When we travel to a city like Barcelona, we want to enjoy as many highlights as possible. That is why we usually go to the same places and follow the same route that someone did before us. We want to see the tourist attractions; we don’t have time to waste. Sometimes, though, the highlight is not finding that particular cathedral but finding yourself by getting lost.

One of my favourite parks in Barcelona is definitely off the beaten track and it’s called Parque del Laberinto de Horta (in Spanish) or Parc del Laberint d’Horta (in Catalan). It’s located in a neighbourhood called Horta. You can get there with the green line, Mundet station.

I remember going there with my cousins when I was small. Our parents would go with me and my siblings and cousins to the entrance of the maze. Then, while we giggled and ran to find our way out, my parents and aunts and uncles would chat and patiently wait for us to get out.

In case you don’t remember your Greek class, here’s a summary of this Greek myth: King Minos of Crete had won a war against Athens and then, he commissioned Daedalus to build a maze to hold a Minotaur, a monster with the head of a man and the body of a bull. Every 9 years, seven Athenian boys and seven Athenian girls were devoured by the Minotaur in the maze. Theseus was the hero who ended the sacrifices. He had the invaluable help of Ariadne, who had given him a sword to kill the minotaur and a threat so he could find his way out of the maze.

At the entrance of the labyrinth, there is bas-relief of Ariadne and Theseus. In the centre of the maze, you will see a statue of Eros. Another of my favourite spots in the park is Echo (see photo below). Legend says Echo was a nymph who loved her own voice but she was damned to lose her voice and repeat someone else’s words forever. She fell in love with Narcissus, but he was only in love with himself.

Have you seen the film ‘Perfume’? The story is set in 18th-century France, but in fact it was shot in many different places of Barcelona, including Laberint d’Horta, and Plaça Reial, Catedral de Barcelona, Barri Gòtic, Plaça Sant Felip Neri and Poble Espanyol.

If you are visiting Barcelona, I recommend visiting this maze. Just go there and wander, play, and enjoy the moment. You know that you will find your way out, either alone or with the help of your particular Ariadne. Plus, you don’t need to kill any Minotaur. At least, I have never killed one in Barcelona’s maze. If you went to Laberinto de Horta and got lost at first but then found yourself, you’re lucky, you are alive!

Today it’s our pleasure to introduce another new contributor, Marta García. Marta was born and grew up in Barcelona and is going to write about Spanish and Catalan culture. She also writes a blog, English in Barna.

Read more:
Celebrating Christmas in Catalunya
Losing out in new-look Europe: Spain’s ‘milleuristas’
Spanish blogs on Blogs of the World

Porteños, as locals are called, like to get together with friends to have leisurely discussions ranging from the whys and wherefores of life to their beloved football team, the course of the economy (always in some sort of crisis or another), or their amorous escapades in excruciating detail (they are, after all, of Latin descent, and, let’s face it, men like bragging).

Cafes are not only a rendezvous for friends: job interviews and work-related meetings also take place in them. Even love affairs begin and end over steaming cappuccinos.

Cafes are quite busy early in the morning, when office workers stop by for a breakfast of the national combo: “cafe con leche y medialunas” (white coffee with croissants) or a “tostado mixto” (a ham and cheese toasty). The morning paper is usually provided as well. It can safely be said that a cafe is an extension of home and office.

Cafes play such a key role in popular culture too that even songs have been dedicated to them, especially tangos. Twenty years or so ago, there was a hugely popular and long-running TV show about a group of friends that met in a cafe every week. Does it ring any bells?

Thanks to the influence of Italian immigrants at the turn of the 20th century coffee is always espresso; filter coffee is sacrilege in these latitudes. A very few places offer “cafe americano,” as filter coffee is called here, but it doesn’t seem to be very popular. It is served in “pocillos” (demitasses) or “jarritos” (stemmed glass cups with a handle.)

Patrons can choose between “café,” “café doble” (a large coffee), “café con crema” (coffee with a dollop of whipped cream), “cortado” (three quarters coffee, a quarter milk), “lágrima” (a quarter coffee, three quarters milk), “capuchino” (coffee, a drop or two of milk, milk froth) and “cafe con leche” (cafe au lait.) The price generally includes a small glass of soda water (maybe orange juice in more upscale places) and a small sweet treat, like a cookie.

The social and cultural influence of cafes is such that fifty-three of the oldest establishments have been declared part of the cultural and historical heritage of the city of Buenos Aires. Many of them were founded by Italian and Spanish immigrants in the early 20th century. Cafe Tortoni (Avenida de Mayo 825), perhaps the most popular with tourists; and Confiteria Ideal (Suipacha 384) are just two of them.

Wood panelling, brass fixtures, marble tops, and tango music playing softly in the background conspire to take one back to a bygone era when artists, writers, musicians and intellectuals met to discuss ideas over (what else?) endless cups of this sexy dark beverage.

A warm welcome to Ana, who is going to be writing about Argentinian culture on PocketCultures. Ana was born and raised in Argentina, and she keeps close links with her country, despite being currently based abroad. You can read more about Ana’s experiences living abroad on her blog.

Read more:
Italian cafe culture: when to drink cappuccino
Submarino: another Buenos Aires classic
Argentinian blogs on Blogs of the World

If I were to introduce myself and tell you that I’m a Filipino from a country called the Philippines, a question from an American comedian named George Carlin would likely come up:

It’s a good observation and a very valid question. To keep it short, the word “Filipino” is a product of three centuries under the Spanish and “Philippines” is now our name after almost 50 years of US rule, which ended in 1946.

This is just a gist but my country’s story goes deeper than that. I shall tell it to you in bits and pieces as we go along.

Who are the people who live in the Philippines? They’re called Filipinos.

