• Home
  • Barbara Czartoryska

Author - Barbara Czartoryska

Beginning of the rice harvest

 The rice harvesting campaign started this week in the spanish rice paddies , Europe's largest producing country with an annual output of around 800,000 tonnes. In terms of production, Spain is just behind Italy and ahead of Greece. It is a very small part of the worlds production but for the regions of Extremadura, Andalusia, Catalonia and Valencia, rice farming is part of both agricultural and gastronomic heritage.Most of the rice milling industries are located in the Valencia region, although this region produces only a quarter of the Spanish [...]

October 7, 2019By Sin categoría0 CommentsRead more...

Barcelona international school curriculum options

The vast majority of schools in Barcelona follow the Spanish national curriculum, adapted for Catalonia (the language of instruction is Catalan, plus a few other adaptations).All public schools, most Concertada schools and some private schools follow this system, under which secondary school students complete the ESO at 16 before going on to complete the Bachillerato at 18.Some private “international” schools offer alternative curriculums, based on the British, American or International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes. Families may choose this option for various reasons; if they arrive in Barcelona when their children are already part-way through [...]

August 26, 2019By Barcelona Practica, Sin categoría0 CommentsRead more...

Attics Mythics … The history of these apartments that have become an object of desire …

In modern architecture, the attic is the floor located nearest to  the roof, at the top of the face of the building, set back on the street side, to make way for a balcony or terrace.At a time when the prices take off for this type of housing in Spain (and elsewhere), it is difficult to think that the penthouse was previously the apartment reserved for the porter or the service staff ... Because at the time when the elevator did not exist (or was not within the reach [...]

July 12, 2019By Sin categoría0 CommentsRead more...

Why Spain is now one of the top five countries for expats

The destination has jumped to fourth position on the latest HSBC global survey, with 83% of foreign residents saying their overall wellbeing had improved since arrivingSpain ranks fourth as the best place to work and live, according to people who participated in the latest HSBC Expat Explorer Survey, published on Thursday.This is the best position since the survey began 12 years ago. Last year, Spain ranked 13th. This year Switzerland, Singapore and Canada were ahead of Spain, which was followed by New Zealand in the Top 5 category.The study focuses [...]

July 8, 2019By Sin categoría0 CommentsRead more...

Solar panel systems soar in Spain thanks to friendlier regulations

The sun has been shining on Spain’s self-produced energy sector ever since new regulations were approved in April by the Socialist (PSOE) government. Since then, demand for photovoltaic solar panels by homes and businesses has soared.Although it is still early, The Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF) is already talking about “an enormous renewed interest” in solar energy self-generation.Last year, 235 megawatts (MW) of new photovoltaic power were added in Spain, and this year the industry expects to see an installed capacity of 400 MW, says José Donoso, director general of [...]

July 1, 2019By Articles0 CommentsRead more...
The Las Rozas Village shopping center outside Madrid.

Wealth map of Spain: These are the country’s richest and poorest areas

Madrid and Barcelona are home to the 10 neighborhoods with the highest annual per capita incomeThe wealth map of Spain depicts a country whose prosperity is concentrated in a triangle formed by Madrid, Barcelona and the Basque Country, while the southern region of Andalusia harbors the country’s poorest areas, according to figures recently released by the Spain’s INE official statistics office. And when it comes to the country’s richest and poorest towns, Pozuelo de Alarcón, on the outskirts of Madrid, wins the wealth title while Nijar in Almería languishes at the [...]

June 17, 2019By Articles6 CommentsRead more...

What if flat sharing boosted your real estate investment?

Increasing the profitability of a property sometimes involves flat sharing, a new trend popular in Spain for both tenants and homeowners.In some cases (especially in the center of the large cities in Spain and Europe, in general), renting a room in an apartment is a solution to the problem of excessively  high rents: this is true for a good number of young people who are just starting in the working life and for an owner, this possibility has many advantages, such as profitability for example.This is made apparent in [...]

June 6, 2019By Barcelona Practica0 CommentsRead more...

The first 13 things Americans learn upon moving to Spain

(Matadornetwork)1. The Spanish you learned in high school is nothing like the language spoken here.The first time I heard two Spanish brothers call each other “tío“, I thought, “hmmm… that’s odd. Why would brothers call each other uncle?” The Latin Spanish taught in American schools and from highly-acclaimed language teachers like Professor Dora the Explorer, is just a tad bit different than the colloquial language in Spain. I like to think of it as the subtle differences between American English and British English. Lift, meet elevator.2. You can throw [...]

June 5, 2019By Sin categoría0 CommentsRead more...