At a cake workshop backstage with the Stern

Denise Stern contacted me about some tours for her family trip to Barcelona. I was quite booked up so I got my colleague Sandra to show them around, but I was able to be with them for their "special tour". They were looking for something different, and after discussing our possibilities, they decided on a tour that would include visiting some unique stores in town, then going to the backstage of a famous local cake maker, and then visiting the workshop of the local artist Alicia Cayuela.

The tour was fun, but the very best part was visting Escribà, the cake store.
When we got there, we first visited the public shop and looked at the mouth-watering cakes and pastries. Then we were invited to have a "berenar", the local afternoon snack. We chose some delicious bakeries, chocolates and plus soda and coffee. Yummy!


Then Xavi, one of the main responsibles of the cake store recieved us. He took us upstairs to their private workshop, all decorated in a gingerbread-housy way, and started introducing us to their products, techniques and projects. We got to meet a Brazilian lady who is now in charge of their American-Style cake decoration, then we were taken to their chocolate area to see (and taste!) some of their newest creations. There we crossed Christian Escribà, one of the 3 children of the Escribà family, who is the soul of the cake revolution undertaken by this 4th-generation family owned-bussiness. He promissed he'd join us later, when after an appointment he had with a photographer.

And he did, indeed! We were back with Xavi to the showroom, and he was showing us the most amazing videos on cakes (or should I say... sweet performances?), and he came and spent the rest of our visit with us, commenting on the videos, sharing his experience and even asking Xavi to show us more. We couldn't believe behind a cake could be such a world of creativity!

And because I'm without words to express what we lived there, here is a video of their "Cake of the Future":

The Bennett are back! And they got some special tours!

You might remember Brian and Bev Bennett, that I mentioned in several older posts. Well, Bev's mother wanted to come to Barcelona, so they took her here along with Brian's syster.

We first planned a daytrip to Girona (that's one of my favorite destinations!). I usually combine it with a visit to the Dalí Museum in Figueres, but they thought it would be a too intense day for the old lady so they asked to be taken somewhere in the countryside for lunch. That was an unusual request, but some colleagues recomended me a local restaurant located inside a typical "masia" (Catalan farmhouse). It took us a bit to find, even with the driver's GPS, but we finally got there.

It was gorgeous and the food was great! Traditional Catalan food, beautiful quality and lots of fresh veggie choices (remember Brian and Bev are vegetarian). It was worth the effort of getting there!

Then the next day we wanted to do some touring in Barcelona. We got a minivan, to make it easier for Brian's mother. We used it for 4h, then had the driver taking her back to the hotel while the rest of us continued exploring a little bit more.

They had asked me to do some modernism off the beaten path, but we hadn't really discussed it much, so in the end I improvized an itinerary that was quite a success!

We started by some remarkable buildings by Puig i Cadafalch near Passeig de Gràcia, then explored the Eixample district on the way back to la Rambla (where they were staying). I told them about how Ildefons Cerdà's city plan had evolved to become what the city is now, and saw examples of different architectural styles. We passed 100yo pharmacies, quiet private alleys... even a gothic cloister dismantled piece by piece and taken from its original location to be rebuilt in the Expansion Area. We finished with an early Gaudí work: Casa Calvet, very close to the city center.

I loved that stroll so much that I'm thinking about creating a tour I can sell from my Toursbylocals profile! Keep posted on that!

Special Gaudí tours for the Kerlin

The Kerlin family are Gaudí lovers. Specially Kevin, the father, are passionated about the architect's works, and for their trip to Barcelona they asked me to show them his early works and other sites outside the city center. The itinerary was customized inch by inch to include all the sites they wanted to see!

My driver collected them at the airport, and I joined them at the entrance of the city: at the gate of the gardens of Palau Reial, where we wanted to see a fountain and a pergola designed by a very young Gaudí.

De Gaudí: Minor works

Not far, we also stopped at the famous Dragon Gate of the Güell Pavilions.

Next we drove to Casa Vicenç, in the Gràcia District.

De Gaudí: Minor works

Then continued to Torre Bellesguard, where I was also able to show them a viaduct (sort of a bridge) that has been recently restored.

De Gaudí: Minor works

We then visited the Park Güell - not at all a minor work, of course, but you do need some transportation means to get there, and since we were on the minivan we agreed it was convenient to include it in our tour. To their request, we changed a bit my usual itinerary so they could get to the Hill of the Three Crosses at the very top of the park and we also had some time to visit the Gaudí House-Museum.

So far we had covered all the Gaudí sites we had planned for the day, but before I left them at their hotel we still had some time to stop at the Hospital de Sant Pau by Domènech i Muntaner, the AGBAR tower by Jean Nouvel and the Fish sculpture by Frank Gehry.

Two days later, we were ready to meet again for our next Gaudí adventure, but this time we went out of town: Montserrat and the Colònia Güell.

Since the Kerlin do a lot of research to prepare their vacations and know exactly every single thing they want to see, we prepared a very complete but packed itinerary and we agreed that we'd have to strictly stick to the timings if we wanted to cover it all. I must admit I wasn't very confident we'd be able to make it but... we did! They were very good respecting our schedule because they had very clear goals, and we made it in a way that everything felt fun and not that rushed.

