Barcelona Apartments - Akaza Holiday Apartments in Barcelona

Spain storm to victory in the European Championships

 This week, after beating Macedonia to reach the final, Spain conceeded a 98-85 to become Europen champions for the second year running. Carlos Navarro top scored with 27 points, while Memphis Grizzlies star Gasol chipped in with a double-double, adding 17 points and 10 rebounds for Spain. Despite Tony Parker scoring 26 points for France, the Spaniards put up a fight and saw them off in the final quarters. This is the second year running Spain have won the tournament after beating Serbia to reach the final in 2009.

‘La seleccion espanola’ or the Spanish national team is run by the Spanish basketball federation and was formed in 1935. Over the years the teams have enjoyed many successes since then, including second place at the first ever European championships in 1935 and a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. They are currently second in the world FIBA rankings for men and current European champions.

The Spanish national team has been described as one of the best Spanish teams along with the national football team and people gathered in apartments all over Barcelona to watch the game and celebrate the victory. Many of Barcelona’s bars showed the game, as well as the final of tennis’ Davies cup, another face off between France and Spain.

President Zapatero has even congratulated the team on their performance, saying ‘you showed a great example of sportsmanship and your spirit of clean play and not being afraid of any team will remain in Spain for many years’

Both France and Spain have now qualified for the London Olympics next year and both have high medal hopes.

Tibidabo is Barcelona's highest point. The mountain's name comes from the Bible. The Catalan legend says that Christ was tempted by the devil here.  The Latin text that the devil said to Christ was the following- "... si haec omnia tibi DABO cadens adoraveris me" means "I give you all this, if you worship me down on your knees."

The mountain can be found on the northwest of Barcelona, 512 meters high with a fantastic views of the city. Apart from the amazing view the visitors can be entertained by Barcelona's oldest amusement park (the ticket is 24 Euros, 19Euros for students and 11Euros for the people under 120 cm). It is definitely worth spending a day in the amusement park especially if you're travelling with kids.

A futuristic TV tower, the Torre de Collserola is also the part of the Tibidabo. The 288.4 meter high tower- 445 meters above the sea level- was built for the 1992 summer Olympic Games. We can visit its 10^th floor which is the highest vantage point in Barcelona. The 10^th floor is 135 meters high, this means that we are now 580 meters above Barcelona! You can have a view of 70 km far in clear weather. 

In the top of Tibidabo we can find a beautiful Catholic church, the Temple de Cor Shagrat which can be seen from almost all part of Barcelona. It took 60 years to construct and that is topped by a sculpture of the Sacred Heart at its very peek. You can access the church and take the lift to the top to see the city at 575 meters above sea level! You will still be able to see the same view if you take the "Talaia" ride at the Tibidabo Amusement park, situated on level 6. Amongst the many attractions, you might want to try the "Muntanya Russa" ride on level 1. They also have a 4D cinema on level 2 called "Dididado." The movie is in Spanish, but it is still worth the experience if you've never been to a 4D cinema before. Take a ride on the bumping cars and visit the "Krüeger Hotel" on level 4. The actors at the "Krüeger Hotel" are extremely convincing and they will scare the hell out of you!
Take the L7 brown line from Plaça de Catalunya and stop at "Av Tibidabo" (this is the last stop). When you get off the train, just cross the road to take the Tramvia Blau (a little blue tram) that will take you half way up to the mountain. You will then need to take the funicular to go up to the very top.
Tramvia Blau costs: 2.30 Euros per adult

Don't miss out on the opportunity of visiting Mount Tibidabo. It takes approximately an hour and fifteen minutes to get there depending on whether you take the underground or the bus.

How to reach Tibidabo?

Funicular costs: 4 Euros per adult (with return)

Let’s have a look at one of the hippest, coolest and liveliest areas in Barcelona; Born. The district of Born is filled with small shops, cafés, restaurants and bars, and all of this culminates at the Passeig del Born which is the main street of the neighborhood. The famous cathedral of Santa Maria del Mar is located right at the end of it and if you enjoy culinary delights, be sure not to miss the Mercat of Santa Caterina.  Akaza has plenty of apartments to offer in Born.

Born can be divided into lower- and upper Born. Especially the lower area is full of lively atmosphere during the day, and at night it all explodes and visitors can see that the neighborhood has truly earned its reputation.

Dear Akaza Blog readers,

This week, as the summer starts showing signs of slowly making way for autumn, it is a good time to share some information about the upcoming concerts in Barcelona. Naturally the music scene of Barcelona is extremely diverse, and therefore you can see pretty much every kind of an artist at any time of the year. Nevertheless, let’s take a look at some gigs that have been selected through a sophisticated screening process (meaning: myself) and revise what is about to go down in this amazing metropolis of ours. 

On the 15^th of December one of the most famous bands of all time, Red Hot Chili Peppers, will be set loose in Palau Sant Jordi –arena in Barcelona. Even though the band has lost such a talent as John Frusciante, it remains to be one of the most exciting rock bands in this hemisphere. They have just released a new album and they can’t wait to introduce it to us. What we shall expect is some virtuous guitar and bass ingeniousness featuring top notch vocals. Who can resist this offer?!

Roxette, which many of you might remember from the days the world used to be a better place, is coming to Barcelona. Be sure not to miss this Swedish invasion of Barcelona on the 19^th of November. Catchy tunes played with raw energy is the main ingredient in this mix.

The Kooks is coming to the famous club Razzmatazz in Barcelona on the 23^rd of October. This British rock band that doesn’t rely on the TOP-40 radio-friendliness will bring us the light from Brighton! This autumn they will release their 3^rd studio album “Junk of heart” and they need you to celebrate the quality of it with them. 

