Incredible atmosphere

I know I am bit late, but recently I have had a lot of work and I haven’t found the time to seat down and write without pressure. I have a few ideas in my head and in the next few days I will try to write them down. Today I want to explain what I felt two weeks ago when Barcelona celebrated its Marathon, which is improving every year with more participants year after year.

I know this post is late, because the Marathon took place on March 16^th but I think it deserves a few lines. Even though I have been training hard this autumn and winter and I would have been able to complete the race, I didn’t register myself because I wasn’t convinced. However, a few days before the Marathon I started to regret my decision but I couldn’t change it.

As I wasn’t going to run it, I first try to volunteer but they appointed me a kilometre point far from where I live so I decided not to do it. The second option was to wake up early and get down and cheer the runners. Hundreds of people had the same idea because when I arrived to the street there were a lot of people waiting for the runners. I have to admit that in that moment I really regretted my decision.

However, I decided to get down with my running shoes and ready to join some of the friends that I knew that were participating in the Marathon. I saw a lot of them in the 4th kilometre and when they passed by point kilometre number 10 I started to run with José María Rubi, a journalist from RNE who ran under 3 hours two years ago. I went with him during 5 or 6 kilometres and it was amazing.

Hundreds of people along the streets clapping and cheering the names of the runners. The atmosphere was great! There were friends, family, tourists, Barceloneans… A lot of people in the streets. I really felt unhappy when I decided to get back home because I think I wasted a great opportunity to run the Marathon and, especially, because there was an incredible atmosphere in the whole city. 19.000 runners participated in the Marathon that grows every year. 

If you like running and you want to complete a Marathon, don’t doubt it and registered yourself in Barcelona’s one. It is really great!

Free museums

Jéssica has always wanted to visit the Museu Nacioanl d’Art de Catalunua (MNAC) which is in Montjuïc and is one of the most famous museums in Barcelona. I remember I visited once when I was younger and yesterday I realized that I shouldn’t wait so much to go back.

 

After thinking about IT and finding out the prices of the MNAC, we decided to go this past Sunday. First Sundays of each month some museums in Barcelona are ticket free so we thought it would be a good idea. Doing sightseeing in your own city it is not very usual and I think we should do it more often.

After going up all the stairs and having a view of the city from the top (Barcelona looks really nice) we went into the Museum. The first surprise was that there wasn’t any queue to go in. I honestly thought we were going to have to wait a few minutes and I even thought that maybe we wouldn’t be able to go in. I was absolutely wrong.  

About this issue there are two things I want to point out: first of all, in a way, I was happy not to queue up because I wasn’t in a mood to stay long time in the sun. However, it is a bit disappointing that having the opportunity of visiting one of our most famous museums nearly nobody was there. I am the first one to think that culture is too expensive, but yesterday it was free and it is a good opportunity. It is true I don’t usually take advantage of these offers but I will try now.

The visit around the museum was good. I really liked the first part of the Medieval Romanesque art because some of the pieces of art are quite known here in Catalonia and I remember them when I studied history of art. The painting in the churches of Santa Maria de Taüll and Sant Climent of Taüll, for example, are well known and deserve the visit to the museum. 

Rest of paintings, photos… are nice but after being in some of the bests museums in the world I wasn’t that impressed. However, I wouldn’t mind going back in the future because it is always nice to have a look and see some of our best pieces of art. After finishing the visit I felt really happy. First of all because it was an interesting activity to do in a Sunday morning and, secondly, because I think it is important to learn our history, to go through time and see what our predecessors were able to do hundreds of years ago. Keep learning is something absolutely important for us.

Welcome Barcelona!!!

This morning, as I usually do, I got my car to go to work. It is true that I can also catch the subway but it takes longer (about 40 minutes), there is a long walk from the subway station and, after making some numbers, it costs me the same the petrol than the metro fare. Maybe I would change my point of view if the authorities would build a metro station closer to the Power8 Stadium. I don’t mind catching the public transport, but, in this case, it is not very convenient.

 

By car it takes me about 25 minutes, but today I knew it was going to be different. And all of you will ask why? The answer is easy: the schools are back. After nearly three months of calm, no traffic jams, no horns, today everything has changed.

The last day it took me 20-25 minutes to get to my office. I hardly had to stop in any lights and I didn’t find any traffic jams despite all the works you find in the streets in summer. I was aware that it was a temporary situation, however, and as they say in Spanish, reality exceeds fiction.

