Moving To A New Site

As from June 2013, we will be moving to our own custom site.

http://www.barcelonasights.com

The blog will restart and there is loads more content about Barcelona and Catalonia.

PLEASE COME AND SEE US SOON.

Many Thanks

 

barcelona open 2011 – fun on the clay

 BARCELONA OPEN BANC SABADELL 2011

(official site)

 

                      

A little preview of this years Barcelona Tennis Open Tournament that hits the city next month. Based at the historic Real Club de Tenis Barcelona which was founded in 1899 and is Spain’s oldest club, this years competition is the 59th edition.

   

Famous past winners of the large ‘Trofeo Conde de Godó’ have included Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Carlos Costa and current tournament director Albert Costa.  The last few years have been dominated by Spanish players, Tommy Robredo, Rafa Nadal and 2010 champ Fernando Verdasco.

     

Although ranked a 500 event, second tier, by the ATP, the 2011 line-up will boast 6 of the top ten ranked players in the world and a total prize money of just over 1.5 million Euros.

The tournament runs from 18th to the 24th of April, but of you find yourself in Barcelona before then and like tennis, then there is an excellent photographic exhibition about the history of the event currently running at the Olympic Museum next to the Olympic Stadium up on Montjuic.

However if you fancy seeing the likes of Nadal, Murray, Soderling, Ferrer, Berdych and Melzer sliding around on the clay in the Catalan sunshine, the tickets went on sale to the public yesterday.  For such a great line-up of talent they are reasonably priced (first round from just 24€) and can be purchased by following the link below.

Tennis Tickets

 

Technorati Tags: Barcelona Tennis Open 2011,Tennis,Trofeo Conde de Godo,Catalonia,Rafa Nadal,Andy Murray,Soderling,Ferrer,Berdych,Melzer,ATP,tennis tournament,Event

barcelona marathon 2011

I’m sure that the runners would have preferred a slightly cooler Sunday morning to run around Barcelona, but for the thousands lining the streets to cheer on the athletes, it was perfect.

With over 15,000 taking part this year, it was impressive to watch them go by some of the iconic sights of the city. We first caught up with the runners as they passed the Sagrada Familia at 16kms then again at the Arc de Triomf at 36kms, needless to say there were a few more smiles and waves at the Gaudi cathedral than later as they headed for the finish!

Some photos for you . . .

Official Result

MENS

1. Matebo Levi Omari (Kenya)        2h.07:31

2. Josep Kimeli (Kenya)                  2h.10:05

3. Josepath Yego (Kenya)              2h.10:44

WOMENS

1. Josephine Ambjörnsson (Sweden)    2h:45.31

2. Nuria Prieto (Spain)                           2h:56.59

3. Martha Hall (Great Britain)                 2h:57.51

If you would like to take part next year registration is open for 2012 and you can access the form direct from here:

Barcelona Marathon 2012 – Registration Form

Congratulations to all who took part, if you see yourself in any of our photos please get in touch at info@kmatourism.com and we will be happy to send you a copy.

 

Technorati Tags: Barcelona Marathon 2011,Barcelona,Marathon,Athletics,Running,Event,Sport,Sagrada Familia,Arc de Triomf,Runners,kmatourism

sant medir 2011, gracias gracia!

Well it wasn’t the best weather we have ever seen in Barcelona. As the various Colles gathered around the streets of Gracia yesterday morning they were doing so under grey skies and a steady drizzle. But for these hardy sweet throwers a little rain wasn’t about to dampen the spirits, just the confectionary.

The people waiting in the rain however had a small dilemma to solve. Keep your brolly upright and stay dry or turn it upside down and increase your sweet gathering capacity!

During the morning, the various Colles picked random routes to follow around the streets of Gracia, being led by one of the local constabulary on a moped. They criss-crossed the barrio flinging their sweets to people and generally causing chaos to the delivery lorries and unsuspecting drivers who had no option than to sit in long lines waving their arms about and beeping their horns.

At one o’clock each group made for their ‘parking space’, handily situated outside a local restaurant and disappeared inside for a well earned lunch. It is also the time for selected members to either make the journey up to the little hermitage in the Collserola park or to the San Juan church for a mass dedicated to Sant Medir.

