A history of the ensaladilla rusa.

The ensaladilla rusa is in fact Russian, as its name indicates it. Invented in 1860 by Lucien Olivier, a respected cook in a fancy Muscovite restaurant, the original dish became one of the most popular salads in Russia in only a couple of months - and yet its creator swore the recipe to secrecy, no matter how much the Russian leaders begged and pleaded.

His assistant, on the other hand, tried with all his might to recreate the secret recipe, and succeeded in selling a very similar version to a competing Muscovite restaurant. Although the public as well as the creator admits that it is not a succulent as the original version from Olivier, who still refused to oblige, this second version spread across Europe nonetheless, becoming extremely popular. The original recipe unfortunately died with the permanent closure of Olivier's restaurant in 1905, but the second version of the Ensaladilla Rusa had had time to become iconic in many European countries.

The first version of the Russian Salad, Olivier Salad or Ensaladilla Rusa called for precious, elegant ingredient, but as it becomes more and more popular among less fancy countries the ingredients become more common - the recipe ended up becoming a cheap and easy-to-made dish, traditional in many countries, each one adapting it to its customs and tastes. As such, it is sometime prepared with chicken, other times with ground beef, however the local customer prefers his salad.

The Spanish tapa called the Ensaladilla Rusa bores no meat:

Ensaladilla Rusa Recipe :

• 7 medium potatoes
• 2 roasted red peppers (bottled is fine)
• 1 16 oz can of peas and carrots, drained
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 6 oz can tuna, drained
• mayonnaise - For home-made, see recipe link below.
• Optional:
• 4-5 spears white asparagus for garnish

Click here for the complete recipe of the ensaladilla rusa

Where can I eat an Ensaladilla Rusa in Barcelona?

Since I started renting an apartment in the center of Barcelona, I have actively searched a great place to eat an ensaladilla rusa. Here is my selection of the best ensaladilla rusas in Barcelona:

Bar Alastruey

It is a calm bar in the heart of the city, on a pedestrian street, hidden away, perfect for a nice relaxing tapas afternoon with friends.

Carrer dels Mercaders, 24
08003 Barcelona, Spain

La Pineda

This tapas bar is almost 100 years old, and every piece on the menu is a real treat, prepared with love just a few hours prior. The authentic catalan bar, waiting for you.

Carrer del Pi, 16
08002 Barcelona, Spain

un-originally taking the bus, you know -- or as I tend to inadvertently do, walking endlessly in the streets of the city, before passing out in my bed, exhausted, without dinner. No, the better solution is GoCar! Nothing original, they exist in many cities (namely San Franciso, Lisbon, Madrid...), but they do not cease to be useful (and awesome)

These little yellow cars, which can commonly be seen in the city center, will make your holidays in Barcelona the most fun in a long time. Made for two, the mini-cars have an integrated GSP system and a personal voice, explaining the many hidden secrets of this most beautiful city. You design your own path of the city, since you are the one driving it, and the guide knowing where you are, catches up with fun stories about the streets you are visiting. 

You may use GoCar for several hours at a time - drive down the Ramblas to Sagrada Familia, the Park Güell and Camp Nou, and let the car speak to you! Every single part of Barcelona is accessible to you, and it is much faster, much more relaxing, and of course more fun, to ride around in these fun-sized automobile than sweat in the sun walking around aimlessly, trying to decipher yet another poorly constructed city guide. 

How much does GoCar cost ?

First hour: 35 €
Second hour: 25 €
Each additional hour: 20 €
All day: 99 €

Where to find GoCar ?

Reserve a car on the phone : GoCar Barcelona +34 902 301 333
Reserve online at least two hours before picking up the car : 23bis calle Freixures bajo, Barcelona, 08003 Spain.

Open from 9AM to 9PM in summer and 10AM to 7PM in winter

You guessed it; Barcelona caught up with Berlin and Amsterdam, and launched the next awesome tourism service: BiciBar.

