Camino Barcelona Blog

¡Hola chicos!

A ver, ¿ya habéis pensado de qué os vais a disfrazar este fin de semana? ¡ES CARNAVAL! Yo ya lo tengo decidido, ¡no pienso perderme LA GRAN FIESTA DE CARNAVAL DE SITGES! Hoy comienza la fiesta grande de esta pequeña ciudad cerca de Barcelona (tan sólo 30 minutos en tren), os aseguro que merece la pena.

OK, have you already thought about your fancy dress for this weekend!? It’s CARNIVAL! I have already made my mind up, I’m not gonna miss THE BIG FUN OF SITGES CARNIVAL! Today the party starts in this little town near Barcelona (just 30 minutes by train), and I tell you: it’s really worth going at least once in your life!! 

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Yesterday was a great night out with our students at the school. Do you want to see what happen? We are going to explain how the night went using photos… recognize yourself on any?

We met all at the school and went straight to “los Toreros“, our favourite tapas restaurant, there’s always more food than we can eat and the sangría is lovely!

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Imagine this:- you are walking down the street, minding your own business, when a voice appears from nowhere, proclaiming to the world: ‘The day you were born an angel fell from the sky’!!!  Welcome to Spain, ladies! 

This kind of terribly indiscreet- but really quite poetic - flattery is just unheard of in many countries. For example, I can’t imagine it happening in England. If you are lucky, you might get an admiratory grunt or whistle, but little more!!!

The Spanish, however, really do it with style and it is not just bored builders who take part!  The traditional Spanish ‘Piropo’ (chat-up line) is generally a lot less aggressive than the image we have of chat-up lines today and it is genuinely designed to please - not embarrass - the object of desire.  (more…)

In the RAVAL you have a lot different things! It’s near to the school you just have to walk to the PLAZA CATALUNYA then go to the RAMBLA and on the right side there is this barrio RAVAL.

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¿Celebras San Valentín? Mañana es 14 de febrero y en toda Europa y Estados Unidos se celebra el día de los enamorados. Los escaparates de las tiendas se llenan de corazones rojos y la publicidad nos incita a comprar, comprar, comprar artículos románticos que no sirven para nada, perfumes, cajas de bombones, corazones de peluche… Por obligación tienes que salir a cenar con tu pareja y sentirte feliz en este día (o desgraciado/a si estás solo/a).

Do you celebrate Saint Valentine’s? Tomorrow is the 14th of February and in the whole Europe and United States the day of love is celebrated. The shop windows are full of red hearts and publicity forces us to buy, buy, and buy romantic articles which are completely unuseful, perfumes, chocolates… You really feel like YOU HAVE TO go out for dinner with your partner and feel happy this day (or sad if you are alone!)

En España es una tradición bastante reciente, probablemente llegó aquí por influencia del mercado americano, aunque no lo celebramos con tanta devoción como en otros países vecinos.

In Spain it is quite a recent tradition, we probably got it influenced by the American market, however we do not celebrate it with so much passion as in other neighbour countries.

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Descubrir Barcelona es un placer en sí mismo pero hay veces que parece que pierdas la perspectiva de dónde estás. ¿Quieres un consejo? ¡Mira arriba! Por ejemplo, todo el mundo tiene como visita obligada el ‘Park Güell’. ¿Has probado de subir hasta arriba de todo del parque, donde está la cruz? Desde ahí puedes ver prácticamente toda la ciudad, desde la Sagrada Familia hasta el Camp Nou, pasando por la playa.

Otro paseo muy típico es ir bajando por las ramblas. Al final siempre te encuentras con Colón ahí arriba, señalando hacia el mar. ¿Por qué no ser tú quien mira a la gente que baja por las ramblas? ¿Sabías que puedes subir hasta arriba de la columna? Hay un ascensor dentro, en pocos segundos tendrás una magnífica vista de las ramblas, el puerto ¡y la mar!

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¿Hasta qué punto conocéis la cultura catalana?  Vale, quizás habéis probado el rico ‘pan tomàquet’ y bebido mucho Cava catalán.  Pero, si realmente queréis saber un poco más, tenéis la oportunidad este fin de semana de ver las tradiciones más populares y únicas en Cataluña: ¡Los ‘Castellers’,  los Gigantes y el ‘Correfoc’!

How much do you really know about Catalan culture? Ok, so maybe you have tried the tasty ‘pan tomaquet’ tomato bread and drunk plenty of Catalan Cava.  but if you really want to know a bit more, then you have the chance this weekend to see some of Catalonia’s most popular and unique traditions: ¡Los ‘Castellers’,  los Gigantes y el ‘Correfoc’!

 Os explicaré un poco. En el barrio Gótico se celebran este finde las Fiestas de Santa Eulalia. Además de conciertos, obras de teatro, exposiciones y muchas cosas más que hacer, podréis ver estos tres espectáculos típicos de Barcelona y toda Cataluña.

Let me explain a bit more.  This weekend the gothic quarter is celebrating the Saint Eulalia festival.  As well as concerts, theatre, exhibitions and lots of other things, you will be able to see these 3 very typical traditions. (more…)

¡Hola a todos!

Hi everyone!

Las actividades de la semana que viene son:

The activities for next week are:

Lunes 15:00: Copa de bienvenida / Monday 3pm: Welcome drink

¡Bienvenidos a todos los nuevos estudiantes! Ven a tomar algo con nosotros, es la oportunidad perfecta para conocernos!

A big welcome party for all our new students! Join us for drinks and snacks - it is the perfect opportunity to get to know us and the other students!

Martes 14:45: Taller sobre San Valentín y película romántica / Tuesday 2.45pm: Workshop on Valentine’s day and romantic film  

Vamos a aprender frases típicas para ‘ligar’ y conocer a tu chico/a ideal , jugaremos al ‘Speed-dating’ y veremos al final de la sesión una película romántica…

We will learn vocabulary and phrases to attract the opposite sex and meet your perfect guy/girl .We will also play ‘Speed-dating’ and then see a romantic film…

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Hello all!

I am in an especially good mood today as I have just booked my flights for a little holiday to Portugal. And to top it off, the return journey only cost me 55 euros, all taxes included! It is official: the budget airline boom has finally hit Spain and I couldn’t be happier!!!

I am travelling with Ryanair which used to be about the only cheap airline in Spain, other than Easyjet. But now there are LOADS and they are offering hundreds of new routes to exotic (and some less exotic!) places all over the world.

There are also tons of cheap internal flights these days, so catching a plane is often less expensive than getting a train or bus! Times are changing and it no longer seems ridiculous to travel 1000 km to Seville for ‘the day’! In fact, 3 of our students - Lise, Monica and Margaux- did just that only last month. They actually got a really good deal with Iberia, one of the traditional Spanish airlines…it seems the big wigs are finally responding to the competition… (more…)

Barcelona is a great place to be!!! No doubt about that. But from time to time I like to get out of the city and enjoy a bit of fresh air and discover new places not that far away from here.

Some weeks ago, wanting to do something different, I decided to rent a car and get away for a few days. To rent a car in Barcelona is quite simple, the best company I know and the one with the best prices is Pepe car. After doing a bit of research on the Internet, I decided to visit a town in the north of Barcelona, a medieval town not far from Girona called Besalú. To plan my journey, I used a web page that it is always useful map24, and after just over an hour on the road I arrived.

I was very much surprised by what I first saw on arriving into the city: a beautiful and very impressive stone bridge with seven arches above a small river. This medieval bridge was built between the XI and XII century and when you stand in front of the main entrance, the Portal el Puente, you really travel back in time!!!

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