Life & Style

FC Barcelona has opened a new quality gastronomic space with exclusive views of the Barça's Stadium, as part of the Camp Nou Experience tour. From this week and until mid-August, the first tier of the stadium is converted a space where visitors can enjoy quality cuisine with a privileged panoramic view of the ground. This is just one of the many new attractions that FC Barcelona has prepared so that people visiting the club this summer can enjoy the most complete leisure and catering experience possible. In this space, apart from a wide range of Damm beers, including the beer created in collaboration with Catalan chef Ferran Adrià and the team from El Bulli called Inedit, visitors can enjoy hot and cold tapas, desserts and ice creams.

3.93 million international tourists visited Catalonia in the first quarter of 2014, which represents a 10.4% increase compared to the same period of 2013. On top of this, 2012 and 2013 were already excellent years for international tourism in Catalonia, posting significant annual increases. In the first quarter of 2014, the growing trend seems to be continuing and 10% more foreigners visiting Spain traveled to the land that has Barcelona as its capital. With 3,929,163 foreigners, Catalonia is the Autonomous Community in Spain receiving the second highest number of tourists during these three winter months, only surpassed by the Canaries, which welcomed 4,077,759 international visitors.

Spring is back in Girona as until this weekend the Catalan city is filled with thousands of flowers to celebrate Temps de Flors (Flowers Time), the most important Catalan flower festival and an essential social and cultural event for the city. In its 59^th edition, which will run until the 18^th May, Temps de Flors offers a total of 185 different free exhibitions, including beautiful historic patios as well as some new sights, like the Cathedral basement or the Casa Pastors. Most of the spots are in the open air, so tourists can appreciate them while strolling through the heart of Girona. This year’s edition includes an emotional tribute to Maria Cobarsí, the promoter of the festival who died in 2013.

89 beaches and 24 marinas in Catalonia are among those sharing the highest quality standards in Europe, since they have received a blue flag. This award is given for the quality of the water, the cleanness of the environment, easy access for people with mobility problems, the security services and other indicators. Last year, 90 beaches received a blue flag while this year Catalonia received one award less. Beaches on the Costa Brava kept their 28 blue flags, those on the Costa Daurada and the Ebro Delta also kept their 38 awards, but the coast of Barcelona went from 24 to 23 quality awards. Spain has received a total of 573 blue flags for its beaches and 108 for its marinas, a record, with 23 more beaches and 11 more marinas on the list. In this way, Spain continues to top the list among 48 states and 51 territories.

For the third time, Barcelona El Prat has been awarded as the best airport in southern Europe at the World Airport Awards 2014. The awards, given by Skytrax, are the result of the assessment of almost 13 million passengers from 110 different countries, and has involved 410 airports all over the world. In the global ranking, Barcelona holds the 38th position. In 2013, the Airport of Barcelona registered a record in the number of travellers, with 35.2 million passengers, August being the one with the greatest number of travellers in Spain for the first time ever.

Girona-based El Celler de Can Roca, the family restaurant run by the 3 Roca Brothers, continues to be considered among the world’s very best places to eat by ‘Restaurant’ magazine, which gives the sector’s main international awards each year at a gala in London. However, the Catalan establishment has not topped the 2014 ranking as it did in 2013 but has been considered the second best in this sort of cuisine Oscars, a recognition it had already obtained in 2012 and 2011. First place was for the Danish Noma - run by René Redzepi – which had already topped the ranking in 2012, 2011 and 2010. In addition, the youngest brother, Jordi, who is in charge of El Celler de Can Roca’s desserts, has been awarded the world’s best pastry chef, a title given for the first time this year. Since 2002, a Catalan restaurant has topped the annual ranking on 6 occasions and has been second best in 6 others.

The Cathedral of Barcelona was at capacity for Tito Vilanova’s memorial service this Monday evening. The former FC Barcelona manager passed away on Friday at the age of 45, after two years fighting against cancer. The Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona Lluís Martínez Sistach officiated the ceremony, which was attended by Vilanova’s family, members of the Catalan Government, former FC Barcelona presidents and players, and the first team, among many others.

Perhaps the most famous holiday in Catalonia, Sant Jordi combines culture with romance as books and roses are exchanged. As we all know by now, the legend of Saint George is a celebration of love epitomized by the brave knight who saved a princess from a terrible dragon thus harvesting a beautiful rose from its blood. So how did that become a day for buying and promoting books? Back in 1928, some Catalan booksellers decided to promote the holiday by setting some bookstalls all over the city to celebrate the anniversary of the death of two of the biggest names in literature, Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare. Catalan Book Day was born and it would be declared World Book Day by UNESCO in 1995. The day after the Easter break combined with great weather resulted in a 3% increase in book sales. Swedish author Jonas Jonasson, Spanish authors Almudena Grandes and Pilar Urbano and Catalan writer and athlete Kilian Jornet were the bestsellers for 2014.

