Fajita night & Magic Fountain!

Hello travelers!

Let's talk about this fajita night we just had on friday!

It's has been a long time without any dinner all together so we decided to start it over!

You want to meet travelers like you and share your stories? Cooking and eating all together is for sure the best way to do it! Those fajitas were so good and we had such a good time eating them with hands: "salsa everywhere"!

Smiiiile guys:

After this delicious meal we have been joined by other guests from all over the world and went to Magic Fountain! This light and sound fountain show was wonderful!

Why don't you watch it and then you can decide for yourself:

Sant Jordi 2014

Wondering what you could do these days? Take part in the Sant Jordi festival!

This event is based on a romantic legend - a brave Knight who would have saved the girl of king of the claws of a dragon - and last 2 days 

( today and tomorrow!). 

This event has 2 symbols: a rose and a book. The rose because a legend says that a rose went out of the dragon’s blood. According to another legend a rosebush would bloom every year in the place where Saint Georges killed the dragon.

It‘s also the date of death of two of the most famous writers of the history: Miguel Cervantes and William Shakespeare. The tradition wants that on this day the men offer roses to the women and that these in return offer them books.

Isn’t it a pretty story?

Today:

6pm to 7pm (Free):

Sant Jordi himself and other characters from the legend will parade and perform on the streets of Barcelona, beginning at the Santa María del Mar church and ending at Plaça Comercial.

More info: http://elborncentrecultural.bcn.cat

 Tomorrow:

10am to 10 pm:

Sant Jordi is celebrated with endless stalls of roses and books. La Rambla, the Rambla de Catalinya and Passieg de Gràcia are most known for their bustling stands. 

 

10am to 1:30pm (Free):

The Barcelona City Hall opens its doors to the public for one day.

More info: +info http://www.bcn.cat/

It's raining in Barcelona? No problems, only solutions!

Hello travelers!

Few days ago when I arrived at the hostel my colleague said: “Welcome back to Belgium!” ( Yes I’m Belgian).  In fact I felt like home with this rainy weather! Also he told me this funny spanish expression: “En abril, llueve mil” which means that in April it rains a lot in Barcelona and Spain. So today I’ll help you to find something to do if it’s raining!

Touristic bus: 

Remain dry and have an overview of the city! See all the most emblematic places and learn a lot in few hours. It’s maybe not the most glamorous way to visit Barcelona but at least it will prevent you from falling ill or look like a wet dog.

Museums: 

Cultural city means lot of museums and exhibitions isn’t it?. Barcelona offers plenty of them! Picasso Museum, Archaeology Museum of Barcelona (MAC), Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), Museu del Modernisme Català (MMCAT), Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Fundació Joan Miró are ones of those possibilities. 

Beside those I warmly recommend you to visit the Centro de Cultura Contemporánea de Barcelona. It’s a low cost and less crowded one. Encouraging creation using new technologies and languages, they organize exhibitions, debates, festivals and concerts. The aquarium would also be a good choice even more if you are travelling with kids.

Sports: Want to move and have fun with your friends or family? Go play bowling at the  Newpark Bowling at  La Maquinista  or ice skate close to the stadium of FC Barcelona!

Last but not least: you can go SHOPPING, buy some souvenirs or a new dress to make the sun come!

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.

Hey guys, how are you doing? Hope you’re enjoying the sun! Yesterday I was off and took a walk to the beach, the weather was perfect for that, I recommend you to do the same if you have a bit of time ;-)

But today I’m not gonna talk to you about the beach… But about a restaurant! This one is very special because it’s a bio and vegetarian restaurant, located in the gothic quarter, very close to the beautiful Plaça Reial. It’s name is Vegetalia.

A new way of discovering your senses in the most natural and healthy way. Even if you’re not a vegetarian, just try a new kind of food, and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed! Nice atmosphere, friendly staff, good food and cheap menu at noon (9,90€ for a 3-courses menu) and all the ingredients are there for a nice time having lunch with your friends or family!

Tip: if you don’t choose the menu, I warmly recommend you to try the Vegetalia “Pica-pica”, an entrance for two composed of different vegetarian specialities. The lemon cake is also delicious!

Vegetalia also stocks a small shop area with a mixture of items including some of their own brand foods like the burgers and tofu, in case you prefer cooking yourself at the hostel.

The restaurant is open every day from 13:00 to 16:30 and from 20:00 to 23:30. Friday to Sunday without interruption

MANTRA BAR

Hi guys!

How are you this week? Hope everything is fine! As far as I’m concerned, I was quite surprised by the snow falling from the sky yesterday (in March!!) and the cold weather, but still have a great time in Barcelona!

Today I’m gonna talk you about a very nice bar I went to a couple of weeks ago. It’s called Mantra, and is located very close to HelloBCN.

The most important thing about Mantra is the intimate chill out atmosphere, good music and original ethnic touch that you will discover. This bar/teashop gives the sensation of having crossed the boundary to a magic enchanted world thanks to the special decoration, paintings and colours. In the evening, it’s a cosy and relaxing place to enjoy one of the many teas, juices, crêpes, salads or cakes that will satisfy your stomach! And at night time, listen to the sounds of dub/reggae and electronic to accompany your cocktail, or relax smoking a shisha while listening to some psychedelic rhythms!
Tip: The "Abeja Maya" tea is really delicious, but if you feel brave enough, you can also try the cannabis tea, I'm sure it should be... interesting ;-)

Opening Hours:

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday : 19h-00.30

Friday,Saturday : 19h-02.30

Monday : Closed
Have Fun!!!

Diary of an intern...it begins.

Hi! My name is Laura, I’m the new trainee here in HelloBCN! I come from Belgium and Barcelona is a new city for me to discover. Thanks to this blog, I’d like to share my personal experiences with you. You will know everything about what I liked, and even advices if I can ;-)

This first post is about a one-day trip to Tarragona I’ve made with a friend last week.

If, as me, you have a bit of time to spend in Barcelona and you want to discover a new city without wasting time in the public transports, I warmly recommend you to go to Tarragona, designated as World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Only one hour by train (and 12€ return ticket) and you will discover a wonderful city, first capital of Hispania and full of history from the Roman times.

I particulary liked the Roman Amphitheatre, offering an amazing sea view and located at only 10 min walking from the station. You can get inside for 3€ but I think this is quite disappointing: the restricted walking area don’t allow you to approach the ruins of the church in the middle. Beautiful, yes, but worth it only from the exterior!

After that, you can wander in the numerous streets of the city. In that way, you will discover la Rambla Nova, la Plaça de la Imperial Tarraco, museums and various other curiosities which I let you the pleasure to meet randomly.

And if, as me, at the end of the day, you are a bit tired by your trip, don’t hesitate to rest on the beach and enjoy the wonderful landscape before taking the train back to Barcelona!