COMPETITION 2 – INTERMEDIATE 1

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1.

This city is known by its multicultural

character and for having different works
of a recognized artist around the world,
Gaudi.

Between his works we find: the Park

Güel, the Sacred Family or House Batlló.
All of them declared Heritage of the
Humanity places by the Unesco.

There are other emblematic places that any person who visits this city can’t
miss, like Picasso's Museum or the Museum of National Art of Catalonia, the
Tibidabo or Colon square. From Tibidabo you can see all the city.

Moreover, we can’t leave this city without walking along its historical centre of
the middle ages, where we will find the cathedral that inspired the writer
Ildefonso Falcones in his work The catredral of the sea.

However, what we can't stop doing in this city is trying its typical “bread with
tomato” that can be tasted in any bar or restaurant of the count city.
On the other hand, the most famous music of this city is the “Sardana”. Men
and women, in pairs, make different typical movements. Moreover, they wear
traditional clothes.

The official language is Catalan. In fact, they have one channel: TV3. In this
channel all the programmes are in Catalan. Some of these programmes are
about the football team FC Barcelona. This team is very famous all over the
world. In fact, you can visit their stadium, “Camp Nou”

Finally, I recommend visiting this city because it is a big and nice city where
you can find all that you need.
2.
This place is near Spain, but it isn't in
Spain. The weather is as here, but when
the winter is cold, it snows there, for
example this year.
It is an important city, but not the most.
It's near the beach and the Mediterranean
Sea. This city isn't the biggest of this
country, but it is bigger than Elche.
It has a lot of interesting sights, but they aren't as important as for example
the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Coliseum in Roma.
Maybe this photo helps you to remember its name:

This is one of their Trams, the other is blue and it has white birds painted. You
can go to every place with it.
And the most important thing is that “Jaume I The Conquer” was born there.
3.

This city is in the Mediterranean coast,

very near from Alicante. It´s a great city
with lots of high buildings. There is the
highest hotel in Europe. Its name is Hotel
Baly. From the top of it, you can see the
best views in the city.

The weather is very good. You can usually

see plenty of people in the beaches from March to December. So, English and
German tourists love this town. Every week a lot of tourist are arriving at the
airport to visit this town, its beaches and sights.

In this town there are too many souvenir shops where tourists always buy
Spanish items. During the winter, this town is visited by old tourists because
they enjoy the weather, walking and dancing all the time.

If you want, you can go with your family too. You can enjoy a lot because
there are several places where you can go with children. There are 2 water
parks called AQUALANDIA and AQUANATURA, 2 zoos too, called MUNDOMAR
and TERRA NATURA. And finally, you can enjoy in one of the biggest
amusement park in Spain, called TERRA MITICA.
4.

I spent eleven months in that big city and

it was the best experience in my life. I
arrived there last year as an Erasmus
student and I was very nervous because
it was the first time I left my own home
to study alone in a foreign country.

In the beginning it was very hard because

I couldn´t understand anything. It was awful! But thankfully, all began to
improve a few days later when I started my German intensive course for the
Technische Universität students. There I met very good friends from around
the world. We used to go to drink beer to some clubs and occasionally, only in
summer, to the famous biergarten, a big park with a lot of tables to drink or
eat something, mostly the specialty there: currywurst mit pommes frites.
Something like a hot dog but with curry, ketchup and French fries. Delicious!

The winter is funny at first because you can play with the snow in the small
hills of the parks or do snow wars around the streets, but with the time, the
city becomes very sad as the sun disappears for days and outside it is very
cold. With this weather it is very hard to stay in the street, however you can
find alternative plans. There are a lot of important galleries to visit like the
Pergamon Museum or Jewish Museum. Every weekend there are funny ice
hockey games and at night a lot of famous techno discos open their doors to
all kind of people. Everyday there are great music events in the opera or the
philharmonic and something which is also very common is going with friends
to spend some time to the sauna. Even with minus fifteen degrees, the city
never sleeps.

