WOULD YOU CHOOSE A HOTEL THE NEXT TIME YOU TRAVEL?

It is going to be our birthday next month. We do not care very much about xmas nor new year. They are good to haves. We do care about our birthday a lot. And we mean A LOT. Why? We are not narcissists. We never quite grew up with a wonderful birthday, or maybe we shouldn't really say this. Our birthday is on Valentine's Day. Probably one of the worse day you can have a birthday on. One thing we were grateful about was that our sisters always made it to our birthday dinners. We love them both. After a while, birthday celebrations were just so passe. We do not believe in family birthday occasions. Our birthday is a very private thing. We call our friends, close friends only. Or, maybe just Mr Washy. this is actually the first time Mr Washy is celebrating our birthday with us, come to think of it. It has always been long distance. This year, Mr Washy is bring us to Barcelona. A place we have always wanted to visit because we grew up with Picasso and Salvatore Dali, our favorite.

So, knowing us, the place we stay is crucial. This is our breakdown in criteria this time...

• In the middle of everything. It has to be walking distance to everything.
• We are not looking for a hotel. The thing about us is.... we love food. We might not cook very well but the whole experience of cooking with local produce is so exciting. It is a rare opportunity and how can we let that go? So, an attached kitchen is important.
• An apartment it is. So, it has to be comfortable, hotel-like, comfortable, everything...
• An apartment... yes, but it has to come with the mod cons. As in modern conveniences. In this case, TV, kitchen, heating, air conditioning, DVD , blah blah blah....
• Professional transaction and hotel-like services. One thing about renting from owners/apartments is that they are not hotels. So, they do not have the space for you to keep your luggage before or after check in or out... if you still have time to spare before boarding, which is it in our case. We managed to find a wonderful owner with an office where we can drop our belongings. How wonderful is it?

And we found this... for a wonderful price. Cheaper than hotels during the period of Valentine's Day and the World Mobile Congress at Barcelona.

This charming flat of 36 m2 is located on a private street in the Gothic district of Barcelona (old city) just between the Ramblas and the Cathedral. It's layout is one open space divided in: cooking area, with a fully equipped kitchen, a living room area with a dinning table & 4 chairs and a sofa bed for 2 people as well as an armchair bed for one person. The bedroom area is separated with a curtain and has a double closet. There is also an exclusive bathroom with a jacuzzi bathtub! It is by far the most artistic of our apartments. The white floor and walls serve as a background for the original art paintings on the walls. A large flat LCD tv set with a DVD player for you to watch classic movies that we offer for free. You will be able to relax and sleep like an angel, as the little private street where the apartment is located is very quiet.

What you will find in the apartment:
1 real double bed
1 double sofa bed
1 single armchair bed
Closet
1 dinning table for 4

The apartment's equipment
•Air Cond. / Heating
•washing machine
•refrigerator
•microwave oven
•toaster
•coffee maker
•juicer
•iron &; ironing board
•hair dryer
•TV(24'')
•DVD player & tdt tuner
•free Internet wifi

The surrounding area:
The area around the apartment, mostly pedestrian, is in the heart of the Gothic district where the most famous stores of Barcelona are located, as well as many other shops, restaurants, pubs and cafes. The “Plaça Catalunya” and the famous “Ramblas” street are just at few meters from the apartment with the “Boqueria” market and the “Liceu” Theater, just a few minutes away. The Gothic cathedral of Barcelona is also very close.