I’m a Filipino. My name is Bryan Ocampo. I have an American name and a Spanish surname. I have long straight hair just like the Chinese. My eyes are a bit slanted and get usually small whenever I flash a smile.

I live in Asia but the way I celebrate fiestas with my people can almost be close to Latin Americans. My English is good but I don’t sound like a native speaker. When I was in Disneyland Japan, an old Thai woman approached me and asked a question in her native tongue.

I check out the news about my favorite basketball team, the Los Angeles Lakers and look forward to the next Iron Man movie by Robert Downey Jr. I love eating Japanese food and as expected from any Filipino, I do great videoke.

I mentioned these influences from different countries because I live in a multi-cultural society and these have links to what I am now. We’re nearing the 90-million mark and you can meet us almost anywhere in the world.

A smart Filipina puts it so well:

We are the 40,000 skilled nurses who support the UK’s National Health Service. We are the quarter-of-a-million seafarers manning most of the world’s commercial ships.

We are your software engineers in Ireland, your construction workers in the Middle East, your doctors and caregivers in North America, and, your musical artists in London’s West End.

I’m a Filipino Tour Guide and I’m pleased to meet you. I hope that this could be a start of a beautiful friendship.

Mabuhay!*

*Mabuhay (Ma-boo-high) is a Tagalog word which means “to live” or “long live”. We use it like the Spanish do when they cheer “Viva!”.

We’re very pleased to welcome Bryan to our team of regional contributors from around the world. He will be writing more on PocketCultures about life and culture in the Philippines so stay tuned. This post was adapted from a post originally published on Bryan’s own blog. You can read the unabridged version here.

Read more:
Blogs from the Philippines on Blogs of the World
Penang street food reflects Malaysia’s cultural melting pot
A photo tour of West Sumatra, Indonesia

Matador Abroad published a very nice interview on PocketCultures this week. Read it here.

Matador Abroad is part of the Matador Network, an online travel magazine and community of travellers, among other things. With ten different channels it has something to please almost every kind of traveller.

Probably the two most interesting ones for PocketCultures readers are Abroad, which examines living abroad, languages and cultural immersion; and Change, which looks at opportunities to make the world better, whether at home or away.

Read more:
PocketCultures in top 100 independent travel blogs
About PocketCultures
How to learn about different cultures

“Doe maar gewoon, dan doe je al gek genoeg”

Act normally, that is crazy enough - is a favorite Dutch expression.

The Dutch landscape extends beyond the tulips, cheese, dykes, canals and windmills as anyone living in The Netherlands for some time would vouch for.

Having spent the last 1.4 years here in expatriation, I have come across many of the traits from the Dutch character set - some apparent, some needing an observing eye.

The Dutch Way

• The Dutch are firm believers in equality in all spheres of life. Nobody has an undue advantage over the other.

• They are friendly people - kind, polite and helpful to tourists. They become your guiding force during the initial days of expatriation.

• Moderation is the key to a successful living for the Dutch. Show-offs are not encouraged in any field.

• There are probably more bikes than people in Holland. It is the most prized possession of the Dutch. This reflects well in their fitness and healthy lifestyle.

• The Dutch are very good planners - week days as well as the week ends are planned, well in advance.

• The Dutch lifestyle is regulated by diaries. It is probably the single most popular gift on the new year!! Everything is jotted down religiously in the diaries from meetings to leisure time.

• The Dutch seek consensus whether it be a meeting or discussion. They live by the principle of agreement and harmony.

• The Dutch enjoy a great family life and firmly believe that money cannot buy happiness. The personal and professional lives are kept separate.

• They are a private bunch and emotions are kept under check during dealings with strangers.

• Weather is the most discussed topic in short conversations. The Netherlands weather definitely merits this, what with it showing all colours from snow, to rain, to wind, to sun.

• The Dutch like to practice their English. As soon as you start off in your broken Dutch, they start speaking to you in English.

• Thanks to their spirit of openness and frankness, humour resonates well with most of them.

• ‘Koninginnedag‘ (Queen’s Day), and ‘Zomer Carnaval‘ (Summer Carnival) are the most awaited holidays, perhaps for their colourful splendour and unique attributes.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

This is Arwa’s first post for PocketCultures and we’re very pleased to welcome her to the team. Arwa is originally from India and is now based in the Netherlands.

We’re looking forward to reading more about Arwa’s comparisons between Indian and Dutch culture. In the meantime you can find her on her blog Orangesplaash.

Read more:
The famous Italian cappuccino rule: fact or fiction?
There’s life outside Istanbul: what do you think about Turkey?
Navigating Chicago’s cultural stew: diverse cultures of Chicago

Travel Blog Sites ranks the Top 100 independent travel blogs every week. If you like travel and want to discover some new perspectives then this is a great place to start.

We’re delighted that PocketCultures is included in the list! A big thanks also to Travel Blog Sites for their very nice review of PocketCultures. Read it here.

Read more:
PocketCultures now with Creative Commons
Find us on Facebook
How to learn about different cultures

Over the next week we’ll be publishing a series of posts from our contributors around the world. Each day one of them will tell us about Christmas in their country.

Hope you enjoy reading about these different countries and their customs for celebrating the same festival.

Of course many countries of the world celebrate other festivals, not Christmas. We hope to be able to do this for different festivals and religions in future. If you’re interested in contributing stories about your country we’d love to hear from you. More details here.

Read the posts:
White Christmas - Christmas in the UK
Windy Christmas - Christmas in Costa Rica
Regained Christmas - Christmas in Romania
Magic Christmas - Christmas in Catalunya
Sunny Christmas - Christmas in New Zealand
Christkind or Weinachtsmann? Christmas in Germany