If you are anywhere near Barcelona, or thinking of spending your holiday here in the 2011 autumn, do not allow yourself to forget the musical talent Barcelona has to offer!

When autumn arrives to Barcelona, it brings a unique event with it; the fiesta de la Merce. The festival used to be a religious happening, but nowadays it is a popular fiesta with not much to do with religion. However, the name Merce comes from the patron saint of Barcelona.

If you happen to be in Barcelona during one week in the late September, you definitely shouldn’t miss La Merce. One part of the popularity and tradition is that the festival itself was forbidden in Catalunya during the Franco time.

One part of the festival is the “giants” who walk in and around the city. They are several meters tall figures with large heads. If that is not enough for you, be sure not to miss the castellers, which means people who gather together to build big human towers. That’s right, a tower made of people, many meters tall. Also you can spot dragons and people with firecrackers so don’t forget to be aware of the fire! Although, if you are not afraid, you can join the party.

A more “normal” side of this festival is the various musical performances which will take place on many of the town squares. Finally, to conclude the week there will be a fireworks opera, which means shooting some spectacular rockets to the air while the speakers play different songs to accompany the light show.

Where will all this take place? All over the city. What’s the price? Free. When will it happen? The dates for La Mercé 2011 are Thursday 22^nd September until Sunday 25^th September.

For more information, check out the official website: http://www.bcn.cat/merce/en/index.shtml

This year the Fiesta Major de Gracia will be organized the 15^th- 21^st August. The festival is one of the biggest events of summer every year in the middle of August. You can find open air concerts, fireworks, beer and cava, and the amazingly decorated streets of the district of Gracia. It is open to the public so you do not need tickets to enjoy the special atmosphere of the bohemian district of Gracia.

Gracia was an independent, small city until the end of the XIX. century. In spite of the protest of the local habitants it became the part of Barcelona in 1898. Nowadays, it is famous about being the district of immigrants and hundreds of small intimate streets.

The Fiesta Major de Gracia derives from the years when the district lost its independency. Originally the festival had a religious meaning but soon it lost its religious nature and became a simple street festival with games and dances.

The decoration of the streets and the contest between them – the main element of the festival – is coming from 1920. It was the first year when the neighbours organized a competition between themselves and their decorated streets. Today the participants are working on the decoration of the streets during the whole year and use recycled materials. To win the prize of the best decorated street necessitates hard work and creativity. Every street has to choose a theme.

Some useful information:

·         During the weekend the metro will be open 24 hours.

·         To get to Gracia you can take the metro to Fontana – this metro stop will land you right at the heart of Gracia and from there you can start exploring. 

·         Dates: Monday 15 August 2011 to Sunday 21 August 2011

For the full program check: www.festamajordegracia.cat

Organisers of Gracia Festival:
Federació Festa Major de Gràcia
Tel. 93 459 30 80
Fax. 93 207 63 80
info@festamajordegracia.cat
 
Festa de Gracia office:
Carrer de  Igualada, 10
08012  Vila de Gràcia
Office hours: Monday, Wednesday & Friday from 17:30 to 21:00

Make sure that you do not miss one the most famous events in Barcelona. Enjoy the cavas, the wonderful streets and the atmosphere of the special barrio of Gracia!

Dear Akaza blog reader.

People from all over the world come to Barcelona because of the famous football team FC Barcelona. Therefore, now I thought it would be a good time to look into the near future and see what is happening with the team.

Spanish Supercup (Supercopa de España)

In the Spanish Supercup, the winners of La Liga and the Spanish Cup play against each other in a 2-legged competition. This year these teams are the arch rivals FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. The first leg will be played in Madrid on the 14^th of August and the second leg here in Barcelona at the famous Camp Nou stadium on the 17^th of August. Fans of both teams are looking forward to the clash, because whenever Real Madrid and Barcelona play, the whole Spain holds its breath. Tickets for the match which will take place in Barcelona are available to be purchased.

La Liga

FC Barcelona will start their 2011-2012 campaign away from home in Malaga on the 21^st of August. The first home game will take place on the 29^th of August against Villarreal, who finished fourth in La Liga last season. In the recent years, Barcelona has been hugely successful and they will start the season as the reigning champions. The biggest favorites for the new season are once again FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. The sale of tickets for this season begins on the 1^st day of September.

For more information, you can visit the website of the league in this link.

UEFA Champions League

FC Barcelona defeated Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League final 2011 and therefore will begin the 2011-2012 as the team who everybody is longing to defeat. The teams which FC Barcelona will face in the group phase will be decided on the 25^th of August and the first games of the new season will take place on the 13^th and 14^th of September.

For more Champions League information, check their website in this link.

If you want to check the dates for all FC Barcelona games, you can do it in their website in this link.

In the picture below you can see all cities with a La Liga team.

We invite everyone, football fan or not, to come to Barcelona to feel the atmosphere of this city that has something for everyone.

Dear Akaza Blog-Reader,

Being held in many countries all over the world, the Ocean Grand Prix, Power Boat Championship has established itself as one of the most striking competitions for Power Boats.

The OGP Ocean Grand Prix Powerboat World Championship will come to Barcelona in October 2011.

The event got credited by UIM (Union Internationale Motonautique) and includes race for 2 powerful genres: OGP Pro 1 (Prototype Boats) and OGP Pro 2 (Production Boats). It often takes place from June to October and thanks to success from previous editions, the competition has been attracting top racers from noted teams. Beyond a competition, the championship offers a golden chance for brands to spread its image to audiences, it helps marine industry, especially hull and engine manufactures present most innovative products.

Spectators can be guaranteed to enjoy the race at its best because of unlimited public viewing and abundant public access to dry pits, team and time trials.

This year from 7 to 9 of October the Championship will visit Barcelona and expect to thrill Catalan fans with top speed competitions!