DeMorgen Newspaper

Today we have a pleasant surprise: Rene De Rycke, while informing about our Bed and Breakfast, showed us an article in De Morgen, the Belgium newspaper, edition Saturday, January 30th. In this article a previous guest wrote some very nice lines about us:

"Barcelona heeft de naam dat het er moeilijk is om betaalbare overnachtingen te vinden. Wij vonden er eentje aan de rand van de wijk Gracia: BBB Les Jardinets. De B&B ligt in een heel mooi gebouw - toegegeven: het is niet gemakkelijk om een lelijk gebouw te vinden in Barcelona - en je raakt op je kamer op de eerste verdieping met een antieke kooilift waar we tijdens een vorige citytrip naar een andere stad nog moesten voor betalen om er alleen nog maar naar te kijken. De kamers zijn er kraaknet, het onthaal erg hartelijk en je kan je eigen ontbijt samenstellen door in de keuken en koelkast te kiezen wat je lekker vindt.

De locatie zelf is erg rustig en vermits een stad als Barcelona echt alleen maar "gevoeld" kan worden door er in rond te stappen is het daarenboven heerlijk dat veel van dat moois gewoon op loopafstand ligt, is een wirwar van kleine straatjes, pleintjes met heel toffe bars en restaurants: net een dorp binnen de metropool Barcelona. Voor Cuba-aanhangers: er is zelfs een Cubaans geïnspireerde bar waar ze Bucanero verkopen! Wij betaalden de ongelooflijke som van 26 euro per persoon per nacht MET ontbjit!"

If you have not understood anything, here's the translation:

"Barcelona is a city that is difficult to find affordable accommodation. We found one at the edge of the Gracia district: BBB-Jardinets. The B&B situated in a beautiful building - admittedly it is not easy to find an ugly building in Barcelona - and you get to your room on the first floor with an antique elevator. During a previous city-trip, where we went to another city, we had yet to pay for it only to watch! The rooms are immaculate, the welcome very warm and you can compose your own breakfast in the kitchen fridge and choose what you like.

The site itself is very quiet and, as a city like Barcelona really needs to be "felt" by walking around, it is wonderful that many of this beauty just on walking distance from the Bed and Breakfast. In a maze of narrow streets, squares with very nice bars and restaurants: just a village within the metropolis Barcelona. For Cuba-supporters: there is even a Cuban-inspired bar where they sell Bucanero! We paid the incredible sim of 26 euros per person per night WITH breakfast!"

Dear Geert, if you read this...THANK YOU!!!!!

Palau Reial

The Palau Reial, located at the Diagonal (metro L3 - green line, the stop is called Palau Reial and is the second to last stop in the direction Zona Universitaria), was part of the antique "Finca Güell" before being transferred to the Spanish Royal Family for their visits to Barcelona.

The Palau Reial contains two unusual interesting museums: The Museum of Decorative Arts and Ceramics Museum, wich offers exhibits ranging from ancient Arab pottery to pieces by Picasso and Miró.

If you come during the spring it is very nice for a walk in the morning. It's maybe a 30-45 minutes walt through. It opens at 9:00hs and is free but it is some what far away from everything.

(Thank you Toby Hammond...again!)

Tibidabo: amazing views of Barcelona

Tibidabo is located on the top of the mountain behind Barcelona. There is a large chruch on the top overlooking all of Barcelona and it's surrounding cities.

The view is spectacular but be warmed there are a lot of stairs!!

It cots 4€ for the funicular (a type of railcar that goes to the top of the mountain), 2€ to pay for the elevator if you want to go all the way to the top of the church, and cost of ride in the metro.
The easisets way to get to the top I found, is to take the L7 (brown line) until the last stop called "Avinguda Tibidabo" and then there's a type of bus stop for the Tram or if the tram isn't running a bus will come. The stop is across the street from the exit of the metro but ask around and they will point you in the right direction.
If the funicular isn't running and you're not sure about the bus, DO NOT try and walk. Trust me I tried...

If you have the chance to be in Barcelona after it rains that would be the perfect time to visit the church because the view is cristal clear.


Thanks Toby Hammond for the tip!!

Paella. Are you ready to prepare it?

What do you need?
rice, 600 grams
clam, 500 grams
shrimp, 300 grams
ripe tomato, 2 pieces
green pepper, 1 unit
garlic, 2 cloves
yellow food coloring taste
parsley, to taste
chicken, 800 grams
squid, 200 grams
small onion, 1 unit
frozen peas, 150 grams
saffron, 10 strands
salt, to taste
Olive oil 1/2 cup

Get to work!Wash the clams in cold water salt, open them in a saucepan with 1/2 cup water, drain and reserve the clams and broth separately. Wash the peppers, remove seeds and dice. Wash the chicken and dice. Wash the squid and cut into strips. Peel the prawns and cook the sells and heads for 10 minutes, strain and reserve broth.

