As a Sushi addict I have had my share of good and bad sushi restaurants in Barcelona and developed a sense of recognising the right sushi places. So let me share this knowledge with you before I start talking about one of my most recent new experiences at a real Japanese Sushi restaurant in Barcelona: Koyuki.

Finding real sushi

In order to distinguish the pseudo Japanese restaurants from the real sushi restaurants in Barcelona you have to know about Chinese restaurants.  This may sound strange but Chinese people own the majority of the pseudo Japanese restaurants. If you really are looking for real Japanese sushi keep in mind the following aspects. For instance the glazed windows you can find on the majority of Chinese restaurants tell that the owner of the so-called Japanese sushi place is actually Chinese. The lions and paper lanterns and other type of Chinese decorations tell you that the owner is Chinese. The signs above the door in bright lights tell you the owner is Chinese. If the waitresses are dressed like a geisha and the cook wears a kamikaze headband than get out of there!

On the hunt

On a midweek afternoon we went out on one of our weekly occurring missions to hunt for Japanese Sushi. With the urge in my mind and the water in my mouth craving for fresh raw quality sushi, I had my eager eye open for a new Japanese restaurant. We stumbled upon Koyuki on calle Corsega no.242.  The entrance looked like a real Japanese place and when we opened the door we were a 100% sure, this is what we were looking for: a piece of Japan in Barcelona. A most friendly Japanese man, with a face that seemed to tell his life story, guided us to the table. The waitress was just as friendly and fast.  Within no time we had the delicious sushi on our table. Koyuki has been around for some time now, in the nineties they came to Barcelona long before sushi became as popular as it is now.

The restaurant’s décor is tranquil and relaxed like at home. The food is outstanding, when you bite the sushi and taste the flavours you instantly know you are eating Japanese sushi. As usual we had the nigiri’s with salmon and tuna and the maki’s with salmon and tuna and the california maki’s and the occasional salad or chikin katsu. The fried chicken had that nice special sauce. It was absolutely delicious and it is hard to say whether it’s better or worse than Tempura Ya, which is also a very high quality sushi restaurant in Barcelona.  
I guess they share 1st place so far, but there remain a lot of sushi places that we still need to discover.

The price quality ratio is perfect; quality never comes cheap but doesn’t have to be unaffordable.  The finest well prepared sushi in combination with good service in a relaxed and cosy atmosphere makes the overall experience one to remember and definitely one to share.

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La Sagrada Familia in Figures :

• Years of construction : 128 (so far…)
• Completion year: 2026 ?
• Towers : 8
• Size : 12,800 m2
• Highest point : 170 m
• Stones employed so far:  22 different types
• People working on the site: around 350 persons
• Visitors: 2.5 millions each year
• Cost of the construction: € 18 million JUST for 2009…

When to go:

Obviously you should come very early to try to avoid queues. Sunday mornings are good because everybody partied the night before.

Get into la Sagrada Familia

Get into Gaudi House-Museum:

Good to know about La Sagrada Familia:

• Pay the lift 2.50€ for an amazing view on all Barcelona.
• Audio Guides are 4€ and REALLY draw your attention to details you might have missed without them.

What to see in La Sagrada Familia:

We won’t spoil everything here… Just go and discover!!

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Snow in Barcelona is so uncommon that we can’t even get a reliable answer on when the last time was that it snowed like this (Edit: Local media sources are saying the last time was 1993).  After 6 years living in Barcelona and I can remember snow one time, about a year ago, but it was nothing compared to this.

Barcelona weather in March is usually beautiful and sunny and quickly approaching summer, but alas, this March we find ourselves in a surprise winter wonderland.  The bus system has gone down, people are leaving work early, traffic is at a stand still and snowball fights are breaking out all over the place!

If you live here, grab whatever winter clothes you have and go out and play!  Stay as far away as traffic as you can though.  Drivers are not used to snow in Barcelona and the accident rate today must be through the roof. We shot some photos by our office (Diagonal/Paseo de Gracia area) so take a look and enjoy!

Benny

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Going to a VO cinema in Barcelona is always a nice thing to do and today more a social event instead of just catching up with the latest Hollywood blockbuster. VO stands for Version Original and indicates that the films are shown in the original language. VO Cinemas in Barcelona are also a great way to practice your Spanish skills, because almost every VO movie has Spanish subtitles. This way you can improve your Spanish vocabulary and enjoy a night out. In general a cinema ticket cost around 7 € but some cinemas offer special discounts (e.g. movies which are shown during the day or special student offers). If possible you should always check if the Barcelona VO Cinema offers tickets and/or reservations online. Queues can, especially during weekend evenings, be very long.

