The Bicing

When the Bicing service system opened in 2007 I hurried up to sign up. By that time, my bike had been stolen several times on the streets of the city, so I really thought it was the best idea that the municipality could have in order to promote healthy, clean and non-expensive transportation. The Bicing was close to collapse shortly after it opened, when the many bikes were broken and not all anchors seemed to work properly, but I have always been a regular user.

It has only (or already, depending on your perspective) been six years and I can't deny that the Bicing has become an image of Barcelona. Leaving aside complaints from pedestrians because of the incivility of some cyclists and complaints of Bicing users about the lack of good bike paths, one must admit that the public bike system has become a "thing of Barcelona", as those that I try to highlight in this blog.

Circus tents

Have you ever been to the circus in Barcelona? I have, but just to one of those big and "modern" circuses focused more to attract adult audiences. The truth is that I would have liked to go to a circus as a child, one of those traditional ones, those who assemble and remove their tents in the few open spaces left in the city.

Those circus in which artists arrive in trucks and vans, the ones that exercise a fascination among those of us who do not live on the road, the ones that make us wonder what it is like to live in a special community, a nomadic family.

The truth is that circuses have changed a lot since I was little. Luckily, they still visit us. For the record, I like that they are adapting to changing times. And by the way, there is a circus school working in the Parc del Forum. It is called La Central del Circ, and is meant to be a space for developing circus activities that the City Council prompted, and where training courses are held, in case if anyone is thinking about it!

Skaters at MACBA

Acording to what I have heard, the ideal city for skateboarders would be one with good weather and long hours of sunshine, compact, with a some slope and many items of urban furniture. Does this description sound familiar?
In this great city for the skaters, the perfect square would be quite broad, in order to move freely in it, but also with slopes, stairs, railings, curbs and benches. Oh, and if it is possible, also with a prominent architectural element to make good pictures!
Clearly, the skaters dreams have come true in the Plaça dels Angels of Barcelona, which is located next to the MACBA (Museu d'Art Contemporani - Contemporary Art Museum), to the point that it has become a meeting point and a world reference for skating enthusiasts.
Besides the coexistence problems that may have arisen due to the presence of the skaters, they have clearly transformed the square into a unique one, different from the rest, with its own character. And that's the point, right?

Snowflake (Floquet de Neu)

One of the most visited post of the (short) History of this blog is the one about Ulysses the Orca, that I wrote and published about a year ago. The visits to the Catalan and Spanish version of this post has almost three times the ones to the next one, about the chocolate of Petritxol street, in second place.
Ulysses the orca has probably been the second most famous resident of the Barcelona Zoo, in dispute with the elephant may Avi, the first one to come to our zoo. They both are defeated, and I think there's no doubt about it, by our white gorilla, Snowflake.
I remember seeing Snowflake on several occasions when I was a kid, and I must say that I loved him but he was not specially friendly. I always attributed this to the fact that he knew he was special, and that many of us visited the zoo just see him, so he was aware he was quite famous. Perhaps it was just my imagination.
Although he had 22 children before dying in 2003 at the (approximate) age of 39, none of them inherited his albinism. Maybe that's why the zoo of Barcelona continues to receive letters asking to clone him, something that is theoretically possible because there are the samples of his DNA. What do you think? Would you like to have another Snowflake through clonation? Perhaps the new one is a bit more humble :)

Panellets

I have mentioned a couple of times on this blog the fact that the pastry counters in Barcelona change depending on the season of the year, and there are some sweets that have "starring" appearances during only a few days, as the "coca de Sant Joan" or the Easter Cake.


On November 1st the undisputed star is the panellet, that will be eaten together with sweet potatoes and chestnuts. This year it looks that the weather is quite appropriate and we are not celebrating the "Castanyada" in short sleeves...

In case anyone wants to try to do panellets, it is never a bad moment, and HERE you have a recipe. If you try it and make some, please let me know...I love them and I haven't had any yet!

The Blue Tram - El Tramvia Blau

I know, I know, it is clearly something for tourists, but ...is there someone from Barcelon who never used the Tramvia Blau (Blue Tram)? And if there is, what is he waiting for?
I remember nothing that made me as happy as boarding the Blue Tram to, and then the Funicular to take me to the Tibidabo amusement park with my family!
Obviously, for me the most important thing was not that we were riding the only tram left in the city, or travelling in a wagon built in the early twentieth century, but getting closer to my dream destination, the amusement park. Specifically, the 1276 meters it takes, bridging a height gap of nearly 100 meters, from Kennedy Sq to Doctor Andreu Sq, who, for the record, was the driving force behind this tram line.
The Tramvia Blau was the only one circulating in Barcelona from 1971, after the other lines were replaced by buses, until 2004, when the Trambaix started to circulate. 
Of course, if someone came from another planet and saw these two trams, he surely would doubt that the modern tram along Diagonal Avenue and the old one in Av Tibidabo are individuals of the same species!

Cinema at Montjuïc

One thing about traditions is that they are established over time. In Barcelona we have some very old ones (like the dancing egg or the Fira de Santa Llúcia) but fortunately we are also creating new ones.

For me, a recent tradition that has a special place on my agenda is the cinema outdoors in the summer. I do not know how long it takes to turn a habit into a tradition, but I do know that for me it is enough with the 10 years that the Cinema at Montjuïc has celebrated.
And do not tell me it's not an important tradition to be preserved. Going up the mountain with friends up to the castle of Montjuïc, installing oneself on the lawn, having picnic while hearing live music and then watching a movie is priceless!

And feeling the need to wear a jacket in the summer heat of Barcelona is also priceless!

Flip-flops and socks

I remember there was a time, long ago, when you could walk around the city center and find more locals than tourists. Now that is almost an almost impossible experience, and it becomes more evident during the touristic peak season...although I am starting to think that Barcelona is always in "high season".
By the way, and for the record, I have nothing against tourism itself, I am only pointing an objective fact.
Well, we have always associated the word tourism with another word, which may be a little unfair, "guiri", a word including some characteristic as blond or red hair, extremely burned skin by sun exposure (known as "prawn effect"), flowered-printed shirts, hanging cameras.... and sandals or flip-flops with socks!

Horchata at Poble Nou

I like seasonal products because you have to wait to the right time of the year, and when they arrive, they are much more appreciated. Furthermore, we link them to certain habits and ideas, so you are transported to that time of the year just by remembering them.

That happens to me with horchata. Its season is limited to summer, and that is why it is inseparable from the heat, the sun and the muggy weather.

And in Barcelona it is clear that drinking horchata is already a tradition, especially at a terrace. There are historical horchaterías, like "Tio Che" at La Rambla del Poble Nou, which this summer celebrated its Centennial! The founders were Joan and Josefa, who, coming from a village in the province of Alicante, began serving horchatas in the Born one century ago. And their family is still cooling the hot afternoons in Barcelona with this nutritious drink. Congratulations Tío Che!