The name gives it away; BiciBar offers you the possibility of have a drink with friends while cycling. There are 15 seats available on the BiciBar, and ten sets of bicycle pedals, necessary to move the cart forward and visit Barcelona while sipping a beer. You are accompanied by two members of the staff, one to steer the cart right or left and guide you through the streets of Barcelona and another in the middle, serving you refreshing beverages and traditional pinchos.

That got me so curious and excited, I decided to contact the company, and hereby conducted my very first interview on this blog with the creators of the concept, especially for you my friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Interview of BiciBar's co-creator

- What inspired you to create BiciBar?

Mike, Paco and I were in Munich last year. Paco was working there at the time for Seat, and I went to see him with a few friends. We were walking down 'Englisher Garten', when we saw 'Bier-Bike'. This is a fairly popular service in Germany, and consists in a moving vehicle showing you around the city while you relax with a beer.

As we saw it we obviously wanted to try it, but they would not let us, as they said they only accepted groups of 10 people, who had reserved several days in advance. Quite frustrated, we returned a month later, having made a reservation, and finally tried it. That is when we started wondering how we could export this concept to Barcelona.

Meanwhile, Paco was wondering why it was so difficult to find Spanish products in Germany, whereas products from other countries, (France, Italy, etc.) were fairly easy to find. From this debate came the idea of offering traditional Spanish food to our clients during the ride.

- So how were you able to create BiciBar?

At first we had to overcome many obstacles: finding funding and permits, modifying the vehicle to make it accessible to our project, hire staff, etc. 

It took us about one year to prepare everything and start on the first tours. The first one was only a couple of weeks ago, and we still have a lot of kinks to work out!

- Who are you?

We are 3 friends: Mike Schwentor from the USA, Francisco Requena and Silvia Ortea, both from Spain. We are the ones who had the idea and decided to set it up - however, a lot of our friends helped us with the preparation: brainstorming about the concept, working out the mechanics, catering...

- So how do you reserve then?

At the moment the website (www.bicibarbcn.com) is still under maintenance, but it will include a page to make a reservation for BiciBar. You can also make a reservation by sending us a mail at bicibarbcn@gmail.com or info@barcicleta.com.

However, if you see it in the street, you may jump on. The website will include an activity map, allowing viewers to see if there is availability on the BiciBar. This is especially important to us, as we considered it a big flaw in Munich when they refused to give us a ride without a  reservation. You should however make a reservation if you are planning on coming as a large group, just to make sure we have enough seats for you. People can come alone, or in groups of 15 people maximum. Bigger groups will have to take separate rides. 

If the BiciBar is not full, we will fill in the empty chairs with other people sending requests - it's a lot more fun with a full BiciBar. For example, if I receive a reservation for 4 people, and I have another one pending for 5 people: I will make those two groups ride together in the 

BiciBar. This has until now had great results, because you have to work as a group to move the BiciBar and interaction comes very easily between the participants. The guide keeps the rhythm going, and everyone has a lot of fun trying to communication and coordinate. It is a great way for people to get to know each other, other groups of travelers or even local - and the ice is easily broken.

- What routes does BiciBar follow?

For the moment we only go from Arc de Triomf to Cuidadella, and back to Arc de Triomf. Around half way through we take a break - the trip lasts about 40 min to one hour, depending on how fast you go!

Very soon we will start another route on the beach: Barceloneta-Mar Bella-Barceloneta, and then a route inside the city, which we are still working on. We try to choose routes that have a cultural interest, and the guide may, if the clients agree, comment and explain what they are visiting.

- How much does BiciBar cost? Is there a group discount?

We are currently offering a promotion where trips are between 10 and 20 euros, according of course to consumption. We offer refreshing drinks (local beers, sangrias, sodas), and a selection of pinchos, a sort of local tapa (there is always a lactose-intolerant one and a vegetarian one). We usually offer 5 types of pinchos, and you can take 1 or more, according to the price you wish to pay. We want our clients to enjoy their stay and discover Spanish food, so food quality is particularly important to us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BiciBar has opened only a few weeks ago, but they are dedicated to client care. They have started a chronicle on the BiciBar Facebook page called Diario de BiciBar (BiciBar's Journal), where they keep readers informed and interact with them. It is admitedly a great way to spend a day in vacation in Barcelona.