So first of all, we departed the hotel ponctually at 8.45 and arrived to the foot of Montserrat just on time to take the cablecar. Mission 1 completed!
Then we run to the Black Madonna shrine before it closed for morning mass (we really only had to speed up until we crossed the church side door: once inside we relaxed... Mission 2 completed! Good job!

And by the way, on the way to the Shrine we were able to see the Crucifix that some specialists claim it was made by Michaellangelo himself! (guess what, the Kerlin are also Michaellangelo's lovers!)



Now we had to move on quickly to the Funicular of St. Joan, were we arrived 5min before the second funicular of the day departed. It took us up the hill: hour plan was walking down back to the Monastery to enjoy the mountain views. I love this excursion, and it takes only some 45-50min (make sure to wear good walking shoes, though!).

After the hike, we headed to the Museum. Of course, Kevin had a list of pieces he wanted to see! We covered them all except for one Picasso and one Dalí that had been sent to a show somewhere else, but I got to show them other interesting pieces that they didn't expect to see there.

12.30 and we were totally on our schedule. We entered the church, found 4 seats and waited for the choir to sing. We also used this rest-time to discuss a bit more about Montserrat, Gaudí and many other things.

De Montserrat

After the choir, time for lunch! Food isn't specially great in the mountain, but we were fine with the simple dishes sold at the cantine. Our next mission was getting the first Funicular de la Santa Cova of the afternoon (funiculars close for lunchbreak). Gaudí was quite young when we was asked to participate in the construction of the Path of the Cross on the way to the Holy Cave, and he was in charge of one of the Misteries of Glory: the Resurrection. We of course made the funicular, and got to Gaudí's mistery in only 8min. Then they preferred skipping the Cave so we had some time for souvenir shopping before leaving the mountain. We got back to the Funicular and manage to get the one before the one we had planned: that earned us 20extra minutes for shopping. Yeah!

And by 14.55 the driver was picking us up to take us to the Colònia Güell. 5min ahead of schedule! Impressive! So on the way to the Colònia we even had the time to stop over the Walden-7 building, that Kevin was interested in seeing aswell.



We all loved the Crypt made by Gaudí in la Colònia Güell. We spent some 30min visiting, then returned to Barcelona. What a complete day it had been!

Variations on my tours

On April 15th I had two very different tours, where we introduced some interesting variations on my usual itineraries. I wanted to share them to show you how it's always possible to adapt to your needs and interests during my tours.

In the morning, I had a deutch group and with them we wanted to visit the Sagrada Família Church and the Park Güell. Their travel agent had arranged the reservation in the church, but they also wanted to take the elevator to the tower. I don't always have the time to do that (specially if in 4h we are supposed to see also Gaudí's appartment buildings in Passeig de Gràcia), but since we were only visiting two sites we had plenty of time available.

The rules in the church have recently changed, so now we had to buy the elevator tickets as we went in and they gave us a time slot to go there (before, you just used to stand in line until it was your turn...). We had just some time to explain the Nativity façade before taking the elevator in that side. However, as I was explaining I could see something didn't look right by the elevator zone... And surely enough, when we approached the hostess there she told us that the elevator was closed for some technical reason, and at the ticket office they didn't know that!


Oh well, part of my job is solving problems so the tour goes as smoothly as possible, isn't it? So there I went, back to the ticket office, speaking with the right people and trying to be as proactive and diplomatic as possible. At first they were saying that there weren't tickets for the other elevator (the one in the Passion Façade) until much later... too late for us, as we were due to be at the Park by then! But in the end we got permission to show up there whenever we could and they'll sneak us past the line. That was perfect!

So after visiting the inside of the church, we proceeded to the elevator. We rode to almost the top, then continued one floor up to a platform from where you start seeing the city views, and then took the stairs down... Yes, they are narrow, steep and maybe a bit claustrophobic but... they are such an adventure! I took some pictures with my phone to share them with you.

The group loved this little detour on my average tour, and then we continued with the usual explanations of the Passion Façade and the Museum. Then the group split in 5 taxis and we got to the Park Güell, where appart from a detailed visit of the monumental area, at the end we still had some time to go up to the Hill of the Three Crosses to admire the city views. Part of the group, however, preferred to stay at the Main Entrance enjoying a drink at the terrace of the café instead. It was a lovely morning!



Next I took a taxi back to the city center where I had a sandwich before I met my afternoon clients, Gerald Bender and his daughter. We also had planned a Gaudí tour, this time including Casa Batlló and Casa Milà and not taking the elevator. We moved faster than the average, so we managed to cover everything and still had about a half an hour left. They were insterested in strolling around the Gràcia district which happens to be walking distance from the Park Güell where we were, so that's where we headed.

I don't often get to show my clients non-tourist areas such as local districts off-the-beaten-path, although I do offer neighbourhood tours. We walked the village-looking streets, passed lively local squares and learn about the area history. It's also a young place where many local designers have open their little trendy shops and cafés, and they were very interested in that particular side of Gràcia. I love shopping for clothes there too!
At the end of the tour, I helped them getting a cab back to the hotel and I went to catch the bus home, not without seating on one of my favorite little cafés before and have a snack to risen my energy levels after a long but fun day.