When the summer arrives, the city becomes something wonderful. There are a
lot of markets in the squares or parks with antique objects and amazing music
performances. People go crazy with the sun. The streets are full of people and
they usually go out to the parks with friends or family to spend all the day
there, to do a barbecue and to play a lot of funny games, but the most curious
is that they use to do nudism in front of the lake!
I like very much this city because it is very tolerant, there is a very interesting
mix of cultures and although there are a lot of tourists, you don´t feel any
stress as it is very big and at the same time, it has the most efficient public
transport system to arrive anywhere. In addition, people use to go by bike
because the cars greatly respect you.

Destroyed during the Second World War and rebuilt in a few years it has
become a world reference city in many ways.
5.

It’s a city which is not very big and not very small. It’s the capital of one of
the Spanish provinces. It’s just besides the sea, besides one of the less calm
seas that bathes the coasts of Spain. It became popular in 19 th century
because Queen Elizabeth II of Spain used to go there to spend her holidays.
The weather there is quite wet, and I think it’s a little bit holy because of its
name. A river finishes in this city and every year some festivals are celebrated
there.
6.

The city which I am talking about is

located in an island and it is used as a
holiday place. It has a very long
coastline, wide beaches where the
waves break and many hotels, pubs
and restaurants.

The tourists who visit the city are

usually interested in the Grand Pavilion, a famous building that was built in
19th century according to the romantic trend. In this time rich people used to
copy eastern buildings. Tourists often visit the surroundings of the city, the
national park “Seven Sister” where we can see seven spectaculars cliffs, the
nearby beautiful village Arundel and the Castle of Lewis.

This city is famous as well because people frequently celebrate parties when
they are going to get married soon. The nights are very animated and a bit
noisy. There are many pubs where it is possible to hear live music.
Furthermore, “Quadrophenia”, a mythical movie from 70s (starring the famous
rock band WHO) was recorded in this city.

The weather is often windy and rainy, but when the sun shines over the sea,
the scenery is wonderful. I like this city, although I only spent fifteen days
there.
7.

It is the second most populous city in the

United States, with many Latin residents,
and it is in the state of California.

Two Olympics Games (1932 and 1984)

were held in this city. The climate is
Mediterranean. Snow is rare, and it
usually does not rain in abundance.

The city has film, music, TV and art industries, but people indentify it with
Hollywood. It also has a high level of sports. Big teams play in this city, in
basketball, hockey (Kings), baseball (Dodgers), and football (Galaxy). In one
of the two basketball teams from this city, plays the best Spanish player in the
history of this sport.

Bands like Metallica or Linking Park were founded in this city.

The typical food is varied because of the many cultures that live in this place.
Hot dogs can be in the ‘American’ zone, but in the East, Mexican food is
typical.

This city has many interesting things, but I would like to visit it to see a
match of the National Basketball Association in the Staples Center.
8.

My favourite city in the world is located in the center of Italy, near the
Tyrrhenian Sea. The Tiber crosses the city and it makes that the humidity
reaches almost unbearable levels. In summer it’s always a very wet and hot
place, but the rest of the year it’s usually a lovely place to live.

People there are quite often unpleasant and rude, but when you have been
living there for some weeks, you get used to it and it can sometimes be funny.
The most famous local food is pasta, but what I like the most are ice-creams.
I`ve never tasted something like this. I usually went sightseeing with an ice-
cream in my hand.

It´s very difficult to say which is the most famous place in the city, because all
the city is a monument. Within it you can find traces of almost all periods of
history and art styles. You’ll rarely see all that you want in one trip. You´ll
need hundreds.

It´s a special city for me because I love history and art. If you love them too,
you’ll have to go....there.
9.

It is one of the most famous cities in Colombia. This city is located in the
northwest of the country, and it has the same name as a Spanish town in
Badajoz.

The weather in this city is tropical, for this reason it is called the city of eternal
spring. Its most famous flower is the orchid, and a famous dish is “arepas”.
“Arepas” are made of corn, water and vegetable oil.

