Who doesn’t love Barcelona? It has Barri Gòtic, the Sagrada Família, the Park Güell, the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Picasso museum, the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, neighborhoods to explore, wonderful tapas, a decent supply of beaches, multiple parks, and “a wonderful form of Spanish” as I call it, that I missed out on learning in school.

Yay! It’s almost New Year’s Eve and I’m excited for the countdown into 2012! Each year I end up doing something different – sometimes out to a party, sometimes watching the ball drop at Time’s Square on TV at a friend’s place, and sometimes I’m on vacation. But this year will be new for me – this year I will be a designated driver for all my friends. That’s right, no champagne for me when the clock strikes midnight; this year I’m happy to make sure my friends get home safely. (But next year it’s someone else’s turn!)

Did you know that Kwanzaa has only been around since the 1960s? I didn’t, until recently. My friend Claudia will be hosting a Kwanzaa party, and I don’t want to arrive clueless on her doorstep. So I learned that not only is Kwanzaa just 60 years old, it was created here in the United States during the “black nationalist” movement. Kwanzaa’s creator, Maulana Karenga, wanted a time for African Americans to reconnect with their roots by celebrating a holiday focused on African traditions and culture. Considering most holidays I’m familiar with originated in an almost mythologically distant past, it makes Kwanzaa seem more approachable that it’s so modern.

Doesn’t time fly by quickly when you’re having fun? It’s seems like only yesterday that the Mapstronaut first landed on the blog back in November. But to think of all the things he’s done over the past few weeks – from wandering around Europe, visiting all kinds of different and amazing places, to even taking part in an interview for @Nokia_Connects; And for all of these things, the Mapstronaut has relied upon your suggestions to take him to where there’s an adventure to be had. But for now, it’s time for our space traveller to fuel his rocket and head home for the holidays.

With the Holidays drawing ever closer, the Nokia Maps team thought that it would be great to bring people together by making use of the entries that had been received for the Mapstronaut whilst he was in London. The idea was a simple one – host a Walking Tour around an area of London, invite people interested in their city, and learn some of the stories behind our favourite places!