Sarah Everitt shares her daily struggle with improvisation addiction that has led to her 5th term of improv classes. She encourages you to become addicted too!

An old wooden door adorned with a fresco of graffiti on a dark, narrow street in the Born doesn’t look like the obvious place for an addiction to begin. Or at least not the kind you’d expect. It was my first class from Barcelona Improv Group (BIG). I’d signed up the week before in a fit of late night bravado. So I took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

Just as Lucy emerged from an old, wooden wardrobe into the magical land of Narnia, I stepped through that door into a world where anything is possible. Whatever is real for you becomes real for your scene partner, and before you know it, you’re on a mission to peel a banana on the moon with a priest, venture on a disastrous first date with a stormtrooper, or attend a spa where the only treatments are given by kittens licking your feet. The fantastic Barcelona Improv Group teachers create a safe space where you can let loose, form connections with others, and just play like a kid. Is it addictive? Hell yeah!

Gemma, James, Nina & Alan slideshow

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The bread at La Fabrique in Poble Sec

This month, Poble Sec and I will have enjoyed a full year of blissful cohabitation. One of the reasons I love living in Poble Sec is because it feels so homely and laid back. The streets are narrow and you generally get to know your neighbours in ways you weren’t quite expecting, but with that comes a sense of community, of closeness. Although I must admit to crossing Parallel on occasion, I regularly enjoy spending a whole day without venturing much further afield than the Sant Antoni metro station. So, I wanted to share my perfect day in Poble Sec and Sant Antoni (to which the subtitle could probably be “A day spent eating and drinking in Poble Sec and Sant Antoni”).

My perfect day would be at the weekend – I like the buzz that occurs at weekends. They feel special somehow, like a lesser version of the feeling you get at Christmas. I love cooking so I often like to start my day with a bit of breakfast at home. And if there’s one thing that makes breakfast special, it’s a croissant, or better yet (if I’m feeling really extravagant) a pain aux chocolats aux amandes from La Fabrique (c/ Radas, 35). This bakery is by far my favourite, all their breads are sourdough and organic – and absolutely delicious. Having grown up in France I’m a harsh judge when it comes to croissants and have not quite been able to come to terms with the lard croissants you sometimes find here in Spain. Unsurprisingly perhaps, and a testimony to my tremendous if unknowing bias, one of the owners/bakers is French. Oh là là… Read the rest of this article…