Life & Style

Like in 11 other countries around the world, Catalans celebrate their national patron saint, St. George the dragon-slayer, on the 23rd of April every year. In Catalonia, however, rather than an occasion entrenched in patriotism, Sant Jordi is revered as the lovers' day and the book's day, on which loved ones demonstrate their affection for one another with the exchange of roses and books. The sun is shining and the buzzing atmosphere that fills the streets means that just walking along Les Rambles is enough of an adventure on a Sant Jordi Day such as this one. Rose sales have exceeded those of last year by 7%. The best-selling books this year have been 'Algú com tu' by Xavier Bosch (fiction) and 'És l'hora del adéus' by Xavier Sala i Martín (non-fiction) in Catalan and 'Destino, la Templanza' by María Dueñas (fiction) and 'MasterChef. Grandes platos para todos los días' by Jordi Cruz (non-fiction) in Spanish. In total, 1.5 million books will have been sold by the end of the day.

On the 23^rd of April, Catalans celebrate the day of their patron saint, Jordi (Saint George). The day is Catalonia's equivalent to Valentine's Day in the Anglo-Saxon world but it is also a day that pays homage to worldwide literature and reading. Men and women offer books and roses to those they love: relatives, friends, work colleagues and particularly to lovers and partners. Every year introduces twists to the tradition with 2015 presenting the 'TecnoRose' amongst other innovative designs. In addition, many authors spend the day touring around to give readers signed copies of their books. The amount of books sold this year is expected to follow the success and exceed the sales of 2014. 'El món blau. Estima el teu caos' by Albert Espinosa and 'La templanza' by Maria Dueñas are predicted to be among the bestsellers.

The Province of Girona, in the north eastern part of Catalonia, contains 13 restaurants which among them have 17 Michelin stars, thus making it home to some of the best restaurants in the world. In fact, Girona is the area with the highest Michelin star to population ratio (one star for every 44,000 inhabitants), in the world, ahead of Paris, Rome or London. On top of this, Girona hosts what was awarded Best Restaurant in the world in 2013 by the English magazine 'Restaurant Magazine' and it has been among the top 3 for the last decade: El Celler de Can Roca. In an attempt to raise awareness of its culinary success, all establishments in Girona have united under the brand "Girona Territori d'Estrelles" (Girona Land of Stars).

The river Noguera Pallaresa, in the Catalan county of Pallars Sobirà, used to be known for its trout fishing until the species decreased, accompanied by a decrease in fishermen. Now it is only known for its adventure sports. Located in the Western Catalan Pyrenees, near the border with Aragon, the County Council is now working on building new canals in Llavorsí and Escaló where the fish will be able to grow and swim upriver more easily. Work is expected to be completed this spring and the facilities could already be used this fishing season, which will end in September. The aim is to rediscover the environmental balance in the rivers of the Pallars area and to generate further economic activity by attracting anglers from throughout Europe.

Around the world people celebrate Easter with a range of different activities, and eating delicious cakes is one of them. Different countries or regions have developed different recipes. In Catalonia, Easter is associated with "mona de Pasqua" ("mones" in plural), a cake topped with chocolate figurines. This year, Catalan bakers expect to sell between 800,000 and 900,000 of them. Elies Miró, Chairman of the Patisserie Guild of Barcelona, confirms that he is "moderately optimistic", expecting sales to increase by 2% over 2014 figures. According to 2015 estimates, each Catalan family will spend on average between €40 and €50 on this Easter cake. The most popular versions of "mones" are still those made with butter, chocolate and candied fruit. This year, the top most-wanted characters are princesses Anna and Elsa from the Disney Animation movie Frozen.

The flatlands in the counties near the city of Lleida (‘Pla de Lleida’ in Catalan) are probably the least touristy area of Catalonia and are known for having fog during most of the winter. Now this area located in western Catalonia is trying to reverse the negative view that this meteorological phenomenon implies. Tourism entrepreneurs have created a website promoting fog, with the slogan “Think positive, think fog”, and have now organised two walking routes through the countryside, visiting different villages and heritage monuments.

On Thursday, Barcelona's City Council announced the inclusion of 228 historical and iconic commercial establishments in the new catalogue for protection of the city's urban heritage. However, 161 of the 389 shops initially identified were left out. The aim is to prevent the shops from disappearing due to the pressure of the rental market and therefore being transformed into a multinational franchise. The new catalogue, which will have 3 levels of protection, is part of a special plan for the protection and promotion of urban quality, due to be approved before the end of 2015 (because of May's municipal elections). The plan also identifies a series of areas where limited interventions will be allowed in order to preserve the quality of the urban environment. Among them are Ciutat Vella, Eixample's central area, Sagrada Família and the historical centres of Gràcia, Sant Andreu, Poblenou and Poble-sec.