With the weather still misbehaving, the evening parade started at 8pm. The Colles had gathered along Carrer de Sant Salvador and L’Escoriala in preparation to follow the route along Carrer de Nil Fabra and then down Gran de Gracia. The streets were packed with people, armed with an array of plastic bags and umbrellas and  some serious sweet collecting began!

It took about an hour for all the horses, carriages, lorries and bands to go past, but despite the cold, the enthusiasm and excitement of the crowd was infectious and for sure a few children were squashed in the clamour to bag a sweetie!

A big thank you to everyone who helped organise this fabulous event and for the record we at the kmatourism office managed an all time collecting best this year, thanks to the efforts of Gracia local, Carmen, 8 kilos of sweets!

I bet the patron saint of Dentists and Diets is rubbing his hands.

Technorati Tags: Sant Medir,St Medir,Barcelona,Festival,Gracia,Sweet Festival,Sweets,2011,Colles,Catalonia,kmatourism,Events,Spain

blisters, bibs and barcelona

This Sunday morning the streets of our fair city will be a little busier than normal. At 08.30 in Placa Espanya, 15,075 people wearing stretchy lycra and smothered in Vaseline, will head off around Barcelona to see the sights. Quite why they can’t dress normally and hop on the tourist bus is a bit of a mystery, but if you insist in running 26 miles around a city, Barcelona, it has to be said, is a good one to pick.

It is the 33rd edition this year and according to the organisers, participation is up 23% on last time, presumably due to the increase in sightseeing bus ticket prices and this rise makes the Barcelona marathon the 7th most popular race in Europe.

The bookies’ favourite is the Ethiopian Teshome Etanat Gelana. The 27yr old has a best time of 2:07.37 which he set in winning the Houston marathon last year.

We will of course sacrifice a big Saturday night out, to get up early and bring you the result and some photos of the action and if all this inspires you to rush out and buy some trainers and a tub of lubricant, kmatourism will be happy to arrange your accommodation, transport and a good list of massage parlours for 2012!

Official Web Page

Finally a quick ‘good luck mate’ to our Belgian friend from Sant Marti d’Empuries, who is attempting to run the whole thing sober this year.

Technorati Tags: Barcelona,Marathon,Catalonia,Running,Athletics,Placa Espanya,Torre Agbar,Spain,2011

saints, sweets and horse poo!

This Thursday in the barrio Gracia of Barcelona, is the festival of Sant Medir. Groups of locals ride around on horses and lorries, accompanied bands of wondering minstrels, throwing literally tonnes of sweets to people in the streets. All jolly good fun, especially if you are a five year old, but it does beg the question, why?

Well the story comes in two parts, the first definitely falls firmly in the legend category, whilst the second is recorded as fact.

Jump back to about 303A.D. and we find the then Bishop of Barcelona, Severus being chased out of the city by a bunch of Roman soldiers. It was the start of the Diocletian Persecution, a rather dangerous 10 year period in Roman history that involved the capturing of Christians and either murdering them on the spot or if you had a coliseum nearby, feeding them to the lions and making a few quid on ticket sales.

  

Escaping towards Sant Cugat up in the Collserola Hills north of Barcelona, Severus came upon a farmer called Emeterius (Medi in Catalan) planting fava beans in his field. Presumably surprised to see a bishop running past in the middle of the day, Emeterius stopped working to watch. A panting Severus explained his situation and surprisingly requested that if the Romans came by Emeterius should tell the truth and point them in the right direction. As the Bishop dashed off miraculously all the beans Emeterius had just been planting suddenly began to grow.

Sure enough the soldiers arrived and Emeterius did as he was told and explained that he had been planting his beans when the Bishop had run past and helpfully pointed out where he had gone. The soldiers seeing all the green shoots in the field thought that the farmer was taking the mickey out of them and promptly arrested the poor fellow and carried on with their chase. In true Roman efficiency both Severus and Emeterius were later killed in Sant Cugat, the bishop firstly being flogged and then having nails hit into his head.

           

Fast forward a few centuries and the story had passed into legend and both Severus and Emeterius had become saints.

In 1828, a Baker from Gracia, who was gravely ill and coincidently a devotee to Saint Medir, (yes him of the fava beans) made a last ditch pact with his saint. If he was cured he would make a pilgrimage to the hermitage dedicated to the saint in the hills behind the city every 3^rd of March, the saint’s official day.

