Holi, it's raining colours!

Holi is a Hindu celebration that more or less takes place in the spring equinox. During Holi, people throw coloured chalk on the others with a special signification for each colour: the red one refers to happiness and love, the green one wishes harmony, the orange one optimism and the blue one means vitality.

Originally, Hindu people celebrated Holi as the last funny thing to do before working hard while planting. The celebration starts with a huge fire for the first night, reminding the cremation of Holika, a deamon who was killed by Vishnu, the Preserver God in the Hindu religion.

Vishnu, the Preserver

During the day after, write-dressed people walk with pigments and throw them on the others in the street. After that, they apologise saying "Bura na mano, Holî hai" - Don't be mad, it's Holi.

This year, Holi was celebrated on the 6th March in Hindu religion. But in Barcelona, where Holi is celebrated every year as well, the date was the 12th April.

After travelling to the very North of the city, and climbing a horrible slope, you finally could arrive to a nice area, and face a huge multi-coloured crowd.

During the day, there were some "explosions" of colours, during when the crowd was literally bleue-green-orange-red painted, enjoying the warmth and the joy of the celebration. It was also possible to buy chalk bags for some Euros and have a lot of fun throwing chalk on friends as well as on strangers.

Holi in Barcelona is also the occasion to listen to very good music under the sun, but also to be watched weirdly in the metro and to be asked about why and where you were painted that way. In short, a very fun experience that you should try and enjoy too!

El Born and its antique charm

El Born is a part of La Ribera neighbourhood, but sometimes – because of its relevance – the entire barrio is called El Born. Its antique name was La Ribera del Riego Condal – because of the irrigation channel that passed through it, whose remains are conserved in Mercado del Born.    

El Born is delimited by Paseo de Picasso, calle de la Princesa, calle del Riego, el Paseo del Borne, Sant María de Mar, el Pla de Palau and avenida del Marqués de la Argentera. More easily, it covers the area between Via Laietana and La Barceloneta, so it has a strategic position, being close to the city-centre (La Rambla) and to the sea at the same time. 

Paseo del Born

El Mercado del Born – that, as the name suggests, was traditionally a market – has been transformed into El Born Centre Cultural, since it bears the signs of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714). During this conflict, the neighbourhood had been almost completely demolished in order to build la Ciutadela, whose purpose was to allow Felipe V to dominate the city after conquering it on September 11th 1714. La Ciudadela was a really huge fortress, between the biggest ones in Europe, and it was built together with Montjuic castle to allow Felipe V to rule over the city. 1,200 houses and convents of St. Augustine and Santa Clara were demolished in order to build the fortress, and the Riego Condal deviated. In total, about 4,500 people were evicted, they did not receive any compensation and were abandoned to their fate.

La Ciutadella was eventually demolished during the Revolution, in 1868, and El Parque de la Ciudadela was built in its place for the EXPO, in 1888. 

El Mercado del Born is important for its Modernist structure, too. It is a striking example of the Cast-iron architecture, typical of Modernist movement and very popular in Catalunya. 

Mercado del Born

El Mercado is not the only thing that makes El Born an attractive and interesting neighbourhood: El Born is one of the most sophisticated and modern area of Barcelona, without losing its antique charm. It is full of cafes and bars in which you can taste tapas and drink cerveza, sangria and mojito. Moreover, if you like exclusive shopping, there are very nice, vintage shops – even if quite expensive.  

El Born hosts art and culture, too: you can visit Museo Picasso, Museo Textil - which is located in this district because of its long-time tradition of textile guilds, and the beautiful cathedral Santa María del Mar.

El Born: Santa María del Mar

I love this barrio: it’s antique, but up to date; it’s lively, but quiet; it’s sophisticated, but not snobbish. And, if you are a hearty eater, there is another place in Born where you should absolutely go: it is a self-service chain called La Paradeta – the others are located in Sants, Sagrada Família, Meridiana and Sitges. It is close to El Mercado del Born and you can eat fresh fish at cheap prices: you can choose the type of fish you prefer (mussels, shrimps, prawns, tuna etc.) and they will cook it as you like. It really deserves a visit, because of its high quality and the cheap price! I advise you to go to the Born’s one because, after a huge dinner, you can walk around the barrio and drink something there ;)

Palo Alto Market in Barcelona ( 4 – 5 April 2015 ): The Power of Creativity and Music Together

ThePalo Alto market is a new idea of market: it is a handcrafted and sophisticated street market based on the idea to promote creativity and quality of the products. It is located in an urban island with a wonderful view where talents are mixed the five senses.

