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7 DAYS IN BARCELONA

7 DAYS in BARCELONA

There a lot of things to do and see in Barcelona when it comes to art, music, architecture, culture in general.  C and I, had few things in mind, few activities that were recommended to us or we read about. We were there for a week, so we tried to combine the delightful days at the beach, the lazy walks around the city during day and night time, the delicious dinners and drinks with museum visits, or architectural pilgrimages.
But before we start sharing some of these beautiful treats, I first need to mention that C is an architect and for him Barcelona is a real urban spectacle, he enjoyed a lot many of Barcelona´s streets, buildings, parks, plazas. According to his taste Barcelona is his favourite city when it comes to urban spaces, he considers Barcelona as the Mecca of urban life and urban design (that´s his opinion so let´s respect it 🙂 ). So I guess for those of you that are really interested in architecture and urban space, take some time to walk around the city, get it´s vibe, start understanding the structure, the scales, the corners, the details, the music of the city and it´s smell.
So long story short, here is our list of things to see in 7 DAYS IN BARCELONA.

1st –  The Diposit de Aigües Building 7 DAYS IN BARCELONA7 DAYS IN BARCELONA

The library is part of the Universitat Pompeu Fabras campus, the building is a former structure that was holding a water tank, it was designed in 1874 by Josep Fontsere and the static calculation were done by a young student of architecture, Antoni Gaudi i Cornet.
From the 1874 to nowadays the building had a very interesting history, sheltering a municipal asylum, fire service store, garage of the Municipal Police force, justice department archive. It became a property of the university in 1992. The architects that did the renovation and transformed the space in to a library are Lluis Clotet and Ignacio Paricio.7 DAYS IN BARCELONAhttps://www.upf.edu/campus/en/historia/aigues.html
C was amazed by the imposing structure, and the feeling of walking through a temple rather than a library, a temple of knowledge. This feeling reminded him of other retaining water designated structures that he found in India the water wells, which impressed him a lot radiating the same type of feeling of wandering through a sacred space.

2nd – Fundacion Mapfre – 7 DAYS IN BARCELONA7 DAYS IN BARCELONA

The Fundacion Mapfre exhibition hall is located in Casa Garriga Nogués, which is a truly beautiful space and a great example of Catalan modernism. The house was built by the architect Enric Sagnier in the early beginning of the 20 th century for a family of bankers.
The exhibition hall was open to the public in September 2015 and so far it featured shows like the triumph of color, a beautiful expedition trough the impressionist paintings and the avant garde, from Van Gogh to Matisse, the photography of Hiroshi Sugimoto or the photography of Bruce Davidson.

7 DAYS IN BARCELONA

C heard about the Hiroshi Sugimoto show and he was really eager to see it, unfortunately the show already left for Madrid, but instead we manage to see the show of the American photographer Bruce Davidson. We weren’t familiar with his work, but at the end of the tour we were really impressed. There is a chronological order that you need to follow, that opens pages of American and European history. It is a beautiful documentary about human life, a must see.
https://revistalafundacion.com/septiembre2015/en/culture/
https://www.fundacionmapfre.org/fundacion/en/culture-history/our-exhibition-hall/

 

3rd – Elogio al aqua – Eduardo Chillida 7 DAYS IN BARCELONA7 DAYS IN BARCELONA

This piece is in Parc de la Creueta del Coll, which is situated in the very hilly side of Barcelona, reminding us of the streets of San Francisco. Far away from the tourist invasion (reachable with the metro) and nested in a residential area. The sculpture is big and impressive, reminding you of an ancient marine animal, that instead of finding itself in the water is levitating over in some kind of contemplation state. The very funny detail about this sculpture is that it is inside of a public children swimming pool. The sculpture is the work of Eduardo Chillida, a Basque artist coming from San Sebastian, formerly trained as an architect. C appreciates his work a lot.

4th  Fundacio Juan Miro 7 DAYS IN BARCELONA
7 DAYS IN BARCELONA

Last but not least, Fundacio Juan Miro was a very nice surprise. Situated in Parc Montjuic, surrounded by beautiful nature and other touristic attractions, the museum is a quiet and rich artistic oasis. The building designed by the Spanish architect Josep Lluis Sert is hosting a good amount of Juan Miro´s work, plus contemporary art works from different artists that are collaborating with the foundation.
It is really an interesting mix of architecture, modern and contemporary art, that deserves a good two hours (at least). So if you are in love with art or just curious, write it down on your TO DO list and don´t miss it.