The 'calçot' - a type of long white spring onion - is a traditional food in Catalonia, a delicacy from the winter months, eaten with its own sauce. In Valls, the cradle of 'calçots', local and international chefs meet to create new dishes with this ingredient. The 'calçots' season, which starts in November and lasts until April, officially begins during the last weekend of January, when Valls celebrates its ‘Gran Festa de la Calçotada’. This party, which attracts thousands of people and media from around the world, is one of the most important Catalan gastronomic events. But why is Valls the capital of 'calçotades'? What is the correct way to cook 'calçots' and its sauce like a professional, and why is this event becoming so international?

Is life really that difficult as a vegetarian in Barcelona? We challenged the predominantly meat and fish-based Catalan cuisine through a week of discovering restaurants, organic shops and vegan eateries in the city. Ham legs tied to the ceiling do not help the perception that vegetarians would have to survive on a diet of nuts and bread, but after our search we found that Barcelona is an incredibly vegetarian-friendly city. This short guide, organised following the days of the week, will help you to know your way around it.

The Chinese community welcomed the 'Year of the Goat' last week. The biggest New Year festivity took place this Saturday, when a parade of a thousand people filled the Barcelona streets with a trail of red dancing dragons and lions. This is the second year that Chinese organisations and Catalan folklore groups, such as Catalonia's traditional human tower builders (‘castellers’) and the traditional giant figures representing kings, knights and princesses called ‘gegants’, joined together to celebrate Chinese New Year. Almost 10,000 spectators lined the parade route through the streets of the Eixample district in the centre of the city. Barcelona has 17,400 Chinese inhabitants, the third largest foreign population, after the Pakistani and the Italian communities; however a great number of Chinese people live in the surrounding towns of Greater Barcelona.  

Last night, the coastal town of Sitges located about 35 kilometres south of Barcelona, brought to a close its famous carnival. This event, known for its extravagance and huge number of visitors, is especially popular among the gay community. For a full week, the whole city is dedicated to the celebration of Carnival, dressing up and organising activities for both children and adults. Sunday and Tuesday’s parades filled Sitges’ streets with tens of thousands of visitors.No less than 1,000 police officers were mobilised for the event, as were fire fighters and health personnel. 38 extra trains and 45,000 additional seats were provided to help visitors attend the event. The Carnival finishes this Wednesday with the traditional ‘burial of the sardines’.

Carnival time is here and Catalonia is ready to let its hair down. From the 12^th to the 18^th of February many Catalan cities and towns will be submerged in an explosion of colour: ‘Carnestoltes’. The origin of this eagerly awaited tradition goes back to the early Middle Ages, when Christians enjoyed a few days of debauchery leading up to Lent, the 40-day period of fasting and pious behaviour. Despite conflicting views about the etymology of the word ‘Carnestoltes’, credit usually goes to the Latin form ‘carns toldrem’ (‘farewell to flesh’). One of the biggest carnivals in Catalonia is held in Sitges, a coastal town with about 30,000 inhabitants 30km south of Barcelona, which expects nearly 300,000 visitors during the parades next Sunday and Tuesday.

In 2014 in Catalonia, not only has there been a rise in the number of overnight hotel stays but also a substantial growth in the number of visitors. Hotel figures show 50,018,636 overnight stays last year, a 1.5% increase over 2013. Catalan hotels received a total of 16,754,342 visitors, an increase of 3.4% over last year. The Catalan tourism infrastructure played host to 62% foreign residents (10.3 million) and 38% (6.3 million) of residents from Spain. December is increasingly becoming an important month as the number of overnight stays climbed to around 2 million (1,983,259), which represents 6.1% more than the same month in 2013 and the highest rate ever recorded for this period of the year. Catalonia remains above the average rate for Spain, as its occupation rate is 56.2%, whereas that of Spain overall is 54.8%.

Nearly 40,000 fashion enthusiasts of all ages visited the Maritime Museum of Barcelona last week for the 15th edition of the 080 Fashion week. The 4-day fashion event drew to a satisfying end after hosting shows from prestigious brands, with the likes of Desigual and Custo taking to the crowded catwalk. Most of the fun was found in the open area, with free refreshments and make-overs for all, thanks to a tagged Instagram post as the key to receiving these treats. As well as a host of celebrities and well-known fashion bloggers in the front rows, big names in the modelling world such as Jon Kortajarena and Andres Velencoso showcased the most popular collections for Autumn/Winter 2015.

The second day of the 080 Barcelona Fashion Week gathered together young designers and big brands. Desigual closed out the day, as Mango did on Monday, by showing its exclusive menswear collection. Kristina Pimenova, the 9 year old girl named as the most beautiful child in the world, failed to appear on the catwalk due to bureaucratic problems. Sporting looks combined with wool and silk were the dominant styles of the day. Not only did politicians, actors and Spanish celebrities descend upon the event, but also bloggers and instagrammers who now have a reserved seat at the shows.