Opening hours BiciBar

BiciBar is only open from Thursday to Sunday for now, but they expect to be up and running every day as soon as possible. 

Where to find BiciBar?

The tour starts at Arc de Triomf, and comes back every 45-60 min. That is, by the by, where you'll find me next week end, dutifully waiting for the BiciBar. Although the nice people at BiciBar added a perk: if you see it in the street, you can hail it like a cab, and jump on!

I can't wait!

BiciBar contact information: 

Adress: Arc de Triomf, 08018 Barcelona, Spain

Telephone: +34 933 09 29 46

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BiciBarBCN

email: bicibarbcn@gmail.com or info@barcicleta.com.

The first concert will be held on Thursday, 17th of May, 2012 and the second one on Friday, 18th of May 2012 in Barcelona. You can pre-order tickets and either pick up at a ticket office or send her home.

The Bruce Springsteen concert in Barcelona

The concert takes place at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona.

 It is located on Montjuic hill, which offers a beautiful view over the city. The stadium was built for the Barcelona Universal Exhibition in 1929 and renovated in 1989 for the Summer Olympic Games 1992 to be used as the main hall for the games. Today, the Olympic stadium hosts events such as exhibitions or concerts.

There is one thing everybody thinks of when mentioning Spanish gastronomy - kind of like French snails or Italian pizzas - and, of course, I am referring to tapas. I know some people can barely wait to get off the plane to rush off to the nearest bar and devour some tapas (that may have been me...). Why wouldn't I? It is a rare treat.

The last thing to do when going out for tapas is worry about calories - you are here to taste everything, and everything you shall taste. These gatherings usually involve a group of friends ordering 5, sometimes 6 or 7 tapas, because, heck, why choose, right? This is Spanish culture at its purest: 'ponemos todo encima de la mesa, y picamos', loosely translated in: 'just put it all on the table and lets share'. This is one of the most frustrating and annoying thing in the world for non-Spaniards, usually educated to eat what is in their plate, no more, no less - and yet, somehow, this Mediterranean habit catches on quicker than expected, and you soon find yourself back to the homeland, picking in your neighbor's dish in a highly un-restaurant way, not knowing where on Earth your manners went.

Tapas in Catalonia

Anyway -

You can find all types of different tapas, but most of all you can find them in almost every restaurant in Spain. In fact it is very difficult for me to walk around the streets of Barcelona, and smell the sweet smell of Spanish ham and melon, or the spicy odor of patatas bravas, if I haven't previously has a full lunch.

Tapas are appropriate at all hours of the day, whether on the terrace of a hotel in Lloret de Mar, on a beach in Sitges or simply on las Ramblas in Barcelona, every restaurant serves them - but careful, they are not all good.

I could give you a list of all the great tapas bar... however, my belief is the only way to find the best tapas bar in Barcelona, is to try them all, one by one.

Much like me, in my quest for the perfect ensaladilla rusa...

But that's a story for another day...

Josep "Pep" Guardiola - you must have heard of him. Also called 'El Catalan', 'El Filósofo', 'El Grande', Guardiola is, or should I say, was, the best coach FC Barcelona has seen in the history of the club.

He started his career at FC Barcelona in 1990 as a midfielder, and played for the team for 16 years. He retired his professional player life in 2006 and starting coaching the Barça in 2007 until, unfortunately, last Friday, when he announced his retirement as team coach in a very emotional press conference in Barcelona.

He was a brilliant player, of relative fame simply due to his position, midfield, which does not call for much goal making. He did however have quite a trophy case:

- 6 Ligas
- 2 Copas del Rey
- 4 Spanish Supercups
- 1 European Cup
- 1 Cup Winners' Cup
- 2 European Supercups.
- and he won the Olympic Gold Medal in 1992.

