“Play me, I’m Yours” at Barcelona

From March 2010, more than 20 street pianos will be distributed across the streets of Barcelona for the International Music Competition Maria Canals. Located in public parks, streets and squares, the pianos are for any member of the public to play, to personalise and to enjoy.

Touring internationally since 2008, “Play Me, I’m Yours” is an artwork by artist Luke Jerram.

The Maria Canals Music International Contest was the first music contest in Spain and is one of the most prestigous all over the world. The Contest will be on from March 13th to March 26th in El Palau de la Música and will organize more than 50 concerts all around Barecelona within the framework of the Off Contest 2010.

World Brain Awareness Week in Barcelona

For another year, Barcelona is taking part in World Brain Awareness Week (from 15th to 22nd March), which is being celebrated in over 72 countries, with all kinds of activities to educate all sections of the public about the efforts being made in the study of the human brain.

The programme includes activities aimed not just at the general public but at education centres too, and will feature talks, demonstrations, round tables and shows.

These will deal with topics such as musical genes, the effects of cannabis, robotic brains, conscience and the mind, and neuroeconomics.

We are gaining an increasingly precise understanding of the brain’s processes and the scientific research being conducted will bring us new discoveries that would have been unimaginable only a few years ago.

According to renowned neurobiologists, we are going to see new forms of treatment in the next few years, as well as advances in our knowledge of key aspects such as conscience, morality, intelligence and the building of beauty.

Take part in World Brain Awareness Week and discover some of the keys - still largely unknown to the general public - to understanding how the brain works.

Don’t shoot the pianist

The Maria Canals International Music Competition of Barcelona was founded in 1954 by the pianist Maria Canals and her husband, the writer Rossend Llates. This Competition has achieved international prestige since it was accepted by the World Federation of International Music Competitions in 1958.

It is held at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, being endorsed by the World Federation of Music Competitions for the organization of the branches of piano, violin, singing, cello, chamber music, guitar, percussion and flute. Since 1954, the Competition has held over 110 branches, with over 7.000 participants from 100 countries and 180 jury members from all over the world.

The 56th Barcelona Maria Canals International Music Competition will bring together 91 pianists from 26 countries between 13 and 26 March. At the same time, the Off-Competition will be taking piano music to the public.

Maria Canals Competition wants to take advantage of the presence of so many prestigious pianists in the city to take piano music out to the public. More than fifty pianos will be spread around the city so everyone who wants to can play the piano in some very unusual places.

Green spaces, squares and streets will provide the setting for concerts aimed at everyone, children and adults, professionals and amateurs, with grand pianos installed so the participants in the competition can take their art to every corner of the city. Rambla del Raval, Plaça de Sarrià, Can Brians prison and the Line 2 metro station lobby in Plaça de la Universitat are some of the improvised “concert halls” for these young artists.

B-Days: Discover Barcelona at incredible rates

Planning a visit to Barcelona? Check out our calendar and take advantatge of B-Days: the new incredible promotion at B-Hotel. For only 65€ per night, stay in one of our B-Rooms.

 Seamlessly blending avant-garde style with ultimate functionality, B-Rooms are equipped with the latest technologies and electronic devices; they also feature high design furnishings, minimalist decor, total luxury and excellent services, such as free Wi-Fi, natural lighting, and king size beds or two singles. Cots are also available.

B-Hotel in Plaza Espanya is a perfect place to stay when visiting Barcelona; it’s just ten minutes from La Rambla and Plaza Catalunya, as well as all the museums on Montjuïc. Its ideal location, in one of Barcelona’s most exciting areas, and just steps away from Fira de Barcelona fairgrounds, has made B-Hotel a key landmark during business meetings and trade conventions.

Click here and check out our B-Days calendar

The Firefighters Race, Lace Up Save Lives

The registration period has opened for the Cursa de Bombers, or the Firefighters Race, the big springtime’s athletics event, and it will close on 12 April or when the limit set at 18.000 runners has been reached.

The entry fee is 13 euros for those who already have their own yellow chip or 16 euros for those who don’t. For those registering on or after 15 March, it will cost 19 euros. Entries can be made online via the race website or in person at registration points.

This year the race will be collecting funds for the fight against AIDS in Africa, with all the profits from the sale of Nike (RED) trainer laces going wholly to the RED initiative, the foundation set up by U2’s Bono.

The run’s organisers are repeating the initiative of previous years, namely a pre-race training programme called the Lunaruns, night-time orienteering runs that will be held on 24 and 31 March, and 7 and 14 April.

Tour:
The Firefighters Race will set off from Avinguda del Marquès de l’Argentera, next to Ciutadella Park, on Sunday 18 April, and will cover 10 km through the city’s main streets. The terraces of the Hotel Barcelona Universal & Hotel Soho Barcelona will be perfect points for athletics fans to watch the race.

Win a shirt of F.C. Barcelona with the U232 Hotel

Every quarter we will raffle a FC Barcelona Official T-shirt among all who have stayed at the U232 Hotel with Futbol Pack. The first raffle will be on April, 1st 2010.