Among its international artist people is Fernando Botero, whose sculptures are
united by their proportionally exaggerated, or "fat" figures. Another artist is
Juanes, who is well- known for his Spanish music.

I love this city because I was born there.

10.
There is a place where I feel very happy every time
that I go there. The first time that I went to this city
I fell in love whit it. Each of the times that I have
been there I have wanted to live there. Therefore,
this place is always somewhere in the back of my
mind.

Talking about colours… the walls are painted in many

shades of blue and white! Other memories I have:
the smell of fruit and fresh grass and children
playing in the street with simple items or dancing to the sound of “darbukas”.
It’s a calm place, but you can always hear the sound of good music. Colours
and music always go with people's eternal smile.
The weather is wonderful. The sun is often shining during the winter, and in
summer it is always hot. The houses are built between mountains and they
look like magic caves. There aren’t a lot of important buildings but the special
nooks are enough to enjoy.

Tourists are interested in traditions and gastronomy. There are a lot of typical
kinds of food, quite often lamb, rice, salads… and sometimes combining sweet
flavours with salted flavours. And a very advisable tea with mint.

In the last five years tourists travel there more than before, but many people
don’t know this little village is a very important place in Spanish history.

If you don´t know this village, I recommend you to go there! And when you
arrive there, you must taste tea with mint at its main square.
11.
The typical food in this city is ‘pasta’,
as in the rest of the country. But you
can also taste and buy good wines and
olive oil.

The most famous art galleries in the

city are the Uffizzi Museum and
Galleria dell’Accademia, with paintings
and sculptures of Michelangelo, Tiziano
or Tintoretto. One of the typical sights
is Ponte Vecchio. This is the oldest
bridge of the city because it was the
only one that wasn’t destroyed during
the Second World War.

Several of the most important artists

and scientists of the country, like
Galileo, Rossini, Machiavelli or Michelangelo are buried in Santa Croce church.
12.

It is one of the most well-known cities in the

world.

This town experiences a continental climate;

it always snows in winter but you can often
feel hotter in summer.

This city is situated in the centre of Europe.

The Vlatva river goes through the town. Here you can find the picturesque
Charles Bridge, the famous gothic bridge, the Astronomical Clock, the Castle,
Josefov (the old Jewish quarter)… and many more things. This wonderful place
contains varied and well-preserved architecture from Art Nouveau to Baroque,
Renaissance, Cubist, Gothic, Neo-Classical and ultra-modern, but you will
never find Roman Art here, although it was the actual capital of the Holy
Roman Empire for many decades.

You can sometimes get lost in the lanes of the Old Town and drink different
kinds of beer in breweries like U Fleku, listen to Jazz music in several clubs or
rarely search for clues of the past of writers such as Jan Neruda, Kafka or
Milan Kundera. You’ll never forget this town.
13.

It is an archipelago located in the

central Pacific Ocean.

The weather is hot because the

climate is typical of the tropic.
Summer highest temperatures
are usually around 31°C during
the day and around 24 °C at
night. In winter, the day
temperatures are usually around
28 °C and seldom dipping below
the mid 18 °C at night. However, you can meet with a storm or rain, and even
snow.

This place is famous for its landscape, which is composed of green meadows,
mountains, volcanoes and crystal-clear beaches.

Tourists always love this place because of its good temperature, which is ideal
to enjoy the beautiful beaches and surf, and because people there are really
nice and familiar.

In fact, this place is frequently known thanks to its welcoming Aloha. Aloha

means welcome joy and good vibes to the visitor. It is an innate sympathy
and interest in attending and they always procure the best stay there. It is
well known that the locals often welcome tourists with flower necklaces.

