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Monday, February 27, 2012
Hola again!
It seems that we are having a very nice winter this year. Except for the one week of VERY cold weather 2 weeks ago we can now say we have mostly had a mild winter with many nice sunny days. Let’s hope the rest of the year would be this pleasant.
In this post I would like to include some details about SHOPPING in Barcelona (guys don’t leave yet – I will include some good info for you too…)
My first tip – shop where the locals do – and avoid the touristy traps.
I love to shop for things that are not too expensive and not too cheap. I guess I am a middle of the road kind of girl…
I normally shop at the PORTAL DEL ANGEL in the city center. They have many kinds of shoe stores, which we ladies love. The prices here are good. Not the cheapest you will find but not expensive either. At this time of year you can find some great bargains so if you are in the city and looking for some good buys this could be a good option. Stroll down portal del angel and window shop first as prices do vary and its worth the trouble to compare.
Some of my favourite shops are:
- SEPHORA (everything you need for your cosmetics, creams, and perfumes)
- ZARA (Spanish based clothing store that everyone knows)
- MANGO (Also Spanish – mostly for women but now also for men)
- PRE-NATAL (clothing for babies and young children)
- BULEVARD ROSA (upscale small shopping passage)
- DESIGUAL (colourful designer clothes for women, men and kids)
- HAPPY BOOKS (big book store with English books sold as well)
To make it easy for you to find where to go – here is a map from Google maps:
For you guys – here is a tip from my husband who likes gadgets, computers and anything that you can plug-in really…
SANT ANTONI in Barcelona is his favourite place (so you can shop there if you want to do what the locals do). They have anything from cameras to computer accessories to multimedia gadgets. Here is where it is located:
In particular he recommends a store called PC GREEN which sells computers and accessories at very good prices. Customer service is not the best but if you know what you are looking for then this is a good place to consider.
My husband also says that if you are looking for good Sporting Goods – consider DECATHLON where you can find sporting items from golf equipment to beach sports items at good prices. Here is how to get there:
That’s it for today – I hope that these Shopping Tips are helpful and of course if you need some more information – we are here to help. Enjoy your Barcelona visit and we hope to see you soon.
Tuesday, January 18, 2012
Hola Everyone!
Que tal?
(‘Que Tal’ = How are you?)
Welcome to our blog post and our new website. We have launched a new website on January 6th this year and we are excited about it (especially since it gives me the chance to write and update freely on this blog…!). My name is Helene and I am the head-guide at Barcelona Day Tours, and I hope that some of you may find my writings here helpful and useful. If you have any comments I would love to hear from you and if you have any advice or tips then please let me know.
First, I’d like to start by saying how everyone here at the BDT team was shocked to learn about the Concordia’s incident in Italy! I was speechless. I can hardly imagine what people had to go through… Although I myself have never gone on a cruise yet (but I do have lots of cruiser friends), I can only imagine the horror passengers had to go through.. 
Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of those who have lost their lives. May God bless their families.
I sure do hope this was the last fatal incident in the cruise industry and that all lessons were fully learnt so such disasters will not repeat ever again! If you think about it, with today’s technology and advanced ships, this should NOT have happened.
Onto another and more optimistic topic: we have had the most AMAZING weather here in Barcelona for the last 2-3 weeks with chilly morning temperatures of 4-6 degrees Celsius (around 40F) to sunny bright days with temperatures reaching 16 degrees (around 60F).
Personally I am a sun loving person so for me it’s fantastic. I hope folks travelling in Bareclona these days can appreciate what the lord has given us these days 
In fact January is a fantastic month with lots of sunshine. February is the more stormy and grey
As you might know if you are in the city now many Barcelonians are looking forward to Wednesday football game against Real Madrid. It is a known fact that BARCA is the best team in Spain (even if some of our Madrid-born staff disagrees…) however since this year it seems Madrid is playing very well then everything is possible.
‘A VER’ = ‘we will see’ – who the better team is on Wednesday.
The game will take place in Madrid’s stadium BERNABEU at 10:00 pm and all the bars will show it so if you are in Spain on Wednesday – you must go in to to one of the busy places and enjoy the atmosphere. This is what we call a CLASSICO – so watch it and make sure you support the right team
For details on the game see:
What else is happening in Barcelona this month?
Well, there is always something! If you wish to participate in a real local ‘fiesta’:
FIESTA MAJOR DE SANT ANTONI – which will take place from Jan 15 – Jan 22 is the place to be. In Barcelona every ‘BARRIO’ = Neighbourhood, has its own fiesta (celebration). The Barri de Sant Antoni is celebrating during this time so for an off-the-beaten track event and to feel like a local – make sure to take part in the fiesta.
For more information you can try and translate the website below (which is written in Catalan). You can use Google Translate to get the English version:
http://xarxantoni.net/contingut/barri
Also, I’d like to emphasize the date of Jan 18 for the theme of: XOCOLATA! Yes the childrens’ favorite food… If you are with children in Barcelona on this day – they will love you forever… or at least until the next time they crave chocolate…
The event will take place here:
C/Floridablanca, 41 in the Sant Antoni area (and practically the city center).
One more important date: Jan 19 is my birthday You never ask a lady how old she is so I will keep this a secret never to be revealed…
OK, this is it for today and I promise to update soon with more news from Barcelona. Enjoy your stay if you are in the city, get excited if you are planning to visit us soon, and thank you for reading my first post. This was fun!
Hasta Pronto – Helene & the BDT team
This time around I’d like to write about SHOPPING IN BARCELOA!
Guys – don’t leave there is good info for you too:)
One of the most favorite activities by woman when they go abroad is shopping.
We all have this curiosity to learn and see what they have in a new country that we don’t. How much does it costs etc.
Quick tip: Shop where locals do!
I guess the best way for me to present the information on this blog, is simply tell you where I shopJ
As you know it all depends on what you are looking for and how much you are willing to spend.
Personally I never look for those cheap products nor very expansive.
So my main area of shopping is PORTAL DEL ANGEL in the city center.
It has endless variety of stores for shoes… which I loveJ
And of course cloths. On regular days prices are OK not super cheap but not expansive however these days you can find some real bargains.
Simply roll down portal del angel and do some window shopping before you open your wallet. This will save you a few Euros as prices do vary quite a bit.
Below is a list of some favorite shops:
- SEPHORA (all you need within cosmetic, creams and perfumes)
- ZARA (Spanish clothing for both woman, man and kids)
- MANGO (other good Spanish brand for clothing. Mostly woman)
- PRE-NATAL (clothing for baby and young children)
- BULEVARD ROSA (upscale small shopping passage)
- DESIGUAL (colorful designer clothes for woman, man and kids)
- HAPPY BOOKS (big book store with all kinds of books, also in English)
to make is easy for you I marked a map for the best area to shop around portal del Angel simply click the below link:
For you guys out there here is a tip from my husband who likes gadgets, computers and anything electronics really..
SANT ANTONI in Barcelona is the perfect place. Shop where locals do!
Anything from cameras to computer accessories you will find here.
Recommended by www.BarcelonaDayTours.Com
In particular he likes to recommend a store called PC GREEN which has just about anything for computers and computers accessories at very good prices. Customer service can be slow so you better know what you are looking for.
Another favorite by my husband is the chain of sporting goods named:
DECATHLON where you can find endless sporting items from Golf to beach tennis at good rates. And you can find it here:
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