Travel Blog » Europe » Spain » Catalonia

Catalonia Travel Blogs

Background: Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II, but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). In the second half of the 20th century, Spain has played a catch-up role in the western international community; it joined the EU in 1986. Continuing challenges include Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorism and further reductions in unemployment.

Spain

Map of Spain

Spain's Flag

Hostels in Spain
Latest Catalonia Blog Entries
Catalonia Photos

By chrisj
September 2nd 2009

Football, Food and the History of the City of Barcelona Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

Casa Batlló

Its Wednesday and the week is flying. I went to bed on Tuesday night feeling relaxed and comfortable. The air-conditioning in the apartment has been a bonus and although the heat and humidity was still pretty high late into the evening I could enjoy the cool air at home. That was until the power blew in the apartment! I woke up in darkness, not because it was early but because the power was out. I hunted down the fuse box, however as my knowledge of Spanish electricity (in fact all electricity) starts at a very low base I wasn't too keen [View Full Entry]

By chrisj
September 1st 2009

Santa Caterina market and my search for casuelas Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

Street Art of Barcelona

Tuesday morning and its a pinch and a punch for the first of the month as I go in search for some casuelas. For the first time I have really felt the humidity as I wandered through el Born in the Barrio Gotico . In summer it is always hot in the old part of town as the heat gets trapped in the narrow streets, however the humidity must be at record levels, you could almost feel steam rising in front of you. First stop today was one of Barça's other fresh food markets at Santa Caterina. This is a [View Full Entry]

By chrisj
August 31st 2009

Gaudi , Miro, Picasso and Me Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

Welcome to Barcelona

I've now been in Barcelona for more than 24 hours and so far its been as enjoyable as I expected it would be. The weather has been warm (though more humid than I would have liked), the city full of energy and the food so far has not disappointed. Renting an apartment was probably a very wise decision on reflection. My apartment is large, clean and very central and with the flexibility to sleep-in (no cleaners knocking on your door to clean your room!!) and the ability to cook your own food when you want to makes it extremely affordable as [View Full Entry]

By SlavicNerd
August 31st 2009

ByeBye Barcelona! Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

Parc Guell

Day two in Barcelona, our last full day together, started around 10 when we woke up after a hot, uncomfortable night’s sleep on a shitty mattress. The plan was to hit up Corte Inglés for a) shampoo and soap, since I had left my stuff at Inés’ mistakenly, and b) get an outlet converter since Chris had left mine in Valencia. Well I had conveniently forgotten it was Sunday, when all the shops are closed all day long. Perfect. Our dreams of a cheap lunch from the supermarket were also crushed. Alas, instead we decided to soak up some Barcelona culture [View Full Entry]

By SlavicNerd
August 30th 2009

Last stop Barcelona Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

En la Botiguera

THe next morning we were up bright and early for our train to Barcelona, the final stop on our trip together. Inés and Javi drove us to the station at Xàtiva some 40 minutes away, since apparently the trains to Barcelona only came through there, and not Alcoi. The train ride itself was painless, though I was irritated to find out that despite our Preferente ticket status, we were not sitting in the lap of luxury nor were we getting food. Apparently that was only on EuroMed trains, and this one was Tarco. Whatever. Arriving in Barcelona it was surprisingly cool, [View Full Entry]

By Paul2323
August 26th 2009

Barcelona Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

Barcelona Wednesday 29th July (Paris to Barcelona). Today had had to get up to pack our bags and checkout. Our flight wasn't until 10:30pm, so we all did our washing in a laundromat, and took turns of going on the internet while others sorted out washing (which ended up taking several hours trying to get it all to dry in the dryers). We left about 5pm to get on the trains and buses to get to Beavis Airport. We arrived at Girona airport at 11:30pm and got a bus into the city of Barcelona arriving at 1:00am. We didn't have a [View Full Entry]

By touring
August 25th 2009

Barcelona, Spain Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

MG 1665

Hello, After seeing the Alhambra in Granada we woke and started our little morning routine. I like to get cafe con leche (coffee with milk) from a little cafe. It´s what we would call espresso and milk though. [No Norm, this is not like that sweet stuff in Miami, it´s just espresso and milk, the way it should be :)] Claire doesn´t drink coffee but usually has tea. We didn´t leave ourselves much time, only 45min to get out of the hostel and get to the train station. We usually can get to the train station fairly quick despite taking public [View Full Entry]

By SlavicNerd
August 24th 2009

Well...I made it! Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

Pretending to be happy

I guess I should start out saying that I am in Spain and that that is a blessing in itself. The day’s misery pales in comparison to yesterday’s, or rather, the day before yesterday’s MIERDA, but I still just don’t get why air travel and I don´t get along so often... At around 3pm yesterday I got a cab and left for round two of the pure bliss that is Logan airport., and really just post-9/11 air travel in general. Naturally my new AirFrance flight was already delayed half an hour, but given the fact that the weather wasn’t going to [View Full Entry]

By BENJIcampoverde
August 21st 2009

Acomodandome en Barcelona Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

A mi llegada a Barcelona, lo primero que hice fue organizarme en casa, con los compañeros de piso María Jose y Joaquin. Los dos, jóvenes: ella una ecuatoriana, de Quito, casado con él, español. Una visita a ikea sería suficiente para conseguir todo lo que necesitaría durante mis 6 meses en Barcelona. Tuve que comprar unas cosas, ya que de Alemania no traje mucho, pues vine con maletas llenas y hasta mi longboard de 1,50 metros, facturada como snowboard, 3 bultos en total. Algo que tendria que hacer es abrir una cuenta en el banco. No necesite mucho tiempo para [View Full Entry]

By Skyfire24x
August 21st 2009

Barça Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

Tourists Abound!

After getting the last seat on two different flights, I arrived in Barcelona on Sunday. My baggage didn't quite make it, but I didn't expect to make it myself let alone my bag, so no big loss. My Dad got here a couple hours later and together we took the train into the city. We headed to our simple but gorgeous hotel. One it's most attractive features is that it is right in the middle of Las Ramblas, the main tourist/strolling boulevard ... and right across the street from one of the largest markets. Food. What a great idea. :) I'm [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Europe » Spain » Catalonia

Catalonia Travel Blogs, page 6

Catalonia Travel Blogs

Spain