Tag Archives | Catalonia

3 tips for Sun Seeking in the South of Spain

By The Fighting Couple on December 8, 2012 in General, Slideshowable

The Spanish do a lot of things very well: revolution, paella and SUNSHINE! With its sun soaked beaches, lofty climbs, and vibrant cities, Spain continues to invite sun seekers from near and far. We want to take you along to visit three of our favorite locations for the perfect holiday in Spain. Don’t forget the sunscreen.

The Terraces of Barcelona

Let’s start our sun seeking tour at the heart of Southern Spain, Barcelona. Barcelona’s mix of style, art, and warmth beckons sun seekers. One of the central figures of the city is the renowned master architect Gaudi. His thumbprint is all over the cityscape. Barcelona is home to one of his masterpieces which is a sun seekers dream: Park Güell. For the “un-Spanished” the word Güell is pronounced “Gwell”. The park is actually an abandoned upscale housing development envisioned by Gaudi which included villas, an elaborate water collection system, shops and the highlight, the gardens. Gaudi’s talent was injecting animals and nature themes into his designs. The park is filled with little touches that create interesting finds at every turn. The focus of the park is its outlining benches. The tile benches surround the city facing portion of the park. Gaudi elected to use a snake like theme, which creates these small intimate bends and nooks for sitting with your loved one enjoying the sun.

Getting to Park Guell is a little bit of a chore. By Metro, Take the green line to the stop “Lesseps”. From there follow the signs that lead to the entrance of the park. It is a roughly a 20 minute walk. It is located at the top of a steep hill. The effort is well worth it!

Montserrat

The next stop on our Southern Spain sun tour is the mountaintop location, Santa Maria de Montserrat. This wonderful Benedictine abbey is located 30 miles west of Barcelona. It is perfect for a daytrip outside the city. From this wonderful perch you can take in one of the most amazing views in all of Catalonia. There are a number of small hikes that you can take from the abbey. This is going to sound a little crazy, but the food at the cafeteria of the abbey is actually really good. There is not an entrance fee to the Montserrat Monastery but if you wish to visit the museum the entrance fee costs €6.50 for adults. Of course, you are there for the sun. Pack a picnic and take a walk across the smooth stones of the mountain top and take in the glorious sunshine.

Getting to Montserrat is half the fun. Shrug off the easy way and forgo the cram packed tour bus. Simply catch the Line R5 train headed toward Manresa at the Espanya rail station. Tickets are very affordable. I don’t think we paid over $20. It takes about an hour to get from the Espanya station to the Montserrat stop. Once there, enter the ticket office and purchase your tram ticket. Pick a spot to stand near the windows and make sure your camera is set, because the ride up to the top is simply amazing!

Did you know that you can ask the Fighting Couple Anything? Yes! “Ask us Anything!”

Costa Brava

The grand finale in our sun seeking adventure is heading up the coastline to wonderful Costa Brava or “Wild Coast”. The Costa Brava stretches from Barcelona all the way to the border of France. If you are into sun, sand, and seclusion this is your place. Unlike its twin sister Nice, France further up the coast, Costa Brava continues to be one of the great under-discovered locations.

Some of the best beaches on the Costa Brava are near Palamos. The Platja de Castell with it’s warm sand and relative seclusion is one of the areas finest. The sapphire colored water is so inviting! You can also follow the old smugglers trail to a wonderful ocean viewpoint on the east end of the beach. Bring or rent a sand chair, open a good book, and soak up as much sun as you like.

There are a number of different accommodations levels, everything from wonderful resorts like the Rehana Royal Beach Resort to more rustic abodes. Access to the beach is the key. We highly recommend you have a car for traveling the Costa Brava region. Public transport is scare and unreliable.

So these are our recommendations for sun seeking in the South of Spain. Tell us, what is your favorite places to seek the sun? Island destinations? Swanky resorts? Leave us a comment below. See you in Barcelona!

Kissing Capitals: Barcelona

By The Fighting Couple on September 22, 2012 in General, Slideshowable

Best places to kiss in Barcelona

“Her lips on his could tell him better than all her stumbling words.”-Margaret Mitchell

Are you looking for a few good places to kiss? We are here to help. We are launching a series of the best places to kiss in the world. We are calling it the best of the kissing capitals. Our first nomination is Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona with its warm ocean breezes, Eclectic art scene, and Latin vibe is well deserving. The Entire Catalonia region of Spain is steeped in romance. Kiss in Catalan is pronounced petó. Peto has a number of different meanings…we will leave that between you and Wikipedia.

Lets begin our kissing tour at the top literally.

Montjuic

Overlooking the entire city of Barcelona is Montjuic. It is more of a hill than a true mountain, but the vistas night or day are dramatic. Nestled on the banks of the hills are wonderful walking paths that meander through gardens. Montjuic is a wonderful place to pack a picnic, or take an evening stroll. Montjuic came to its prime through development during the Olympics. Many of the Olympic events were held at venues on the Mont. Montjuic continues to be a favorite of both locals and first timers.

Sunset is truly the best time to visit Montjuic. There are a number of benches and stops along the trails up and down the mount that offer great places to watch the sun go down and steal a kiss or two!