He was an even more brilliant coach however. Just as he arrived at the head of his team, FC Barcelona started to win every trophee they ran for. It was like his touch made every football player score - pure gold. As such, he and his team won the 6 cups they were aspiring for in just one year: the Spanish Liga, the UEFA Champions' League, the European Supercup, the Spanish Supercup, the Copa del Rey, and the International Cup (now known as the FIFA Club World Cup). This incredible winning streak made Josep Guardiola the youngest (and only) coach to win 6 official titles in a single year - 5 other European clubs have reached the Trifecta but none have been able to win the 6 consecutive cups.

He is internationally recognized since then as the greatest coach ever to train the FC Barcelona, and was awarded the FIFA World Coach of the Year in 2009 and 2011. Under his titulage, Barcelona played 242 games with 175 victories, 46 ties and 21 losses, as well as 618 goals scored and 178 received - quite a score board.

2012 - Guardiola leaves the FC Barcelona

Guardiola announced his departure from the FC Barcelona on Friday, 27th of April, 2012, during a long an emotional press conference that some of his players did not even dare to attend. Lionel Messi, star player of the FC Barcelona, commented on his absence: 'I have had such an emotional couple of days that I have decided not to come to the press conference. All the journalists are looking for signs of sadness in us; I have decided to keep that to myself'.

After four glorious years coaching the FC Barcelona, Guardiola explains that 'he is empty, tired, and needs to regenerate'. It is without doubt that coaching the greatest football team in the world is bound to be seemingly impossible task, and keeping an impeccable score board this whole time is impressive.

The news came as quite a shock, even though rumors were going about since October. Guardiola chose his replacement, Tito Vilanova, his assistant, who will take over the team as soon as the season is over. Josep explains: 'we have been working as a team for 4 years; I told him that if he felt strong enough, he should take the lead.'

The entire sporting world agrees: there is no other like Guardiola - until maybe the day Messi, three times winner of the Golden Ball Award and record holder for the number of goals scored in the FC Barcelona, takes over.

Book tickets to the FC Barcelona games to see if the team keeps up with its reputation...

The hardest part of the process was choosing the restaurant - there are over 40 restaurants on the list of participating restaurants, and they all offered a tantalizing menu...

I ultimately decided on Restaurant 3, in the heart of artistic Barcelona near metro station Diagonal, because I had read about it recently. My mouth was watering and my stomach was gurgling as I arrived at the door at 8h30, accompanied by my bestfriend. 

On entering the establishment I was pleasantly surprised to realize that it was actually the restaurant of a 4-star hotel in Barcelona. The entrance was therefore very luxurious, and a smiling hostess showed us the way downstairs to the restaurant.

A beautiful man greeted us with a smile, and it turns out he was British - in the discovery of our mutual british-ness the kind waiter served two glasses of champagne with raspberry syrup, along with the prefixed menu for the evening.

The little mise-en-bouche was terrific - a sort of mini vegetable spring roll no bigger than an inch - and it introduced perfectly our two different starters: spinach salad with grilled cheese for me two and a Girona Buey beef carpaccio and tartare for my friend.

Another glass of champagne later came the main course - and what a course indeed! It was just a lamb shack in gravy sauce, but it was everything we needed. Of fine and elegant taste, this was a real treat.

Finally, the coup de grace: the fondant au chocolat, absolutely indescribable, with its frozen yogurt and sorbet lemon digestive... an absolute joy for everything involved. Impeccable service, an enjoyable evening and a delicious meal - what else?

And all for just 25 euros. I love living in Barcelona.

Events on Sunday

For instance, it organized a Sunday event for children in January 2012. Its theme was based on Magic. Every Sunday, children could enjoy the Magic show. In addition, they were most welcome to come up with their own magic tricks. It is quite similar to a family workshop. Children get a fabulous opportunity to learn and have fun with many other children.

