I wake to the sound of Erica, Pablo and Chica purring at the foot of our bed, the smell of bread baking in the kitchen. A warm breeze floats in from the balcony and I rise to prepare a cafetiere of coffee and bash some eggs around in a pan. Rosana checks on our limonero (lemon tree) and yelps with joy as she discovers the beginnings of our first lemons. “It’s like a miracle!”

Ben preparing to cruise the boardwalk

The “Let’s go to the beach!” moment

Once the caffeine has revived us, we kiss our cats goodbye for the day, smear on a layer of suncream that smells like coconut and childhood memories and head out into the street. Rosana’s on her bike, I’m on my longboard.

We roll past the bakery and the Ethiopian restaurant next door, past the bodega where we only go to drink but not to eat because the camerero has the hands of a coal miner. Read the rest of this article…

I have been living in Barcelona for three years now and, while here, I’ve had a lot of days that have gone perfectly. For this article, I am going to combine a few of these perfect days to make one really unforgettable day in Barcelona.

As many of my friends and family often come by to visit us in Barcelona, I need to come up with a variety of ideas regarding how to entertain them. Since they come more often now, I have to show them some unique places that are far from the touristic parts of Barcelona.

I am currently living in Eixample, so the majority will take place here, but I am also stepping out of my comfort zone to go to El Born, Horta and El Raval. Read the rest of this article…

Satan’s Coffee Corner, now in Barri Gòtic

I found my way to Barcelona about 8 years ago, with not much of a definite plan or a clear idea of how long I was planning on staying. I was in my early twenties at the time and the only thing I had a complete certainty for was photography. I found my way to IDEP where I ended up getting my bachelor degree and staying in this wonderful city for as long as I have.

I have developed a rather strange relationship with the Barcelona over the years, I love it and hate it and then love it again! But it has now become my home away from home.

A few years back I moved to Raval, where I now spend most of my days and it’s hands down one of my favourite areas of the city. In my daily routine I try to spread the local love and support my friends and small local businesses. I would start my day with coffee – it’s the one thing that never fails to get me out of bed. Read the rest of this article…

Plaça del Sol

“Me and Barcelona have a passionate relationship. It was love at first sight. Barcelona seduced me on its birthday, on the Mercè in September when everyone was invited to celebrate. We met on a dark street in Raval, where I was wined with sangría and dined with the cheapest and most heavenly tapas I had ever eaten. We looked at pictures of bullfighters on the wall and I was star struck. We went down to the port, bought a bottle of cava, laid down to watch the fireworks. “I never want to leave your side” I said quietly, so I didn’t. 5 years later we are still in love, a love equally as passionate as the first day we met.

…a swim in the ocean…

Barcelona is a master of all that is seduction. We meet in embraces on hot summer nights in dark narrow gothic streets, we steal kisses under the moonlight on the stairs of Santa Maria del Mar, and we get drunk on cheap wine in a restaurant in the Raval that has been there for a hundred years or more. We dance until the first rays of sun in the morning at the Port Olimpic, and end it all with a swim in the ocean when the city is just waking up. It’s the best date you’ve ever had, but it never ends. Read the rest of this article…

The Santa Caterina burger at Kiosko

Burgers – often derided especially in relation to McDonalds. And not the most traditional of Catalan foods. But the list of burger places in Barcelona just keeps growing and growing. A phenomenon of relatively recent years that has no sign of dying out.

I do love a good burger. Especially after my recent near death experience with a piece of steak. The allure of ground beef has appreciated ten-fold. So luckily for me burger restaurants (the posh term) seem to be springing up all over BCN. The much-loved Wushu was even turned into a burger bar by its owner Bradley Ainsworth.

In an interview with Le Cool Barcelona, Bradley said,

“Bacoa began almost by accident. I had the space closed for a couple of years and I wanted to sell it, but at a good price. So I set up Bacoa with the idea to sell it… and it turned out to be a hit. It was so successful that I decided to change Wushu into Kiosko, a new gourmet hamburger shop, which opened on January 14th.”

Read the rest of this article…