Magic Fountain

At the base of Montjuic you will discover a wonderful display of water, light, music and magic. We give you our next stop on the kissing tour: the Magic Fountain of Barcelona. A little history on the fountain, it was erected for the World’s Fair that the city was playing host to in 1929. The original plans by designer Carles Buigas were initially cast off as an overly ambitious impossibility. One year later, thousands of workers completed the fountain ahead of schedule.

Today the fountain continues to wow its crowds.

You will need to time your visit when the Fountain is in full splendor:

Winter: (October to April)

Fridays and Saturdays from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Music sessions: 7:00 PM 7:30 PM 8:00 PM 8:30 PM

Summer: (May to September)

Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 pm to 11:30 pm
Music Sessions: 9:30 PM 10:00 PM 10:30 PM 11:00 PM

Park Guell

Could we have a tour of Barcelona without a Gaudi location? Impossible! Antoni Gaudi, the Catalan master of art and architecture designed a number of unique attractions throughout Barcelona and the Catalonia region. One of his most expansive projects was an entire housing development for Barcelona’s well healed. Located on a hill just outside the city is his vision of subdivision living. Fortunately for today’s visors, Gaudi’s vision was a little deeper than the pockets of prospective investors. Today, the entire development has been transformed into a public park and greenspace. It is a masterpiece.

You and you lover can walk on trails criss crossing the entire development. Climb the famous “lizard” stairs, and arrive at the main terrace. It commands excellent views of another Gaudi masterpiece the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. The terrace is surrounded by cozy benches that are designed to a tee for couples. These unique benches are actually in the design of a sea monster! Park Guell is a wonderful place to kiss your sweetheart.

On the tram to Montserrat

Clinging to the crests of cliffs outside Barcelona is the Monastery of Montserrat. For those couples demanding a little more adventure in their smooching venues, we highly recommend the tram to Montserrat. The highest summit of Montserrat is called Sant Jeroni (Saint Jerome) and stands at 4,055 feet above sea-level. The tram ride up to the top is truly an experience that cannot be fully described or missed! Visiting Montserrat can be a full or half day venture depending on your interest level. Don’t get conned into taking a special tour bus ect. There is train service to the tram station. It is a very affordable side trip for any stay in Barcelona.

How did we do? Did we miss any special places in Barcelona? Where do you nominate that we discuss next?

My Day With Gaudi

By The Fighting Couple on April 30, 2012 in General, Slideshowable

Those who look for the laws of Nature as a support for their new works collaborate with the creator. –Antonio Gaudi

There is a long list of things the Catalonian region (Barcelona, Spain) has given to the world: amazing paella, an incredible football team, and one of the greatest modernismo architects: Antonio Gaudi.

We are going to take you on a visual day tour of the greatest Gaudi masterpieces in Barcelona. You are going to see futuristic designs, wild abandoned whimsy and holy edifices that rival the best of Rome!

First off a little primer on Gaudi:

The most famous architect of the 20^th century was born in Rues (or just outside, depending on what account you believe) in the Tarragona providence of Catalonia, 50 miles south of Barcelona. After enduring a childhood troubled by rheumatism, the son of two coppersmiths travelled to the Catalan capital to enroll as a student at the Escola Technica Superrior d’Arguitectura where he duly studied from 1873 to 1877. Even his professors did not quite know what to make of his work, and when he was awarded the title of architect in 1878, Elies Rogent, the director of the school, declared: “Who knows if we have given this diploma to a nut or to a genius? Time will tell.” http://www.barcelona-life.com

Lets start our tour!

Park Guell

One of Gaudi’s wealthy patrons wanted to build a par for the blue bloods of Barcelona. He wanted to build a gates community before the advent of gated communities. He wanted a park setting with fountains, dramatic vistas and swanky amenities. Gaudi was up for the challenge.

Park Guell sits atop a gentle hill with views of the city, the sea and another piece of Gaudi’s handiwork the Sagrada Famila.

Today you can stroll through the park setting and take in some amazing vistas.

Casa Mila-La Pedrera

At the top of the mighty tough fare Las Ramblas is the Modernismo masterpiece, La Pedrera. La Pedrera means The Quarry. It is the precious gem of Barcelona. The apartment complex was commissioned with money made in America by married couple Roser Segimon and Pere Mila.

The address quickly became the pinnacle of success. The façade of the building reflects the rolling waves of the sea.

Perhaps the most photographed part of the structure with its unique statues and fireplace chimneys.

Sagrada Familia

Gaudi has been nicknamed, “God’s Architect”. While this might be a little presumptuous, one cannot argue his dedication to integrate what he say in Creation with a capital C into his creations with a little c.

The construction of the Sagrada Familia predates Gaudi’s involvement. It began its construction in 1882. Shortly there after, Gaudi was brought in and completely transformed the scope and design of the project. Gaudi employ his skills building the cathedral until his untimely death in 1926. At his passing the building was a little over 25% complete. The Sagrada Familia is still a work in progress. Gaudi’s grand vision outstripped his lifetime’s devotion to building.

When objections were raised as to the extended completion date of the Sagrada Famila, Gaudi said:

“Don’t worry, my client isn’t in a hurry.”

Since then the project has been on again off again. It is projected that the completion date will be around 2026 the centennial of Gaudi’s death.