Camino Barcelona Blog

Hi everyone!

I am a passionate believer in the world of homemade, natural, additive free beer made small scale with nothing but care. If you’ve not already had the opportunity to fall in love with it, you should take advantage of the following bars in and around the city of Barcelona.

In this blog you will find places to drink it and the most relevant festivals and fairs. In the future we can explore more products and types, if you want.

TOP 10 BARS:

1. HomoSibaris: Plaça Osca 4. Metro L1/L3/L5 Plaça de Sants (15 minutes walk from the school, 5 minutes by metro)
In a lovely square in the Sants neighbourhood, (more…)

As a teacher I cannot stop laughing at the bad English translations by Spanish speakers.
Sometimes it’s because of Google, which does its best, but it’s not human. Sometimes it’s through linguistic carelessness, but whatever it is, they’re hilarious.

Sometimes sayings in Spanish become incomprehensible sayings for the English. Here are a few of my favourites:

- “Once a day” translated as ‘once veces al día’. I hope they’re not talking about siestas!

- “From lost to the river” – a translation of the saying “de perdidos al río”, which we use to express that since the situation is impossible you might as well do what you want. Better said “out of the frying pan and into the fire”!

- “Exit”translated by “Éxito” rather than SALIDA.

- “For tasters, the colours”, a terrible translation of “para gustos, los colores”… An expression we use to highlight individual freedom and the multitude of human tastes. “Each to their own” is a more understandable translation!

- “All the fish is sold here”, translation of the Spanish “Aquí está todo el pescado vendido”, used when there is nothing left to do in a place or situation.

- “To throw the house through the window” from the Spanish saying “tirar la casa por la ventana”, used when we exceed expenses for a special occasion… you would be more likely to hear “to push the boat out”.

- “To drink even the water out of the vases” this is without doubt my favourite. From the popular pure Spanish saying “Beberse hasta el agua de los jarrones”, which we use when a person hasn’t stopped drinking all day or night.

To be continued!

Anita

Hello again and a happy new year!

Here’s a blog to help you start 2013 in the best possible way!!!

There is a whole other Barcelona out there full of traditional, old bars. In these bars, homemade vermouth is sold on tap and time stands still. Maybe they stopped in 1962, maybe be was 1974 or even 1999 but when you enter one of these bared, you can’t help but notice that you’re in another era. It’s like a photograph of a Barcelona that once was.
So here you are, this is my way of introducing you to them. You are bound to fall in love!
In these bars you have to order vermouth and a little tapas dish. They are always cheap (more…)

Hola

I wanted to share some of my favourite places close to the school with you all: they are all within 15 minutes walk. Why not make a trip and don’t forget to let me know what you think of them!!!

Bar Olimpia
Located between el Paralelo and la Ronda Sant Pau, you get there within 10 minutes if you follow the road that the school is on. It has a retro feel and is tucked away in an old shopping street, it is a place which is full of history and with cheap, high quality tapas.All their products are homemade and local to the region. I recommend Asturian cheese platter, the selection of catalan sausage and the house vermouth. It´s only a 10 minute walk away!

Bar Calders:
This bar is (more…)

Hi everyone

As many of you may well know, I am rather passionate about wine and I never go very long without completing another course to find out more about this hobby of mine.

For if it were of interest to any of you, today I am going to talk about the most recent course that I did which was quite attractively named: Cheese, wine and foie gras, a marriage made in heaven. Furthermore, if it interests you, you yourselves can take part in this course, starting from the 23rd April 2012 onwards, taking place on Mondays from 6.30pm-8pm. The course lasts (more…)

 Hi everyone

On Wednesday the 30th, to coincide with turning on the Christmas lights, the Amazing Passeig de Gracia is going to offer all kinds of activities and will stay open until midnight.

This is an event that should not be missed! We’ll give you a quick summary of the best events right here.

Go into the most luxurious hotels in Barcelona and drink cocktails, see live music (in Hotel OMML), try haute cuisine specialities (in Hotel Alexandra, Hotel Condes de Barcelona and Hotel Mandarín Oriental). Enjoy a glass of cava in the Hall (in Hotel Avenida Palace) or watch concerts while sampling the gastronomic menus designed especially for this night (in Hotel Claris, bosanova en directo). You can also try the most fashionable cocktails in the world in the five star Hotel Mandarín Oriental, or sip them while you admire pieces of art from the world of fashion in Hotel Majestic. Or if you have a sweet tooth, why not try biscuits dipped in the very best chocolate in Hotel Alma.

The shops are offering DJ performances and discounts of up to 70 per cent, in Custo and Berska for instance. So pick up some Christmas shopping along the way, with more discounts on offer in Calcedonia, Mango and many more!

Everywhere promises to attract celebrities, offer music, drinks, presents and great discounts.

There is a grand tour of luxury fashion, and the design school of Barcelona will be giving workshops and putting on catwalk shows in the street.

It is sure to be a great night, and it all kicks off at 8pm.

I’ve already cancelled everything in my schedule! I can’t wait to try the marvellous food and drinks, and see all the glamour. Are you going to let yourself miss out, or will we be seeing each other amongst all the lights and all the surprises?

You can see all the information at: http://www.theshoppingnight.com

Cheers,

Anita

Hi!

My name is Anita, and as those of you who know me well, know that I am a huge fan of Spanish wines.

This week we are running an interesting activity- An Introduction to Wine Tasting.

So, to get you in the mood, I have decided to start a series of blogs dedicated to wine…

- The first one will be about the different areas and their characteristics;
- The second one will be about Catalan wineries and wines;
- The third about white wines and some recommendations;
- The fourth about red wines and some more recommendations.

So, are you ready?

WINE PRODUCING AREAS IN SPAIN

Spain is the third largest wine producer in the world and places a lot of effort and importance in their export market. Although wine production has been around for thousands of years, within the last few decades wineries have modernized to such a huge extent and the concept of the “wine culture” is becoming more and more commonplace, acquiring followers from all over the world.

Within Spain, wines are separated by (more…)

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…)