The magic trick workshop has different sessions. Its timings start from 10.30 am and end at 12 pm. In order to make sure you get your place, you can arrive early at the venue.

Moreover, children enjoy endless games on Sundays every month. Along with that, they also enjoy role-playing games. In these games, they do craftsmanship for some hours of the day. Here, they play the roles of craftsmen and women. This game gives practical exposure and a learning experience to these children. This is because they get a good opportunity to make something by themselves during their vacation in Barcelona.

Family weekend in Barcelona

Gymkhana is the most popular attraction of El Poble Espanyol. It enables both adults and children to explore the village and discover interesting ancient buildings during their weekend on the Costa Brava. Cars are not allowed in El Poble Espanyol. This ensures that children can run around freely so that they fully enjoy the Sunday events. Secondly, their parents do not need to worry about any safety issues.

El Poble Espanyol also organizes other special events on Sundays. Some of them are Puppet Festival, Carnival, and Sant Jordi. On this day, they also listen to interesting stories from storytellers.

How to Get There

You can reach El Poble Espanyol easily through the following ways:

1. By metro: Plaça Espanya (L1, L3)

2. By bus: 13, 61, and 50.

Barcelona is a cosmopolitan city, full of beautiful women and fashionable men. Fashion has a central role in a city that birthed Desigual, Custo Barcelona and Mango. The entire headquarters of Inditex are located just a while away from the heart of Barcelona, a heart that pumps fashion and good taste in the veins of every local and passerby.

A weekend in Barcelona is spent shopping, finding the next perfect outfit for the next night out in the city. This is why the next great event of Barcelona is the Summer Brandery 2012.

This is in no way a high fashion event or couture frenzy: the Brandery in Barcelona is about real fashion, fashion that we actually wear, and not just 'fashionable fashion', if you know what I 

mean - at the Brandery you'll find some classic outfits mixed with skaters, Goths and hype girls, stuck up styles and mama's boys, etc! Everyone is there, and everyone has fun; the Brandery exists to make everyone's life just a little bit better.

The Brandery 2012 will be on the 13-15 of June 2012, at Fira Barcelona, and will hosts several events, such as the catwalk, the very interesting speed dating, where buyers and sellers get together to talk, or the Laundry, the brainstorming area of the event. Every aspect of fashion is upheld in the Brandery, and everyone finds a shoe that fits.

Even the city dresses up for the biggest fashion event of Catalonia! Window contests are organized, and tourists on vacation in Barcelona can vote for the best shop window online, via social media.

I can't wait !

Although the national sport in Spain is football, let's focus this time on rugby. A special rugby event, Rugby Sevens, will take place in Barcelona on the 25th and 26th of May 2012, to the great delight of rugby fans everywhere. Rugby Sevens was born in Scotland and face two teams of seven players against each other, as opposed to 15 as is the custom in rugby.

The sport is a very popular one in Europe and mostly in the South Pacific (New Zealand is, as everyone knows, the rugby World Champions), however it is also a great occasion to enjoy the warm sun of Barcelona and have fun with your friends, family, and beers. Unlike the original rugby match, the Rugby Sevens tournament was conceived as a "party for Rugby", where people celebrate this sport that they love, and have fun together.

The teams

The tournament faces at least 21 teams from France, Italy, England, Ireland, Scotland, Russia and Saudi Arabia against one another, and although the program has not yet been officially published, they expect to have 3 games a day at least. Each team signs up by itself, and the participants range from amateur university teams to official national teams like the Stade Français, the French professional team.

The tournament

The tournament will be on the premises of the C.N. Poble Nou Enginyers club, which is located only five minutes from the Port Olimpic and the Mar Bella beach. Rugby Sevens 2012 will be kicked off in Flaherty's Pub, and sponsored by Budweiser - I told you it was going to be fun!

See you there...

The concert

The concert will take place on the 4th of May, 2012 in Pavello Olimpic de Badalona, and we will start grooving at 10:30 PM.

