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FCBarcelona - Stadium Tour

 

Last summer while I was living in Barcelona, Spain I had the chance to take a day tour of one of the biggest futbol (soccer) stadiums in the world.  Barcelona is home to FC Barcelona.  This stadium holds over 100,000 people.  I unfortunately wasn't able to go to a live game while I was living there, but I can only imagine how crazy it can get with 100,000 people inside the stadium.

The tour consists of a couple of different areas of the stadium.  You first have to buy your ticket at a separate building that is located outside the stadium in the main parking lot.  Last summer the ticket cost around 18 Euros (that could have changed by now).  Once you pay for the ticket you enter a room that has stadium seating.  A 5 minute virtual reality movie is played that simulates what it is like to be inside the stadium, and on the field during a live game. 

Fiesta in Granada, Spain - Video of the week

 

The video of the week comes from Granada, Spain.  I have to admit that it is my 2nd favorite city in Spain behind Barcelona.  When I arrived I could feel that the city had a magical touch to it.  I was there towards the end of May on my world trip.  Right next to Alhambra (main attraction in Granada) there was  a side street with this little church where hundreds of people were inside for mass.  Everybody was dressed up in really nice traditional suits and dresses.  I am not sure what the festival was called, but I know it has something to do wih the Catholic church. 

                   

Right after the service finished everybody piled out of the church.  Then these two guys hooked two huge bulls up to a cart that was carrying a heavy metal statue.  Then the bulls were lead down the street, and everybody started following them playing music and singing.  I had never seen anything like it in my life!  The cool thing about Spain is that there are so many festivals during the summer.  For more information on all the festivals throughout the year in Spain check out Spanish Tourism.

 

 

Montserrat, Spain - Video of the week

Two summers ago I met two girls while vacationing in Barcelona, Spain.  One of them, Leidy, is from Holland and the other one, Mina, is from Igualada, Spain.  When I returned to Barcelona last summer these two girls were still living around the Barcelona area.  One weekend they offered to take me to Mina's home town, Igualada.  This town is about 25 minutes outside Barcelona by car.  It is located in the Catalunya region of Spain.  While I was in Igualada for the weekend nobody spoke English.  In fact, nobody in this small town even talked Spainish.  Everybody in this town talked Catalan.  It is a mix of Spanish and French.  I could not understand anything anybody was saying the whole weekend, but I still had a great great time meeting all of Mina's friends and family.

One thing that we did while we were in Igualada was take a day trip to Monserrat.  I had never even  heard of Montserrat. So I was excited to to hear that Mina was going to take me to one of the most famous  sites in Catalunya.  It is located about 20 minutes away from Igualada (you can also take a day trip from Barcelona to Monserrat).  We woke up at about 8 am on Saturday morning, and the first thing that we did was make lunch to eat on top of Montserrat.  Mina, Leidy, and me then met up with 3 other of Mina's friends.   

Running of the Bulls 2008 - Must see video

One of my good friends who I met while traveling the world just went to the Festival de San Fermin.  He was able to capture the opening ceremony (and how crazy it is), how much or a party the festival is, and also the first day of the running of the bulls.  If you really want to experience what the Festival is all about then you have to check out this video.  Enjoy

Casa Caracol - Hostel in Cadiz

One of my favorite cities in souther Spain is Cadiz.  This place is a very popular summer destination, because of its location is right on the beach.  You can't ask for too much more in this little town.  It has a little bit of everything.  You can hit the beach all day, watch the sunset, take a siesta, eat some great food, and find good night life.

I had met some travelers in Tarifa (Spain) who told me that I should stay in this hostel called Casa Caracol (snail in spanish).   They said it was the best hostel in Cadiz.

www.caracolcasa.com and the email is snailmail@caracolcasa.com

4 Calle Suarez de Salazar

When I arrived at the bus station in Cadiz I was traveling with this girl from Israel.  We got a map of the city and started making our way to the hostel.  It was about a 15 minute walk which wasn't too bad.  When we showed up to the hostel it was 9am.  It turned out there was 1 bed available for 20 Euros.  That really didn't work for 2 people so we were stuck!  This is what happened when you don't book hostels ahead of time while traveling in the Europe during the summer.

5 Euro massages on the Beach in Barcelona, Spain

Here is a video of Hayden getting a massage on the beach in Barcelona

Barcelona, Spain is one of my favorite cities in the world.  It has so many things to offer.  During the summer you are able to hit the beach all day long, take a siesta (nap), and then stay out all night!  It is really easy to get to the beach from the street La Rambla.  You just have to head down (south) the street towards the statue of Christopher Columbus.  From there take the Passeig de Colom east around the marina until you can take a right.  Then all you have to do is go straight to get to the beach.  There are 5 main beaches in Barcelona:  Barceloneta, Nova Icaria, Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella, and Bogatell.  I would say that the easiest to get to and closest to La Rambla is Barceloneta.  If you are looking to hang out with the locals of Barcelona I would head to Bogatell!

In this video we were on Barceloneta.  The atmosphere here is unlike any beach I have ever been to.  There is a lot of action up and down the beach.   The first thing you notice is there are women that walk up and down the beach and say "masaje" all day long.  You can get a 5 Euro massage for just your back or a 10 Euro massage for back and legs.  It is kind of weird getting a massage on the beach while everybody around is looking at you, but it is definitely worth it after a long night of partying.   

