tightening their belt, but for years in Barcelona big banks like La Caixa were flush and generous. While I never tend to couple banking and art or banking and charity, I have to hand it to La Caixa for the good works the company has done around Barcelona.
One of La Caixa's contributions to the city is LaCaixa Forum, a free art museum with rotating expositions. Set in a magnificent Modernista factory, LaCaixa Forum is worth a visit just to check out this architecture. I have lived here for three years, but just recently got it together and went to this fab museum. How could I have not come before? The expositions are well displayed and translated into an array of languages making the museum accessible for us all.
Right now the big draw at LaCaixa Form is the Alfonse Mucha show: Seduction, Modernity and Utopia. Mucha was a big name in the Art Nouveau movement and his posters, especially for the theater, are quite famous. I'm a big Art Nouveau fan and spent a couple happy hours admiring Mucha's skill. Unfortunately, Mucha will not be up at the museum much longer (until January 4th, 09) so get over there while you can. Or go online and check out what's up next at LaCaixa Forum in the New Year.
Besides interesting expositions and an amazing building, LaCaixa Forum also houses one of the best museum stores in town and a super cool café for espresso and chocolate cake.
What: Art!
Where: Av. Marquès de Comillas, 6-8; 08038 Barcelona
More: http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/centros/caixaforumbcn_es.html
Phone: 93 476 86 59
Cost: Free!
Open: All year - check times on line but usually from 10am to 8pm.
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Alsur Cafe
Sant Pere Mes Alt 4, Barcelona 0800...
A must-do in Barcelona is La Palau de La Musica Catalana, a Modernista concert hall which can be toured and still puts on shows nightly. For breakfast, lunch or an afternoon coffee after taking a peek at La Palau try Alsur Café. Located right across from the music hall Alsur sees its fair share of tourists, but unlike other touristy places Alsur is also popular with locals.
Here you can get frothy coffees and smoked salmon sandwiches along with a delicious spread of desserts. Alsur also offers Internet WiFi and private headphones along one wall for listening to music videos (a bit weird to imagine but a neat idea). When I used to take Catalan lessons my school was near Alsur and I'd often stop off there for a strong café con leche and do my grammar homework.
My only gripe about Alsur is the smoke. Like almost all Spanish cafes it is darn smoky inside Alsur; would it kill them to turn on a fan? I always try to sit by the door in a vain attempt at avoiding an early death due to second-hand smoke. Alsur's prices are good and so is the quality, and if you like cigarette with your muffin then you'll be in heaven.
What: Café food
Where: C/ Sant Pere Més Alt, 4 - 08003
More: www.alsurcafe.com
Price: €5 and up
One of the most important Modernista buildings in the city, Hospital Sant Pau should be on your list of sites to visit in Barcelona. My brother The Architect was here recently visiting and the two of us went over there together. We had visited La Palau de la Musica and I wanted him to se Sant Pau too, as both buildings were designed by the same successful architect, Domènech I Montaner.
A World Heritage Site, Sant Pau resembles more a fanciful Candy Land or palace than a hospital. It is still in operation and while we were snapping photos of the tiled archways several ambulances arrived. Domènech I Montaner designed the hospital to consist of 48 pavilions, but in the end only 18 were actually built. In the buildings he used the Catalan Vault and a new material at the time: steel.
While we toured the Sant Pau my brother noticed the structure and commented on the way it was built. I, on the other hand, noticed the statues and mosaic tiles. The sculptures at Sant Pau are hard to miss. The place is covered in them. Pau (another Pau) Gargallo was the main artist responsible for the many impressive and detailed human sculptures at the front of the hospital, and Eusebi Arnau and Francesc Madurell also helped out.
It is free to enter Sant Pau and wander around. If you are at La Sagrada Familia it's a straight shot up the Av. Gaudí to Domènech I Montaner's masterpiece. Some of the buildings are locked and closed off to camera toting visitors because, well, it's a hospital and people are being treated inside.
What: Must see Modernista hospital
Where: St. Antoni M. Claret, 167 08025 Barcelona
How Much: Free!
More: www.santpau.cat