The indoor Pavello Olimpic is the home stadium of the basketball club "Club Joventut de Badalona" and has room for all the 12,500 spectators, and me.

The cheapest tickets for the concert are available online starting at 28 euros, and can go up to 90€ if, like me, you plan to being able to touch Daddy Yankee's feet while dancing to his sweet, sweet, Puerto Rican beats.

Badalona is a town outside of Barcelona, so it is just a little ride away, but it's one of the neighboring cities and the town is connected to the Barcelona transport system.

Directions to Pavello Olimpic in Badalona

Metro: Take metro line L2 (purple) till the station Gorg

Bus: BD3, BD4, B16, B25, B26, B29, B30, B31 

Tram: Take the tram till stop Gorg T5, which is located just near the metro station Gorg

Free parking is available. However the concert is supposed to be completely full, and with a great party mood... which mean that it might be better to use public transportation, if you know what I mean...

Accommodation in Badalona

Badalona is not very far from Barcelona, so you can book and apartment there, but since the public transportation stops at 2AM, until 5AM, it might be better advised to book an apartment in Badalona and just kind of... walk back home, after a long night of dancing...

Located between the Montjuic Park, just outside of Plaza Espanya, the Poble Espanyol is in fact a real village, where people live and work as they would in any other part of Spain - in fact, it also has a church and a monastery.

The Poble Espanyol is a real open air museum in the heart of downtown Barcelona. You will find 117 of the well-known Spanish landmarks, streets and squares. Built in 1929 for the Barcelona World Fair, the project was originally initiated by the famous architect Josep Puig, then being designed by Francesc Folguera and Raman Heventos. The architects spent months investigating more than 1,600 Spanish cities along with the art critic Miquel Utrillo and the painter Xavier Nogués, to draw the plans and build the Poble Espanyol, or Spanish Village, as accurately as possible.

Their hard work paid off because even though the museum was originally built only for 6 months, and be destroyed and rebuilt as residential buildings as soon as the World Fair had ended, but like many monuments built for the event, the success was so huge that the City of Barcelona decided to maintain it.

What I most enjoyed was walking through the streets and examining the traditional shops and various crafts ateliers that you can find everywhere in Poble Espanyol- these workshops showcase arts and crafts from different regions of Spain and are both informative and terribly fun.

The Poble Espanyol is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon with friends, or with your family (there are many activities for children).

Book a holiday apartment on Plaza Espanya.

Restaurant Week since 1992

Restaurant Week was created 20 years ago in New York, as a publicity stunt go get people to go to restaurants again, a custom that was getting lost in the swarm of fast-foods and pre-cooked home meals. As could be expected, the event was a huge success, and has become a tradition in New York since then - twice a year since 1992, New Yorkers enjoy a 35$ meal in the greatest 5 star restaurants of NYC.

The event has made a lot of noise, and little by little Restaurant Weeks have started appearing in other cities in the United States, and then cities in various countries across the world. Today, you can enjoy Restaurant Week in Paris, Singapore, Seattle, Madrid, and many more.

Restaurant Week in Barcelona is only two years old - in a city where there are more terraces than supermarkets, it seemed only natural that once a year, the food lovers could enjoy a great restaurant without (ironically) going hungry at the end of the month. Everyone is talking about it, and to tell you the truth, I can't wait.

Restaurant Week in Barcelona

Do not doubt for a minute that I will do everything in my power to enjoy a meal in the greatest, more reputable restaurants in Barcelona for the lean price of 25€ (24€ for the meal and 1€ donated to charity)! It is true that the drinks are not included in the price, but still, I would never pass on the chance to eat in la Terraza del Claris for example, this beautiful terrace on the last floor of the Claris luxury hotel in Barcelona that I admire everytime I walk down the Passeig de Gràcia.

When ? Where ? How ?

Make a reservation for a table in the restaurants that participate in Restaurant Week Barcelona, and quick, because it will not be an easy task.

