Autumn in Barcelona

It’s been a month since summer ended and a new season has begun, autumn! The climate here has changed a lot over the years. Normally, from the beginning they were cool and rainy days, now the summer is lengthening until mid-October and the rains do not begin and the temperatures drop until the end of October or November.

Autumn presents temperatures between 12 to 22ºC, it is a difficult season in terms of clothing, because you still do not know if you have to start wearing coats, scarves or simply wear a jacket in case it is cold, this always derives and more at this time of the year to colds and flu. So, start to bundle up whenever necessary to avoid this type of infection. You can also stay at home, in your Xior Collblanc residence, and enjoy the rain from the facilities it offers you.

However, despite the weather, many things can be done in Barcelona in autumn, you cannot miss some of the parties, activities or outings that this season offers you. Some that have already passed are the Mercè festivities, one of the most popular, and Oktoberfest. We are going to give you other plans that you can make from now on:

La Castanyada

It is a traditional festival that is celebrated in some regions of Spain, including: Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia and Aragon. It is celebrated the night before All Saints, October 31, which coincides with the most famous holiday in the world, Halloween.

It is a gathering in which family and/or friends get together to eat panellets, chestnuts and roasted sweet potatoes, typical foods of this festivity. It is a tradition that every Catalan person knows and celebrates, and in this festival, we cannot forget the figure of the Castanyera, an old woman who dresses in modest clothes, is a character that gives identity to this festival.

If you also want to celebrate Halloween, you can put on your scariest costume and go out, or scare your classmates and friends from Xior Collblanc on October 31, or you can also escape any day from the residence and go to the most famous theme park in Spain, PortAventura, which is located in Vila-seca (Tarragona), almost 2 hours from the Xior Collblanc residence. At this time of year, the amusement park is set for Halloween, where you can enjoy the most terrifying passages and meet the most terrifying characters throughout the park.

Mushroom Season

In autumn, the rainy season arrives, and with it also comes the mushroom season. You will be able to buy them in any supermarket or you can take advantage and take a walk through the La Boquería market. At this time of year, any type of mushroom is good: cama-sec, camagroc, trumpet… but you will not find anything as good as rovellones, they are the most important mushrooms in Catalonia.

You can go looking for mushrooms yourself, a very typical activity in this season of the year, mushroom picking, a large number of people go to the woods to pick and fill the baskets with mushrooms, it is a fun time and you can spend a good time with your friends from Xior Collblanc, you can become “mushroom hunters”.

If you dare with this leisure activity, it is important to have a basic knowledge about the types of mushrooms that you can catch because some can be toxic or read some of the advice that firefighters give to all those who participate in this search for mushrooms. We are going to leave them here, you can also find it on this website: 

• Before leaving, check the weather forecast and find out about the area if you don’t know it.
• Carry adequate equipment, food and water. Brightly colored clothing will help you find your way if you get lost.
• Carry maps and technological systems that you know how to use. You can find your way around if you get lost and call 112.
• Do not go alone and always maintain visual or verbal contact with whoever accompanies you.
• Take reference points to guide you: paths, where you have left the car, etc.
• Adapt the activity to your physical condition and age: avoid abrupt areas and at risk of precipitation.
• When the day is shorter, plan your return to reach the starting point before it gets dark. There should always be time left over in case of any unforeseen event.

Typical meals to do:

There are many typical Catalan foods at this time of year that you can enjoy, some more complicated than others to prepare.

Panellets are par excellence, one of the most typical sweets of Catalan cuisine in autumn, they are always made for the Castanyada festival, but you will find them for much longer. On these dates many chestnuts and roasted sweet potatoes are also eaten. So, if you’re at Xior Collblanc and don’t know what to do, you can prepare some panellets with your friends and try them, they will fascinate you!

As we have already mentioned, a very autumnal ingredient, which you can prepare in different ways, baked, sautéed with garlic and parsley, scrambled with eggs, etc. Rovellones have a very particular taste and you are going to love them!

We hope that this blog has helped you to know what you can do this autumn, and we have not commented on it, but it is always a good time to visit a museum or monument in Barcelona if you have not done yet, so if you want a more calm route, you can visit the city and visit some of its fantastic points of interest. And another plan, if you like the Japanese world, you can visit the Manga Hall from December 9 to 11.