Music in the Parks Festival

If you hear this program for the first time don't worry you haven't missed anything as Music in the parks festival is held every year in Barcelona city, So you can attend this lovely and relaxing event this summer. This music show is for open air concert lovers. In 2014 Barcelona events are really full with many concerts and theatre shows. From all around the world many people try to attend these shows every summer in 2014. In Barcelona city, every single day is full with many activities. Any person can attend at least one event. Music in the Parks organization is held at various parks. You can have chance to watch great music concerts held by young musicians. In Music in the Parks Barcelona program there are two different shows based on Jazz and municipality band. From June to August you will see young jazz musicians on Wednesdays and Fridays at 10.00 pm in Ciutadella Park and in July you can listen to performances of young musicians based on classical music concert from Thursdays to Saturdays in different parks. Every Thursdays from July to August it's likely to watch municipal band performances. Barcelona 2014 events are not only these ones. If you wonder about events in July 2014 in Barcelona city please follow Barcelona city travel guide. We hope you can find an enjoyable event that you will like. Enjoy your holiday in Barcelona city this summer. Don't miss out upcoming 2014 events in Barcelona city.

For a detailed program you can check on this address: www.bcn.cat/parcsijardins

Grec Festival in Barcelona

This July will be great in Barcelona city. Numerous events whole July will be held out in a summer fest concept. If you plan a journey to Barcelona city in July 2014 then this festival may be just for you. Every year since 1976 Grec Festival has been held in Catalan world. On Montjuic mountain a quarry which wasn't used that time was converted to an open-air stage and it took an example of the theatre at Epidaurus. Every year in July this Grec Festival in Barcelona is held. The events don't only consist of theatre plays but there are also music concerts, exhibitions, symposiums, dramaturgy workshops including readings or writing. Generally events are in English with Catalan subtitles. If you plan a Barcelona city travel and are lover of art then you shouldn't miss out this fest in July 2014. In Barcelona city there are many activities to do in summer and this Grec Festival is only one of these. You can check the events category to see all activities in Barcelona city so while you plan your vacation in Barcelona you will have chance to spend your days in full. We will write about events in July 2014 in Barcelona again. You may see and choose the best events which suit you from our articles named Barcelona events 2014 July. Don't miss out upcoming events in Barcelona City. We hope you will have great time. To book up your agenda during your holiday please follow your Barcelona city travel guide.

For a detailed festival program you can check this address: http://barcelonacultura.bcn.cat/

Parc Guell in Barcelona - An Antoni Gaudi Work

In Barcelona city, you may come across many tourist attractions and may be sometimes your agenda will be full during your stay in Barcelona. In this article we tried to give information about an engineering marvel located in Barcelona. Park Guell in Barcelona city is one of these most fantastic places to see when you are on holiday. As we told before Antoni Gaudi is the greatest architecture of Catalan world and Park Guell is an artisanal project again belongs to Antoni Gaudi. Park Guell is located on the hill of El Carmel in the Gracia district of Barcelona. Earlier, the park wasn't intended to be a park.

When we have a look at the history of Parc Guell we see that actually this area was thought to include many residential garden village similar to English model including sixty-single houses. Eusebi Guell one of Antoni Gaudi's friend asked him to carry out this project. Gaudi started building the houses in this area until 1914 when they understood that this project was totally a failure as Guell couldn't sell a single house. The project was carried out 14 years. After this failure Gaudi wanted to buy a house with his savings which was built by one of his collaborators. Gaudi and his family with his father lived in this park until 1926. That's why there is Gaudi House Museum in Park Guell.

After 1922, Park Guell was opened to public visit and since then it's possible to visit Gaudi House Museum, the houses and the park itself. There are magnificient mosaic constructions in Park Guell. The park offers you a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere while wandering around. As in all Gaudi's work, he incorporated many religious, nationalism, mysticism and ancient poetry to the park. Gaudi was a real Catalan architecture. Stairs and pavilion parts of the park were designed by Gaudi. The parts of pavilion look like Hansel and Gratel's house. The houses in the park remind you wandering in a fairy tale. The stairs on the entrance of the park were designed by Gaudi and lizard figure became symbol of the Park and Barcelona city also. Here on the stairs you will see a marvelous trencadis ceramic patterns. They are worth to see while you are in Barcelona city travel.

