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.

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.

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

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/

Maybe you’ll share a cigarette with a man who looks like he’s carved from the sea in the waves of a classical statue. His face will be more wrinkles than not and his grey mane will have spent so much time being tossled by the wind it still billows even in still air.

Maybe he’ll tell you of his friend Mario. Mario is dead. The man’s voice will be soft enough that the pidgeons of Plaza de Catalunya will have to take a moment of silence whenever they want him to be heard.

But Mario is dead. Over the noisy pidgeons fighting over crumbs of children and seniors he will make sure you understand Mario is dead.

He’ll tell you he still talks with Mario, and you’ll think maybe if you could hear more than twenty percent of his words you’d be able to tell if he’s wise or crazy.

The sun will be starting to go down and the wind picking up. In your light jacket you’ll start to feel a little chilly. His hands will be cracked and as black as fruit left in the cold too long, with deep crevices of gashes that decided healing was just too much effort. He will look completely comfortable.

He’ll decide to show you how he talks to Mario, closing his eyes and relaxing into a medatative state. His face will be completely calm yet absolutely intense and you won’t be able to help but staring in silence. Thirty seconds will feel like thirty days.

Suddenly his eyes will open and he’ll look around with the excitement of a child seeing the fantastic Plaza for the first time. Then he’ll burst into laughter.

His cigarette will have gone out by now, and he’ll begin ruffling through his clothes for a lighter. You’ll offer him yours again but he’ll politely decline, stand up and a metal lighter, probably old enough to have lit oil lamps when bulbs were a novelty, will fall from his pant leg and clankingly land on the concrete. He will look surprised and ammused for a split second, and you’ll chuckle and his dam will burst with another roar of laughter. He’ll thank you for the cigarette again and wander away, leaving only a trail of laughter.

It could happen. Share a cigarette. You won’t regret it.

Email us now to book 3 nights or more in a private room between the 27th January and the 5th February and receive 35% off the current price.  Or reserve 2 nights in a 4 bed or 6 bed dorm and recieve 1 night free! Offer subject to availability! Don’t miss out! Make sure you quote ‘hellopp2012′ in your email!  (Conditions apply – email us for more details)

1)Chicken filletes

2) Philadelphia Cream Cheese

3) Smoked bacon

4) Olive oil

5) Tooth picks

1)  Take one strip of bacon and place half of one of the chicken filletes on top.
2)  Place one spoon of Philadelphia Cream cheese on top of the chicken and bacon and roll it up
3)  Wrap another strip of bacon perendicular to the first (to make a ‘t’) and use a toothpick to hold it all together
4)  Cook in a fry pan with a drop of olive oil at a very low heat for 15 minutes
5)  And there you have it!  Yummy Bacon, Chicken and Philadelphia wraps!
Too easy!

Mmmm, you’ll find tasty recipes like these in the HostelBookers.com Backpacker Recipe Guide.

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- pecho de pollo en filettes
- philadelphia
- bacon ahumado
- aceite de oliva
- palillos de dientes

Cojer una loncha de bacon, ponerle encima una mitad de un filete de
pollo, rellenarlo con una cucharita de Philadephia.
Enrollar todo, luego poner otra loncha de bacon alrededor en  el sentido oposito de la primera, (como para hacer una cruz), cerrar todo con  un palillo.

Poner en una sartin una gota de aceite de oliva,y dejar cocinar el  todo a fuego muuuy bajito. 15  minutos y esta listo!

Mmmmmm, puedes encontrar esta y muchas otras recetas ricas en:
the Hostelbookers.com Backpacker Recipe Guide .

That just makes me think about the crisis. Where it has gone when there are people willing to pay 249 euros for a dress…

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The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia , are one the most famous in Barcelona, created in 1996, they are based in Vila de Gràcia, and  the colour of their shirts is navy blue.

They are commonly known as “The Blue Gang”, because of the colour of their shirts or “The Student Gang” because of the young age of most of their members.

They will take your breath away
the 20th of November
@  Gracia’s neighbourhood,
@ 12.00 in Plaça de la Vila de Gracia