A must visit: MODERNISTA HOSPITAL DE SANT PAU (Domènech i Montaner)

You must have included Sagrada Familia in the visits you plan to do in Barcelona. That’s ok, of course. But you may not have included a visit to HOSPITAL DE SANT PAU. That’s wrong.

 

Sant Pau interior detail.
Photo by Jaume Meneses
(in Wikimedia Commons)
Photo Licence in Creative Commons

You really should try to spend some time there. It is not just a Hospital. It is one of the landmarks of the Modernista style and it was conceived by one of the greatest architects that had work in Catalonia, ever. Check Lluís Domènech i Montaner biography in Wikipedia Biography and you will be impressed. He is also the author of such a significant work as Palau de la Música Catalana.

Additionally, it is quite near Sagrada Familia, so you won’t have to spend a lot of time just moving from one place to the other.

And there is still and additional reason to visit HOSPITAL DE SANT PAU. A four-year rehabilitation has been done to make the pavilions recover their past glory. It still to be completed, but the main building and some of the pavilions have already been rehabilitated and are open to the public in paid visits.

In this City Council link some details on the rehabilitation works are given. Unfortunately, there is no English translation. I will translate just a small piece of text so you can see the rehabilitation goals: “The works in Sant Pau have been done following the original project thought by Lluís Domènech i Muntaner and built between 1905 and 1930. A work that did not end until six years after the death of the architect, and that could be finished because the architect’s son took charge of them. With the aim to keep the primary essence of the buildings, and exactly as if they were treating a human patient, the building have been taken the maximum care to preserve every architectural detail.”

Here is the link to the visit website, which also includes relevant data regarding the Hospital history (which dates back to the Middle Ages) and the Modernista buildings:

http://www.visitsantpau.com/en/

I will include some photos of my visit to the Hospital in a separate entry.  

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona - Restaurants near Plaza España (Barcelona)



Picture of Plaza España by Yurivane89 in Wikimedia Commons
Photo License Creative Commons

The Mobile World Congress 2014 will take place 24 – 27 February 2014 in Barcelona. The venue of the MWC is in Fira Gran Via with good connection to Fira Montjuïc, near Plaza España, a place where I don’t normally go to eat. If I go there, it’s usually to visit CaixaForum, MNAC or the Van der Rohe pavilion. 

I can not make any suggestions for Fira Gran Via, I am afraid. Still, I think I can make a few suggestions in the surrounding of Fira Montjuïc. 

First suggestion: avoid the upper floor restaurants at the Arenas Shopping Center. These are just a trap for tourist. If you want to see the view, go and have a beer but try not to eat. If you feel you have to eat there, there are some fast-food restaurants in the underground floor such as UDON, which are ok.

Second suggestion and last (for now), if you want to eat in a posh place and have a view, remember Restaurant VISUAL offers both. It is in the upper floor of Hotel Torre Catalunya in Plaça de Sants, just a few minutes from the MWC venue.

Restaurant Visual website



P.S. This post included a suggestion to visit RAFI, a small family-owned restaurant, which offered the best cous-cous in town. Unfortunately, Rafi and his husband - Mohammed - retired and the restaurant has changed hands, philosophy and menu. What can we say? It is a pity! Rafi / Mohammed: If you ever read this, thank you for the pleasure your food and tea has provided us. Now we regret not having eaten there more often! 

LA BARCELONETA: RESTAURANT CAN MAÑO

Today I was having lunch at CAN MAÑO, and I thought it was worth mencioning the place in this blog. It is a small, simple restaurant. The common "bar" we used to have in every corner. Now these

bars are becoming extinct, in favour of more modern options: gastro pubs, gourment hamburgueserías, tapas de luxe, ... places that claim to be "authentic" but are in fact 100% focused to tourists. That is why CAN MAÑO is worth mentioning: because it resists. Nor its furniture, or the food they serve, or the waiters have yet adapted to the tourism flooding that is quickly killing what La Barceloneta was once upon a time.

Well, let's focus on food. CAN MAÑO strenghts lie on fried fish: fresh, local, well priced. In our case today: one plate sardinas plancha, one plate molls, one plate mairas, bread, one bottle white wine, side dish of fried aubergines and green peppers, one bottle water plus one cortado. It was more than enough for two people. All for 28€. When you think in terms of quality, it is a fair price.

If you are in La Barceloneta, it is really a place where you should go. They are open from 8 am if you feel like having a earthy breakfast.

CAN MAÑO
c/Baluard 12 (very near to the market square)


I didn't dare take photos myself, but you can find a nice choice in these sites:
http://oohlalabites.blogspot.com.es/2012/01/can-mano-in-barcelona.html
http://barcelona-guide.info/es/restaurante-can-mano

BARCELONA APPS: PROXIMO BUS BARCELONA among others

The world seems to be drowned with apps these days. Some are very useful. Some others are less useful. Of course, Apps on Barcelona are popping up everywhere.

Here is a web page with APPs on BCN. Some claim to be “official”. I am sorry, I didn’t try any of them so I can not tell you if they are useful or not.

http://apps4bcn.cat/en/esp/experts/index/filter:AZ/Category:all/pagina:2/

And Barcelona Turisme has also published some APPS specifically addressed to visitors. You may find them in: 
http://apps.barcelonaturisme.com/?lang=en

But here is an APP I use so I can tell you for sure it is useful:

Próximo bus Barcelona


Bus stop in Plaça Molina

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cat.ereza.properbusbcn&hl=es

It will help you locating and using buses in Barcelona. Plus: it has a juicy story behind (It was “prosecuted” by the city council for using public data. Luckily, reason and public pressure imposed and we can continue enjoying this app).

I don't think they have an English version but it's quite intuitive so, that shouldn't be a problem. 

I hope you will find it useful too.

Festes de Santa Eulàlia - Saint patron of Barcelona (February 7, 8, 9, 12, 2014)

Tomorrow Barcelona starts the Festes de Santa Eulàlia in honour of the city saint co-patron. If you happen to be in Barcelona, don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy some of the most traditional events in the town such as “correfocs”.

Here is the council programm:

http://santaeulalia.bcn.cat/

And here a few data about the unfortunate death of the Saint and the main points of interest related to her in Barcelona:

http://www.localnomad.com/en/blog/2013/03/11/mystery-tour-of-santa-eulalia-in-barcelona/


It is also worth a visit to the Gothic crypt devoted to her in the Cathedral. The crypt is accessed by a wide staircase under an almost flat arch, behind the high altar. Inside the crypt, there is a huge flat vault with twelve archs sealed with a big keystone. It is uncommon to have a crypt in a Gothic cathedral. In this case, it is believed that it exists because the former Romanesque cathedral already had a crypt devoted to Santa Eulàlia.