Barcelona tours for corporations!

Barcelona is a very busy bussiness city. Many international corporations have headquarters and offices here, and often our city is chosen for corporation meetings and trainings.
But when bussinessmen and corporation employees travel for this kind of events and have to spend many hours with their colleagues, not everything is work! Often their programs include dinners and, why not?, short tours to give them the opportunities to discover the city and have a break from such intense work hours.

So when a corporation contacts me, I know they will be having special needs. They don't usually have 4h to spend touring (and most of the members of the group wouldn't have the energy to last that long after their meetings and before dinner!), so I have to offer them shorter itineraries that maximize their available time taking into account starting and ending points, opening hours and sunlight, as well as the group's interests.

My explanations also must be lighter and fun when possible, although of course they still have to be informative. It is important to tune into the group's mood as quickly as possible, so they enjoy themselves during our short time together.

This week I had two corporation tours. The first one was for Recticel Iberica. They arranged a very entertaining tour starting with a visit of the Casa Batlló (inside), then a walk down Passeig de Gràcia to the Old Town where we had some pintxos (traditional basque tapas) and drinks, and we continued walking around the Gothic Quarter and the Born section until I dropped them at a great restaurant in the Old Port.

Then yesterday I had some employees on a trainning for Procter & Gamble. We started in the Sagrada Familia church (outside), then we drove along Passeig de Gràcia seeing Casa Milà/Pedrera and Casa Batlló from the bus, and we finished with a nice stroll around the Gothic Quarter and the Born section, before we got to their restaurant near Plaça Urquinaona.

So if you are from a corporation and are looking for something entertaining to do with your colleagues coming to Barcelona for business, please contact me and check out my website to get some ideas on what could we include in your tour!

By the way, I can also organize private tours for your clients if you wish to treat them!

Specialised Gaudí Tours, and a customized music tour

Last week I spent three days with Mr. Shapero discovering in depth the works of Antoni Gaudí.
On our first day we did the Gaudí masterpieces: his appartment buildings Casa Batlló and Casa Milà in the morning, and the fascinating Sagrada Familia unfinished church in the afternoon.

The next day we went out of town to visit the Colònia Güell Crypt in Santa Coloma de Cervelló, a little known jewel where Gaudí tried the techniques that he'll use later on in the Sagrada Familia. We were accompanied by the architect Eva Palacios, who's got a big background on Gaudí studies and added up to my explanations with her technical input. Then after a nice lunch by the water Mr. Shapero and me went to the Park Güell.

We devoted our last morning to Gaudí's minor works. We started with his very first building, the Casa Vicenç, then took a taxi towards the Güell Pavilions, and on the way saw the Teresianes School and the gate of the Miralles real-state. After the Pavilions, we checked out a fountain and a pergola he built nearby, in what now is the garden of the Pedralbes Palace (but was formerly part of Güell's real-state). After that we returned to the city center and saw the Casa Calvet, then decided to walk accross the Old Town to the Güell Palace (I took the opportunity to show him the Palau de la Música Catalana by Domènech i Muntaner, an architect contemporary to Gaudí, the Quatre Gats cafè where Picasso used to hang out and meet other bohemian artists, and the streetlamps a very young Gaudí designed for the Plaça Reial).

After visiting the basement of the Güell Palace (the rest of the building is currently being restored, more info in a previous article I wrote for this blog), we had a fun tapas lunch at the Boqueria market.

In the afternoon my client was interested in buying some music for his art projects, so I took him to a music store and assisted him finding CD's that could be of his interest, and got someone of the Spanish and Catalan music section to give us more ideas (I was here acting as a translator for Mr. Shapero). I also helped him getting some books specialised in the Gaudí works, and took him to the Post Office were all his shopping was sent home by airmail.

After all this we still had some time left, and he said he'd love to hear some street-musicians. So I took him back to the Gothic Quarter, were I guided him around the spots where I know it's easy to find them. We had a nice time listening to their music and walking around the medieval alleys and squares. I loved doing that! It was my first ever "street-musician hunting" tour!

Special Gracia Tour for Patricia!

Patricia has just moved to the Gracia neighbourhood and she celebrated it with her friends with a tasty breakfast and my Gracia Tour. We walked around the district squares discovering its history and finding hidden details everywhere.

Towards the end of the tour, something unexpected happened: as I was starting to tell them about the Chapel of St. Phillip Neri, an old man approached and started talking to us about the place. He was Joan, a neighbour that has been living there all his life and is closely related to the Chapel. Seeing our interest for his talk, he took out some keys from his pocket and offered us to visit the inside. How lucky we were! The place is usually closed and can only be visited during the Gracia Festival in August, if there is a concert programmed in the cloister!
The picture above is precisely there (unfortunately Joan didn't want to be on it, so he volonteered to take it).

For more pictures of the Gracia District, check out my album.
To learn more about my other Out-Of-The-Beaten-Track Neighbourhoods, visit my website!