Happy late easter….

Wednesday May 2nd, 2012

Filed under: Bcn Agenda — HelloBCN Hostel Barcelona @ 03:27 PM

It may not be so for everyone, but Easter has always been well celebrated in my family. For me it’s one of the big ones- not for any grand religious reasons, but simply because it’s one of the annual dates with my family. Year after year, without exception, whoever is able finds their way to my grandparents’ house, my grandmother cooks a huge feast centered around her amazingly tender lamb roast, topped with a perfect dollop of mint jelly (my grandmother is 100% Greek, so we do it right). There’s no exception, no need for confirmation. Every year we know the plan. It’s a tradition and an excuse to be around people I love and tell my stomach ‘you can take it- I’m going back for thirds.’

Regardless of if it’s easter or thanksgiving, christmas or passover, the thought remains the same- sure there’s meaning and history, but the truth is the value is more in the modern tradition than the historical purposes and celebrations. We celebrate what is relevant in our lives. I’ve long referred to myself as an optimistic cynic- would I argue for celebrating the circumstances surrounding the original American Thanksgiving? Let’s just say it’s better I stay out of that one. What’s important is that in spite of the history, I do love Thanksgiving. For what it means in my life; for the opportunity to spend time with those few who will support me year after year, no matter who I become.

Of course this is part of why we love traveling- to disrupt the norm and traditions; to keep learning and gaining new experiences- but it’s also why we occasionally find ourselves homesick and yearning for those traditions of comfort and warmth (and food- let’s face it, the diet of cereal and pasta many of us are surviving off isn’t exactly a complete substitute for our grandmother’s home cooked feasts).

So we do our best, and we try to bring our traditions, our cultures, our warmth, our food and our hospitality wherever we go. To celebrate as often as we can so that even if we miss the traditions and family of our childhood we can occupy some of that space of yearning with new friends, new family and new traditions.

I’m proud to say this year I helped bring some of my tradition and family to my newly adopted family of backpackers and spring-breakers. It may have been my first time cooking lamb in my life, it may have been my first time cooking for more than five people and I’m not saying the feast we put together rivaled my grandmother’s sixty-something years of experience. But we had five or so strangers cooperating to cook for thirty travelers from around the world. And that’s what’s important. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can certainly say that for me easter could have easily passed with nothing but a tug to see family.

As corny as it may sound, holidays aren’t just about eating your weight and gift giving, and they’re not about long forgotten celebrations of events that hold little to no bearing on our current lives, they’re about- get ready for the big hallmark moment- bringing people together. As travelers we need these traditions, the motivation to adopt those with drastically different cultures and histories we’ve only known for days or hours into our family. We need a reminder that no matter how far we are from our traditional families and childhood friends, no matter how misplaced we are in a foreign culture, there will always be friendly faces to (not just party, but) celebrate with.

I hope that wherever you were you felt at home.


Tapas… a welcome immigrant

Monday March 26th, 2012

Filed under: Bits of Barcelona — Tags: , , — HelloBCN Hostel Barcelona @ 03:49 PM

Despite tapas bars being one of the many non authentic traditions brought over from Spain and forced onto Catalunyans, I think most would agree they’re a welcome immigrant.

Being a traveler, especially when I find myself traveling solo, I’m constantly looking for places to go meet people, make friends and hang out. I’m gonna bet that at some point in your traveling (or maybe even in your home life) you’ve been to a restaurant by yourself and learned most restaurants aren’t really built around the idea of bringing strangers together.

When you walk into any of the charming whole in the wall tapas bars littering the narrow back streets of Barcelona you’ll find something entirely different than any of the tourist trap restaurants that just happen to serve tapas. Like a good cafe or pub it’s more about the place itself- the atmosphere, the staff, the crowd attracted- than the food. Don’t get me wrong, you’re going to get fantastic food, but the real purpose of a tapas bar is to snack and socialize. In many parts of Spain it’s considered completely normal and traditional to go to a tapas bar immediately before retreating somewhere more private for a full meal with your family or friends.

Whether you’re going to grab some snacks to tide you over until the late Spanish dinner (if you’re not familiar with the Spanish clock, dinnertime starts around 21:00) or you’ve decided you need a non-alcoholic night out, you definitely need to spend some time ‘bar hopping’ the local tapas tabernas.

It’s hard not to stumble into them in this neighborhood, but if you need a starting place check out Blai Tonight (Carrer de Blai, 23). Located just a couple blocks from the hostel, friendly staff, all tapas are one euro, and if you stick around till closing there’s a good chance you’ll get a few freebies too. It’s definitely not a quiet spot to chill out and do some reading- you’ll be lucky to find somewhere to stand, nevermind sit, but that’s what you want in a tapas bar.


ART… What’s the point?

Tuesday March 20th, 2012

Filed under: Bcn Agenda — Tags: , , — HelloBCN Hostel Barcelona @ 06:55 PM

The major ongoing debate about art is a pretty simple one. What’s the point? Is art worthless, or is it the only thing worth anything?

ACVic Centre d’Arts Contemporànies tosses these big questions to the side with its current exhibition “Artesens – Construccions col·lectives de l’espai social (Craftsmen and Women – Collective constructions of the social space)” which focuses on practical, political, urban social projects that aim to tackle real world problems and raise, not just in a vague metaphorical but in a very visceral and physical way, questions about the environment around us.

In some this may raise an equally poignant question of “what exactly constitutes art?” but again our currators choose to ignore this for the moment. This isn’t an exhibit about philosophy and weighty but essentially arbitrary debates on vague concepts and ideas. It’s an exhibit about raw materials, physical restraints, people and places and institutions. It pays homage to the sweat on your brow, not the impression in your armchair.

One set of pieces that particularly push the limits of raw practicality to points debatably far too useful to be considered art shows off multiple varieties of ad hoc booths (a propane powered kitchen, media booth, garden, etc.) constructed from found materials, all completely self contained, nomadic and DIY. Other pieces shown include a collection of tapes preserving the stories and songs of cultures, maps based on the security and military movement in Beirut and quite a few other very socially poignant and practically applicable projects that remind us to take an active role in our physical environment and question the forces that shape it.

This is not a pretty exhibition. Go expecting to think rather than feel. Be ready to push aside your psuedo intellectual art critic sensibilities and find inspiration to just roll up your sleeves and do something that needs doing.

For more information – www.acvic.org


Cellar Cal Marino

Wednesday March 14th, 2012

Filed under: Bcn Agenda,Bits of Barcelona — HelloBCN Hostel Barcelona @ 05:12 PM

Right up on Carrer de Margarit there’s this fantastic little wine bar called Cellar Cal Marino where you can taste a huge variety of Spanish wines for really respectable prices. Immediately when you walk in you go through a hallway lined with casks and find yourself in a cute little bar with a moody cellar/cafe feel. One entire wall is covered with shelves of wines by the bottle which start at only a few euros. Their by the glass list is pretty sweet too, with a large variety of quality selections many of which are only 1,50 to 2 euros.

It’s a great place to hang out and enjoy a relaxing drink with a classy but homey atmosphere when you want a break from the fast paced clubs and parties of the city, especially since it’s located only a couple minutes walk from your front door!

http://www.cellercalmarino.com/


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