Why the five senses?

An area was completely dedicated to food and testing different kind of street food: from Thai and sushi to vegan, but also Spanish and Latin American.

Another area was dedicated to workshops: touching and transforming materials, such as recycled materials, cardboard, but also learning to construct of vegetal puppets and decorative objects. 

Three galleries were dedicated to fashion and design: the design gallery, with handcrafted decorative objects, the Boehme and the fashion gallery, mainly with handmade shoes and clothes.

Creativity and quality were the key words. A huge number of Spanish designers and fashion designer were present there to promote their cretions and let them know to the public.

Music & Performances were also present:

In order to create the right atmosphere, music could not miss in such an event. Two places were dedicated to music, an open air space with dj set and a bar where you could taste martini and vermouth, called “Jazz Club Martini”. There, a fantastic trio, Khaoula & Friends Trio, exhibits in a captivating show full of rhythm and different sonorities: jazz mixed with African and South American influences. Incredible was the energy and the positiveness released by the singer; she was able to live up all the public of the bar.

Here is a video:

What about the location?

Actually it was not in the city center but in a new area, called Poblenou. Poblenou is one of the few areas that has grown independently, keeping away from mass tourism and maintaining its identity. As a result it has become one of the most genuine and prolific metropolitan scenarios of Barcelona city.

In recent years, a series of creative atelier have found their home in Poblenou, since cultural and commercial spaces are present to offer innovative proposals. It is there where new buildings coexist with art galleries, foundations, design studios, advertizing agency, hotels and restaurants.

The area is living an incredible transformation due to the creative community of “Poblenou Urban District” which promotes, reinvents and creates ideas to transform this postindustrial zone in a Barcelonan vanguard and referring point.

We shuould wait for the next Palo Alto market, the 2 and 3 of May to see the community at work again to revive the magic of the place where creativity and music mixed together.

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

Tossa del Mar, where beautiful beaches and culture meet

Located on the Girona coast at half way between the city of Barcelona and the French border, Tossa del Mar is an ancient fisherman's village with an important cultural backgroud, that has become more and more an emblematic touristic destination with its unique beaches and landscapes. In fact it is considered one of the best summer destinations in Costa Brava.

On this Easter holidays some of us went there to spend some good time and sunbathe, and at the end we discovered a real beautiful village that can offer more than beautiful sea and beaches, it is a concentrate of culture too, from prehistory until the 20th century.

Tossa del Mar is the only village in Costa Brava that has protected and safeguarded its old defensive wall and castle, built in order to protect its people from the attack of Moors pirates. The original structure dates from the 13th century, composed by walls with four large towers and three cylindrical ones. Among these the best-known ones are Joanàs Tower overlooking the bay, the Clock Tower at the entrance of the parade ground (there was the only public clock in the city), and Codolar Tower, overlooking Codolar beach. Moreover very beautiful is the Villa Vella, with its narrow cobbled streets and typical houses. In the 15th and 16th century, age of splendor, the town was composed only by 80 houses, then it started to expand beyond the walls until it became the village of today. Inside the Villa Vella there are many late-Gothic 15th and 16th century buildings like the old church of Sant Vicenç, substituted by a new one in 1755 built in Plaça de la Iglesia, or the beautiful Chapel of Mare de Déu del Socors. However, as I already said, in Tossa del Mar you can find some prehistoric and roman remains like Els Ametllers, one of the most importants villas in the ancient Roman province of Tarraco, discovered in 1914.

At the same time, Tossa is a good choice even if you're just looking for some beautiful beach with crystal clear water, or if you just want to spend a day in contact with nature. In late Spring in particular, when it isn't too crowded, you can enjoy the silence of nature, appreciate areas of great natural beauty, and have a really good time doing some picnic on the beach or sunbathing.

In Tossa there are four different beautiful beaches: the biggest one is Platja Gran, from the promontory of Villa Vella to Gavina Joan memorial. Then there are Platja del Reig and Platja del Mar Menuda where you can even do scuba diving, and last but not least there is Es Codolar, where old fishermans usually fix their boats.

So, are you ready to go to Tossa? Enjoy the photos below and don't waste more time!

See you soon, Barcelona

So, here I am...last day of work, last day and night in Barcelona (at least for now, hehe).

