Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light?

When you come to a new city you easily watch it through an eye of a camera. My ex boyfriend (a photographer) once told me that Barcelona has the most beautiful light. And it is true, it’s a magical light that covers the city. Yellow, gold and soft. Of course we hardly have any cloudy days here, but even then the light stays beautiful. Ideal city for photographers as the light is an essential factor beside the beautiful architecture, art, nature and people on it.

I l-o-v-e Barcelona

Womanhood in Barcelona

We Give A Foc

Foc’s foundation ‘Give a Foc’ supports projects in Africa that try to prevent HIV. It’s now supporting the foundation Weebale in Uganda. Weebale means ‘thank you’ in the Ugandan language. By buying a Foc t-shirt your money goes directly to Uganda.

All projects of Weebale are being realized in cooperation with and at the request of the local population. It can only be realized by involvement, financial participation, accountability and advice by the local communities. Each euro, donated by third parties, is being spent directly, one on one, on the projects. Since the beginning of June 2011 the Weebale Foundation has the so-called ANBI-status, which means it is a government approved foundation for public benefit.

While working in the small village Banda Kyandaaza Weebale experienced that a lot of inhabitants are infected with HIV: 1.2 million people are living with HIV in Uganda! Recognizing the vital role that testing plays in preventing the spread of HIV, it is important that the clinic, belonging to the village, will be equipped with proper testing equipment. Weebale is now working on a program to educate the villagers about how to prevent STDs, and specially HIV. One important element in preventing is the use of condoms. 

Together with three Uganda musicians a special (HIV)song is produced called ‘Put It On’. An explicit text was written and Weebale intends to distribute the song by Uganda Radio stations. In the near future a video clip will be produced too.

Foc wants you to have fun together but remember, always play on safe, always ‘Put it On’!

Nice to meet you

The way of the world is meeting people through other people. Networking. Facebook is a common tool and has literally exploded in popularity in just a few short years. It’s not so much about what you know but more about who you know. In Barcelona there are a lot of meetings organized in order to network. I used to have a little allergy for them as I believed true contacts are supposed to come natural and not programmed, but now I start to understand it better. When you’re honest and open about networking in order to find somebody you can ‘use’ and also about what you want to ‘use’ him for, the other person knows your intentions and can choose whether he or she wants to start a working relationship.

Are you starting a business in Barcelona and want to meet professional people to help you? These are some useful network meetings: Meetup, Red Deluxe, Nedwerk (Dutch) in Gran Foc, and Afterwork in Hyde Club. Or become member of Internations, a group of expats in Barcelona who organize monthly meet up events as well. One advice: never remember the referrals you give through networking but never forget those you receive. And, during network meetings in Barcelona you don’t have to give two kisses by introducing yourself, a handshake will do.

To me however, the best way to network is to go to a random bar, you never know who you are going to meet, without expectations but always with a lot of people and in an open environment. You don’t wait for the right moment ‘caus the right moment will pass you by, you don’t call it networking but you call it having fun, and you could use hands but you definitely can KISS!

Keep it a secret

What if a city full of bars, restaurants and clubs have more to offer than you know off? Barcelona is good in that!

One of the trends is to hide the cool nightlife. Starting with the term speakeasy. Speakeasy was a place in the United States where people could buy alcoholic drinks illegally when alcohol was forbidden between 1920 and 1933. In Barcelona you enter the restaurant Speakeasy by knocking the back door, saying the password through a spy whole and walk though the kitchen before arriving at the restaurant where they await you with a Dry Martini.

Simular to Speakeasy is the restaurant Don’t Tell and club Mutis, both located in Eixample. Entering Don’t Tell it seems as if you’re entering a laundrette but after giving your code you find yourself in a very luxury restaurant. Club Mutis has an atmosphere from an old New York jazz club where everybody looks like a dandy and where you can listen to great live music from 24hrs. Downstairs ‘a butler’ asks you for your name and if you’re listed you can go up to have a cocktail in one of the Chesterfield couches. Wanna know more about good places to go out to have drinks check Hidden Treasures on Facebook. Also in fashion there are places to discover, like the hidden shop Paris Vintage (C/Rosello 237) or My Secret Showroom (C/Del Corretger 5).

Just keep your eyes open and your mouth shut caus Barcelona has more to offer than you see at first sight….