View VO Cinemas Barcelona in a larger map

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Gracia was once a small village that became part of Barcelona after the “Eixample” (the extension) was build at the end of the 19^th century. Gracia is situated directly above Eixample and as an originally tiny village it has a noticeablely different layout. The streets are narrow and short. There are a few longer streets such as Calle Verdi, which starts at the top of Placa de la Revolución and goes all the way up to Barcelona’s most famous parc: “Parc Guell designed by Antonio Gaudi”. The street is named after the world famous opera music composer from Italy: Guiseppe Verdi who lived from 1813-1901.

Calle verdi is one of, if not THE most famous street in Gracia Barcelona. It is so famous because of the bars, restaurants, boutique shops, night life and the beautiful tall trees that line it. The bars and restaurants are not just a restaurant or just a bar but are normally both at the same time. Calle Verdi has a rich variety of gastronomic establishments, for instance the wide variety of Arab cuisine; Lebanese Al Waha (no.16) Syrian Ugurit (no.11) and Amarit (no.18) Palestinian Askadinya (no.28) and an Iraqi restaurant. You will find the best bakeries with freshly baked bread where the locals stand in line early in the morning.

Bakery “Macxi pa” (no. 4) “A casa” the Portuguese bakery (no. 58 – highly recommended) and “Forn de st Tirs” Bakery (no.66) Like any other street in Barcelona there is always a Tapas bar to be found, and on Calle Verdi you can find “La Vila” (no.19) with daily fresh tapas, and “Verdi Bo Tapas” (no.30) next to the cinema and a popular place that has a garden terrace in the back and a nice atmosphere.

Restaurants and Bars

There are some quite unique restaurants on Calle Verdi as well. For instance, one of the few if not the only Iraqí restaurant “Mesopotamia” (no.63) that serves food and hospitality and the decor of Iraqi culture. It is often filled with people that like to hang out there and have a drink before they go to the cinema. Across the street you can find “Kibuka” (no.64) where Brazilian Japanese cuisine serves quality sushi.

The Bars in Calle Verdi have the same diversity. From the fancy French bar called “le Brignoire” (no.6) to a total dive bar “Canigó” (highly recommended) at the corner with the square “la Revolución” it is a small and not so clean place with cheap beer, a pool table, no air conditioning and mostly full with people. The term dive bar originates from the 1850’s when bars were only accessible for rich people and underground clandestine bars arose for all walks of life. These bars were actually below ground level. Currently it refers to a bar that is not so tight on its hygiene or decor. Canigó is a great place to go with friends and is usually packed. It’s definitely worth the visit.

Cine Verdi is a well-known cinema that shows original version movies (V.O.). One of the best places in the city to see V.O. movies and most of the movies they show have won prizes at one film festival or another. It’s also a great place to catch a movie since you have so many dinner options to choose from for either before or after the show. To see movie times check out their website.

In and around Calle Verdi

At the very bottom of Calle Verdi, in the Placa de la Revolución, is one of the best Italian ice cream shops in Barcelona. The former owners were two Italian ladies who rose to local celebrity status because of their delicious gelatos. There is often an hour-long line in the summer (Tip: Grab a ticket with your number and go do errands and then come back. Yes, the line can actually get that long). The Italian ladies sold the business just last year along with their top secret recipes. The new owners are quite friendly and the ice cream is still one of the best around.

One of the must must must have experiences is the Fiesta Mayor in Gracia. Usually held in August from the 15^th to the 21^st, it’s is the neighbourhood’s yearly celebration. Each of the Gracia streets spends months preparing and then decorate their street to be as impressive as possible. This is a topic we’ll cover extensively in future posts, but we thought we’d mention it here because traditionally, Calle Verdi has by far the most impressive and intricate street decorations and they win the competition more often than not. Of course, that could largely be due to the higher amount of businesses on the street who generously give money each year. Either way, it’s simply awesome.

The small boutique shops in Calle Verdi like red market (no.20) is a great place for fashion, as well as Piano (no.15 menswear and bis20 woman’s wear). They sell trendy fashion items and have an outstanding reputation for their quality products. Another super fashion shop is Sueños Negros (no. 13) with shoes and lots of other cool stuff. Half way up you find another shoe shop on number 38 called “Terciopelo”. At number 12 there is a wonderful bookstore with second hand and new books, great for snooping around to find interesting food for your mind.

