by CanaryIslander on September 22, 2008
Barcelona! Famous for Gaudi, Picasso and Miro right? But what about Pablo López, Martín Carra land Guillermo Soria? Have you ever heard of these artists? I expect not; not unless you’re an urban art expert or happen to know them personally. Well, these are the names you need to be taking note of as they’re the ones who are transforming Barcelona’s modern art scene.
Have you ever noticed all the graffiti in Barcelona? It’s pretty hard not to! But the main reason for this isn’t because Barcelona is a run down city that has tags written on every wall and vandals hanging around on every corner, but because most of the graffiti in Barcelona seems to be impressive pieces of work and is considered as art. On most streets in the city, you can find at least one wall covered with a painting that will make you stop in your tracks.
That said, it’s inevitable, as in every large city, that there’s the usual tagging issue that seems to disgruntle everybody because lets face it, a scribble of someone’s name that you can’t actually read can’t be considered as art or even nice in most cases. This is why shop owners have started to commission graffiti artists to spray, paint, or whatever it is that they do, on their ‘persianas’ in order to stop vandals from defacing their shop fronts. This actually works due to the unwritten ‘code’ that most graffitists live by; if there’s a piece of art on a wall, you can’t spray over it in any way.
This has proved to be a controversial issue as some people consider paying people who once defaced the city’s walls as condoning vandalism. However, the artists in question were all once ‘vandals’ and most have paid various fines to the council. This is why they have decided to turn to more lucrative activities, putting their amazing talent to good use. Shopkeepers are all keen as they notice that painting their ‘persianas’ with art relative to their business draws attention to their shop or restaurant, even when they are closed. This way everyone wins; talented artists are rewarded and recognised and are no longer painting illegally, shopkeepers don’t need to worry about vandalism and get more attention drawn to their businesses and young artists have someone they can relate to as inspiration or to look up to.
Visit this website for examples of their work: http://www.decoracion-arte.blogspot.com/
Or if you’re lucky enough to be able to go to Barcelona and are interested in seeing examples of this new trend, here are some areas you need to visit:
Poble Sec: Barramon (Blai 28)
Garcia: Freaklub (Torrent de l’Olla 156) and Bulbo (Montseny 5)
Barri Gòtic; Taller de Bicicletas La Gallina (d’Ataülf 
and Fuji Sports (Ferran 44). Gran de Gracia 79 and Inopia at Tamarit 104.
Make sure to book your accommodation Barcelona well in advance as apartments in Barcelona get booked up quickly and hotel in Barcelona are expensive.
by CanaryIslander on September 20, 2008
Are you preparing to fly this year? Whether you are scheduling a business trip or a family vacation, there is a good chance that you will want to pack and take a number of your belongings with you. Are you planning on bringing any items with you that are banned? If so, you may want to rethink your decision. As a traveler, you need to understand the importance of following air travel rules, including banned items.
Following the Air Travel Rules
Before you can understand the importance of following air travel rules, you need to famialrize yourself with them. You can easily do this by contacting the airline or airport you plan on using. In addition to contacting them directly, you should also be able to find helpful information, including common air travel rules, on their online websites. These online websites, along with other valuable information on air travel, can be found by performing a standard internet search.
In your search you will not only be able to obtain a list of all of the banned items, but you also will learn specific information on those bans and exceptions to them. For instance, all liquids are currently banned from being stored in your carryon luggage, but small amounts of baby formula, eye care drops, and prescribed medications are allowed. In addition to information on items that are prohibited aboard an airplane or only allowed in certain plane areas, you can also learn more about the airport security screening process. This may include documents that you need to have handy, as well as the security checkpoints that you will have to go through.
Once you have taken the time to familiarize yourself with many of the air travel rules, including those that were recently implemented, you should be able to have a pleasant experience at the airport, as well as aboard your airplane. However, knowing the new rules of air travel simply isnt enough; you also need to follow them. In fact, if you dont follow them you may be in for the shock or surprise of your life.
Travel
When it comes to not following air travel rules or cooperating with airport security, you will find that there are a number of different consequences. Perhaps, the most common consequence is that you will miss your flight. If you are tied up with airport security, they are not required to hold your flight just for you; therefore you may be required to book a reservation on another flight. In addition to missing your flight, there is a chance that you could be detained by airport security or local authorities.
by The Canaries on September 13, 2008
Among all the five huge islands I found La Palma as the most beautiful and absolutely untouched. The only thing which separated it from the rest was, its not so perfect climate. The place was lush green but wet most of the times. The place is hardly 200 kilometers away from West of Africa and Brazil is the nearest land to island’s west.
I found the central islands, Tenerife and Gran Canaria to be the liveliest of all. The terrific beach activity and ceaseless night life on these islands are the real secrets behind their popularity. I seriously advise you to forget about all other holiday canters and relish the exotic natural beauty on these quite and marvelous islands. I found them apt for relaxing my strained nerves and an escape from maddening crowds.