Heat oil in a paella pna and fry the chicken until browned, add the squid, saute a couple minutes and add finely chopped onions, peppers, peas and peeled tomatoes. Saute for 15 minutes. Add the rice, stir and sprinkle with the hot broth and clam shrimp (more water), calculating the volume double that the rice.

Making mash the garlic cloves, parsley and saffron and add to the paella, season and color to taste and cook for 10 minutes over high heat. Reduce heat and cook for 6-7 minutes over low heat. At the end of cooking, add shrimp and clams. Let satnd about 3-4 minutes and serve immediately.

Easy, not???

Sagrada Familia

Today I went to see the Sagrada Familia, it's just a few stops from the Passeig de Gracia Metro station. The entrance fee is 13€ / students 10€ and I would strongly recommend the extra 3€ for the audio guide. It explains the story of the construction of the church as well as Gaudi's life and thoughts when he designed this extraordinary church.

The museum is situated below the church, especially worthwhile are the models with strings that Gaudi used to view the impact of the weights on the pillars.

Cadaqués a city where you can enjoy Dalí

Figueres is a town about 136km north from Barcelona. Here you find the incredible and fantastic Museo de Dalí.

On the remains of the "Teatro de Figueres", in 1974, the Dali Museum was built. Especially worthwhile are his early works, like the whole sur-realistic boom that he was able to create.

We suggest to spend some good hours to explore all the areas and above, all immerse yourself in the areas that he specifically designed for the viewers to transport themselves to a unique and extravagant world!

You can arrive by car or by train from Barcelona. The train you can take in "Sants Station" or "Passeig de Gracia" station. The train is the line "Barcelona-Portbou-Cervera"

The address of the Museum is Plaça Gala i Salvador Dalí, number 5 in Figueres.

If you want to know more, visit they web: http://www.salvador-dali.org/

Share your photos from Barcelona

Do you want to share your photos of your visit to Barcelona? Send us your photos and your comments and we will publish them!!

¡¡Share your experience and tips with another guests!!

We'll be glad to help you helping others!!

Will you take the challenge?

In Barcelona you can find this sexys graffitis, they are "hidden" in various walls of the old city center like the "Barrio Gotico", "Borne" or the "Raval". You'll be surprised to find these grafitis in places that you would not expect! Do you think you can find them? Try it and if you show us a foto we'll reward you with a bottle of cool Cava!

Do you dare to take a dinner in the dark?

We find this news in our city:

The restaurant "Dans le Noir?" inaugurates this new year in Barcelona one of its unique places where customers are served in blind darkness. In this environment, the waiters become the guides of their guests, who are forced to enjoy the taste of the food without seeing what exactly they are eating.

"Dans le Noir?" is located in Passeig Picasso 10 near Parque Ciutadella.

Do you dare to take the dinner in the dark?

Rodin in Barcelona

The "Obra Social La Caixa" in collaboration with the Ajuntament de Barcelona made it possible to bring the best and most notable Rodin sculptures to Barcelona.

The exhibition "Arte en la calle. Auguste Rodin en Barcelona", displays seven sculptures from the Rodin Museum in Paris:

The Thinker (which the artist initially conceived to be part of the sculpture of the "Gates of Hell" but eventually became an independent statue) is acompanied by six studies. The six great men that form the "Monument to the Burghers of Calais".
The objective of this street exhibition is to return the statues to the public spaces and with that, provoke a dialogue with the architecture and people.

Rodin probably would have like this, as he conceived his sculptures to be exhibited outdoors.

The seven monumental sculptures in the exhibition "Arte en la calle. Auguste Rodin en Barcelona" are installed on Rambla de Catalunya, between Consell de Cent street and Diputacion. You can see them from December 18th 2009 to February 6th of 2010.

The Brandery and 080 Fashion arrive at Barcelona

The 27, 28 and 29th of Janury 2010 will arrive at Barcelona the best of fashion design at the winter meeting.

It's a meeting point for designers, distributors and buyers. It's organizated like every year In the Recinto de Montjuic, in Paça Espanya, and althought it's a event for proffesionals, the whole town dresses up events related of fashion, design and creativity.

If you come to participate in this event, stay with us. We offer a alternative and friendly accommodation.