To sum it up Calle Verdi is the street you must take some time to experience while in the Gracia area of Barcelona. Not only because of the places to eat and shop but also more importantly because of the wonderful eclectic ambience that makes it just plain special.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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I remember being completely nervous when I first arrived in Barcelona. I was looking for a BCN taxi and wondering if it would be like in Rome where the taxi driver took me on a joy ride and made me pay 68 €…

Actually, I have had only good experiences with Barcelona cab drivers. Barcelona taxis have rules and normally stick to them.

1)      Grabbing a Barcelona cab: Barcelona taxis are easily recognizable by their yellow and black cars. A green light over their roof indicates when they are free. Just walk to the nearest large street and wave in the direction of  the first green light you see. Actually, there are plenty of Barcelona taxis running through the streets in Barcelona day and night. I’ve never waited more than 5 minutes, no matter when, except one night on Avenida de los Tilos around 5am.   I also have so many funny stories about Barcelona cab battles (when two different people or groups are trying to jump in the same available taxi) after coming out of clubs but hey, that’s not the subject here (wait for my next posts…). If you don’t like playing it by ear in the street, I recommend you’d call at one of the phone numbers displayed here.  Although it should be clarified that calling for a taxi is the slowest way to get one.  Just stand out in the street and wait, one will come along shortly.

2)      Paying a Barcelona cab: Barcelona cabs display their rates inside the cab. They are meter based. The minimum price when taking a BCN taxi is 2€. Supplements may be added according to the time (night or day) and the area in which you climb in the taxi and what you’re taking with you. For example, taking a Barcelona cab from BCN Airport with a suitcase will cost you 3.10€ more for you’re departing from the airport and 1€ more per piece of luggage. Just to give you an idea, a 10 minutes ride at night, without any other supplement, usually costs 8-9€. Please check 2010 fares carefully. Also good to know, the majority of Barcelona taxis don’t take credit cards. So make sure you have cash or ask the driver before you get in.  Plus, ask for a receipt with all at the end of the ride. If something goes wrong, you’ll have some proof on which to rely.

3)      Tipping a Barcelona cab: You’re not expected to tip Barcelona cab drivers. So if you’re particularly satisfied by the service, you might give the driver a couple of coins, but just know it is not the custom and that Barcelona taxis will give you back your change exactly.

Click here to view the embedded video.

4)      Discouraging a Barcelona cab from taking advantage of you: Even if most of Barcelona taxis are honest, some of them try to take advantage of tourists (as in every other country).

1. First, most of them don’t speak English; so you’d better tell them the address in Spanish and act like someone who knows where they’re going.
2. Make sure they have a GPS of some sort for some Barcelona cab drivers work with old road maps, which make them stop and lose time or give them a good excuse to “take the wrong way”…
3. Don’t hesitate to ask questions about the fares, the road the driver intends to take etc. Better be a pain in the butt than being fooled. Anyways, you’re paying and hence the boss.
4. If you are not going far, never take a cab: 1. Walking is good for you and Barcelona is a concentrated town where almost everything’s reachable on foot. 2. The metro and buses will take you everywhere for less money and less traffic jams. 3. Avoid peak hours: 9am and 7pm. 4. NEVER grab a cab in narrow streets when you’ve just seen a garbage truck pass. Who would do that, you’re wondering? Well… Sometimes, you just need to be aware of the details you have to pay attention to.
5. Don’t pay more than what is written on the taximeter (which should always be set back  to 2 € when you climb into the car).

5)      Complaining about Barcelona taxis: Let’s say that you discovered this post too late and have already been fooled. What to do? First, don’t worry; know it can happen even to very good people. Second, dry your tears, master your anger and fill in the official complaint form online with all details printed on the receipt: taxi number, car plate number, amount paid, time and day.

6)      Losing something in a Barcelona cab: With the help of the receipt (this little piece of paper is really precious, always ask for it!), give all information the Lost Property Office or the Barcelona Taxi Lost Property Helpline need to locate the cab you were in.

Barcelona Lost Property Office: Placa de Carles Pi i Sunyer, 8-10, 08002 Barcelona. Tel: 010  (when in Barcelona)

Barcelona Taxi Lost Property Helpline: Tel: (0034) 90 210 1564 or by email: objper-taxi@amb.cat

All right, I think that’s about it. For more info, check the Barcelona Cab Website.

All yours!

A.

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For a couple of years now the limo renting service in Barcelona has been booming and becoming more popular than ever. Limos are not anymore solely for Very Important People and business men but have become something for normal people that want a special night out. Limousine Rentals in Barcelona provide business for all kinds of occasions, for instance, when a group of friends go out and have a pre-party at someone’s place. People usually take a couple of taxi’s to go with their friends to the venue. Nowadays it has become popular to go in a stylish limousine instead of a taxi. People have always loved to travel in style and now they can.

