First of all, welcome to the blog. =)
The start of a new year means a beginning of sorts. In some ways it can be the commencement of something (such as this blog), yet I rarely tend to begin new things at the start of the year (following resolutions, etc.). For me, I like to think of the new year as the beginning of an existing cycle of events and patterns; an opportunity to experience the year again with new meaning and enthusiasm.
The start of a new year means a beginning of sorts. In some ways it can be the commencement of something (such as this blog), yet I rarely tend to begin new things at the start of the year (following resolutions, etc.). For me, I like to think of the new year as the beginning of an existing cycle of events and patterns; an opportunity to experience the year again with new meaning and enthusiasm.
One thing that you should know about me is that I am an absolute nerd for cultural events and festivals. After an excusable first year of museums, tours, and festivals, I realized that I had barely scratched the surface of the vast complexity of Barcelona history and culture. Every new walking tour I did left me anxiously yearning for more knowledge and understanding of the city as my appreciation for its history grew. Visits to restaurants and cafes and other events were soon included as fundamental in my cultural intake. Every aspect of the Barcelona experience affected my appreciation and perspective of the city. This resulted in me continuing to seek out new sites to visit, new restaurants to add to my ever-expanding list of recommendable places and new guided tours to shape my understanding. This has never ended and is basically where I am today.
I must say that I have been lucky enough to find a partner in crime for my tourism antics. In my literal first days in the city, I met another person who was equally zealous about getting to know the city and also Germanly organizationally oriented, like me (although she is actually German) and together we took on the city. If you want company in your exploits, I hope you are also lucky enough to have such an accomplice.
One of my favorite things about all the festivals in Barcelona is the fact that they take place annually, and so I can experience them again and again, if I want to. Every year I get the chance to do the marathon of events all over again, but even better and more efficiently, because I already know what’s coming. My friend and I have become absolute Masters of the Merce events in September with spreadsheets of events that we hope to tackle.
One type of question that I love hearing is “When is the slow period in Barcelona?” Because the answer is: Never. IT NEVER ENDS. Not with activities and things to do at least.
After the holiday period and brief moments of time off from work and certain social events and activities, January hits us in full gear with an assortment of local festivities:
It all begins with the tail-end to Barcelona’s Christmas celebrations on January 5th with the 3 Kings Parade. Then, the very following week in the neighborhood of Sant Antoni you can already see some local events taking place in commemoration of the saint. As part of the Festa Major de Sant Antoni and Els Tres Tombs, this week long celebration usually takes place over two weekends in mid-January. A Mallorcan tradition that is known as Foguerons de sa Poble also celebrates Sant Antoni and has found roots in the neighborhood of Gracia. You can see this in the final weekend of January (Thursday to Saturday), with giant bonfires and celebrations on Saturday evening. The very next day, if you wake up early, you can head down to Valls (in the province of Tarragona) to take part in the most famous Calçotada Popular - the celebration and communal consumption of the Catalan spring onion.
And that’s just January!
As I mentioned before, there’s a lot of different ways to get to know the city and fill in the gaps besides going to festivals and celebrations. I’m STILL learning and discovering! In my blog, I hope to highlight the multitude of things that make Barcelona truly one of the most amazing and fulfilling cities to live in.
Some things to keep in mind:
I must say that I have been lucky enough to find a partner in crime for my tourism antics. In my literal first days in the city, I met another person who was equally zealous about getting to know the city and also Germanly organizationally oriented, like me (although she is actually German) and together we took on the city. If you want company in your exploits, I hope you are also lucky enough to have such an accomplice.
One of my favorite things about all the festivals in Barcelona is the fact that they take place annually, and so I can experience them again and again, if I want to. Every year I get the chance to do the marathon of events all over again, but even better and more efficiently, because I already know what’s coming. My friend and I have become absolute Masters of the Merce events in September with spreadsheets of events that we hope to tackle.
One type of question that I love hearing is “When is the slow period in Barcelona?” Because the answer is: Never. IT NEVER ENDS. Not with activities and things to do at least.
After the holiday period and brief moments of time off from work and certain social events and activities, January hits us in full gear with an assortment of local festivities:
It all begins with the tail-end to Barcelona’s Christmas celebrations on January 5th with the 3 Kings Parade. Then, the very following week in the neighborhood of Sant Antoni you can already see some local events taking place in commemoration of the saint. As part of the Festa Major de Sant Antoni and Els Tres Tombs, this week long celebration usually takes place over two weekends in mid-January. A Mallorcan tradition that is known as Foguerons de sa Poble also celebrates Sant Antoni and has found roots in the neighborhood of Gracia. You can see this in the final weekend of January (Thursday to Saturday), with giant bonfires and celebrations on Saturday evening. The very next day, if you wake up early, you can head down to Valls (in the province of Tarragona) to take part in the most famous Calçotada Popular - the celebration and communal consumption of the Catalan spring onion.
And that’s just January!
As I mentioned before, there’s a lot of different ways to get to know the city and fill in the gaps besides going to festivals and celebrations. I’m STILL learning and discovering! In my blog, I hope to highlight the multitude of things that make Barcelona truly one of the most amazing and fulfilling cities to live in.
Some things to keep in mind:
- No one has time to do all of this stuff; not even me. I would love to be able to participate in everything and more every time, every year. It’s simply not possible to do it all and still take care of responsibilities. Yet it’s awesome knowing that these events are still taking place around me and that at the drop of a hat, if I wanted to get out and explore and do something fun, it’s right here.
- I know Barcelona isn’t the only city that has these things. There are many other cities and cultures that have similar and maybe even better and fantastic versions of the things that can be found here. That’s great for them, and I won’t claim that no one does it better than here. But it’s not a competition; it’s about celebrating what we have here, which is pretty great, in my opinion.