Camino Barcelona Blog

Hello fellow wine and food lovers!

Last year I went to CAVATAST, a wine festival celebrated in October in Vilafranca del Penedès.

Even though I live in Barcelona, I hadn’t visited this beautiful city in years and I was happy to see it, so beautiful with a party atmosphere and ready to receive visitors.

We went by train from Sants and the journey was short, we arrived in just 45 minutes. Straight away we were in the fair! They gave us a glass for the tasters with an ingenious device to be worn around the neck. We all looked like professionals! There were plenty of exhibitors from wineries, some very famous like Torres, others much smaller, well-known, unknown, specialists in Cava, white wine, red, rosé… personally I prefer red wine, but the truth is that trying the white wine over and over again has converted me into a fan, the same with Cava. Don’t forget that Vilafranca is where the wineries Codomiu and Freixenet are. You don’t need to reserve a visit but you can turn up on the same day and do everything.

For just a little more than 3 Euros you can try (more…)

Hi everyone!

If you like cocktails and you like them cheap keep reading…

There is a “magic” cocktail street in Barcelona: Joaquim Costa. There you will find lots of bars with a cocktail happy hour that I personally recommend.

Let me take you through them one by one.

If you like bars with a big front window: Old Land 3,95 per cocktail from 20.00 till 22.00 every day of the week (yipee!) From classic to exotic cocktails… they have everything to keep you happy.
If you enjoy bars with a cosmopolitan charm: Betty Ford is almost next door.
The cocktails are a bit more expensive but the bar doesn’t miss out, it’s full of people from all over with something in common: originality and the desire to have fun!
If you are a fan of English pop music: Manchester. 2*1 offer on classic drinks. It’s a great place to meet your other half if you love pop music. (more…)

If you like markets, taking some time out in the fresh air, haggling, finding bargains and mixing with the people then enter into a microclimate with its own rules… Els Encants is the place for you!

It is the only true flea market in the city. It has everything! Old clothes and new, all very cheap, lost objects, things for the home, shoes, necessary and unecessary articles, socks for very little money, antique tins, lamps from another era, flamenco dresses, retro jewellery, everything vintage and everything you never thought you would be able to buy.

They say that in the past Els Encants was the place where the things nobody else in the city wanted ended up. Now it is a heavenly refuge for those that love antiquities (like myself) to search for bargains (like myself) and to find the unexpected (like myself) and to spend some time doing something different with your friends… with its little stops for breakfast, later Vermouth in the wine cellars and then wander around a little more. (more…)

You can get there by walking up Passeig de Gracia or by metro, stopping at Fontana.
Just step off the metro and you will see a bustle of young people that are there to go out or are just wandering around.

There are so many shops with original clothes by young designers that are really inexpensive; you can find a precious dress made just for you for only 50 euros! And if you don’t want to buy anything you can be sure that you will love strolling through the streets that are brimming with things to see and observe.

You will love all of the cheap bars and restaurants bursting with young people, and tea shops that offer a magnificent selection. There are also plenty of “perfumerías” (cosmetics shops) as well as cinemas with films in their original version. Never fear, there are always lots of young people to be found out and about in the streets. (more…)

Hello!

From this week onwards I am officially a member of the “Friends of Wine Club”. I learnt of this club through Javier, the sommelier of the school who prepares some incredible wine tasting sessions for us at Camino Barcelona.

The club is held in a bar/ restaurant in Raval in the square in front of the famous MACBA museum: it is called D.O. Original and wines are its speciality. Every Tuesday they organise an activity such as; a presentation of wine cellars and their wines, a wine tasting session, “una cena con maridaje” which is a meal “of marriage” where the food and wine are chosen to complement each other perfectly. They also organise a blind wine tasting experience or they explore the best wines from a region of Spain. (more…)

There is something that is common for all of us and that we all do in the same way; wherever we come from, wherever we live, whatever we think: we like going home for Christmas…

And with the help of mum, grannies, brothers, boyfriends or friends there is always something that we all do too much in Christmas: Eating!

But then, the ‘day-after’ all that feast arrives and your favourite trousers do not fit as they used to be… And the mirror betrays you making very evident that your body has a few kilos more!! It is on this cold Monday morning when you think of your granny’s puddings and of your mother serving you more portions of each dish every two minutes!!! (more…)