When you want to celebrate with your friends and family or would like to take your partner out for a special day you can do so with the unique experience of a limo. If you have a bachelor’s party the limo adds an extra touch to the evening. While you are being driven around the city in style enjoying a glass of champagne, the car can stop at special locations so that you can take pictures of your special night out that you will never forget.

The limo services in Barcelona that are being offered can be divided into two types of company. The first is a limousine rental service company that tries to get the limousine you want from another central limo rental agency. They will provide the additional necessities like the chauffeur and the optional services. The second type of limo renting agency is one that has its own limousines and provides a complete package with champagne and bites to eat, your own music or movies on the plasma screens, free minibar with beer, soda and fruit juices. Often they offer a tailor made service, for a birthday, a romantic day out, or any other special occasion.

The cars that limo service Barcelona have are the most recent model of Ford, the Lincoln town car, the white version and in March this year (2010) they will have several new cars like the Ford expedition in Pink and the Black Dodge. The service is standard with chauffeur as the bottles of champagne are included with the bites to eat. You can play the music that you like on CD or mp3, ask to stop at special places in the city where the best pictures can be taken.

For more information about limousine rental in Barcelona you can go to their website and send them an email, or give them a call. They can be found at the internetpages:

www.limusinasbarcelona.com 00-34-902 02 77 10

www.limusinasbarcelona.net 00-34-902 02 77 10

On the website you can check out the limousines they have as well as all the other additional information you might need. If you have any questions at all do not hesitate to get in contact with Pilar Zamora, head of sales the department.

Have a fun night out in style!

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As a big Latin dance fan, I went on the hunt for hidden ballroom dancing places in Barcelona especially for you! My first prey was Barcelona milongas, or hidden Barcelona Tango cafés. After some research on the Internet, I realized that Barcelona Tango was big! Not only has the City of Barcelona organized yearly Tango festivals since 2004, but there’s also at least one milonga going on in Barcelona every night, usually starting around 10pm and lasting until 1am, if not later. Entries to the enchanted Barcelona Tango world are quite cheap also, starting from €4.

So I rushed to the first Barcelona Tango milonga I could attend in person. It was the so called Milonga Maldita (or Cursed Milonga), starting on a Monday at 10.30 pm at the Pipa Club. Now let me take you with me for this first visit. First of all, the Barcelona Pipa Club is not easy to find. Overlooking Plaça Reial, it has been known only by privileged cigar and pipe smokers for decades, lounging in red leather armchairs while reading newspapers, comfortably hidden in a Victorian style six-room apartment.

Nowadays, the Barcelona Pipa Club turns into a jazz bar at night, except on Mondays and Tuesdays when it is dedicated to Barcelona Tango. To prevent any bad surprise, it is better to call the organizers each time but be careful: some of them speak only Spanish! Ring the bell at the door at 3, Plaça Reial and go upstairs to be welcomed by Sherlock Holmes’ portrait. You’ll find every kind of dancer in the Milonga Maldita, all under the Barcelona and Tango spells, a double curse that is not easy to bear unless you you can somehow visit every Barcelona milonga!

There was a bit of that special Argentinian milonga atmosphere trapped in the low lights and red reflects in the smoky Pipa Club. As a shy beginner, I just sat down in the cosy room and observed the possessed couples twirling around endlessly, until a dark gentleman slightly bowed in front of me, held his hand out to me and threw me into Barcelona Tango magic.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Next stop: Salsa in Barcelona!

Yours!

A.

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studyspanish.com

I will start with one of the Spanish learning websites which is a Must-Read for everybody who is seriously interested in learning the basics of the Spanish language. I am talking about the Spanish learning website studyspanish.com. This website gives you a great overview about a bunch of important vocabulary bundled in topic related units.Learning vocabulary is great but there are a lot of more interactive and entertaining Spanish learning websites. But what I really like about this website is its grammar section.

Studyspanish.com divides the complexity of the Spanish grammar into 9 different units. Each unit refers to a specific grammar area, leads perfectly through every section and explains it in a very understandable way. Every basic account member is able to practice their gained knowledge with the help of a quiz and a mini-test. In my opinion it’s not necessary to be a premium account member, although the premium membership offers more practice material. But if I’m honest, the short quiz and mini-test is enough and keeps you motivated to go through all sections unit by unit.

