La Castañada, a typical Catalan Holiday

During a stay in one of the great , you will certainly learn about the Castañada. For the past years, Halloween has invaded most big European cities, and Barcelona is not aside of this movement. However, there is also a typical Catalan holiday that takes place during the same period called La Castañada.

La Castañada is a traditional holiday from Catalonia originally celebrated on the day of All Saints but that is more and more celebrated at variable dates around October 31st. Like Halloween in Anglo-Saxon countries, this holiday finds its roots in an old funeral ritual party. During the Castañada, Catalans eat chestnuts, panellets (small round cookies made of marzipan), boniatos (orange sweet spuds) and sweet fruits.

Along with the chestnuts, panellets y boniatos, Catalans usually drink the muscatel, which is a sweet white wine. During this period, you will find many vendors of chestnuts in the streets of Barcelona and other areas of Catalonia who usually offer stewed chestnuts generally wrapped in newsprint.

It also seems that the habit of ingesting very energetic foods during the Castañada comes from before when during All Saints Day ‘eve, friends and relatives of the death were taking care of the corpse alongside with the mortician. Thus, to avoid collapsing, they ate this type of food.

The Castañada is often represented by an old-lady selling chestnuts and dressed with poor clothes.

If you want to learn more about this Catalan tradition or others traditions, come to Barcelona and rent an apartment for this weekend or another one in November!!!

Barcelona International Boat Show

The benchmark show for the nautical sector in Spain is back

The Barcelona International Boat Show, the biggest in Spain and one of the top events of its kind in Europe, will be showcasing all the services, products and innovations in every sector of the nautical industry.

The event marks the start of the annual sales season for exhibitors. During the show, some 70% of all the boat sales in Spain are initiated.

You can’t afford to miss it! From 6 - 14 November 2010 at the Gran Via and Port Vell venues. I want to exhibit.

Innovation Zone, the benchmark for design and R+D+I projects

The Innovation Zone will be showcasing the new projects from design centres, engineering practices and shipyards and featuring some of the most innovative ideas for the nautical industry. This is a great opportunity to discover the latest trends in new technological developments.
Organized by: Innovamar.

Fun Beach, revealing the secrets of the sea

To be a good sailor, you need to know the secrets of the sea. And there’s no better way of learning them than by paying a visit to this zone, aimed primarily at young people, where they can set sail in the dedicated pool on canoes, kayaks and dinghies.

Traditional Sailing, a homage to our historical heritage

‘Sea wolves’ and fishermen recount their stories, sharing space with artisans building boats in the traditional way, with a backdrop of schooners, dornas and other traditional wooden fishing boats. You can also join in workshops, view exhibitions, listen to performances and taste some typical seafaring tapas.

Looking for an accommodation in Barcelona during the Boat Show ??
Visit TOP BARCELONA APARTMENTS
**** Special discounts if you mention that you find the web in our blog!!

HALLOWEEN PARTY IN BARCELONA 2010

Event date: Saturday 30 October 2010 (technically 31st of October, but most parties will be on 30th this year)
Event location: Many clubs and hotels in Barcelona organise Halloween parties



The Halloween tradition is celebrated in Spain and Barcelona in much the same way as in other European cities with Halloween fancy dress parties featuring all manner of ghouls, ghosts, witches and zombies having a fine old time. Check out the parties at Shoko , Monasterio and for an upmarket party try Hotel Casa Fuster. For other top clubs in town that will probably have Halloween themes tonight visit our Barcelona clubbing section. A fun new Mexican tradtion started in Barcelona a few years back called Ruta de Altares, where you can visit different "El Día de Muertos" (Day of the Dead) alters in 19 bars, shops and galleries around Barcelona in memory of the recently departed. Visit http://www.rutadealtares.org for more information.

The 1st November is a public holiday in Spain called "Todos los Santos" (All Saints). On this day you can enjoy the Catalan tradition called La Castanyada and also on all Saints' Day it is a tradition to attend church services in honor of Catholic saints and martyrs and to visit family graves and place flowers, wreaths and candles. The cemeteries in Barcelona have longer opening hours during Halloween weekend from 08.00 until 18.00 and you will see special flower stalls at the gates.

The Origins of Halloween
Although the modern Halloween is based on traditions from the USA, the origins of Halloween can actually be found in Celtic Britain. The Celts lived in the British Isles during ancient times and worshipped the gods of nature. There were two important festivals in the Celtic calendar, Beltane and Samhain. Samhain was pronounced something like "Sow-win," which might be origin for the modern word Halloween. Beltane celebrated the beginning of summer and Samhain the start of winter, and was the first day of the year on the Celtic calendar. The festival of Samhain started on October 31 and finished on November 1. The Celts were afraid of winter because the days were short and cold, and the nights were very long. and they associated winter with death and evil spirits.

The Celts believed that on the night of October 31 the spirits of the dead rose from the tombs and they made big fires to frighten the ghosts off. They also wore scary costumes and played games on October 31 to bring good luck in the year. Nuts and apples were eaten as these were considered lucky food. The colors of Halloween are also of Celtic origin. Black was the colour of winter and long nights. Orange was the colour of the harvest. The black cat is another symbol of Halloween. The Celts believed that the black cat had special powers.

Come in Barcelona right now in order to discover the city and then to do parties for the Halloween night!!!And rent an apartment with your friends!!

International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia from October 7th to 17th

SITGES International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia is the number one fantasy film festival in the world and represents, at the same time, the cultural expression with the most media impact in Catalonia. With a solid experience, the Sitges Festival is a stimulating universe of encounters, exhibitions, presentations and screenings of fantasy films from all over the world.

Born in 1968 as the 1st International Week of Fantasy and Horror Movies, today the Festival is an essential rendezvous for movie lovers and audiences eager to come into contact with new tendencies and technologies applied to film and the audiovisual world.
Sitges’ status as the number one fantasy film festival in the world allows it to receive visits from top-level movie stars, directors and producers like Quentin Tarantino, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Paul Verhoeven, Ralph Fiennes, George A. Romero, Cameron Diaz, Viggo Mortensen, Terry Gilliam, Rutger Hauer, Sarah Michelle Gellar, John Landis, Joe Dante, Zoë Bell, Dino de Laurentii, Takashi Miike, Wim Wenders, Tony Curtis, David Cronenberg, Vanessa Redgrave, Darren Aronofsky, Brad Dourif, John McNaughton, Peter Greenaway, John Woo, Park Chan-Wook, Johnnie To, Paul Naschy, Ray Liotta, Jon Voight, Sam Raimi, Robert Englund, Tarsem Singh, Roger Corman, Mira Sorvino, Santiago Segura, Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, Guillermo del Toro, Kim Ki Duk, Álex de la Iglesia, Aitana Sánchez Gijón, among others from the long list of people who, year after year, are a media attraction. The Festival is governed by a Foundation, made up of representatives from the Sitges Town Council, the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalonia’s autonomous government) and other institutions, associations and public and private companies.

Most of its resources come from the sponsors, companies and collaborating institutions that consider their alliance to the Festival to be an excellent platform for widening their scope and branding.

If you don't want to miss this huge festival and all is horror films, Come to see us and rent an apartment!!!