7 DAYS IN BARCELONA

I hope you liked our tips for 7 DAYS IN BARCELONA. I can not wait to go there again. Please keep us posted about your favorite places to visit in Barcelona. X
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BARCELONA FOOD TIPS

MY BARCELONA FOOD TIPS

I was in Barcelona for a week. I went with C, the weather was perfect and both of us have already been to Barcelona. now I have some really delicious food tips to share with you. so without further ado, lets start MY BARCELONA FOOD TIPS.
BARCELONA FOOD TIPS
MY BARCELONA FOOD TIP #1
BRUNCH & CAKE // FB
C/Enrique Granados
08007 Barcelona
we had a lovely brunch at brunch & cake. when we arrived, it was really busy. we had to leave our name and wait. after 15 minutes we got a beautiful outdoor table and were ready to order. in case you are planning to eat there I would make a reservation.
BARCELONA FOOD TIPS

we really loved the food presentation. all of our meals were served in different plates. well, in M’s case it was a shovel. 🙂 it was the first time we saw food being served in a shovel and we all thought its an awesome idea. so, what did we eat? we ordered: egg benedict, quinoa burger and avocado toast. mmhhmm, everything was super tasty.
BARCELONA FOOD TIPS
MY BARCELONA FOOD TIP #2
SMS DELICES // FB
C/Asturias 33
08012 Barcelona
this is a spanish restaurant serving tapas but in a very elegant and modern way. I had the best BRAVAS (potatoes with a spicy sauce) and C loved his PULPO (octopus) on the sticks. its a tiny space but very cozy and relaxed with a good atmosphere. we felt almost like at home.
BARCELONA FOOD TIPS
these are the BRAVAS that I was mentioning before. mmmhhmm, look at this creamy spicy sauce that covers the potatoes. and below that photo you can see the PULPO on the stick. we would absolutely recommend to eat at SMS DELICIES and try the BRAVAS and PULPO.
BARCELONA FOOD TIPSBARCELONA FOOD TIPS
MY BARCELONA FOOD TIP #3
EL NACIONAL // FB
Passeig de Gracia 24
08007 Barcelona
ooh wow. we did not expect such a beautiful space when we walked towards EL NACIONAL. its hidden between the houses at Passeig de Gracia. a place to relax for a moment and enjoy a traditional spanish meal or a refreshing drink. EL NACIONAL used to be a garage and was transformed to this very cozy hall with different restaurants and bars. I really hope that you so far enjoy my BARCELONA FOOD TIPS and I would love to hear from you. which are your favorite places to eat in Barcelona?
BARCELONA FOOD TIPS
thats how the entrance looks like. lots of wood and green with a very nice wooden cobble stone floor. wow. look at this! I really have to go back and eat and drink something in all the different places inside the EL NACIONAL. I was so impressed with the decor so be prepared for lots of photos.
BARCELONA FOOD TIPSBARCELONA FOOD TIPS
we chose to eat at the LA PARADETA, which was a very great choice. the GAZPACHO soup was one of the best I have ever had. unfortunately I totally forgot to take a picture. maybe because I was taking so many photos of the beautiful location. each restaurant or bar had their own style but everything fot very well together. the nicest thing of each place were the lamps.

BARCELONA FOOD TIPSBARCELONA FOOD TIPSBARCELONA FOOD TIPSBARCELONA FOOD TIPS

the lavatories were really nice as well. a nice mix of materials and a lovely reuse of old pipes and faucets. there were big photos of how this place use to look like. the transformation of the garage to EL NACIONAL.

BARCELONA FOOD TIPS  BARCELONA FOOD TIPS  BARCELONA FOOD TIPS

 

BARCELONA FOOD TIPSBARCELONA FOOD TIPS
MY BARCELONA FOOD TIP #4
BOTAFUMEIRO // FB
C/Gran de Gracia 81
08012 Barcelona
‘When the raw material is the best on the market, the only thing a chef need do is respect the product, using the right amount of heat and seasoning to arouse all its flavour and aroma.’