Something interesting is that in that place the famous series Lost was shot.
I like this place because it is a little paradise where you can enjoy a pleasant
climate, extraordinary landscapes and exotic plant and animal species.
14.
It’s not a city, it’s a valley.
It is a valley in the North Spain, in the Pyrenees.
The weather is cool in summer. It usually rains
and snows in winter.
This valley is World Heritage.
You can walk and see its green landscapes.
This valley is famous for its architecture, art and
Romanic churches.
I like all buildings there because they’re
extremely beautiful.
15.
It is one of the most
beautiful cities in the world
because of its broad
straight avenues, green
parks, countless bridges
and canals, magnificent
palaces and cathedrals.
It is an important
industrial, cultural and transport center and the second largest city in Russia.
It is a wonderful city; at every turn, there is something to catch your eye.
The city is called ¨Northern Venice¨ because there are 65 rivers and canals
there with artistically decorated bridges. Eight bridges crossing the Neva River
open every night in summer. Imagine this picturesque view: sunrise,
converging bridges and magnificent buildings.
The tourists usually visit The Kunstkammer, the first Russian museum, the
Peter and Paul Fortress, the Smolny Cathedral, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the
Winter Palace and The Hermitage. The Hermitage contains the richest
collection of pictures and pieces of applied art in the world.

If you like theatre, you can watch a famous Russian ballet in the Mariinsky
Theatre.

This city is also famous for its legendary white nights in summer. Different
festivals take place at this time. It has also been a tradition for graduates of
all kinds to celebrate their graduation or to get married at the night city.
The weather is cool in summer and sometimes rainy. In winter, the city is
always covered with snow and rivers with ice. It’s usually cold in winter.
Many of those who once visited the city liked it and want to go back again.
16.

It is an important city in the African continent, along the Mediterranean Sea.

The weather in this city is always sunny and warm, but thanks to its coast it is
not too hot.
It was very important to Alexander the Great, Demis Roussos, Mohammed
A/Fayed and Terenci Moix.
It was founded on a village called Rakotis in 332 BC.
It is a big center of cotton, the country’s main agricultural product, and its
port is the biggest one in the Eastern Mediterranean. It also has very
important monuments and history.
The most important places to visit are Pompey,s pillar, Catacombs of Kom Al
Shukafa, the Roman theatre, and several important mosques, churches and
palaces, and its large library.
You can also visit the important fortress built in the old lighthouse.
17.
This city is the main headquarters of
the European Union. This city belongs
to Belgium.
 
The weather in this city is usually
rainy, very cold and it usually snows. 
In addition, the night arrives very early
(17.00-18.00h). In this city there are
also many trees, forests ... almost
everything is green.
This European city is famous for its chocolate (there are many chocolate shops
in the streets), beer and vodka.
There are many important sites and attractions such as the Parliament, Grand
Place, Atomium, Manneken Pis ...
In this city the Kunstenfestivaldesarts art festival stands out (May), there are
30 theatres ... and they say that this city hosted Karl Marx.
 
 In short, I think this is a place worth visiting, unique and special.
 
On the other hand, in this city you can speak English, French and Flemish.
18.

This city is one of today’s most beautiful

and biggest city in Europe, being the only
city that is placed between 2 continents:
Asia and Europe.
The weather in this city is like in our area: it
is always sunny and hot in summer but, in
winter, it is rainy and cold with occasional
snowfalls.
There are numerous mosques, churches,
synagogues and historical palaces that to
visit in the city. For these reasons the
UNESCO declared the historical zones World
Heritage in 1985.
Hagia Sophia is its architectural excellent
monument of the ancient age, which was a Christian cathedral, later a
mosque, and now it is a museum. It is impressive.
The Great Bazaar and The Bazaar of the Spices or Egyptian are emblematic.
Its port is very important for his country.
Three important soccer teams share this city: Galatasaray SK, Fenerbahçe SK
and Beşiktaş JK and the three have sometimes played Champions league.
In ancient times, it received two names: Byzantium and, within the Roman
empire, Constantinople. This city was the capital of Turkey until 1923, when it
became the capital of the country Ankara.
The mixture between the oriental and the European atmosphere always makes
this city a charming place to visit.
19.

This city has one of the oldest Universities in Europe and the Country.
Students have fun along its historic streets.
There are many monuments and one has a hidden frog.
King Alfonso XI was born here.
A movie was filmed in one of its monuments.
It has one of the best hams.
The weather in this city is very cold in winter.
You can find people from all around the world.
I like this city because I always want to return to it.
20.
The weather there is usually hot in
summer and cool in winter, and rarely very
cold, this city is one of the sunniest in its
country.

