I spend half my time here alone as my partner works away, so of course the most perfect days are when he’s at home to enjoy this beautiful city with me, after all, that is why we moved here, for that “everyday perfect” lifestyle. April and May are my favourite times of year, not too hot but warm enough not to need a coat and not too busy with tourists. Russell makes the morning coffee as he always does and we sit in the living room as the sun streams through the window discussing our plan for the day. Coming from a seaside town, we both love to be near the water so spend a lot of time walking along the beach front and as a keen photographer, Barcelona is a great place for taking photos and today is a gloriously sunny day so I make sure I have my camera all packed up and off we head.

Beautiful Barri Gòtic

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Last Updated: 28th February 2019 – I intend to keep this post updated as people seem to find it useful and places keep moving or closing down. Any questions please leave a comment below.

Kitchen Shops in Barcelona

I realise kitchenware is not the most riveting of subjects for some but personally I do love a kitchen gadget. I like most gadgets, but as I’ve gotten older the kitchen gadget is my want. If I had a garden then I’m positive I’d like garden gadgets, but I have a 3m square terrace so the kitchen is my gadget domain.

Kitchen Shops in Barcelona: I’m not talking about shops selling fridges or dishwashers or whole kitchens. These are shops for people looking for that cool item that does a certain cooking task the perfect way. Or the perfect gift for a foodie friend. As well as of course great knives and cookware.

This started when I wanted to buy a Lékué Steam Case, one of those silicone jobs that can withstand the oven, the freezer, the dishwasher, and cats it seems. I thought I’d go on a little trawl of all the kitchen shops I knew and see what I could find. Read the rest of this article…

Don Quixote rode into Barcelona in the 16th century

An article from Hildy Snow about the wild side of Barcelona literature.

Most discussions about Barcelona as a literary city inevitably end up with people mentioning two books: Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind and Ildefonso Falcones’ Cathedral of the Sea. Not to knock these books – they’re good reads – but there’s so much more to the city’s literary universe than these bestsellers and their Barcelona literary brand of Gothic mystique and historical weightiness. The Catalan capital’s literary life goes back much, much further. Beyond the post-war struggles of Mercè Rodoreda’s La Plaça del Diamant, beyond the Civil War battlefields of George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia. All the way back to Cervantes, whose Don Quixote and Sancho Panza rode into Barcelona in the 16th century. For eons, Barcelona has served as the literary scene of romance, love, betrayal, adventure, friendship, familial conflict, mystery, crime and war. Read the rest of this article…

So I kept seeing this Munich brand everywhere. And then I saw a Munich concession in El Corte Inglés. And then I saw a Munich shop. And even a Munich shop for kids.

Who is this German brand that’s all pervasive all the way down here in Barcelona?

Well, Munich Sports are born and bred in Catalonia. They were founded in 1939 by Luís Berneda, the initial company name being ‘Berneda’, in the city of Sant Boi de Llobregat.

Munich Sports shoes started off as just that, footwear for sports, including rugby, handball and boxing. Read the rest of this article…