Moncho Neira, Botafumeiro’s owner and chef
BARCELONA FOOD TIPSBARCELONA FOOD TIPS
BOTAFUMEIRO is a very elegant and very well known restaurant in the heart of Carrer Gran de Gracia. a lot of famous people have dined there and lots of photos are shown at the entrance. (Clinton, Bush, several football players and actors) the place is famous for its fish and sea food dishes. from the entrance the place looks like a normal restaurant. but by walking further I realized how big BOTAFUMEIRO was. there were so many different rooms and platforms. with the white dressed waiters I somehow had the impression of being on a cruise ship. It is a funny and lovely combination of The Grand Budapest Hotel and the The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, two awesome Wes Anderson movies.

BARCELONA FOOD TIPS

BARCELONA FOOD TIPS
MY BARCELONA FOOD TIP #5
CAFE CAMELIA // FB
Calle Verdi 79
08012 Barcelona
thats the place where we have spent our last night in Barcelona and both had an amazing dinner. the funny thing was, that we were looking for a place to eat and were walking down Calle Verdi reading the menus and checking the restaurants. so when I read their menu, I could not belive my eyes. I LIKED EVERYTHING ON THE MENU. thats a very rare thing to happen. and when C came to check the menu too, he finally found out why. CAFE CAMELIA is a vegetarian restaurant. well, now everything made more sense. lol 🙂
BARCELONA FOOD TIPS
we ordered a QUINOA BURGER and COUS COUS VEGETABLE STEW and started with a fresh vegetables/fruit juice. awww, the food was delicious and the waiters were so kind and nice. I will def go back to this place. lets see how fast I can be back in Barcelona 🙂
BARCELONA FOOD TIPSBARCELONA FOOD TIPS
so, that was it for MY BARCELONA FOOD TIPS. I hope you found them helpful. I took all the photos with my new HUAWEI p9 phone. I am very curious to hear about your favorite restaurants in Barcelona. please leave a comment below. X
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C&A fall winter collection 2016

C&A FALL WINTER COLLECTION 2016

C&A fall winter collection 2016
thank you C&A for taking me to Amsterdam and showing me the upcoming C&A fall winter collection 2016. with weather in june like this I feel that I am not far away from wearing fall/winter clothes and can not wait to shop my fall winter collection. the weather has been a serious nightmare with endless rain and very cool temperatures. I can not believe that it was warmer in april than it is in june. nevertheless, I wanna tell you a bit more about the presentation of the fall winter collection 2016.
the location of the event was spectacular. there was a beautiful green C&A logo in the entrance that led into a round event hall that had a black curtain drawn all around. after a quick introduction the curtain was lifted and a 360 degree fashion show with the complete fall winter collection 2016 was behind it.
C&A fall winter collection 2016
that was a wonderful surprise. we were then divided into groups and got an introduction to every collection: men, denim, lingerie, clockhouse, accessories etc. we were given tags with our name and publication title and had the possibility to give them feedback by hanging them to your favorite piece. let me tell you, there are going to be soooo many cool pieces for the fall winter collection 2016 that it was really hard to place only four cards 🙂
C&A fall winter collection 2016
the big thing of the new collection is going to be denim. there is a new collection in bio cotton with new shapes and cuts. we will see the return of flare leg, bootcut and highrise. for men there is going to be a new trend called stacked, that means that the jeans are too long and stack on the bottom. for women there will be a cropped bootcut and cropped flare cut and as already mentioned there is going to be the return of the high rise. my favorite denim pieces are the quitled indigo jacket and the bow tie blouse.
in addition to the new denim collection there is a nature inspired color palette with comfy and warm colors that give you the need to cover yourself up. inspired by the idea that nature should be part of everyday life, the fall winter collection uses organic textures and delicate feminine detailing to create beautiful pieces to wrap up warm in.
there are going to be some really cool pieces like a asymmetric poncho, a checked belted coat or the white knitted longline coat that you can see in the picture below (and in the back you can see a lady wearing the denim bow tie blouse).
C&A fall winter collection 2016
aaawww, these are my two favorite pieces, the white longline coat and the short beige faux leather jacket. and soon there will be an overview with my favorite items of the fall winter collection with inspiration on how to wear all those cool new fall winter pieces. stay tuned.
C&A fall winter collection 2016C&A fall winter collection 2016
have you been to Amsterdam before? I have been several times and have to say that it is one of my favorite european cities. we were staying at the double tree HILTON very close to the train station which was a great location to explore the city from. in case you have not read my post about AMSTERDAM click here –>
C&A fall winter collection 2016
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