Introducing Leave it to Barcelona


Barcelona is a city that will seduce you with it's magic.. The guidebooks may point you to the Ramblas or to Gaudis' dream like architecture, and many tourists believe that by having seen those sights, they have seen it all. The guidebook- offered experience is beautiful and informative
yet , worlds away from the culture, the cuisine, the unique shopping opportunities, the smells, and the sights that have led to my love affair with this Catalan capital.

For several years Barcelona has been my home, and this Catalan capital has seduced me. I shop ,dine and exercise daily amid the bustling crowds. My daily walks, runs and bicycle rides bring me to Park Guell, Sagrada Familia,and beachfront. But I also know the side streets and the quiet, hidden treasures.

Barcelona offers spacious mansions, modernist architecture and tremendous culinary offerings with wonderful spaces to exercise. I believe that an adventurous traveler who is alone or with friends would completely enjoy joining a group of like minded people for a 6 night yoga and cultural retreat. I want to begin providing such an opportunity!

My three year exploration of Barcelona and the surrounding areas has provided me with a unique perspective. I have discovered a wealth of dynamic and exciting experiences and offerings which are Barcelona's secret Gems . During your stay with Leave it to Barcelona our days will be filled with yoga, Pilates, exercise, cultural excursions, walking tours, insider shopping, and some of the best food and wine to be found. The activities and locations you will enjoy with Leave it to Barcelona are incredibly special. I have hand picked every location, culinary experience, shopping find and local treasure to provide the experience that can only come from visiting with a local.

We are offering our first "friends and family" retreat Saturday March 22 through Friday the 28th which will be offered at a very low introductory one time price followed by our official launch Saturday October 11th to the 17th. .

For more details and information, please visit our Facebook page:

To save your space today email leaveittobarcelona@gmail.com

I hope to see you in Barcelona!

Monday, April 7, 2014

A weekend in review....

My extra dinner date at El Pepito.  Pepinot!
Friday night we returned from our own personal retreat in the Pyrenees...our home away from home.  We hope by 2015 to be offering retreats there as well!  Until then....

We had a lovely dinner at Pepito restaurants.  Yum!  If you pass by I highly suggest the tuna tartare.

Saturday night we were lucky enough to have managed to get tickets ON STAGE for the first ever performance of Shadow of the Wind at the Palau de La Musica.  I'm not sure if its possible for words to summarize our experience...an alternative view, being part of the orchestra, the lights, the heat...we were taken into another world.  This will be an ongoing theme at the Palau de la Musica and an experience which I would highly suggest.  For 90 minutes we were transported into another world...not to mention the back stage experience with the orchestra and seeing what an athletic endeavour musical performance is.   

As you can see this was our view...and these amazing musicians get up in front of crowds like this night after night.  




Post performance cava, taking it all in.  Dress, vintage from Barcelona.  Message me for details, though it is one of a kind my shopping tours can lead you to your own treasure.  (C. 1960 style 1920)  Perfect for Shadow of the Wind)
Center stage at the Palau...maybe not once in a lifetime but lacking professional musical talent i'm not sure when else this could happen.  How AMAZING is the Palau?

And from there we were up bright and early to meet up with our friends to run La Cursa Corte Ingles...our team of 4 amongst 73,000 other runners.  How many other cities do you know that could bring out that number of people on a Sunday morning??

Team Leave it to Barcelona-Catalan, Lebanese, American, and Puerto Rican.  

And yes, we ran a lap through the Olympic Stadium...the energy gave us chills...once again, I am an athlete but never would have a chance to run here on my own.  

Barcelona making it happen...one of our team members making for a fantastic pose in the Olympic Stadium!  
How can you not love this?  A man and his dog, matching outfits, both completing the race together.  Simpi, short for simpatico, which means "nice" in spanish gets out to run with her owner every year....and she has a number attached to her collar.  How amazing is this?  


Is any weekend complete without a wonderful coffee?  Cortado/macchiato is my drink of choice.

And to finish our weekend we receive this image..spotted in Cape Town, our Leave it to Barcelona logo designer rocking her water bottle and tote before she hits the road traveling along the garden route.  So Leave it to Barcelona has made it to Cape Town!  PS...not to brag but our logo designer is out sister...how amazing is that?


Activity filled weekend with friends, sports, and culture?  What more can you ask for?  Our website has gone live.  Click here.  Information for upcoming retreats, etc. will be live soon so you can reserve your space!  Stay tuned...a lot more is coming to Leave it to Barcelona.  Until next time....XOXO Leave it to Barcelona
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Friday, April 4, 2014

Weekend happenings....

Saturday

 Its not too late!  You can still get tickets to Saturday nights performance of Shadow of the Wind.  (L'Ombra del Vent in Catalan)

Vallès Symphony Orchestra
Gregory Ferrer, piano
Rubén Gimeno, Director

With the help of students from the Liceo Conservatory of Music
program
C. Ruiz Zafon: Suite "The Shadow of the Wind"
N. Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Evening delightful symphonic and challenges accompanied by the piano works of the author of The Shadow of the Wind.
Please note change of soloist. In the end, Carlos Ruiz Zafon is unable to perform Shadow of the Wind ,  composed by himself,  as planned,  since as he is currently working on the completion of his next novel.  Instead, Gregory Ferrer, renowned pianist and connoisseur of the musical Ruiz Zafon, will perform the piece accompanied by the orchestra. Ferrer who made arrangements for the orchestral version of the suite. The Foundation OC-PMC and OSV appreciate the support and involvement of Carlos Ruiz Zafon in the project.

As this is one of my favorite books we will be there...message us if you will too!

I can't wait to book my tickets!

It may not be too late to catch Franz Ferdinand performing Saturday night at the Saint Jordi Club.

I love Franz Ferdinand. Let me see if I can get tickets!

Sunday

 Cursa Corte Ingles

Attention all runners...those I can't speak for the number of runners this year, the department store Corte Ingles will be sponsoring a FREE 10k...shutting down the streets of Barcelona for walkers and runners alike....and there is no cut off in terms of participants...I believe last year was 50,000.
We will be running amongst the thousands.

Sign up here...or in front of the Corte Ingles on Plaza Catalunya


If anything else comes to our attention we will be sure to let you know!

XOXO
Leave it to Barcelona


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Tuesday, April 1, 2014

What a wonderful week we had...

With guests beginning to arrive on Friday and trickling out 6,7, 8 days later we couldn't have asked for a better time!

With days of active city walking, yoga, pilates, shopping, evening dinners out and a special in house shopping event we couldn't have been more happy with our first retreat!

See below for what is in store for you if you Leave it to Barcelona.  ;0)








































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