Here's my nighlife line up for the moment, feel free to use any of these names to get in free and get a few drinks, it's on me.
Sunday
George Payne Irish Pub (Plaza Urquinaona, 5) Karaoke starts at 8 but it gets full around 10.
DJ Sujinho of NYC "Ice Cream Sundays" at Catwalk (Ramon Trias Fargas 2-4, House, Electronic, Brazilian Funke). Party is on til 6 in the mornin'. Free on Suji's list, go to www.Sujinho.com
Monday
Nasty Mondays at Apolo (C/ Nou De La Rambla 111). Opens at 12:30 and during off season there are flyers you can get to get in free before 1am. I usually ask someone in line for an extra one. This is hipster's paradise. (And it's still fun even if your not one or don't like to label yourself) Young local and international crowd, huge space thats always filled, and it's almost impossible not to meet people and do what may you with them during and after the party.
Earlier in the night George Payne also offers an Open Mic Night for any mucisians, and half the bar staff is so they all come there even if it's their night off, it's a good way to meet some locals.
Tuesdays- Traditionally my night off but....
Crappy Tuesdays at Apolo with DJ Sujinho
or
Roxy Blue(C/ Consell De Cent 294)
Wednesday
Negro Joya is a fun Brazilian samba group that plays currently at Barkeno Lounge (c/Caspe, 17) or there is always Brazilian live music at Gran Foc (C/ Roger De Llúria 23). 11pm
DJ Donnie at Lotus Theater (c/Bailen, 22). Hip Hop music, fills up quick, dancers land on stage from a swing that carries them over your heads in their (I'll be nice and call them "early Madonna" as opposed to stripperesque) imaginative outfits. You can definitely find free passes but if you pay the 10 euros to get in it comes with good drink deals like one or two caipirinhas with your entrance fee. Closes at 4:30 (which is early for BCN so don't show up too late). Julien's list.
Thursday
For a long night...
Bubblic Bar (c/ Maria Cubi, 183) 4 Euro Caipirinhas and people on the street with free shot flyers. (Look for a sexy bartender named Elvis, you'll keep coming back even if he does take way to long to make your drink.) or any of the bars in the neighborhood Gracia (Metro: Fontana). You can botellon (aka buy beers at the market or from the guys who sell them on the street) and kick it in the plazas with every other Catalan til your ready to dance. Then...
Double Trouble at OttoZutz (C/ Lincoln 15), DJ Sujinho and Marco de Soul. Old School hip hop. Otto is fun all weekend it just gets more and more packed as the weekend goes on, three floors so hip hop, rock or house music, whatever tickles your fancy. Be nice to the bouncers they have a lot of clout there so when there is a crazy line if they know or like you, you are in, if not, no chance. It's the kind of place you walk home from during or after sunrise.
-Never wear open sandals you will for sure get glass in your feet!
or
Shoko (Passeig Marítim (La Barceloneta) 36) Finally a club that realizes that girls who call step, touch, step, touch dancing just cause they aren't covering up isn't entertaining. They have three guys, Alvin, D-Max and John who are breakers/street dancers who perform throughout the night. If you can get a name of a promoter you can get a free drink and free entrance before 1 am. Currently, Oliver, but promoters always change. Closes at 3 then Catwalk or Opium are both next door. Oliver's list.
Friday
DJ Josh at Opium Mar (Paseo Maritimo, 34). Massive dance floor, so euro, no casual-I-just-stumbled-in-from-the-beach look. Open til late 5 or 6.
Saturday
... everywhere is packed cause all the tourists are in town, so any of the big clubs or hit up a neighborhood like Gracia or El Born for bars there.
Te pasa lo bien.
domingo, 21 de junio de 2009
And in the beginning, there was a budget
I live in Barcelona, Spain. This is a party city if there is one. And it quite obviously is more fun to live large here... and anyone can, even on a budget.
I live off 700 euros a month in the center of the city. Try doing that in San Francisco when rent for a two bedroom/ one bathroom in Nob Hill came to $2,300.
Anyone who wants to travel but has only a small stash saved up, here's how I came to Barcelona in September of 2008 with $5,000 and still haven't left, missed out on any of the fun, or run out of money.
SantJordiHostels.com check them out. I first moved here and stayed for about two weeks in one of their hostels while looking on the local Spanish version of Craigslist, LoQuo.com/es for an apartment. A year later I am still friends with their staff. These people know everything about the city and are well connected.
The apartment search was obviously secondary to the the pressing party issue. I am from California, bars close at 2 am, lights on and last call at 1:30 am. I was ready to do the damn thang Euro style. I say Euro style lightly at this point because I held true to my anti-House and Electro music rule until about 4 months in when DJ Sujinho, Steve Aoki and the Bloody Beatroots gave me a reason to put on purple fishnets, pink chucks and dance like it was a Tae Bo class (cause how else do you dance to electro music?).