It’s not a very big city, but it has a lot of

famous beaches, and many cultural places
like theatres, museums and parks; one
important museum is the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

This city is always visited by many tourists, especially, in summer because of

its beaches of sand and crystalline water and because there are always a lot of
parties and an entertaining environment.

Many programmes and TV series have been filmed there or have used the city
as its main scenery, like CSI.

I know this city because I quite often see TV programmes about tattoos and
one of the most famous tattoo centres is located there and the name of the
programme is the name of the city plus Ink.
It is an American city located in the south-east part of Florida next to river
Miami.
21.

It’s a beautiful and romantic city in Central-Europe.

There is a nice castle, amazing gardens and mountains.

The Alps Mountains are higher than the city.

The weather is cold in winter, and normally snowy. In winter, it is the perfect
city to ski.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in this city. Many people and students
play music in the streets and you can enjoy music festivals in summer.
Tourists always visit his house and museum and he is the most important
person in the city.

In the old town, you can see nice places, extrovert people and you can eat
sausages and drink a lot of beer.
22.

It's located along the Douro river

estuary.

The Historic Centre of the city was

registered as a World Heritage Site by
UNESCO in 1996. It's one of the
thirteen places classified in Portugal.

This city has twenty eight churches and seven bridges. One of these bridges
was designed by Gustavo Eiffel. It was his first great piece of work, because
he built it before the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The climate shares many characteristics with the Mediterranean climate: it's
always warm and it has usually dry summers and rainy winters

This city is famous for its wine, one of Portugal's internationally famous
exports. It’s named like this city, but the adegas are in another place to the
left of the Douro river, in Vila Nova de Gaia.
The most important sport, like most Portuguese cities, is football. There are
two main teams in this city playing nowadays at the top of the first division.

The Francesinha is the most famous popular snack. It's a kind of sandwich
with several meats covered with cheese and a special sauce made with beer.

There are many famous people working nowadays in this city, like the
architects Álvaro Siza Vieira or Eduardo Souto de Moura, and the film director
Manoel de Oliveira.

I like this place because I ate the most delicious cod there. It was cooked in
front of the Atlantic Ocean, in a very special building to me, while I was
drinking a glass of wine...
23.

It is one of
the oldest
cities from
Spain.
The
weather in
this city is
very
extreme,
the winter
is always long and cold and the summer is usually hot.

The University is the oldest in Spain; it is the first university in this country.
Very important people have worked there, like Fray Luis de León, a medieval
writer who was in jail, and when he went back to class after five years, he
started with his famous sentence: ‘as we said yesterday’.

This Spanish city is famous for its history, its sites and, of course, for its
university. If you go there, you must visit Plaza Mayor, because it is one of the
most beautiful ones in Spain, Students sometimes rest there after class; two
very famous buildings are the Cathedral, where you can see an astronaut on
its door; and the University, where you must find the symbol of the students:
a frog over a skull.

I like this city because one of my best friends lives there and I usually go to
stay for some time.
24.

It is a special place because of its inhabitants. You can see how the scenery
changes due to the rain. It is the only torrent in which there are concerts. It is
in the Mediterranean sea.

The beach is sometimes inaccessible, especially in winter.

From the viewpoint you can see the best beach in the world. There are many
jellyfish.

Many famous people have their summer residences here. In August, the island
has 100% of its occupation.

This Spanish town is famous for its beaches, caves and its typical gastronomy.

In the city one of the four languages of Spain is spoken. Chopin and Joan Miró
lived here.

In the island there are a lot of Germans.

A lot of luxurious yachts dock in the seaport.

The city is known for its ensaimadas and sobrasadas. At the airport all the
tourists have more than three.

The City Airport is the second busiest Spanish airport.

The royal family comes here in summer.

It’s my favourite place because it reminds me of my family.

25.