On the 23^rd of April, Catalans celebrate one of their dearest festivities of the year: Sant Jordi (Saint George). The day is Catalonia's equivalent to Valentine's Day in the Anglo-Saxon world but it also represents a homage to literature and reading. Traditionally men offered red roses to their girlfriends or wives, and women offered a book in return. Nowadays, both men and women offer books and roses to those they love, whether their life partners, relatives, friends or even work colleagues. On almost every corner and on the main streets throughout Catalonia there are stands selling either roses or books. It is the day celebrating love but also the most important day for the publishing industry, selling around 8% of their yearly sales and advertising the latest gimmicks. In a country with 7.5 million people, some 7 million roses are sold and around 1.5 million books on this single day.

The Israeli airline Arkia will offer a total of 20 flights during the summer and 20 more during the winter between Tel Aviv and the Lleida-Alguaire Airport. The new connection will start on the 27^th of June and will have a capacity of 110 passengers per flight. Israeli tourists will be better connected to Western Catalonia and the Pyrenees, which host a large range of ski resorts, adventure sports opportunities, impressive mountain landscapes and unique Romanesque art. In addition, the Israeli Ambassador recently unveiled a route following the mountain paths used by thousands of Jews who crossed the Pyrenees to escape Nazi persecution. Lleida's Pyrenean landscape consists of high peaks, lakes and mountain forests, including the National Park of Aigüestortes.

Barcelona, divided into ten districts which are then subdivided into 73 neighbourhoods, is rich with streets and squares with historical significance. Many of them honour world-famous figures, such as a square named after George Orwell which can be found in the Gothic Quarter, a square honouring John F. Kennedy in the district of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, Christopher Columbus Avenue and monument near Les Rambles, John Lennon and Anne Frank squares both located in the Gràcia district, and a garden and a statue dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi in the neighbourhood of Poblenou. However, iconic Catalan figures such as surrealist artist Salvador Dalí do not have a street or square named after them.

For the first time ever, over 7.5 million tourists stayed in one of Barcelona’s hotels in 2013. More specifically, the Catalan capital welcomed 7.571,766 visitors in its hotel rooms last year, meaning a 1.77% increase on 2012, when Barcelona’s hotels accounted for 7.440,113 guests. 80% of visitors are foreigners, mainly from France, the UK and the US. Besides, this increase in the number of hotel guests  is not the only record achieved last year. Indeed, the number of overnight stays has also reached an unprecedented number, with almost 16.5 million overnight stays registered in 2013, a 3.4% growth on 2012 figures.   

The winners of the 19^th Global Mobile Awards were announced on Tuesday afternoon, in a ceremony held at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The prizes recognize the most innovative mobile products, apps, services and initiatives from all over the world. More than 175 international industry experts, analysts, journalists and academics were involved in the judging process.In the category of the Best Mobile Handsets and Devices, the HTC One scooped top award of the Best Smartphone, defeating other nominees such as Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Apple iPhone 5S.The Apple iPad Air was announced as Best Mobile Tablet. Nokia was a runaway winner having received awards in two different categories. The Catalan Government was also honoured for the educational mSchools project. The award ceremony was hosted by British comedian James Corden.

The ‘Allure of the Seas’, which is currently the largest cruise ship in the world, will operate from 2015 onwards from the Port of Barcelona. Next year, it will offer 25 different routes from or to the Catalan capital. For each trip, the ‘Allure of the Seas’, which belongs to Royal Caribbean, welcomes 6,318 passengers on board. Due to the considerable size of the boat - 361 meters long - passengers will access and exit the facilities through two terminals of Barcelona’s Harbour. Royal Caribbean stated that the 158,000 passengers expected to travel on all 25 routes will bring €17.5 million to Barcelona’s local economy each year. It will be the first time the ‘Allure of the Seas’, which currently operates in the Caribbean, will drop anchor in a European harbour.

PortAventura will be launching new attraction ‘Angkor: Adventure in the Lost Kingdom’ this year to coincide with the start of the 2014 season in early April. The new attraction will allow visitors to embark on a 300 meter boat trip through the Asian jungle, designed to simulate the historic Cambodian temple: Angkor Wat. The attraction is located in the China area of the park, near Shambhala, Europe´s highest rollercoaster. The new attraction is a replicate of the temple, which is said to be the largest religious structure in the world. Meanwhile, the park will host Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Kooza’ show during the summer months.