4th of July outside the States

Being outside the States on 4th of July is definitely a little strange.  After celebrating the 4th of July for 20 years in a row I have been out of the States the last two summers.  I'm excited to be able to B-B-Q and see some fireworks this year.  It is strange being outside the states because no other country celebrates it...I know I know,  why would any other country celebrate our independence day.  Thats not the point.  The point is that I was so used to spending time with friends and family during the 4th.  And having the day off work and just hanging out together is good enough.  When you don't have the same atmosphere for a big day you definitely start to feel a little down while traveling. 

The good news is that you can always celebrate the 4th of July wherever go.  I have been with a lot of people from other countries over the past two years, and you can always get people to celebrate with you.  It is kind of crazy, but I have been in Barcelona the last two summers during the 4th July.  While  I was not able to see fireworks for the 4th I still found plenty to do.

                      

In 2006, Jay, Parker, Gary and me saw The Wailers at Bikini's in Barcelona.  This is probably the best place to see live music in Barcelona.  It is located at:

Deu I Mata   Num 105 and the phone number is 93 322 08 00. 

Festival de San Fermin - Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain

My trip started in Ireland, where I met up with Gary, Jay, and Parker.  We went to Gary's sisters wedding in Northern Ireland, and from there the only thing we had booked was a trip to Barcelona, Spain.  We had talked about going to the Running of the bulls before I arrived in Ireland, but had not decided for sure.  So after 3 days in Barcelona (Thursday morning), we checked out of our hostel and decided that we were headed to Pamplona.  We had one big problem...we had no way to get there.  If you have ever traveled with me, you know that something always goes wrong or that I don't plan to far in advance!

So we first headed to Estacion Sants where the train (operated by www.renfe.es ) leaves Barcelona headed for different parts of Spain.  Gary, Jay, and Parker sent me to talk to the reservations desk to see if there were any tickets on the trains, because I knew how to talk a little bit of Spanish.  The employee told me there were no more tickets (which I thought before I got in line, but I had to ask), and also gave me a warning not to run with the bulls.  He was telling me that only extranjeros (tourists) run with the bulls and hardly and Spaniards because it is so dangerous.  I told him thanks for the help and the tip and left to tell my friends that option one was a no go!

Next we walked to two rental car company's that were located within two blocks of the train station.  They had no cars available for another 2 weeks.  There is also a bus station that is located right next to Estacion Sants.  All buses headed to Pamplona were sold out too!

How to get to the Running of the Bulls - Festival de San Fermin

Two summers ago I went to the Festival de San Fermin or more popularly known as the Running of the Bulls.  This festival is in Pamplona, Spain.  It is one of the most famous festival in all of Spain and possibly the world.  This festival takes place the beginning of July.  (The dates can change each year so please check to make sure).  The Festival starts at 12 pm on a Thursday, and runs for the next 9 days.  Don't miss the running of the bulls, because you are not sure how to get there!

5 ways to get to the Running of the Bulls (from Barcelona, Spain)

1. Train - Book a train ticket months in advance from Estacion Sants (Barcelona) to Plaza de la Estacion (Pamplona) through the train company RENFE or call +34 90 224 02 02.  If you have not booked your train ticket before June then I would not even bother with this option, because if you show up at the train station in June there will be no tickets available.  Tickets will general run between 30-55 Euros for a one way from Barcelona to Pamplona.
2. Bus - Ride a bus from Barcelona to Pamplona.  There are two bus stations in Barcelona.  One is located next to Estacion Sants (which is usually for all international bus travel). The other is called Estacion del Nord Bus Station, and is located by the Arc de Triomf.  This bus stop has more buses running to local cities in Spain including Pamplona.  A bus ticket will cost any where from 22-40 Euros one way.
3. Car - Rent a car through a local car company in Barcelona for a couple days or a week.
4. Travel Bar  -  There is a bar that is located right of La Rambla in the heart of Barcelona.  This bar provides a bus ride up to Pamplona, a meal, and a bus ride back down to Barcelona.  They take care of everything so that you don't have to worry about it.  You will get to Pamplona around 6pm and then the bus leaves in the morning around 10 am.  In reality, that is all the time you need in Pamplona to run with the Bulls and then leave town.  I believe the cost last summer (2007) was 55 Euros.  This is the best option for a budget traveler who plans last minute events!  www.travelbar.com
5. Plane -  Right now there are 6 direct daily flights from Barcelona to Pamplona through Iberia.  It is an easy hour or so flight. I would almost use this as the last resort if you have no other way to get to Pamplona, because a one way flight is going to cost you about $200 - $300 US Dollars.  You can't put a price on how much fun you are going to have compared with missing the festival.  So if it is your only option then it is definitely worth it!  When I went to the running of the bulls there was no other option so my friends and I booked a last minute flight to make the first day!  It was worth every penny

Tarifa, Spain - Video of the week

I was in the southern most tip of Europe.  I was in Tarifa, Spain.  It has a beautiful beach, and has a lot of Kite surfers up and down the coast because there is so much wind.  In the video you are able to see the Pacific Ocean and then the start of the Mediterranean Sea.  In Tarifa, you are able to catch a ferry to Morocco (Africa) from Tarifa.