I went out early, a few minutes after eight, and for a moment, it looked like nothing changed. But I was totally wrong. Once I got to Diagonal I hit the first problems. Cars stocked in the middle of the street that didn’t let us pass. What happens after summer? People forget how to drive?

After I overcame the first obstacle, I found a new problem. I got stuck for more than five minutes in a light. And all was due because there was this breakdown car causing trouble. Hopefully, this was my last incidence before getting to my office nearly 40 minutes after I got out of my house. The return trip had also a lot of incidences but I am not going to bore you anymore.

Driving is an exercise of patience. People get annoyed and aggressive and many times you have to ignore what happens. Driving takes the worst of people and, specially, in the morning when everybody is in a rush. I hope tomorrow things go better.

10 years of the Tram

I remember when politicians decided to build the Tram. I think all Barcelonians thought it was a terrible idea. Most of us didn’t understand why they wanted to recover this old transport along Diagonal, when you could catch the underground or different buses to do the same journey. As usual, it looked like a bad idea and instead of using our money in something useful, the city consul decided to build the tram.

Honestly, I didn’t remember when exactly the Tram started to work in Barcelona and today when I was running I have seen a carriage stating the anniversary.  I have to say that it has become something popular in Barcelona and I think that now we all are OK with the Tram, in spite of how much you use it.

This year we are celebrating the 10^th anniversary, far more years than I ever thought it would last. However, I have to say that I have changed my opinion about the Tram. I have caught it a few times and I think it is not a bad transport system. My wife used it a lot, especially when we were dating and also my parents: my father to go to the RCDE Stadium and my mother when she goes to work. Actually, she caught it four times a day more or less. I am sure she never expected to use it so much.

I have to say that I was wrong. I never thought that the tram would become so successful and that the Barcelonians would be using it as much. I think, honestly, that nobody expected to use the tram, but now that is there; why not?

After these years I have to admit that the Tram is good for Barcelona. However, it could be better if the frequency of the tram were more often than at present. Sometimes you have to wait more than 20 minutes and that is too much time, especially when it is late and you want to get home. This is one of the things the city council should improve and give a better service to all citizens.

Please, we want cheaper tickets

A few days ago, many of the Spanish’s cinemas celebrated la Fiesta del Cine. During three days, the spectators could watch any film for only 2,90 €, instead of the nearly 10 €  that you have to pay normally. To take benefit of this initiative is very easy: you must visit their website, get a credential and show it when you go the cinema. During those three days, many of the cinemas decide to join this offer, because they know that thousands of people will go.

This time I couldn’t go because of work, but I did go in October. A friend told me about this option and I went with my wife and two friends. It was a Monday and I remember that we had to queue up about 45 minutes. Once we go out of the cinema, the queue was terrible and, probably, most of the people didn’t get in.

On previous days, la ‘Fiesta del Cine’ did a good promotion on Twitter and they created a lot of interest. I think everybody was aware about this initiative and whoever has been, knows that it is a great opportunity to watch films at an incredible price.

  

Once the ‘Fiesta del Cine’ was over, I heard one of the people in charge said that it was a real hit and that a lot of spectators had gone to the cinema during the three days. Then is when I thought: “Of course a lot of people went, for that prize people don’t mind paying”.

I know I don’t have all the information and I imagine that the maintenance of a cinema it is not cheap. I understand you have to pay the workers and a lot of thing I can not even think of. However, I also know that a lot of people don’t go to the cinema because they are not going to pay nearly 10 € for their ticket. For a couple, it is 20 €, and if you have children even more. Obviously, if you buy popcorn, chocolates or sweets, the price increases a lot.

What I do know, is that people expend their money when they think is worth it. What happens if you pay the 10 euros and the film is rubbish? Next time, you will think about t. As I wrote before, I know I don’t have all the elements to judge, but I can assure a few things. The cinemas have more people when the tickets are cheaper, of course they don’t collect the same amount of money for one ticket but maybe they don’t lose as much as they would have thought of.

I think this is the third time this initiative has gone on. More than 2 million people went to the cinema during those three days. I am tired of seeing offers in Atrapalo, Lets Bonus, Offerum and others with tickets at half prize. A lot of cinemas have two days of the spectator and the ticket is a lot cheaper. I can understand that the tickets on the weekend are more expensive, but I think it is an error that there are so expensive. A lot of people don’t go to the cinema because of the price they have to pay. In the other hand, the cinemas are full when the ticket is cheap. Why not decrease the price of the tickets? Everybody will be happy about it.