Each year in August in Gracia the streets come to life with the Festa Major de Gracia.

The festival lasts for one week starting on the 15th and sees the streets of the neighbourhood transformed with amazing decorations. There are celebrations throughout the neighbouhood which is in the upper part of they city which has a relaxed atmosphere with many squares, bars and cafes.

Each street in the neighbourhood competes to win the prize of the best decorated street in the area. Imaginative themes are chosen for each street which are then portrayed in canopies, balcony decorations and huge figures which decorate each road.

There are various concerts and shows which take place during the week, to make sure you do not miss out visit the programme at the web page: http://www.festamajordegracia.cat/

Mecal Air Festival

The Mecal Air Festival returns to Barcelona for the fourth consecutive year.

This popular event lasts throught June, July, August and Septemeber and offers open air short films and music in the beautiful setting of Poble Espanol every Friday.

Enjoy an evening at the festival during you stay in Barcelona this summer. There is a variety of films on offer with themed nights including psychedelia, horror, comedy, love, and heavy metal.

Program

JULY

6/07: What miedo me das (Special Terror)
13/07: It has nothing fabulous vendiendo (Special Advertising Creative)
20/07: Soy rare, instead of sing Speaking (Special Music)
27/07: Tócame here. Not here, here. (Special Sex)

AUGUST
3/08: Soy a loser with super powers (Special antihéroe)
10/08: We have to speak (Special Boyfriend of mierda)
17/08: Hell yeah! (Heavy Metal Special)
24/08: Tócame here. Not here, here. (Special Sex, part 2)
31/08: Hearts. Por cierto, how are you llamabas? (Special love)

SEPTEMBER
7/09: Oh my god there is no future (Special World’s End)
14/09: Terror in the Forest
22/09: Best of 2012 part 1 Mecal Air
29/09: Best of 2012 part 2 Mecal Air

Monastery of Montserrat

Santa Maria de Montserrat is a Benedictine abbey located on the mountain of Montserrat in Catalonia.

The monastery is Catalonia’s most important religious retreat and people from Barcelona and all over Catalonia make overnight hikes  to watch the sunrise from the heights of Montserrat.

Since the 12th century, pilgrims have been drawn to the mountain to see the miraculous statue of the Black Madonna (La Moreneta).

Monsterrat is located approximately 48km west of Barcelona. You can take a train from Barcelona to Monsterrat and from there you can take the funicular train or cable car up the moutain to the monastary.

If you enjoy walking there are also some interesting walks around the mountain. You can chose between a number of routes which all have spectacular views of the unusual rock formations as well as views of the surrounding Catalonian countryside.

For more information about the monastery and the museum, visit the web page:

http://www.abadiamontserrat.cat/(S(wedzcwo1nmcd50yxqu5vvacq))/Defaultangles.aspx

Poble Espanyol- Barcelona´s Spanish Village

This walled village set on the Montjuic mountain of Barcelona is a great day out. The magical village with its beautiful buildings  has an open air museum as well as a large range of shops, restaurants and art and craft workshops.

The Poble Espanyol was designed by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafach in 1929 for the World Exhibition of Barcelona to showcase the diversity of Spanish culture. The idea was to show an idea of what may be the ideal model of a Spanish village. 117 buildings, streets and squares replicating characteristics from the surrounding towns and villages in the peninsula have been reproduced to scale. The unique village brings together the architectual beauty from the different regions of Spain.

The village is also home to a small community of craftspeople. There are over 40 craft workshops where you can discover the secrets and methods of a large variety of disciplines; workshops and demonstrations take place in glass blowing, ceramics, jewellery making and leather treating to name just a few.

This traffic free and peaceful village is a great place to learn and discover the history and culture of Spain. There are many great cafes and restaurants to relax and enjoy Catalan cuisine, live music and shows- experience a different kind of meal in unique surroundings.

When in Barcelona you must try the typical Catalan/Valencian dish of Arros Negre- Black Rice.

The dish’s dark color comes from squid ink which also enhances its seafood flavor.

Fideuà negra (black noodles in Catalan) is a variation made with noodles instead of rice and is usually served with aioli.

Below is a recipe for the dish, why not try it!