To be able to visit the park area and houses you don't have to pay anything but if you would like to visit monumental area of the park it's necessary to pay around 8€. Please remember that if you visit Sagrada Familia Basilica, too you can buy economical ticket to visit both Park Guell and the basilica. There are two houses which were completed during Gaudi's time for housekeepers and visitors.

You will need to pay for Gaudi House Museum but it's worth to see while you are in Park Guell. You may feel Gaudi's life a little bit as he and his family lived in that house between 1906 and 1926. The house was designed by another architecture called Francesc Berenguer. In the museum you can see some Gaudi's furniture and drawings. 

From the Park there is a fantastic Barcelona city scenery which offers you a panoramic view. You can access Park Guell by metro or touristic buses but when you get off the metro ( Lesseps metro stop) you need to walk for a while and go up the hill. There are escalators to access the upside of the park so it won't be hard to wander around. Due to its unique design, Park Guell was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1984. In Park Guell, you will see library, a playground for children, cafe and fountains. You can bring your dog with you if you like. The Park is open all year from 8.00 am to 21.00 pm. 

While you plan a Barcelona city travel try to find out best places to visit. As there are lots of things to do in Barcelona city we suggest you follow a real Barcelona city travel guide so that you will have a great and unforgettable vacation in Barcelona city. When we discover a new place it's good idea to see all the structures, monuments or art of works which symbolize the city itself. As Antoni Gaudi is one of the best symbols of Barcelona city, it may be necessary to see all works of him. Here is a great video explaining every little detail about Park Guell so after you watch that video you may want to visit Park Guell much more:). Enjoy watching...

A Food Tradition - Tapas-

In Spain people live to eat not eat to live! So we guess that you should know the traditions of local people about food and drink in Barcelona city. One of the best Spanish dishes is Tapas. Actually this is not a main course but it is name given for a collection of small dishes which consists of many different food kinds such as slices of bread or meat, a bowl of almonds, meatballs with sauce or skewer with pickles. So in this article we are going to mention about what is tapas, what is there in tapas, which tapas restaurants are the best, the history of tapas and how to order tapas? 

What is Tapas?

Tapas is a general name for a collection of wide variety of small dishes such as appetizers or snacks  served on a plate in Spanish cuisine. So Tapas is a name and it consists of different food types served warm or cold. It is chosen for an entire meal but sometimes tapas lovers can order a few different plates of tapas to make a main course. In Central American Cultures ''bocas'' is used instead of tapas and in Mexico ''botanas'' is also used to indicate small dishes collection as tapas.

The History of Tapas

Tapas idea has arisen from the history of Spain itself with the help of incorporating of other cultures throughout history. Meeting olive after Spanish came across with Romans, invasion of North Americans brought almonds, citrus fruits and spices have tried to form a type of dishes in Spanish cuisine.

When are Tapas plate served best?

In our earlier articles we had mentioned that people in Barcelona and all Spanish give a really big importance on dinner. They generally eat dinner between 9 and 11 pm. and for lunch people in Barcelona prefer time between 2 and 4 pm. So if you try different tapas types you can choose noon and the time before dinner is served. Of course this suggestion is for travelers whom like to act as local people:) . You can try tapas any time you want but you should know that in Barcelona, tapas is preferred for appetizer. That's why it's called mini-menu. For a tourist there is no exact time to try new things. So feel free while giving order tapas that you choose.

Types of Tapas

There are many kinds of tapas also vegaterian. As you can make your own plate there will no problem to choose your best mini dishes. Here we would like to give some general tapas names and kinds. Generally tapas consist of traditional food cooked in modern style. It is possible to taste tapas consist of goat cheese with tomato jam, mushrooms on iberico ham. For vegetarian tapas you can try aubergine in tempura with grated cheese and bread with olive oil and romanesque sauce plus a scalloped grilled cheese and a white sauce with bread. Some vegeterian tapas names are cojonudos, Banderillas, patatas bravas, brie cheese with roasted garlic. ( pictures from right to left the first picture tapas' name is cojonudos which is not vegaterian.)

