Drink at Barcelona’s “secret” bars

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Barcelona is a nightlife-lover’s paradise. Between the city’s thriving music scene, liberal drinking laws and the generally hedonistic social attitudes of many Spaniards, you’re almost assured a good time when you go out. I have spent many a night wandering the narrow streets of the Barrio Gotico neighborhood, hopping from one tiny bar to the next while enjoying a few mojitos with friends.

If that’s not convincing enough, an article in today’s Guardian points out that nightlife-lovers have yet another reason to visit Barcelona – a growing trend of “hidden” bars. In recent years an estimated 40-some-odd illegal drinking establishments have sprung up, thanks largely to the okupas, Spanish squatters who occupy the city’s many empty buildings.

Spiraling housing costs have put buying or renting apartments out of reach for many Spaniards, who have taken to occupying empty buildings as a last resort. Some of the more enterprising squatters have created bars with their space, earning themselves some extra cash. A few spots to check out include:

  • El Mariachi – a favorite hangout for the city’s musicians, this quirky spot is nothing more than a few mismatched pieces of furniture. The real highlight is the cocktails, which include the Hydro-Miel, the house specialty mixed with honey. (Corner of Carrer dels Codols and Carrer d’en Rull, Barrio Gotico)
  • El Armario – another tiny spot in the El Raval neighborhood. The name in Spanish means “wardrobe,” which is accurate: you literally walk past the owner’s clothing collection to get inside. (Carrer de la Riereta, El Raval)
  • The Front Room – this bar, which does not seem to have an “official” name, occupies a small front room behind a tiny metal door on the Carrer d’en Carabassa. (Metal door opposite 5 Carrer d’en Carabassa, Barrio Gotico)

If you want to visit these places, be prepared and be patient. Most don’t have signs or set hours of operation, usually opening after 2am when Barcelona’s other bars are shutting down. Furthermore, their illegal status makes them targets for closure by police. In other words, have some back-up drinking options. But if you’re headed out with an open mind and little bit of persistence, Barcelona’s hidden bars look ready to offer a uniquely Spanish “night on the town.”

Another day, another drunken airline passenger

by Grant Martin on

I wonder if the reason that everyone seems to be getting drunk on airlines lately is because the stress level is so high. Perhaps it’s a means to deal with the stress of having no leg room or no meal during an excruciatingly long flight. Jeff posted an article about an unruly passenger getting drunk, throwing ice and feeling up flight attendants last week, while the week prior another woman lit a cigarette, punched one of the crew and forced the aircraft to divert to Dallas.

This week, a Drexel student named Taylor Kircher flying transatlantic on British Airways drank an entire bottle of his duty free vodka before going on a drunken tirade through the aircraft. In the process of his debauch, the student spat on two flight attendants, broke a jump seat and was caught masturbating through his clothing before he had to be physically restrained with handcuffs.

Kircher even went so far as to threaten to “blow the plane up” if they didn’t free him of his restraints, which, I believe is quite illegal.

Authorities detained the student on arrival in New York‘s JFK where they will hopefully press charges and never let him fly again.

More people misbehaving on planes:

Crocodile makes a drinking buddy

by Jamie Rhein on

Wildlife one comes across in ones travels is one way to know you’ve arrived somewhere new. In Singapore, it was the geckos that climbed on our walls to take refuge behind the artwork.

In The Gambia, it was the pouch rats that jumped over the corrugate fence in my back yard or the enormous snake that I can still see in the circle of my flashlight as I was walking to my latrine one night–or that monkey that makes for a terrific tale. Later for that one.

If you’re driving across West Virginia, you might see a black bear dash across the road like I did last summer when I was heading to Washington, D.C.

If you had been in Noonamah Tavern in Noonamah, Australia last Sunday, you’d have been drinking a beer with a crocodile acquaintance. Noonamah is near Litchfield National Park not far from Darwin.

The crocodile might have been underage though since it was only two feet long. According to the AP article on Salon.com, a grown-up can be 16 feet, much harder to get into a bar.

Three guys who saw the crocodile outside the tavern thought it would be neat to bring it inside and have a few. The crocodile didn’t drink, though. They taped its mouth shut. Not a particularly hospitable way to treat a guest, but it was a crocodile with sharp teeth after all.

Happily, the story ends well. There is not a drinking and driving accident to report or anything like that. The salt water crocodile, a protected species, is now at a crocodile farm where it may have come from in the first place.

I wonder if it has come up with any jokes yet? “There were these three guys in a bar. . .”

When in Europe do as the Europeans do: Get drunk and have sex

by Anna Brones on

Fitting in with the local culture is often the most difficult of tasks when traveling. But if you’re a young adult headed to Europe this summer, acting like a European might only entail living up to frat party standards. According to a study published in BMC Public Health, young adults in Europe deliberately booze it up to increase their chances of scoring.

According to the BBC, the study was done with 1,341 people from 9 different cities across Europe. A third of the men, and 23 % of the women — who were all between the ages of 16 and 35 — said they drank to improve their chances of having sex. The researchers concluded that the fun-loving youngsters were “strategically” binge drinking or taking drugs to improve their sex lives.

All jokes aside, drinking and sexing is a health concern; especially since the rate of unprotected sex goes up. However, now that we know what the European strategy is, it looks like we no longer need a “How to Score a European Fling” post.

Binging in the UK: Part of culture or culture itself?

by Iva Skoch on

Last week in London, I noticed pubs still closed at 11, despite having had the option of applying for a 24-hour drinking license for almost three years now. It just so happens, that the UK released a report last week claiming that the prolonged opening hours didn’t really help curb the “binge-drinking problem” in Britain.

In her column, Sorry I binge responsibly, The Guardian’s Zoe Williams writes about the complicated British culture of binge-drinking, asking herself whether to blame the 60s for destroying a shared understanding of morality, or the 80s for creating the financial disparities that make society functionally meaningless to people anywhere near the bottom, or–her best bet–she offers leftist fiscal explanations.

Whatever causes the Britons to binge-drink, one thing is clear. Liberal licensing laws have not helped much. The average pub in the UK stays open only 21 minutes longer than before (pubs are not interested to apply for licenses). Although crime has gone down slightly, alcohol-related crime, in city centers, has gone up, especially after midnight. Williams writes: “If the relaxation of licensing laws has had any beneficial impact on crime, then perhaps it is to keep burglars in the pub, giving them less time to burgle.”