BLACK RICE

Ingredients:
– Rice (about 80 grams per person).
– 400 grams of “sepionet” (tiny squid).
– 150 grams of raw, peeled shrimp.
– 2 garlic cloves.
– 1 green pepper.
– 2 ripe tomatoes.
– 2 sachets of squid ink.
– 1 liter of fish stock.
– salt
– olive oil.

Instructions:
In a paella dish fry the very finely chopped garlic in oil without burning, add the diced pepper and fry until softened. Add the prawns and squid for 2 minutes to brown. Remove the shrimp and keep to one side.

Next add the skinned tomato cut into small pieces. The next step is to add the ink and stir. Add the rice, distributing it evenly across the pan, then add the fish stock. Check the salt if necessary. Lower the heat and leave so that the rice absorbs the liquid (approximately 15 to 20 minutes depending on the type of water and rice).Five minutes before the end add the prawns on top. Turn off  the heat and leave to rest for about ten minutes whilst covered.

And for desert how about the typical ‘Crema Catalana’

Crema Catalana or Crema de Sant Josep, is a Catalan dish similar to crème brûlée. It is traditionally served on Saint Joseph’s Day, March 19, although nowadays it is consumed at all times of year.

Ingredients:

1 litre milk, 8 egg yolks, 50g cornstarch, 150g of sugar plus a little more to burn on top, 1 cinnamon stick and the skin of one lemon without the white part.

Directions:

Put the milk in a saucepan apart from one cupful which you should keep to dissolve the cornstarch. With the milk, add the cinnamon stick and lemon peel. Heat over a medium temperature.

In a large bowl pour the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch, mix well. When the milk is about to boil, remove from heat and pour through a strainer into the bowl of yolks. Be sure to stir with a wooden spoon to mix well and ensure there are no lumps, you can do with a whisk.

Now incorporate the entire contents of the bowl into the saucepan and put over low heat, cook stirring constantly until desired consistency. Then pour the crème brûlée in earthenware pots. Allow to cool to room temperature and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

The magic fountians at Montjuic are a must see when you come to Barcelona.

GREC FESTIVAL BARCELONA 2012

Saturday 30th June 2012 to Tuesday 31 July 2012

The Grec Festival of Barcelona is the city’s main annual date with theatre, dance, music, circus and other stage arts.

The Grec has become not only the most outstanding summer cultural attraction in Barcelona, but also a key reference on the European festival calendar. The festival’s title is taken from its main venue, where the opening sessions invariably take place: the Teatre Grec, or Greek Theatre, on Montjuïc, an open-air theatre built for the 1929 Universal Exhibition.

More information on the daily programme and tickets will be available soon at the following we page: http://grec.bcn.cat/en

The Xampanyeria is a bar you must not miss while you are here in Barcelona!

Founded in 1969 the bar still keeps its traditional atmosphere of an old bustling sailor’s tavern. Traditional Catalan Cavas are on offer as well as delicious authentic tapas and bocadillos.  The bar is oftern very crowded but definatley worth a visit if you want to taste the amazing cavas with the atmosphere of a typical lively Spanish bar.

There is also a shop at the back of the bar offering wines and cavas as well as a variety of cured meats, sausages and cheeses, so why not take a few bottles home and enjoy the Catalan traditions from your apartment!

Celebrate the start of summer in Barcelona with the festivities of Sant Joan!

This is a traditional festival in Spain to mark the longest day of the year and the beginning of the summer season. There are 3 symbols of Sant Joan: fire, water and herbs.

-Fire symbolises purity and so you may see bonfires lit around the city.

-Water symbolises healing so some people decide to bathe in the sea.

-Herbs symbolise remedy and some say that their healing qualities are increased 100 times over on the night of Sant Joan.

However, the main event of the night of Sant Joan is the fire aspcet. In Catalan the evening is called ´Nit del Foc´- Night of Fire. There are huge firework celebrations accross the city. A lot of people chose to watch the displays from the beach  where there is a great atmosphere with food, drinks and music.

The typical food of the festival is called the ´Coque´. These are bread cakes with an aniseed flavour which you will see in the bakeries accross the city. They can be sweet containting fruits, nuts and seeds or savoury with crackling or pine nuts.