I moved with a friend of mine into a unusually large apartment off Paseo de Gracia in the center of town, only catch was we couldn't afford the rent so we not only shared the mondo room... we shared the king size bed that came in it. For four months I shared a bed with a friend. A month into it she got a boyfriend, we made compromises to say the least. I will publically admit she was a better compromiser than me, thank you to her... and her boyfriend.
Rent 400 Euros each plus the stress of living with crazy, young Sweedish people.
Night life.
Don't let all these big clubs take advantage of you by paying 10-15 euros to get in. There is almost always a way to get in for free. And I am not talking about flirting with the girl or guy at the door, save that for the bartenders. I'm talking free passes and lists. All of the clubs in Port Olimpico have people who stand outside on the street close by, passing out free passes for that night. Catwalk, Opium, Shoko, Carpe Diem. Or if you find out who has guest lists there and sometimes they offer a free drink also. Other clubs in the center of the city like Lotus Theater (Carrer de Bailen, 22) have people flyering in front of the Hard Rock Cafe in Plaza Catalunya or at the top of Las Ramblas. They target the tourists who don't already know people to get in for free. Use their passes, it's how they survive in this city too.
If you are staying looking to extend your vacation like I did to more than a month or so, these clubs also look for people to promote for them:
-You pass out flyers, anyone who uses them, they pay you.
The more languages you speak the better, but being an English speaker with some Spanish skills will get you far in Barcelona.
-Perks also include meeting the people who work there, aka friends and free drinks.
(Almost everyone who works at clubs and bars, work at other clubs or bars a different night of the week, or knows other people who do.
Moral of the story, Barcelona is all about making connections. You can't live on a budget without people to hook you up. You will figure out how to repay them for the favor in your own way. All it takes is the confidence to get out there and meet these people and become one of the people others want to know.
I live off 700 euros a month in the center of the city. Try doing that in San Francisco when rent for a two bedroom/ one bathroom in Nob Hill came to $2,300.
Anyone who wants to travel but has only a small stash saved up, here's how I came to Barcelona in September of 2008 with $5,000 and still haven't left, missed out on any of the fun, or run out of money.
SantJordiHostels.com check them out. I first moved here and stayed for about two weeks in one of their hostels while looking on the local Spanish version of Craigslist, LoQuo.com/es for an apartment. A year later I am still friends with their staff. These people know everything about the city and are well connected.
The apartment search was obviously secondary to the the pressing party issue. I am from California, bars close at 2 am, lights on and last call at 1:30 am. I was ready to do the damn thang Euro style. I say Euro style lightly at this point because I held true to my anti-House and Electro music rule until about 4 months in when DJ Sujinho, Steve Aoki and the Bloody Beatroots gave me a reason to put on purple fishnets, pink chucks and dance like it was a Tae Bo class (cause how else do you dance to electro music?).
I moved with a friend of mine into a unusually large apartment off Paseo de Gracia in the center of town, only catch was we couldn't afford the rent so we not only shared the mondo room... we shared the king size bed that came in it. For four months I shared a bed with a friend. A month into it she got a boyfriend, we made compromises to say the least. I will publically admit she was a better compromiser than me, thank you to her... and her boyfriend.
Rent 400 Euros each plus the stress of living with crazy, young Sweedish people.
Night life.
Don't let all these big clubs take advantage of you by paying 10-15 euros to get in. There is almost always a way to get in for free. And I am not talking about flirting with the girl or guy at the door, save that for the bartenders. I'm talking free passes and lists. All of the clubs in Port Olimpico have people who stand outside on the street close by, passing out free passes for that night. Catwalk, Opium, Shoko, Carpe Diem. Or if you find out who has guest lists there and sometimes they offer a free drink also. Other clubs in the center of the city like Lotus Theater (Carrer de Bailen, 22) have people flyering in front of the Hard Rock Cafe in Plaza Catalunya or at the top of Las Ramblas. They target the tourists who don't already know people to get in for free. Use their passes, it's how they survive in this city too.
If you are staying looking to extend your vacation like I did to more than a month or so, these clubs also look for people to promote for them:
-You pass out flyers, anyone who uses them, they pay you.
The more languages you speak the better, but being an English speaker with some Spanish skills will get you far in Barcelona.
-Perks also include meeting the people who work there, aka friends and free drinks.
(Almost everyone who works at clubs and bars, work at other clubs or bars a different night of the week, or knows other people who do.
Moral of the story, Barcelona is all about making connections. You can't live on a budget without people to hook you up. You will figure out how to repay them for the favor in your own way. All it takes is the confidence to get out there and meet these people and become one of the people others want to know.
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