Yesterday night was the FC Barcelona game of the Champions' League tournament against AC Milano in Barcelona's Camp Nou. So I promptly left my apartment in Barcelona to meet my friends in an Irish Pub and cheer for the Catalan team.

Despite perharps a slow start of the game, it was a beautiful match - the atmosphere in the bar was absolutely extraordinary and the supporters were going wild not only in the stadium but all around us. Lionel Messi missed two goals

 before being awarded a penalty in the 11th minute - this first goal is a shock for the Italians who, despite being only one goal away from qualification, suddenly start to panick.

Worry not, my dear Italians, you still have 80 minutes left.

Actually not, if you believe the amazing game FC Barcelona seems to have tonight. The Barça fans behinds us were screaming in ecstasy, since Milan could barely cross into Barcelona's layer. 

However, FC Barcelona seems to have gotten too confident, as they tend to when they feel winning is going to be easy. It only took entering FC Barcelona's side only once to score a goal for Nocerino, interrupting yet another heated song from the supporting tables behind us. 

Facing humiliation, it took only 6 minutes for Messi to score another goal thanks to penalty number 2. Talk about performing under pressure.

It is now half-time and FC Barcelona is leading 2 to 1. The bar is literally vibrating from all the excitement and the songs supporting Barça are pouring. My Italian friend was feeling a little out of place, but as always she places a smile on her face and moves on. We all went outside for a few moments to get some air, and noticed that everyone was buzzing with exhilaration: Messi, new record holder of the number of goals kicked in FC Barcelona since last week, just broke the record of number of goals kicked during a Champion's League tournament, totaling 14 in the quarter finals game.

As the second half starts, we only need 9 minutes to witness the third FC Barcelona goal, scored by Andres Iniesta and assisted by Messi, and we understand that the game is over. Even though there is half an hour left to play, the Italians seem to have given up, or given in... The last 30 minutes are spent with the Barça players lazily passing the ball one to another, waiting for the clock to run out... FC Barcelona is going to the semi-finals of the Champions' League.

See you there.

Purchase tickets to FC Barcelona games in Camp Nou, Barcelona.

One of the best months for vacation in Barcelona is definitely April! Not just because of the great spring weather but also because of the celebration "feria de abril" which causes spring fever and good mood, for sure.
The April fair originates from Andalusia, strictly speaking from Sevilla. Andalusian immigrants established this tradition in Barcelona about 40 years ago and attract thousands of tourists and citizens each year.
During the feria de abril you can see people performing andalusian dances in traditional clothing: The men traditionally wear the "traje de corto" and the women are dressed in a flamenco dress, called „faralaes". These dances take place in "casetas", which are small huts, and all generations from young to old are encouraged to join the dancing. 

 
This year, the april fair takes place in Parc del Forum from the 27th of April until the 6th of May. Besides the traditional dances and clothings you can enjoy food specialities, like paella and tapas, and visit various concerts that take place during the feria de abril. The entrance is free, so don't hesitate to come to Barcelona and book a Barcelona apartment during the april fair. 

Opening hours of the april fair:

Friday 27.April 2012 - 18:00 until 04.15
Saturday 28.April 2012 - 10:00 until 04:15 Uhr
Sunday 29.April 2012 - 10:00 until 02:00 Uhr
Monday 30.April 2012 - 10:00 until 02:00 Uhr
Tuesday 1.May 2012 - 10:00 until 02:00 Uhr
Wednesday 2.May 2012 - 10:00 until 02:00 Uhr
Thursday 3.May 2012 - 10:00 until 02:00 Uhr
Friday 4.May 2012 - 10:00 until 04:15 Uhr
Saturday 5.May 2012 - 10:00 until 04:15 Uhr
Sunday 6.May 2012 - 10:00 until 23:00 Uhr 

How to arrive at the april fair: 

• By Metro L4 (yellow line) to El Maresme/ Forum
• Or with the buses 7,36,41,43 and 141

During the fair there will also be additional buses and trams to Parc del Forum. For more information you can check out the official website of public traffic in Barcelona.