Discovering Barcelona and its visitors on a lazy afternoon.

I finally took another trip to the beach last weekend. Here it is September and still beach weather!! I packed my bag and off I went. On my one previous trip to the beach I had had the glorious idea of walking. But the city centre of Barcelona is indeed quite large and I underestimated the distance to the beach from my apartment, which meant that, on arrival, I completely collapsed! But it was great to be there!

Walking might be the best way to get to know the city, if you don’t get tempted and sidetracked by all the attractions on the way! If you are fit and have enough time (and a pair of comfy shoes) it can be fun, but if you are actually planning on arriving at the beach for some sun, then you can also just take the metro! A single ticket costs just 1, 25 euros, but I would advice you to buy a ‘T-10’ card (6, 90 euros), for 10 journeys on the metro, bus or local train! You can visit any place in the city so cheaply!

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Where there is an end, There is a new beginning!

Unfortunately i am reaching the end of my stay in Malaga and im so sad. I feel so sad after having met so many people and done so many things. I can honestly say that i dont think i would ever be ready to go, the school and teachers are wicked, the apartment with the amazing view and terrace, the work experience i gained and the many nice people i met from all kinds of countries.

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An undiscovered beach in the south of Spain!

The beach of El Palmar

Only nine kilometres from Vejer, between Cape Roche and Cape Trafalgar, lies one of the most spectacular beaches of the Andalusian coast – El Palmar. The beach of fine golden sand is more than four kilometres long and an average of 50 metres wide. In summer it is one Vejer’s main attractions. To get to El Palmar take the 2131 at the junction with the N340 – the same junction which gives access to the road leading up to Vejer. At the second junction, turn right, and from here you can see the fields of palmitos which have given El Palmar its name.

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Work Experience in Barcelona!

You know the saying: “What a small world?” It might be a bit of a cliché but it does occasionally prove itself to be true! I have been in Barcelona for approximately five weeks now and two days ago I met a guy, who, as it turns out, lives in the same city in Germany as I do!

He is doing a very similar work experience to the one I am doing here in Barcelona.

The only difference is he is going home in a few weeks whereas I will be able to see the city out-of-season, as I will stay here until the end of the year! I haven’t really started doing the ‘touristy’ things yet, but when my various friends and acquaintances do come here to visit (it is interesting to see how many people suddenly have time to visit if you offer them a free stay in a “cool” city), I might just make a start so that at least I have pictures of myself in and around the city’s many sights.

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Munich Oktoberfest – “O’zapft is!”

The famous “Oktoberfest“ is one of the most popular beer festivals all over the world with some six million people attending every year.

Our teachers told us that we should attend the opening ceremony. The Oktoberfest staff and the breweries move through the city with splendidly decorated horses and coaches and traditional dresses. The area where the festival takes place is called the “Theresienwiese”, or “Wiesn” for short.

The festival starts as soon as the first keg of beer is tapped by the Mayor of Munich who then declares: “O’zapft is!”. This is Bavarian and means “It is tapped!”

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Life in Milan never stops!

One of my favourite things in Milan is the nightlife! Usually it starts at 20.00 with the typical Happy Hour. In every bar and pub of the city the lunch counter is full of every kind of delecacy, from appetizers, to pasta, and Italian cheese. The Iguana Cafe is the happy hour par excellence! After the aperitif, all the people meet in the various restaurants of the Navigli and the centre, to taste every kind of food, not only Italian, but Brazilian, Mexican, Spanish, Chinese, Taiwanese… To keep on with the evening, everybody moves on to the most trendy discos of the area, where music and fun are guaranteed!

The Holliwood, in Corso Como, is the traditional disco in Milan, where celebrities, tourists and students meet. Then there is the Just Cavalli cafe, a pub created by the eccentric Tuscany fashion designer Roberto Cavalli, located in the Parco Sempione area. Here all the smart and classy people from Milan get together.

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Taormina – A great place for holiday or study or both!

Have you got some time off? Want to spend it learning a new language and having an awesome cultural experience at the same time? If your answer is yes then I highly recommend that you look into booking yourself into an Italian language school in Taormina, Sicily! I attended the school for 2 weeks and if I had to name my only one regret it would be that I didn’t make my stay in Taormina a longer one.

Taormina is an old medieval town on the East coast of Sicily in between Messina and Catania. The town itself is situated on Monte Taoro and has spectacular views of the ocean and Mt Etna. Taormina offers a diverse range of activities to suit the likes of everyone, including… boutique shopping in the main street, beaching, possibility of going to the surrounding islands and grottos by boat, there are amazing walking tracks for those who are feeling energetic, and do I have to mention the wonderful Italian cuisine and the gelati!!

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We just got back from El Puerto…

¡Hola!

We are Jessica and Nadine, two friends from Switzerland.

We stayed three weeks at the school in El Puerto and profited a lot from the lessons. The teachers and the director Marisa are really friendly and helpful and the students very simpatico! We felt at home.

We had a lot of fun going on the school activities and excursions, for example: dancing salsa, concert flamenco, playing soccer at the beach, trip to Ronda etc.

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El Puerto – why you won’t have a moment to spare!

Hola! My name’s Livia and I spent six weeks at the school in El Puerto.

El Puerto de Santa Maria is a little town which belongs to Cadiz…

In the school there are so many things to do! You can dance salsa, and it doesn’t matter if you are a beginner! You can go to the cinema there’s a big mall where you can choose different movies. You can play bowling which is definitely good fun!

There are lots of things you can see in El Puerto (for example the Plaza de Torros, the castles, the tapas bars, and the beaches etc).

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Five weeks of fun and Spanish in Playa del Carmen

I ended up spending 5 fantastic weeks in Playa del Carmen, Mexico this summer after I graduated University and it was the perfect laid back atmosphere to practice my Spanish in.

Playa has something for everyone; less fast paced than Cancun, but still offers enough clubs, restaurants and shopping for those who can’t live without their creature comforts, not to mention turquoise water and white sandy beaches just a stone’s throw away from the school!

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