Well two years later and the baker was totally cured. And so on March 3^rd 1830 he mounted his horse and rode around Gracia handing out sweets telling everyone he was going to keep his promise. At one o’clock he set off into the hills.

  

Now the baker has long since departed this earth but his yearly ritual struck a chord with the locals and that is why this Thursday the streets of Gracia will be awash with children, sweets and horse poo!

Now if you happen to be in the neighbourhood grab a plastic bag and come join in the fun. But if you cant, don’t worry, we will be in amongst the manure and confectionary to take a few pics.

Technorati Tags: Barcelona,Catalonia,Festival,Gracia,St Medir,Sweets,Severus,Emeterius,Spain Tourist Guide,Spain,kmatourism

kmapostcards just got bigger!

Apart from bringing you a light-hearted and informative look at Catalonia, kmapostcards is happy to announce that we have launched two new pages on our blog.

The FEATURES page has guides to some of the best places to visit and things to do in the region. At the moment it is highlighting our first article, a guide to one of Barcelona’s most famous sites, Gaudi’s Parc Guëll. But over the coming weeks additional articles are planned, the next one being the Masella Ski Station.

Our second new page is called COMING EVENTS and it is a list with links, to some of the big events and festivals in the area. We have covered March, April and May for now and we will update it every month to keep you informed of what you can do in Catalonia.

We hope you like the latest additions to the site and rest assured that we will continue to bring you our regular posts about this fantastic region of Spain.

Best wishes from

 

Technorati Tags: Barcelona,Catalonia,Parc Guell,Masella Ski Station,Barcelona Marathon,Barcelona Open tennis,Primavera Sound,Pulp,Barcelona Guide,kmapostcards,kmatourism,Spain Tourist Guide

what’s up mush

Up in the Pyrenees at the moment there is a sporting event taking place that is a little out of the ordinary. La Pirena is referred to by the locals as the Paris-Dakar of the mountains. Fifteen days of stage racing from Zaragoza to La Molina.

‘Ahh some kind of wacky motorsport’ I hear you say, but you would be wrong. We are talking sleds, dogs and a serious amount of ‘whooping!’

Started in 1990 by a chap called Pep Pares, La Pirena is Europe’s answer to the greatest of all mushing races the Iditarod. The event has three categories; Open, Nordic and Skijording, with the former being the most contested and the latter involving an individual racer wearing outlandish lycra being dragged along on skis by a couple of dogs.

There are both day and night stages with some taking place in neighbouring France and Andorra.

            

We are mid way through this year’s event and the Open category has a distinctly German flavour to it. Last year’s winner Bavarian Tom Andres  is battling it out with fellow countryman Ullrich Kuhn for top spot, with the reigning champion just 28 seconds behind.

The final stage is in Spain’s oldest ski resort La Molina on the 19th of this month. So if you happen to be sliding around on skis in the area and you have never seen mushing up close and personal, it is well worth popping in to enjoy the show.

To keep up with the action online visit,

http://www.pirena.com/eng/index.asp

Technorati Tags: Catalonia,Barcelona,Mushing,La Pirena,Iditarod,Husky,La Molina,Tom Andres,Sport,Event,kmatourism

back to the middle ages

You may have picked up from the news these last few days that;

a) pilots from all over the world approaching Spanish air space were tapping their radio sets and saying ‘well I’m sure they were there a minute ago’

and

b) we have a five day holiday over here, the busiest ‘get-away’ of the year.

Now rather than planning some exotic jaunt to warmer climes, we in the kma office had already decided to pop up the C-17 from Barcelona to a little village nestling in the foothills of the Pyrenees called Montesquiu and looking at the utter chaos across the country it was an inspired choice!

Now you may ask why Montesquiu. Well apart from a rather groovy castle and the fact they celebrate their ‘fiesta mejor’ at this time of year, it is but a 10 minute drive to Vic, the capital of the region called Osona and this week they have their annual ‘Mercat Medieval’.

el clásico . . . the aftermath

FC BARCELONA vs REAL MADRID

from the Camp Nou

FC  BARCELONA 5 – REAL MADRID 0

EL CLÁSICO – MONDAY 29TH NOVEMBER 2010

attendance 98,255

 

The match . . . . .

Well for the neutral it was spectacular, for the Barcelona fans a night of pure ecstasy and for the Madrid fans a humiliation.