Gran Canaria proudly exhibits its horticulture including innumerable exotic fruits, crops and trees. I was surprised to see such vast and well maintained coffee and banana plantations. During a long walk I also came across innumerable fields of tobacco and sugar cane. There are plenty of orange grooves and date palm forests on the island. I enjoyed these awesome contrasts and was fortunate enough to relish the fresh fruits from the braches namely mangoes, avocadoes and papayas. It is approximately a forty kilometer stretch from north to south and offers a splendid view of volcanic mountains, desert areas, tropical forests and golden beaches.
Fuerteventura on the other hand is the oldest and offers the longest beaches among all. I could not find much of night life here but the place can be classified as a perfect destination for those families and couples, who plan to spend a nice sunny holiday during winters.
I found canaries to be a mixture of wonderful contrasts and feel that it can cater to a huge variety of interests among tourists. The place simply offers anything and everything; let it be frantic beaches, all-night clubs, exotic hotels, foam parties or fish and chip shoes. The place can provide with a non-stop entertainment for all age groups.
by The Canaries on September 11, 2008
I opted to be based at Las Palmas, as the island is not only a seamy port and historical town, but also a beachside resort and a sophisticated shopping center. After filling myself at one of the pavement cafes, I approached towards Las Cateras and found the golden sands full of joggers and strollers.
I wandered around the building called Colombus memorabilia; surrounded by palm trees and patios. From there it was mosey around the galleries and surrounding shops before the market actually began. Ingenio is a lovely place and a short ride by bus. You get a chance to admire the perfect restoration of the pretty town. The streets are lined with old buildings of practically each pastel color.
I found Macabeo to be one of the coolest places for drinking and sat for hours together, chatting with locals to explore each and every aspect of these beautiful islands.
by The Canaries on September 10, 2008
Though it took a little longer but I found ferry as a cheaper way to move from one island to other as when compared with airfares. Islas Airways (tel: 902 47 74 78; www.islasairways.com )and Binter (tel: 902 39 13 92; www.bintercanarias.es), both have regular flights connecting all the seven islands.
Biking was a nice experience for site-seeing, but there were no lanes in the urban areas, but beachside boulevards were definitely better. You will be disappointed in case you expect the drivers to accommodate you, so better to hire one. There are many companies which can provide with ferries and jetfoils, but the best among them are Navieara Armas (tel: 902 45 65 00; www.navieraarmas.com), Trasmediterránea (tel: 902 45 46 45; www.trasmediterranea.com )and Fred Olsen (tel: 901 10 01 07; www.fredolsen.es).
All the islands own an interurban bus service, bus being called a guagua( sounds wa-wa). Gran Canaria and Tenerife display the best transport system but the frequency of the runs per day is not fixed. But the system, in all the islands,is good enough to take you to all the main locations.
I was surprised to find Canary Islands on the list of all the major international car-rental companies. I was happy to book a car, well in advance and was smart enough to carry my driving license as it is a must for all the vehicles, which are over 50 cc. I advise you not to drive if you are not at least 21 and to carry your driving license, passport and the rental agreement, while going for a rental.
by The Canaries on September 9, 2008
Your trip to Canary Islands can be planned absolutely according to your own convenience, as the weather remains great, throughout the year. In fact what could gather from the locals was that the months from December to March being cooler, are fairly more crowded and hence more expensive than any other months of the year. July to September is regarded as the summer season and also a rival high season. February to march being the carnival season is once again crowded and expensive. Statistics show that the best airfare deals can be found from November to December or from April to May.
In fact at Canaries you can relish “spring” year-around. The climate remains benign, keeping the mean temperature of the tarmac well in between 27 degree Fahrenheit to 30 degree C; but the daily high often reaches around 33 degree C. I advise you to carry woolens as it can be cold at higher altitudes.
by The Canaries on September 8, 2008
I came across innumerable flights to Canary Islands as all the seven in the archipelago have airports. Though four of the airports can only be used for inter-island destinations, the other three namely Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife take care of all the international flights including the ones from mainland Spain.
Tenerife has two main airports namely Tenerife Sur (Reina Sofía) and Tenerife Norte (Los Rodeos). The latter handles all the inter-island hops and also those to the Spanish mainland, whereas the former being more modern caters to all the charter flights. All the fights, which are directly serving the islands are called charters.
The airport at Gran Canaria is 16 kilometers to the south of Las Palmas whereas the airport at Lanzarote is at a convenient distance of 6 kilometers from the capital, Arricife. The only other way to get to these islands is Trasmediterránea (tel: 902 45 46 45; www.trasmediterranea.com) ferry, which is used to carry cars and daily supplies to the island. But you ought to be tough to withstand the long bumpy journey. The ferry gets started from Cadiz (on Mediterranean coast of Spain) on Tuesday evening and arrives at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ,on the following Thursday. Then further it moves to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where it reaches by mid-afternoon and from there around midnight, it sails on to Santa Cruz de La Palma. It arrives at Santa Cruz de La Palma on Friday morning.
by The Canaries on September 7, 2008
Welcome to the most insightful and interesting holiday blog on the bloggosphere.
The Team.
