(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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

‘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

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’.

This huge celebration spans 5 days and it is not to be missed. Apart from falconry, mock battles, a rather disconcerting ‘bring out your dead procession’ and a host of other entertainment, there are literally hundreds of stalls filling the winding streets of this historic market town.

So for all of you who were planning on coming and ended up either snowed in, kettled by your local police force or stuck at an airport ,we spent the day there and took a few photos for you to enjoy.

An amazing array of stalls to visit.

There really was something for everybody.

The main square was buzzing.

In the Arab section we found this chap entertaining the crowds.

As you can see as markets go this one is definitely worth a visit. We would suggest that you stay in the Osona area for a few days because the traffic queues each day from Barcelona were horrific. There is so much else to see in the area. We recommend Ruprit (30mins from Vic) the monastery at Ripoll (30mins from Vic) and of course our little castle at Montesquiu (20mins from Vic).

Feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions or would like us to organise your stay info@kmatourism.com

With Christmas rapidly approaching and the ski stations now open, it is a busy time at the moment, but we will continue to bring the best events this fabulous part of Spain has to offer.

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.

Pep Guardiola’s side demolished Real Madrid with a mix of accurate passing, off the ball movement and deadly finishing. Straight from the off Barcelona went on the attack and after a bit of Messi magic resulted in the post saving Madrid, Xavi latched onto a pass from Iniesta and flicked the ball over Castillas to give the Catalans an early lead.

Barcelona continued pressing forward and eight minutes later Villa slipped a cross past Ramos and Castillas allowing Pedro to score. If the Madrid fans were hoping for their side to be stung into action, they were to be disappointed, as Mourinho’s team continued to sit back and watch Barcelona play. Ronaldo had a free-kick whistle past Valdes’ post, but that was pretty much it from the Portuguese star, raising the question again about his ability to perform when it matters most.

Surprisingly Mourinho opted to become more defensive at half-time, replacing Ozil with holding midfielder Lass, perhaps in an attempt to hold Barcelona and then catch them on the counter-attack. But to attack you need the ball and for the first fifteen minutes of the second-half Real Madrid looked like a rabbit caught in car headlights, as Messi and Co ran circles around them. Before the hour mark Barcelona had doubled their lead to four, with some clinical Villa finishing and the game was over for the visitors.

Barcelona were content to keep possession, stroking the ball around the sodden Camp Nou pitch. With frustration growing on the faces of the Madrid players the tackles became more rash. Unfortunately after substitute Jeffren had added a fifth in injury time, Sergio Ramos lost the plot scything down a rampant Messi. The Madrid defender on receiving a straight red card then pushed Puyol in the face and as he walked off, did the same to Xavi. Spain national coach Vincente del Bosque with have a few fences to mend within his squad the next time they meet!

After the melee had died down referee Iturralde quickly blew for full time and Barcelona had deservedly taken the honours against their arch rivals from the Spanish capital.

Some photos . . . . .

credit to elmundodeportiva

What the papers say . . . . .

from BARCELONA	from MADRID	from BARCELONA	from MADRID
sport webpage	as webpage	mundo webpage	marca webpage

Sport says ‘handful for Mourinho’

As says ‘thrashed and unstable’

Mundo says ‘a dunking for Madrid’

Marca says ‘too much Barcelona’

Quotes from the managers . . . . .

Mourinho – “One team played to their maximum potential, whilst the other has been very bad.” Madrid coach responding to the ‘have you been humiliated’ question.

Guardiola – “I dedicate this victory to Cruyff and Rexach, who started all this.” Pep recognises that Barcelona’s youth development program produced 8 players of the starting 11.

Shove of the day . . . . .

Cristiano Ronaldo on Pep Guardiola after the Catalan coach threw the ball from him.

One final thought . . . . .

As both managers were quick to point out the league title is far from over. Real Madrid are a couple of points behind and have a tough match against Valencia on Saturday. Barcelona travel to Osasuna, after a mid-week triangle match in the Catalan Cup final (don’t ask!). But come the next scheduled meeting between the two sides in April, I suspect the gap between the two will be similar.

They also have the potential to meet in both the King’s Cup and Champions League, so this could be the first of five clásicos this season! If that happens Mourinho will be hoping the final overall score is a little different from last night.

from the Camp Nou

EL CLÁSICO – MONDAY 29TH NOVEMBER 2010

kick off 21.00 local time

Well the day has finally arrived. Catalonia has woken up with a newly elected President, Artur Mas, after his party’s overwhelming victory in yesterday’s vote and now attention will be fully on tonight’s clash of the Titans.

It will be a chilly 8 degrees centigrade in the Camp Nou come kick off time, but bar a slight breeze, the prediction is for dry weather, which will come as a relief to the expected capacity crowd of just under 100,000.

Football matches do not come any bigger than this one, so wherever you may be in the world, get yourself in front of a screen and enjoy ‘El Clásico’.

State of play . . . . .

Real Madrid arrived in town last night and were greeted by 2000 screaming fans at Barcelona’s airport. The coach journey to the hotel was not without incident as eggs and a rock hit the coach en route. Fortunately no-one was hurt although one coach window was smashed. Mourinho has brought a 20 man squad to the Catalan capital and is expected to name his regular starting eleven.

FC Barcelona have trained at the stadium this morning and Guardiola will go with his so-called ‘Gala’ team which has played against Panathinaikos (5-1) and Sevilla (5-0) so far this season.

Predicted line ups . . . . .

What the papers say . . . . .

from BARCELONA	from MADRID	from BARCELONA	from MADRID
sport webpage	as webpage	mundo webpage	marca webpage

Sport rallies the troops with an open letter to the Barcelona fans to support their side to the fullest for tonight’s clash.

As leads with ‘mega clásico’ the best match in the world.

Mundo goes with a shout for Barcelona saying Messi will lead the team who are on top form.

Marca quotes Mourinho -  “Barca is happy with Iturralde” with reference to the comment by the Madrid coach yesterday that his opponents will be the happier with La Liga’s choice of referee.

What the managers say . . . . .

Pep Guardiola – “ We will go for them”

Jose Mourinho – “Whoever looses wont be crying about a lost championship, this is not decisive”

The teams . . . . .

FC BARCELONA Pep Guardiola Manager		REAL MADRID Jose Mourinho Manager
manager info		manager info

Did you know . . . . .

Messi has never scored against a side managed by Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo has never scored against FC Barcelona.

Quote of the day . . . . .

“For once we hope to see a spectacular collision” – auto giants Audi’s pre-match advert starring two crash-test dummies. The manufacturer sponsors both clubs.

Blog of the day . . . . .

from  goal.com Top ten el clásico goals

Latest odds . . . . .

Barcelona 11/10

Real Madrid 5/2

football fan cast

One final thought . . . . .

Whether you love sport or hate sport there are few things this world that can provoke global interest and a sporting competition is one of them. Of course el clásico compared to natural catastrophes, famine and war is of little significance, but in terms of entertainment there are not many events that capture a global audience of 400 million on TV and 100,000 spectators at the game.

Thank you to all who have dropped by the blog on the run up to the game. I hope you have enjoyed our posts. All that remains to be said is, find a TV screen, grab a beverage and a bite to eat and enjoy one of sport’s classic encounters.