It’s a city placed in the South of Spain. It has a lot of history. It probably
started at the time of the Romans. However, like most cities in Spain, its best
times were while it was occupied by Muslims. It was the capital of the Al-
Andalus Omiya Empire, and where the king lived.

Its climate is Mediterranean, but it doesn’t have sea, so in the summer it’s not
very strange to reach temperatures of forty-five degrees or even more. In the
winter it can sometimes snow.

This city is especially known by its architecture, so a lot of tourists always visit
it. It’s also been recently declared World Heritage Site. We can visit lots of
buildings and other sites in it. Maybe the most important of them is its
mosque, which became Christian by the insertion of a cathedral just in the
middle of the mosque. It also has other sites like the roman bridge, the
Jewish Quarter, or the royal city, also known as “Medinat-al-Zahara”. It’s
especially interesting to visit this city at Easter.

We can’t forget its typical gastronomy, like the famous “tapas”, the
“salmorejo” and the “gazpacho”.

In this city many bullfighters were also born, and one of them, who is still
bullfighting, has a nickname linked with this city.
26.

Its geographic situation in the middle of The Mediterranean sea, its fabulous
climatic conditions, its fantastic weather during all year and its lovely people
makes it the perfect place to spend an incredible holiday.

In general, people know the place for its beautiful countryside and for a
coastline full of a large number of beaches, but most of them are especially
interested in its nightlife, especially in summer.

However, the natives of the place prefer the winter, due to the fact that
everything is more relaxed, life takes place peacefully and they can enjoy the
real life and spirit of this fantastic and well known island which was named
World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999.

It had a strategic location during ancient periods and it has a cultural richness
as a result of different invasions (punics, Islamic…).
On the other hand, if you enjoy good food, that’s the place… you will be really
surprised by its enormous variety of fish, which can be eaten fresh. You can
also enjoy typical dishes like sobrasada or flaó.

Maybe you know the concept of "Adlib fashion". It began there during hippy
movement around 1970, with its special local design.
The name of the island is synonymous of freedom.
27.
It is a European city located near the Baltic Sea. It was the capital of the
biggest country all over the world for more than two hundred years. Now it is
an important cultural centre and port. The highlight of this city is The
Ermitage, the largest art museum in the entire world. Over its history it has
also been referenced as “the Venice of the north “
If you want to visit this city, it is better to do it in June, so you can enjoy
the white nights and you will see the most breathtaking spectacle –drawing
bridges over the Neva River . All bridges lift slowly up into the sky at a certain
time at night, usually during the navigation period and, especially, within the
white nights.

If you want to try the typical meals, pelmeni is one of the best meals , and I
am sure ,-you will enjoy the local caviar too.
28.

It's a city in southern Spain. It was the last Muslim Kingdom. The weather in
this city is usually sunny, but very cold in winter.
You can sometimes see the snow in the winter  and it has tracks to practise
sky. However, it's a city without beaches.
This European city is famous for its monument, heritage of humanity. Most
tourists visit it because it's wonderful! The catholic kings are buried in the
cathedral.
Foreign students usually choose this city to study, they go for "the tapas" and
party.
This city has a neighborhood full of tea shops. You can always find bulls in its
souvenir shops.
I like this city because it has "tapas", party and a great atmosphere.
29.

It’s the largest city of a European country.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city became one of the most important
ports of the North sea and, during that time, the city was the leading centre
for finance and diamonds.
The weather in this city is usually rainy and cold as in any other country in the
middle of Europe.
There are a lot of canals across the city, and the river which runs through the
city is called Amstel.
For example, 2006 was a year to celebrate the 4th centenary of a great and
very famous painter Rembrandt van Rijn.
It’s one of the most bicycle-friendly large cities in the world because car parks
are very expensive and many streets are closed to cars or are only one way.
The capital has huge fields of flowers of all kinds in the world.
Most of its population is made of immigrants from Indonesia, and others come
from America, Europe and the North of Africa.
I like this city so much because of its vibrant and diverse nightlife and its
wonderful and tasty beer, whose name is Heineken.