Ask us about the specials prices for these dates!!!

The best discounts on clothes in Barcelona!

Takes these days to come to Barcelona for......shopping!! All the shops of our city offer dramatic discounts (up to 70% off!!!) in clothes, shoes, accesories and much more.

If you come to Barcelona for shopping then stay at our Bed and Breakfast! We'll give you a special price so you can spend the maximum on your shopping!!

The discounts start this week and finalize in the end of February....don't loose this opportunity!!

What a guest-review can do for our day....

Today did not start very well. Rain and cold wind depressed our moods. Then we saw this guest-review on http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/:

"Our stay in Casanova (http://www.guesthousecasanova.com/) was really comfortable as home, it was clean, relaxed and simple but nice decorated. Carla was really very helpfull in our so many questions from the first time, the breakfast was good and the bus and metro connection to the rest of the city very good. Also wasn't noisy at night, just the normal city sounds that is dificult to avoid in any place. I could stay again in this place!"

Obviously, our day was made ;-)

A walk around BBB - Casanova Guest House

The last time, we invite you to a tour of BBB - Jardinets.


Today we invite you to visit BBB - Casanova. This Bed and Breakfast is located in the Eixample, this neighborhood so special in Barcelona, for the wide streets, for the wooded, and for the very representative buildings.










This Bed and Breakfast has 3 double rooms and 2 single rooms. All the rooms has a big window with a litlle balcony.


The breakfast room has a little galery, where you can take a cooffe in the evenening... for a relax in the end of the day.

This are the double rooms. The 3 have double bed, and has the same name: "Red Double Room"








The single rooms have a single bed, and all of our rooms have a litlle coffe table.





In the Bed and Breakfast you have 2 complet bathrooms to be shared and a kitchen with fridge and microwave for our guests.

If you want to see more of this Bed and Breakfast, we invite you to visit it in person!

Today the "Reyes Magos" come to Spain!!

As in tradition, every year on January 5th come to Spain the "Reyes Magos".

They come bearing gifts for children who have been good. What about you? You be one?

In any case!

If you're in Barcelona and would like to see the arrival and a parade, come to Plaça Catalunya and enjoy a show of music, lights and amazing colors!!

Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar arrive today at 16:30hs by ship at Barcelona. They will take a break and we seem them at 18:30hs parading through our streets.

A walk around BBB - Jardinets Guest House

We invite you to a short tour of our Bed and Breakfast Jardinets. It's located at Gran de Gracia Street. Here we have 5 different rooms to offer you. Take a seat and be curious to our Guest House.

Our Bed and Breakfast si located in a building with more than 100 years ago. it's an important and representative building of modernisme and has listed "Edificio Patrimonio de la Ciudad"

The Pink Room is a double room with a litlle balcony with nice view over Gran de Gracia Street.

The Blue Room is a triple/double room, and has too a litlle balcony over Gran de Gracia Street.

The Violet Room is a double room and it's the most quiet room in BBB - Jardinets.

The Green Room is a double room and it's quiet too.

This is our only single room in BBB-Jardinets. It's call Yellow Room

Free entry for several Barcelona Musea today!

For all of you that happen to be in Barcelona -not only our guests-: The following musea open their doors for free between 15 PM and 20 PM

• Conjunt Monumental de la Plaça del Rei - MUHBA
• Museu de les Arts Decortavives i Museu Tèxtil i d'Indumentaria
• Museu Barbier-Mueller d'Art Precolombí
• Museu de Cerámica
• Museu de la Música
• Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona
• Jardí Botánic - MCNB
• Museu Frederic Marès
• Museu Etnològic
• Museu Monestir de Pedralbes - MUHBA
• Museu Picasso
• La Virreina. Centre e la Imatge.

If you want more info, visit www.bcn.cat/canalcultura

My first blog....and entry

Already some time ago we started a small Bed and Breakfast in Barcelona. Crisis made us to have new ideas and be creative in the survival of rough times. We enjoyed it, to our own surprise! This was not something to do aside, but so rewarding type of work that you can hardly call it work. As a traveller by obligation, I always liked better the cosy inns then the top-notch hotels with their outragouos prices. So, together with my wife we thought to create a Bed and Breakfast that we would like ourselfes: Cozy, clean, easy-going and -last-but-not-least- for a reasonable price!
So that's what we did! Now, a year and a half later we are proud to announce our two little creatures: http://www.guesthousejardinets.com/ and http://www.guesthousecasanova.com/. Both live under the umbrella of the http://www.ideasandcreativity.com/ site. We're happy to be your host in your next stay in Barcelona!