Win a shirt of F.C. Barcelona and take the opportunity to enjoy a weekend in the comfortable Hotel U232 near the city centre as well as Camp Nou! The offer suggests a visit to the FC Barcelona museum. Futbol Club Barcelona is a repository of more than 100 years of history, or rather, stories which are an intrinsic part of an epic sport.

The Museu del Barça, which is housed on the Camp Nou stadium, was a pioneer in the world of football when it opened in 1984 and traces the 110 years of Barça’s history. Here, you’ll find photographs, audiovisual exhibits, collections of anecdotes, curiosities, the trophies won by all the club’s sections, objects belonging to its star players and temporary exhitions. It’s designed for young children and adults with 1.2 million visitors a year, is one of the city’s most popular museums.

The U232 FOOTBALL PACK includes:

• 2 nights in a U232 room.
• Package is also available on Basic room or Family room.
• Breakfast in the exclusive/amazing U232 buffet restaurant.
• Welcome drink in the U232 bar for 2 persons.
• 2 tickets to the Camp Nou Tour and FC Barcelona Museum.
• We will raffle a FCBarcelona T-Shirt every 3 months.

Don’t think it twice, book now your Football Pack !!

The Pope will visit Barcelona and Sagrada Familia

On Sunday November 7th, Pope Benedict XVI will come to Barcelona and consecrate the Temple of Sagrada Familia. This piece of news was announced yesterday by Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona, Lluis Martinez Sistach.

This visit shows the high esteem of the Pope for the catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, added the spoke-person at the Vatican, Federico Lombardi. NN Hotels invites you to discover all Gaudi’s buildings as well as other Art-Noveau works in Barcelona, such as Park Guell or Palau de la Musica, with the Modernism Route.

The last time a Pope was in Barcelona dates from 1982, when John Paul II visited Montserrat, the construction works at Sagrada Familia and celebrated mass at the Camp Nou stadium.

Win a free stay in Barcelona with NNHotels

Once again, NN Hotels is giving a free stay to one of our guests, who shared with us his / her review after staying in Barcelona.

This time the lucky winner is: Jesús Martínez, who posted his comments on the Spanish version of our blog. Congratulations!!!!
He will be soon emailed with the details of his Free Stay at B-Hotel.

We continue encouraging our guests to express their opinions about our nine centrally located hotels in Barcelona, and on July 1st 2010 we will give another free stay, this time at Hotel Jazz, just next to Plaza Catalunya.

The prize consists of:

• A two nights stay in at Hotel Jazz with Breakfast included.
• Welcome Drink at the Jazz Bar.
• To be used between: July 1st and September 30th 2010 (subject to availability).
• No changes can be made once the reservation has been confirmed.
• The prize can not be used in conjunction with other item or goods.
• The prize can not be exchanged for any other item or goods.
• The prize is personal and non-transferable.

Only people who have already stayed in one of our nine hotels and post a review on the blog are eligible for the prize. Winners will be advised via e-mail and their name and surname will be published on the blog.

If you have any queries, please send a message to the following address: newsletter@nnhotels.com

“La Reial ens mou”, new initiative in Barcelona

Music, children’s shows, literary circles, workshops, wine tasting sessions: all this and much more can be found in Plaça Reial, thanks to Plaça Reial ens mou, an initiative that aims to broaden the range of cultural and leisure activities on offer in this iconic Barcelona square.

Roberto Tierz, who is the president of the Plaça Reial Friends and Traders Association, says the idea is for “the people of Barcelona to rediscover the Plaça Reial and enjoy the square“.

December saw “Raval Kids” and they have also started the Sunday mornings for children, with puppet shows, magic, storytelling and circus acts at the sala Tarantos. Since February they have been offering 30 minutes of jazz, to suit everybody, on Sunday mornings in sala Jamboree. What’s more, when the good weather arrives, there will be some open air activities, like musical aperitifs, to encourage music on the terraces.

La Reial ens mou also wants to make the most of the square’s gastronomic side and has therefore organised tea, coffee and wine tasting, led by tasters and wine experts, in the square’s bars and restaurants.

In short, the big aim is “the ‘reconquest’ of the square, for people to return to a square that has a great deal to offer and is a great unknown in the city“.

If you would like to know all the activities and events that the Plaça Reial Friends and Traders Association will organize with the new initiative, please visit the La Reial website.

Barcelona Marathon: March 7th

At 8.30 am on March 7th, the city will once again be packed with marathon runners ready to run more than 42 kilometres round the main city streets. All in all, there will be more than 12,000 runners taking part, athletes and amateurs from all the corners of the world, who will make this the biggest in the marathon’s history.

This year, together with the marathon, the organisers also want to make the liveliest, and to have the streets filled with thousands of city residents keen to support the runners and make the most of all the activities lined up for this athletics morning. There will be up to 40 entertainment points, practically one every kilometre, where spectators can enjoy the athletics while taking part in sports and music activities, tasting some gastronomic specialities, concerts, folk and cultural activities and lots more besides.

More inf@: Barcelona Marathon 2010

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