All the important “lessons learned” of each unit chapter are saved on a flash card, which gives you a great overview at the end. This platform is structured more like a classical Spanish learning book than an interactive platform, but the Spanish grammar is explained in a very understandable way and offers you good examples.

busuu.com

busuu.com is a free online community for learning languages powered by the publisher PONS. busuu was launched in May 2008 and has currently more than 250,000 users from 200 different countries. After you register for free you can enter the Spanish learning website and choose a specific course. You can start with learning the basic vocabulary with audio-visual learning material covering more than 150 different topics.

busuu gives you also the opportunity to absolve written exercises and let them be corrected by its community members. Additionally, language skills can be directly improved together with native speakers by connecting via an integrated video-chat. Each user is not only a “student” of a foreign language but also a “tutor” of his or her own mother tongue. All in all, busuu.com has a very user friendly interface and focuses on giving the user the opportunity to learn Spanish for free in a very entertaining way.

Coffee Break Spanish Podcas

My last suggestion for today is one of the most popular Spanish learning podcasts on the web. The Coffee Break Spanish Podcast – I listen to one episode per day on my ipod on my way to work – is a fantastic way to start a productive day each morning

For all of you who aren’t sure what a “podcast” actually is here is a short Wikipedia quote: “A podcast is a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are released episodically and downloaded through web syndication. ”Coffe Break Spanish provides 80 lessons of 15-20 minutes each and starts with a beginner’s level through to intermediate. The teacher Mark and his student Kara guide you through weekly Spanish lessons. All you need to do is to listen.

This course has consistently been among the top language-learning podcasts in iTunes US and UK, and won the European Award for Languages in 2007 and the European Professional Podcast Award in 2009. There are different ways to access the free audio files. You can listen directly from the website’s lesson library or subscribe to the podcast in your itunes store (all of these ways are free).

If you think I’ve missed a great way of learning Spanish online for free or you have any suggestions for my third and last part, let me know. I’m willing to test everything around the web that offers free Spanish lessons

- Miriam

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Gyms in Barcelona come in all shapes, sizes, and prices.  My goal was to find the perfect one for me.  I made a list of things that were important to me and set off on my search.  I first tried using Google maps to locate the closest ones to my flat, but realised that the results were not exhaustive.  Then I got my lazy self off the couch, put on my running shoes, and took a tour around my neighbourhood (BTW, if you’re interested check out our blog on “The Top 5 Barcelona Neighborhoods“).  This is the best way to research gyms.  After all, the chances of you actually going to gym is partly determined by it’s proximity to your place of residence.  So get out there, walk around, and make your initial list of options so you can then evaluate them!

Full disclosure: I’m sitting here in the office and my chest and triceps are so sore I’m having trouble actually typing out my thoughts.  It’s that strange sort of good gym pain though… if that makes any sense.

At one point in my life I was a gym rat.  If I wasn’t playing sports I was always in the gym.  6 days a week, rain or shine.  When I moved to Spain that all stopped.  At first it was because I was partying too much and enjoying the life of a student.  Eventually when I started my own business, I just never had the time or energy.

I’m now rapidly approaching my 30th birthday (…gulp…) and I decided over New Years (I know, so cliché) that this was the time in my life to get back into shape and be a healthier person.

I scoured the gym market to try and find the best fit for me.  My two top criteria were that it be as close as humanly possible to where I live and that they offer towels so you don’t need to bring one from home.

I settled on a gym that is only two blocks from my house (first criteria, check!).  There are three gyms in a 2 block radius of my flat (Paseo/Diagonal area).  I chose the one that seemed to have the least amount of people there during peak times.  In this post I’m withholding the name of the gym as SuiteLife has a special report planned on gyms that will be gracing our pages soon.  I will say that the one I chose was almost too ‘pijo’ (snobby, snooty, etc…) for my taste, however along with that comes free towels and a weight room where the people are more interested in staring at themselves in the mirror than working out (which for me means less waiting time and faster workouts).

So far, I’ve been to my new gym twice in 5 days.  The beginning is always the hardest as I’m in pretty bad shape and the first few workouts leave me in blinding soreness for the next couple of days.  Luckily my gym has a whole self-service spa area.  Jacuzzis galore, wet and dry saunas, water therapy, relaxation waterfalls and all kinds of cool water pressure treatments.  So after a nice long workout, you can sit back and relax your aching bones.

If you’re more of the team sports type than you should check out our article on “How to Find and Join a Barcelona Sports Club“

I’ll continue to update you on my progress at the gym.  So far, so good.

Cheers!

Benny

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