I would love to describe all the feelings that are dwelling deep inside my heart and soul right now, but I cannot. It is impossible. I cannot say if I am happy or sad, anxious or nervous. My hands are shaking since the morning. After getting a bit of sleep, I woke up, looking around my half-packed room. It is such a strange feeling. You try to pack everything but you know there is still one day, one last day, one last night and party....

Today, I am sitting at work, wonderin how to say goodbye to everyone. I know it was a short time and I may not have spent as much time with you all as I should have. I do not know you that well. But there will always be this connection between us - our internship. I am not a true Barcelonian after these three months but maybe you will get there. I hope you will travel a lot and have a lot of fun. Visit as many pubs as possible, try stealing a glass from one of them ^^

I do not know yet how much I have changed. Life in Barcelona was indeed different from all my previous experiences. But you need to take life step by step. I do not know where my next stop will be. Maybe Slovakia, Norway, maybe even Japan, who knows? But one thing I learned for sure. The more you travel, the easier the travelling gets. While it is true that I miss my family, my home, I know that I will get bored there in 2 weeks. Being abroad is exciting since you always feel like an exlorer.

I met many interesting people, I did many crazy things, many stupid things, many silly things. It would take a long time to tell all my stories btu maybe one day, if you really want to know, you can buy me a drink and I will tell you :) While it was an exciting life, one part of me is happy that it is coming to an end. While I love Barcelona and it will always stay in my heart, I know that it is not the right place for my life. So I need to search some more around the world ^^

I am writing this post mainly for all of you, my fellow interns. If you are staying here for 3 months or half a year, time flies quickly. I am not telling you to use your time wisely – we are young and therefore we can rarely make wise decisions. No. Use your time in a way that you will not regret. I had days when I barely slept and then there were lazy days that I spent mostly in my bed. I do not regret them, I needed some ME time, some calm moments. There is always something going on in Barcelona, but you should not force yourself to go out if you are not feeling like it. Even though your life in Barcelona might seem like one big dream, you are not sleeping so do not forget to take it easy sometimes :)

So yeah, my advice to you, make some unwise decisions, party, sleep, travel, work(haha); all in all – enjoy your time in Barcelona in the way you want to enjoy it!

Cheers \^_^/

Bianka

Poble Español, a city museum in the very heart of Barcelona

Spain is a country full of history, wonderful places to visit and explore, great cities like Madrid and Barcelona, and little Spanish villages and towns with centuries of history as well. From Andalusia to País Vasco, from Galicia to the Baleares, you can appreciate really different traditions, cultures, and architecture as well, since Spain through the centuries has been influenced by many different populations like Arabic and even South American ones.

So, if you love Spain culture or you are interested in architecture as well, you would be surprised to know that you can find the entire Spain in an only village, in the very centre of Barcelona: its name is Poble Español.

Poble Español is an architectural museum that contains a selection of buildings from different parts of the Peninsula. It is situated in the very heart of Barcelona, near Plaza de España and the incredible Fountains of Montjuïc, and it was concieved for visitors to enjoy an open-air Spanish architectural museum while walking around its squares, gardens and streets. The most amazing thing is that, in fact, in order to reproduce different places and Spanish areas, the Poble Español with its 117 full-scale buildings creates a real suggestive village, with its own houses, parks, theaters, school, artisan workshops and restaurants.

It was built in 1929, for the Barcelona International Exposition as a synthesis of Spain's architecture and culture by the architects Puig Cadafalch, Francesc Folguera and Ramon Reventos, the art critic Miquel Utrillo, and the painter Xavier Nogués. After many trips around Spain to collect the iconographic material which they needed, hundreds of photos, notes and drawings, the team was able to build a complex synthesis of cultural and architectural essence of Spain.

The museum contains 117 buildings of 15 different autonomous communities of Spain: Andalucia, Aragón, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla, Castilla y León, Cataluña, Valencia, Extremadura, Galicia, Islas Baleares, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra and País Vasco.

Poble Español isn't just an architectural museum, it mixes architecture with contemporary art, crafts and gastronomy. The museum Fran Daurel for example, inside the village, is in fact one of the most beautiful museums in Barcelona, where you can appreciate more than 250 works between paintings, sculptures, drawings and ceramics from some of the most important contemporary artists of all time like Picasso, Dalí and Miró.

So, if you are in Barcelona I really advise you to visit this wonderful open air museum. You can find further information on Poble Español's website. Enjoy!