Rolling in the streets

Barcelona is, like any other big city, a place with a lot of traffic by cars and scooters. But with more and more people roaming the streets, things are changing. On the beachside you find youngsters crossing the streets on inline skates and skateboards, doing tricks from dusk till dawn. All year long next to Macba museum, between the modern architecture of the museum and the old historical walls, inline skaters show their moves while students and tourists watch them from the side. And now more and more people are using the bike in Barcelona!

With the introduction of the ‘Bicing bike’, citizens in Barcelona can have a bike almost for free, without the jeopardy of theft. You pay about 35 euros a year and you can use a Bicing bike for 2 hours from any Bicing station in the city. Don’t know where the nearest Bicing station is? Use the Bicing app on your IPhone! Unfortunately this doesn’t go for the tourists. Tourists are ‘spoiled’ by the many rental bikes offices like Budget Bike (they own most of the rental spots in the city), Cruising Barcelona (they have the coolest bike design) or Born Bike with the most charismatic salesman Ernest, who looks like the actor Roberto Benigni from the movie ‘La vita è bella’ (love him!).

I could recommend anyone who comes to BCN to rent a bike for at least one day and enjoy the wide streets and make the following tour of three hours: start with Diagonal/Passeig de Gracia > follow Diagonal > go down over Enric Granados (Eixample) > to Placa Universitat. Then go through the neighbourhood of Raval to visit Casa de Caritat/Antic hospital de la Santa Creu > cross Rambla de Raval to see El Gato de Raval and if you look behind you see Tibidabo > continue towards the harbor to see the Columbus statue and from there go to the aquarium or go and shop at Maremagnum. Pass the harbor in the direction of Barceloneta (face Roy Lichtenstein) > continue along the beach towards Vila Olimpica where you can see the Headless Fish, Mapfre and Hotel Arts > cross Parc Ciutadella (font de la cascade) > head to the Arc the Triumph > go up towards Diagonal again and then end up at Sagrada Familia.

Let’s see who rules the streets of Barcelona in a few years time, cars or bikes…

New Years Eve with diamonds and pearls…

Having good (or the same as 2011) intentions for 2012? For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words another voice!

If you don’t know what to do yet, in Gran Foc we organize a luxury dinner with cava, music, diamonds and pearls.. During dinner you can listen to live music performed by Kirsten Michel(vocals and piano) and Miss Foc (vocals), they will sing easy listening and soulful music, then after you can dance on music of Dj Affani.

FOC the crisis, and where diamonds and pearls with New Years Eve! Check out our menu:

MENU NOCHE VIEJA 2011-2012-1

Laundry balcony

One of the things i find very romantic about this city are the old balconies. Almost every house in the narrow streets has one. It invites you to ‘balcony together’; whistle to people in the street, smoke a quick cigarette, watch the moon, or to give a secret kiss while guests are waiting inside… However, in Barcelona the roman balcony has another purpose as streets are looking white from drying laundry! Houses are often very small and people unaware of the beauty of their balconies to cover them up with clothes. The government recognizes this problem and is planning to prohibit laundry on balconies as they take away the beauty of the city. I agree and support to recover the romantic Romeo and Juliet scenery in Barcelona. Follow my tour of balconies and you’ll agree: starting with Carrer Arago (17 balconies), then Avinguda Diagonal(12 balconies) and finish with Passeig de Gracia (30 balconies) where my favorite balcony is made by Gaudi.  Romeo’s take of your clothes, including them from the balcony, and sing to your girl from under one of Barcelona’s most beautiful balconies(Casa Batlló):

To speak or not to speak

A language is a magic tool, which has to be used carefully as it can distinguish as well as connect people. And sometimes its better not to speak at all. Like Keren Ann sings ´I like to hear but not to listen, id like to say but not to tell´(song: In a manner of speaking). A lot of people come to Barcelona to learn spanish and in a bar like Foc you get a great mixture of  different words from all over the world. I asked a customer to write something about her idea of using words, and her note was:

You know the secrets so very well

The dreamtime and the magic

But you´ll never tell.

May I learn to hold my tonque, observe like the Sphinx

Powerful, yet silent

The medicine of Lynx.

Or in other words: shut your big mooth and don´t blab your latest idea to the friend of a competitor. Secrets will be available to you when you are able to look and see, caus talking leaves no room for hearing or learning. In the nightlife we like to impress each other with words, just: be careful for the ´know it all´syndrome…..