Apple is going to open is 2nd Apple Store in Barcelonaon the number 1 of Passeig de Gracia!
Steve Jobs signed the paper work in California, USA with the family who own the building atPlaza Catalunyaand the company who will do all the structural work. If everything goes to plan it will be open in less than 6 months time – approx. May 2011!
This whole building was occupied by Anarchists during the strikes in September! But hopefully they won’t break into the New Apple Store once it opens next year. Apple will have 3 floors with over 2500m2 of sales space and an additional 700m2 of storage space. The main floor already has a 4 m high ceiling but there are even rumors that they will be doing some demolition works to create a 12m high ceiling between the floors – perhaps this will allow enough space for the now iconic Apple glass staircase and entrance see at many other Apple stores like London and New York? 2nd Biggest Apple Store in Europe This store will be the second biggest Apple Store in Europe behind London’s Covent Garden Apple Store.
The opening is sure to be a huge spectacle! We will most definitely be in attendance…! Holiday apartments for rent right next to the apple store!!! Come to Barcelonato visit it for its opening!!!
Whoever would like to spend a few pleasant days in Barcelona enjoying the Christmasatmosphere on the streets must absolutely take in several events and know about certain customs from the secular tradition, some of them quite curious.
Christmas markets: Outdoor markets where you can find Christmas trees, figures for nativity scenes, decorations for the home and other decor items, in addition to lots of gift ideas. The most famous Christmas markets are: -Santa Llucia Fair, around the cathedral until 23rd of December. -Sagrada Familia Christmas Fair: until 23rd of December. -Plaza de Sants Christmas Fair: until 23rd of December. -Reyes (3 Kings) Fair: a fair featuring toys, gifts, crafts and Christmas items. Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes (between Muntaner and Entença). From 24th of December to 6th of January.
Tio de Nadal (Christmas Uncle): Starting on the feast day of the Immaculate Conception, the 8th of December, every night families begin to "feed" a tree trunk decorated with a face on one end, which is usually covered with a blanket so it doesn't get cold at night. On Christmas Day, the wooden "uncle" is put in the fire and after being hit it with a canem, it produces sweets and nougats for the children.
Traditional dishes: The traditional dishes at Christmas time are "escudella" stock and its "carn d'olla", followed by stuffed capon or turkey. For dessert, the traditional "turron" nougats are savoured, made with almonds, hazelnuts and honey, or marzipan and candied fruit.
New Year's Eve: New Year's Eve is celebrated with meals and parties as people await the sound of the twelve bells tolling on the city's clocks. At that point, everyone eats 12 "lucky grapes" to the beat of the 12 rings as they toast with cava and wish each other a Happy New Year.
Parade of the Three Wise Men: At sundown on the 5th of January, at 5:30pm to be precise, the Three Wise Men arrive in Barcelona and for three hours they parade around the city's most central streets in their royal carriages, tossing sweets to the children along the wayside.
The MGMT, also known as “the Management”, will storm Barcelona with their psychedelic pop at Razzmatazz in Poble Nou in Barcelona on December 16th at 21:30.
The New York duo consists of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden, both originally from Connecticut. They got together in 2002, during a sabbatical year from Wesleyan University, and became a pop phenomenon, almost involuntarily. Apparently, MGMT never seriously thought they were going to turn into huge pop-stars. Even so, they have been a smashing yet unexpected success since their inception.
They like to repeat that it was not their intention to form a band, but just come out and share albums, “hang out”, go to concerts, listen to music and compose of course, but not necessarily make their creation a profession. They share the ethic of countless garage bands, annoying parents and neighbors with electric guitars and high volume screaming, all the while having fun. However, for MGMT everything flowed with amazing ease and speed, and the music ended up getting taking them along for a ride to international fame.
In early 2005, when they first were licensed, they went on tour in the U.S. to open for “Of Montreal” (another American indie rock group) and promote their new EP “Time to pretend” and in fall 2006, i.e. four years after their college musical joke kicked off, they were signing a multimillion dollar contract for four albums with Columbia Records.
In 2007 the recorded the album “Oracular Spectacular” a skillful mix of danceable pop and psychedelic electronics. In the same year were nominated “Artists of the Day” by Spin Magazine and appeared in the top 10 “Artists to Watch” by Rolling Stone magazine. Their first album debuted at twelfth place in the UK Album Chart and quickly reached the top spot on the Billboard Top Heatseekers.
Among the best tracks on the album are hugely popular hit “Kids” and the compelling “Electric Feel”, or even the more melancholy “Weekend Wars” and “FutureReflections.”
Biutiful, Alejandro González Iñárritu's latest film, shot in Barcelona and starring Javier Bardem, was presented over here this Tuesday and coming out tomorrow in the cinema. The film tells the story of Uxbal, a man in free fall who has to put his house in order before his time runs out.
Biutiful is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal, a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona. His livelihood is earned out of bounds, his sacrifices for his children know no bounds. Like life itself, this is a circular tale that ends where it begins. As fate encircles him and thresholds are crossed, a dim, redemptive road brightens, illuminating the inheritances bestowed from father to child, and the paternal guiding hand that navigates life’s corridors, whether bright, bad – or biutiful.
Why won't you come to Barcelonaand feel the real Barcelona! We have lots of offers of apartments for rent for all december!
December 2nd 2010 from 20h until late in the night
Passeig de Gràcia's retail establishments are holding their first fashion White Night on Thursday 2 December, with over 50 shops taking part. There will also be design and fashion-related activities going on in the emblematic hotels and buildings on this, one of Barcelona's major high streets.
You probably never thought you would be able to savour an escudella broth made by Carme Ruscalleda outside the Hotel Mandarin Oriental or see an exhibition of customised chairs in the centre of Passeig de Gràcia.
But all that, and much more, will be possible this Thursday, 2 December, when over fifty retail establishments, the Bulevard Rosa and several hotels will be open from 8 pm to 12 am for Shopping Night, an event already held in the main capitals of Europe.
Ultimately the aim is not to make the White Night a big sales night but to position Barcelona and the Passeig de Gràcia as an international shopping destination and link that with the Christmas festivities.
Barcelona Shopping Night is therefore taking place on the same night that Barcelona switches on its Christmas lights, which will be on for 36 days at over 300 city locations and lighting up 60 km of streets.
A passport of flowers and a party
Anyone wishing to buy something at any of these shops will have to take out a Shopping Passport, a small booklet supplying the addresses of the shops that will also come in useful for the "Gimcana de les Flors" and will be available at specialist information points.
For every euro spent at one of the shops taking part in Shopping Night, buyers will receive a flower-shaped stamp and, as they accumulate these, they will be able to enter lotteries for cruises, ski-resort holidays and nights in luxury hotels.
And, besides the shops and their products, which you can enjoy at a very unusual time, at midnight this unique city location will become the setting for a big fiesta.
"David Missoni", a sculpture over six metres high and dressed in moving fabrics by dEmo, will be installed on the avenue, as a collection of unique, customised industrial items and a large design tent with fashion and design celebrities from Barcelona will be at other points.
In addition, the Mariscal and Custo exhibitions will also be opening at La Pedrera and Casa Batlló respectively, with Carme Ruscalleda serving escudella broth and Jean-Luc Figueras serving up hot chocolate and churros.
Book a last minute flight or take your car and come to Barcelona to don't miss this incredible Fashion Event! If you're looking for a place to stay, we are here for you. We can propose you a large choice of apartments really close to the Passeig de Gracia!
Steve Jobs signed the paper work in California, USA with the family who own the building at Plaza Catalunya and the company who will do all the structural work. If everything goes to plan it will be open in less than 6 months time – approx. May 2011!
