Showing posts with label Beach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beach. Show all posts

Friday, 18 September 2015

Every good thing comes to an end

Leaves begin to fall from trees, the wind is getting stronger. Summer is nearly over and so is my unforgettable experience here in Barcelona. More than two months have already passed since I arrived in this city, when everything  was still to be discovered, people, places, streets, scents, colours. And as always, when you start getting used to something, it is time to change, time to go on. It will be even harder to go back home now, since I've been spending more than twelve months abroad, first on Erasmus in France, Strasbourg, then here for my internship in Barcelona.

Barcelona has been a wonderful place to live in, I am glad I chose this city for my internship cause it offers everything someone could look for: good weather, beaches, fun, pubs, discos but also cultural events, museums, music, festivals. The time spent here allowed me to learn more about the Catalan culture and its strong traditions, to such a point that now I can even say a few sentences in Catalan :).
I am thankful to my Spanish housemate Miguel, who helped me a lot with my Spanish and who made me smile every single day with his energy, kindness and craziness. I will never forget the songs danced together, our walks through Barcelona and his stories about the secret corners of the city.

I had already been to Barcelona before and my feelings towards this city are still the same, overwhelming and conflicting: on the one hand the traffic, the noises, the hundreds of tourists to avoid while you're walking on La Rambla, the 40 degrees you have to go through every single time you get the metro; on the other, the beautiful views of the city from Parc Guell, from Tibidabo or Los Bunkers, where you almost feel like if the city was under your control. The sound of the waves on the beach in the sunset, when you are surrounded by lots of people but it's like if you were alone. The tiny streets of Gracia and Barceloneta, where locals leave their doors open, arousing your curiosity with the smell of their Sunday's lunch.


Besides fun and emotions, I also learned a lot from a professional point of view. For this reason I want to thank Jessica, who taught me about marketing (a complete mystery for me until three months ago!), and all my companions at 1Global Translators for the amazing summer spent together. I am sure that what I learnt in the Marketing Department will turn out to be useful for my career. So thanks again to everyone who was part of this (especially Domenico, a loyal friend from the very start <3 ) and hope to see you again soon, who knows where. 

Thursday, 14 May 2015

A day at the beach: Sitges

In 1Global Translators, the majority of us are young interns who love travelling, so that what's better than taking the train and visiting some Catalan places during the weekend? After Tossa de Mar and Tarragona, last Saturday we went to Sitges, in order to sunbathe, dive into the (frozen) sea, lie on the beach and - of course - write an article, providing new Barcelonians with all the information they need in order to better exploit their stay in Barcelona!
Sitges
Sitges is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona and it is famous as the 'Ibiza in miniature'. Moreover, it is known for the Film Festival - dedicated to fantasy and horror movies - and for the Carnival
The Carnival takes place between February and March and the festivity begins on Dijious Gras (Fat Thursday), with the arrival of Rei Carnestoltes, the main protagonist of the Carnival. 
Sitges' Carnival: Rei Carnestoltes

Sitges has been blessed by Nature with a great location, between the sea and the Garraf Massif, and has quickly become a touristic destination. Moreover, Sitges has become widely popular for LGTB community, since is one of the most gay-friendly places in the world. 
On the Sitges' official touristic website, they claim that Sitges benefits of 300 sunny days per year! In addition to this, Sitges offers you over 18 kilometers of coast with beach bar services, toy libraries, sun loungers, sunshades and umbrellas, sorts facilities, massage services, sailing schools, water activities and beaches awarded with ISO 14001, EMAS and Sicted certifications.

Sitges

Sitges is considered the Spanish Saint-Tropez, because its setting by the sea and the Parc Natural del Garraf: the property prices, in fact, reach those of the most expensive European cities. 

So, if you're having a studying or working experience in Barcelona, you definitely have to visit Sitges, defy the cold water and have the first swim in the sea even at the end of April! 


Carlotta Neuenschwander

Wednesday, 8 April 2015

Costa Brava, the wild coast of Catalonia


Tossa de Mar medieval village

Costa Brava is the Catalan shore, that runs through 255 km (158 miles), from Portbou, France, to Blanes, Spain. It is composed of five regions that are Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà, Gironès, Pla de l’Estany and Selva. 

The name of "Costa Brava" - wild coast - was first used in 1908 by Ferran Agulló, a poet inspired by the wild beauty of the shore. 

As Good Friday and Easter Monday are bank holidays in Spain, we almost all decided to escape Barcelona and get a change of air. After looking for A LOT of potential destinations, we finally chose to go to Tossa de Mar, municipality in the province of Girona, in Selva.




Tossa is a village of 6,000 inhabitants that have lived principally from tourism since the movie Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (staring Ava Gardner) was shot there. Formerly, the population depended on wine, cork and fishing.

After about a 90-minutes bus journey, we finally arrived at the Tossa station, on top of the village. While going down, we could see the Roman villa of Ametllers (1st century BC - 6th century AD) that belonged to the Roman province of Tarraconensis. The villa was discovered in 1914 by Ignasi Melé and is made up of two distinct parts: “pars urbana” - urban part -, and “pars fructuaria” - rural part. The first one, on the top, was the noble part of the villa, were we can still notice thermal baths, a mosaic, a swimming pool, and marble sculptures. The other part, more in the bottom, was the place where the products like wine or grains were stocked.




Our spirit of adventure pushed us to first explore the “Vila Vella enceinte”, that dates from the 14th century. On the very top of the fortifications, that gives an amazing view of the shore, you can find a lighthouse that was built in 1917. But until the 19th century, the Santa Maria de Ripoll Monastery Abbot's castle actually standed there. The place has been a national historical monument since 1931. While bringing back down, you can enjoy the steep, narrow and charming streets of the historical centre.



After admiring the wonderful panorama, we decided to go to the beach and enjoy the sunshine. You should know that Tossa counts three main beaches:

- The Tossa Beach (Platja Gran), that faces up to the city centre and ends up at the foot of the castle
Platja Gran
- La Mar Menuda, on the other side of the shore, that is the most touristic one
La Mar Menuda
- El Codolar, behind the fortifications
El Codolar

On a side note, we spent the whole afternoon there, ignoring the dangers of the cloud-covered sun, having lunch, taking a nap and playing volleyball, and we finally almost all turned beet-red: the very first rays of the spring sunshine are always the worst ones!

The sunburned interns