Archive for January, 2010

Chocolate fix for a sweet tooth

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

The Artisan Chocolate Fair - Florence

The Artisan Chocolate Fair - Florence

Attention all chocolate lovers from around the world! If you are traveling to Florence in February, you are in for a tasty treat.

From Febrary 4th to 7th 2010, Tuscany’s capital will host one of the sweetest and most delightful fairs in Italy: the Artisan Chocolate Fair. This is an annual event where tourists and locals are looking to get their chocolate fix surrounded by countless flavors and smells: almond, walnut, lavender, pistachio and peperoncino bars, spirits and are just a few of the products that you can sample.

Tuscany is actually Italy’s second most important region for chocolate production and the first for historical tradition. However, the fair is not only a celebration of Italian chocolate: the event, indeed, will also host international maître chocolatiers, who will graciously display both their traditional and out-of-the-ordinary creations to the public.

The fair takes place in Piazza Santa Croce and the program includes sampling, games, shows and live music. Also, in previous years, there has been photography workshops and other interactive events. There is basically something for everyone.

If you wish to visit the city, and at the same time, to enjoy the Artisan Chocolate Fair, make a reservation now in one of our Florence apartments. Don’t miss the opportunity to indulge yourself. This is cocoa paradise!

For more information on the Artisan Chocolate Fair visit the Firenze Turismo website.

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The Mobile World Congress 2010 is almost here!

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

GSMA Mobile World Congress at the Fira

GSMA Mobile World Congress at the Fira

The city of Barcelona is proud to be once again the host for the 5th year in a row of the 3GSMA Mobile World Congress, the largest mobile phone event in the world.

Despite the crisis, more than 1300 companies, some of them new to the event, are expected to attend. That’s around 47 000 participants gathered at the Fira from the 15th to 18th of February, 2010.

One of the highlights this year will be the presence of the Queen of Rania of Jordan, who will address the role of mobile communications in education.

Now one of the controversies this year was the impact of the exorbitant prices of flights and accommodation. It is well know that airline companies and hotels dramatically increase their prices during the event. After all, everyone wants a piece of the pie, right?

This is why the Barcelona City Council,the Chamber of Commerce and the Barcelona Tourism Board have turned things around this year. Due to the economic crisis, hotels and airlines have agreed to lower their prices. Hotels have reduced their room prices of an average of 20%, while tickets are 30% cheaper than last year’s (thanks. Spanair and Star Alliance).

At CitySiesta we believe in fair prices, so this year we are offering a special promotion to all the GSM attendees. For those arriving early or leaving a few days later after the event, we are offering a special discount. Visit our GSM promotions page to find the appropriate accommodation for you.

Compare prices and find out how renting an apartment can be turn out to be less expensive that a hotel room!

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Coldest winter in years, again?

Friday, January 8th, 2010

Low temperatures in Europe

Low temperatures in Europe

Every year we hear the same story, each winter seems to be the coldest one in history, until the following year it strikes back more ferocious and merciless.

We started the year as predicted, avalanches are breaking out in different parts of Europe, causing skiing accidents with no happy endings.

In Poland, Switzerland, France, wherever skiers are, there seems to be catastrophe.

Temperatures are plunging to unprecedented numbers. In Poland, they are experiencing drops as low as -25º C (-13º F), and -41º C in Roeros (Norway).

Snow and ice caused traffic problems in western and southwestern France and in Britain

Then I ask myself why do people complain about the cold and rainy weather here in Barcelona? Temperatures last week went as high as 15C? A sweater, scarf and umbrella did the trick!

Well, I rather stay here and enjoy the winter by the not-so-cold beach than head up north in and adventure trip and end up caught in an avalanche buried under 16 inches of snow.

If you want to escape from the cold to a more comfortable environment I suggest you choose Barcelona, Seville or Lisbon for a last minute escape. That is, if the nearest airport is not closed due to bad weather!

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New year, new beginnings

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

When we say goodbye to another great year and welcome a new one full of surprises, we always tend to highlight and celebrate all the great experiences we lived and wonderful moments we’ve enjoyed.

As part of the CitySiesta team this year, I have witnessed quite a few improvements in the company, important business decisions have been taken to keep the business growing and offer better quality lodging while maintaining low competitive prices. This is a difficult task to perform in times of economic turbulence and when the tourism industry is injured.

One of the major highlights has been the addition of Florence to the list of cities. This magnificent city with its unique beauty is a favorite amongst tourists and art lovers. Our new apartments are located in the historic center and its surroundings; they are the perfect starting point for visiting this ancient city.

We’re also proud of our recently launched CitySiesta Blog. This is our fastest and most effective way to communicate with our audience. We want them to get to know us, and we also like to show them the different options, venues and activities in every city.

We are also very excited to announce that by the beginnings of next year, our website will undergo a series of modifications in order to improve user experience and to make the reservation process easier and faster for our visitors: more tools, more options, better views. A complete makeover!

The CitySiesta staff also got bigger and better; we are now a happy multicultural family with members from all over the world: Switzerland, Costa Rica and Mexico are now on board.

But we are not only growing internally, but externally as well. We’ve created our own profile in Facebook and also in Twitter. Check us out!

So we look forward to finally revealing our new image, and we hope to keep the team growing and adding more and more cities to our group.

Have a wonderful New Year 2010 from the CitySiesta family!

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