A GREAT STORY!

A guy checked in to HelloBCN a few days ago. I asked him why he was travelling for 6 months in Europe and he explained that he had a bike accident and had became paralyzed in parts of his body. He couldn’t move his arm or fingers for 6 months but waited to see if anything improved. In the meantime he read tons of books, and after some months his arm and fingers moved a little bit – a sign of that the feeling was coming back little by little.

Everything turned around from this moment, and he started to get more and more feeling back. He started to travel 1½ years after the accident, checked into HelloBCN and told us this great story.

This is a story about hope, positive thinking, patience and a wish to see Europe

10 THINGS TO DO FOR FREE IN BARCELONA

1 – Free entry to nightclubs every night of the week when you go out with us. Every midnight we all meet at the bar and we go all together to the best Clubs in the city. Enjoy Barcelona night life!

2 – Picasso Museum: all Sunday from 3 pm. You will find works from all the periods. We recommend the Menina’s adaptation.

3 – Lying down in Ciutadella Park. If it is too warm for the beach, go to the park to lie down under a tree. Sometimes you can enjoy one of the free concerts they offer.

4 – Walking along the beach. Don’t wait until summer to go to the beach. Winter is the best moment to enjoy the beauty of the blue sky and the sound of the waves.

5 – Magic Fountain. One of the best shows you can see in Barcelona. Go to the top of Montjuïc and enjoy the views of the city, the music and the magic of the atmosphere.

6 – Museums free the first Sunday of the month. MNAC (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya), Museu Picasso or MACBA (Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona) are some of the museums that you can visit for free.

7 – Enjoy the beauty of Gaudi’s façades. If you do not want to spend money entering in some of the most famous Gaudi buildings you can just watch the incredible façades. You will find Casa Batlló and Casa Milà (La Pedrera) in Passeig de Gràcia and Palau Güell that is just 5 minutes walking from the hostel.

8 – Walking in the gothic quarter. The oldest part of the city is waiting for you to be discovered. Its small narrow streets full of shops and restaurants are spellbinding. At night, when all the houses' lights are on, it is even more beautiful!

9 – Walking around Montjuïc. Olympic Stadium, Montjuïc Castle, Botanic Gardens and beautiful views of the city.

10 – Mercat de La Boquería. A great food market in La Rambla. Fresh fish, fruits and vegetables. You can buy one of the small fruit baskets for only 1 euro.

TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS IN BARCELONA

After our experience as receptionists (and also travellers) we have some tips for you to make your trip more enjoyable.

Before your trip you have to consider some things (even if you do not like planning).








FIRST ONE

PLEASE, check your reservations: dates, destination and number of people.

You won’t believe us but we have seen people who…

- … book the wrong dates (one day before or after the date they wanted). Pay attention especially at the end of the month: remember some months have 30 days and others 31.

- … book the wrong month. We once had a family who arrived in April to the hostel and they had reservation for June. Remember that in Europe we write DD/MM/YY. If you want to book 6th of April 2010, please do not book 04/06/10.

- … book the wrong destination. One day, two girls at the hostel asked me for a station that I didn’t have any clue where it was. They had a train ticket from Barcelona to Milan. After searching the internet we found that the station they booked to depart from was a bit far: in Sicily (Italy).

Finally and most important, book the right hostel. It means book at helloBCN hostel. We have had people arriving at the hostel, thinking they have booked here and realizing that they made a terrible mistake and the reservation that they thought was here was in another hostel. So, remember, this is helloBCN hostel, the one and only.

These are our tips for today. (You can also forget about everything we wrote and live your own adventure).

VIAJAR SOLO

Tienes una semana de vacaciones pero tienes un problema. No, no es el dinero. Llevas todo el año ahorrando para poder irte de viaje. El gran problema es que nadie puede viajar contigo. Las promesas hechas durante una noche de borrachera, en la que todos tus amigos se apuntaban al viaje, se han convertido en excusas basadas en “no tengo pasta”, “ahora me viene muy mal” o “ahora no me puedo coger vacaciones”. Y es cuando te preguntas a ti mismo: ¿Soy capaz de viajar solo?

Habitualmente, los españoles suelen viajar acompañados. No conozco a muchos que hayan viajado sin su novi@, amigos, familia o escuela. La mayoría se suelen sorprender con las historias de tal o cual amigo guiri que está dando la vuelta al mundo solo. Hay personas a las que les resulta simplemente algo impensable.

Todo esto tiene que ver mucho con la cultura. Muchos australianos o norteamericanos, por ejemplo, no dudan ni un instante en cargarse la mochila al hombro e irse a vivir aventuras por el mundo. Barcelona, Londres, Paris, Turquía, China o Australia. No importa adonde, lo importante es viajar. Un español le tiene que dar muchas vueltas al asunto y muy probablemente acabe por quedarse en casa porque piensa que se va a aburrir viajando solo. Afortunadamente, la situación está cambiando. Gracias a las becas Erasmus, un nivel más alto de idiomas, y los vuelos baratos; cada vez hay más españoles que se atreven a viajar solos.

Muchos de los viajeros cuentan las múltiples ventajas que tiene viajar solo y, la más destacada, es la posibilidad de conocer a más gente y no estar siempre encerrado en tu grupo. Están en lo cierto. Desde recepción me doy cuenta de que la gente que viaja sola tiene más ganas de hablar con nosotros, de contarnos de donde vienen y adonde van, de hablar con el del bar, con la chica de limpieza, con sus compañeros de habitación. En realidad, están mucho más abiertos a todo lo que los rodea.

¿Qué opinas tú sobre el tema? ¿Crees que los españoles no han descubierto todavía las ventajas de viajar solos?

Piénsatelo, y si finalmente te animas y te decides a viajar solo, empieza por visitar Barcelona. No dudes en que el mejor sitio en el que puedes alojarte es helloBCN hostel.