Café Marti, c/ Consell de Cent, 369

“Of all the most beautiful, perfect days I’ve ever had in my life, I think it’s safe to say that a fair number of them have happened in the incredible city of Barcelona. On its best days, Barcelona is like a dream and you keep thinking “I can’t believe this is actually happening to me.”

So what are the ingredients for having such a perfect day? Well, I don’t know what they are for you, but here’s my idea of a perfect day in my favorite city.

The perfect Barcelona day is beautifully warm, and somewhere between April and September, as long as it’s hot enough to gently warm your skin up as soon as you step into the sun.  After having a relaxed lie-in, I’d stroll down to the corner and visit my favorite café, the gorgeous Café Marti, (c/ Consell de Cent, 369) to indulge in a café con leche and perhaps one of their delicious whole-wheat croissants over a newspaper. Mmm…a gentle start to the day. Read the rest of this article…

Facebook Pages are a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening at your favourite places without going to their website all the time. Events, offers, photos. Just ‘like’ the page and their latest news appears in your news feed. If they keep their pages up to date that is!

Below is a list of Facebook Pages (and a few Groups) relating to Barcelona. I realise there are hundreds out there. But these are the ones I’ve come across during my time here (and some friends pages). I hope you find something of interest.

Guides

• Barcelona Metropolitan – The mummy and daddy of Barcelona Guides. It has articles on all sorts of topics. Great restaurant posts from the annoying (only because she has such a fab job) Tara Stevens.
• Barcelona Miniguide – The slightly wayward child of Barcelona Guides. So therefore my preferred guide.
• Hidden Treasures BCN – A Facebook only endeavour. It’s all in the title.
• Le Cool Barcelona – Want to know what’s really going on in Barcelona? Le Cool has the low-down on some of the quirkier events.
• Me Encanta Barcelona – I love Barcelona too!
• Videos from Barcelona – A video only city guide. The 80 or more videos are hosted by the irrepressible Gina Tost.

Check out more Facebook Pages for the arts, music, bars, food and… a butifarra private members club?!… Read the rest of this article…

View of Barcelona from Palau Nacional, Montjuïc

“A warm, late September day would be the perfect time for me to enjoy this Ciudad Condal to its fullest. The heavy crowds of noisy tourists have vanished, and I can have my Barcelona back. I would start the day with a cortado sweetened with honey, and a freshly baked croissant, or cruasán, as the Spanish call them. I like my breakfast extra-long, when I can sit in the rays of the sun, enjoying that morning energy you can almost touch.

The fresh, vibrant air seems to animate everything around, from people to palm-trees, and the city’s green monk parakeets alike. Sipping on my coffee, I scribble down some ideas for articles, or just doodle in my diary, letting my rested mind crochet unwritten stories. I like to reserve my mornings for writing, my biggest passion, and my profession as well. Read the rest of this article…

Jardins de Mossèn Costa i Llobera, Montjuïc

You could spend a whole weekend walking around Montjuïc and not see everything there is to see. Of course there are the museums, the Olympic stadium and swimming pool, Montjuïc castle and the frankly underwhelming Poble Espanyol. But there are also a number of individual parks within Montjuïc itself that are all worth a visit. One that is tucked away on the eastern side facing the sea is the Jardins de Mossèn Costa i Llobera, named after the 19th century Catalan poet, Miguel Costa i Llobera, it is also known as the Cactus Park. This garden of succulents and semi-tropical plants perched on the steep side of Montjuïc below the Hotel Miramar, is a perfect place to escape the city, although you do get a certain degree of noise from the port and Ronda del Litoral below. Read the rest of this article…

Bar Mendizábal, Raval (Oh-Barcelona.com)

“My perfect day is inspired by a First World problem, if ever there was one. I apologise in advance if I sound ungrateful, (and I’m really not) but Barcelona sometimes just has a little bit too much going on. For instance, I’d love to try more of the tapas bars, drinking dens and restaurants, old and new, that I hear about, but I don’t want to end up looking like Jabba the Hut on the beach every weekend. When I’m on the beach, nibbling on some watermelon, I still feel guilty – because I’m lying in the sun and not, say, checking out an exhibition that I know is about to finish. I’m not really tugging on any heart-strings, I know, but if we’re talking about a perfect day, and since those rarely happen, then I’d fill mine with low-key indulgence and guilty pleasures.

Santa María del Mar

For maximum clarity of conscience, this day would take place in October, when my bikini has been safely packed away for another year. It would fall just after payday, and would be enjoyed with a like-minded, undemanding visitor, such as my sister.

We’d start off with a bit of late breakfast and a look through the paper at the most unpretentious café in the world – Bar Mendizábal, across the street from me (c/ Junta de Comerç, 2) – then would wander over to the Gótico to begin our assault on the off-high street shops. We’d coo over the lovely accessories and separates at Le Fortune on Avinyó, then swoop onto El Born, the richest hunting ground of all. We might get little a taste of the spine-tingling Gothic interior of Santa Maria del Mar, and remind ourselves of what we can enjoy on a day with a more cerebral bent. (And we can try to spot the FC Barcelona logo in one of its stained windows, too.) Read the rest of this article…

I got an email from a website called CityBlink this morning. They said I could use any of their videos I liked on this website. I was just about to hit the delete key as I do on most unsolicited email but thought I’d take a quick peek at who this bunch were.

CityBlink provide short 1 minute videos of Barcelona that are nicely edited and although they are presumably paid for producing the videos of these locations (at least the hotels and apartments surely) there are a broad range of topics. With videos covering sights, art & culture, hotels, apartments, restaurants, bars & cafés and shopping, these videos are a great way to check out the city.

Personally I’d like to see content from some slightly quirkier places and not so many upmarket establishments. But I guess they’re the ones that pay. Read the rest of this article…

Arc de Triomf

“I have had many perfect days in Barcelona and inevitably they involve three things… sunshine, beach and friends.

For me, there are actually two types of perfect Barcelona days, one involves the discovery of another hidden treasure in the city that I didn’t know. The other is to introduce my friends to this magical city that I love.

My perfect day starts with a morning run to the Arc de Triomf along its avenue lined with palm trees and beautiful wrought iron lamps then on through the green oasis of Parc de la Ciutadella. At 10am, it is time for friends and breakfast, cafe con leche and a pain au chocolat (ok, maybe they are french, but they are still good here and France is just around the corner). And a freshly squeezed zumo de naranja (orange juice).

Read the rest of this article…