                      

Non vegetarian tapas names are ham croquettes, mondaditos de Berenjena (eggplant, chicken & peppers), empanadillas gallegas, ham, cheese and chorizo with bread and pulpo gallego ( galician style octopus).

                  

Generally tapas dishes are flavored with garlic, paprika, chilies, salt, saffron and olive oil. Seafood tapas are generally consist of squid, anchovies, mackerel, sardines in a tomato based sauce. In Barcelona city, it's easy to find all kinds of tapas at bars. If you will taste tapas for the first time we suggest you select a good tapas bar in Barcelona city. When you plan a Barcelona city travel, it's good to know earlier best tapas restaurants if you like to try new tastes.

Best Tapas Bars in Barcelona City

If you are going to try Catalan cuisine then you had better search for a best tapas bars in Barcelona city. According to travelers and timeout magazine some best tapas restaurants in Barcelona are;

Quimet i Quimet Restaurant which is open from Monday to Friday between noon and 4pm, 7pm and 10.30pm. On Saturdays and holidays it is open from noon to 4pm. The restaurant is in the centre. The dishes are generally canned food but montaditos which is sculpted tapas served on bread is great. Apart from this you can try salmon sashimi with cream cheese, honey and soy or cod, passata, and black olive paté. Please prepared to its hectic atmosphere so try to arrive earlier. Generally tapas bars serve you standing which enables you make conversation with people easier. You can access there by using Metro L2 or L3.

El Jabali tapas restaurant can be a good choice if you want to try best tapas in Barcelona city. It serves best patatas bravas, chicken salad and cured sausage. There is a terrace on top if you would like to sit and have a look around. It is open every day but monday from 9am to 2.30 am. You can access there by using Metro L2 or L3.

La Taverna Del Clinic tapas restaurant is a very unique local restaurant. If you like hanging around like local, this restaurant may be a good choice. You can try creamy morels with foie, a sticky oxtail stew made with Priorat wine or a tiny skillet of chips, fried agg and crispy jamon. The octopus igloo is really worth to taste. The restaurant is open between Monday and Friday from 7.30 am to 11.30 pm. On Saturdays it's open from 1.00 pm to 11.30pm. You can access there by using metro L5.

Above tapas are general ones and there are other types of tapas. As you see, it's not a specific plate so it can consists of many different type of food. So it can be a good idea try any kind of tapas in Barcelona city to try a local taste on your Barcelona city travel.

At restaurants it's easy to see different names for tapas. Here below there are general tapas names that you may come across.

Raciones: You will come across a price for  raciones and tapas separately. It is the same dishes but racione word is used for bigger portion. This is the only difference. So if you are hungry you can select raciones.

Pinchos: This kind of tapas is used for dishes served on slice of bread and as we mentioned above in Quimet i Quimet restaurant you can see many samples of pinchos.

Tips for ordering tapas at restaurants;

In Barcelona city, tapas are mostly served in crowded bars and people usually stand but of course there are tables to sit. Firstly you should tell the waiter that you are going to eat while drinking something. Another tip to order tapas is as the restaurant will be crowded make sure the person taking order see you. If you don't know the exact quantity for your tapas you can ask the waiter about the right portion of tapas you order. They will help you about that. Some tapas are served hot so when you order they will heat your tapas for a while and after that you can grab your tapas but don't worry that they will take your attention when your tapas is ready.

When you plan a travel to Barcelona city, it's important to know what you eat or drink. As we don't want you regret about your vacation in Barcelona city, we try to inform you about local and Catalan cuisine so that your holiday can be perfect. We hope we can be your best Barcelona city travel guide.

Here is a tapas video showing some types of tapas in Barcelona city. You can have a look at this delicious tapas before you arrive in Barcelona city...