La Salchichona
Aka woman in mantilla. Picasso painted this in 1917, aged 36. A wonderful painting. A smooth face, surrounded by points (pointillist technique).
Sant Jaume
Probably the very first church in BCN… Sant Jaume, well hidden in plain sight, on Carrer Ferran, just inside the gates of Barcino, the roman Barcelona, 1 mn from the Ramblas. It was renovated in 1388, but the earliest mention dates back to 985 AD, where it was called the old church…
Palau de la Musica
A beautiful and flamboyant modernist building, dating back to 1905. It was built for choir music, very trendy a century ago. If you mind the longish queue, it is one of the must to visit! Here is the Wiki article about it.
The tap
You all have taps in our house, I suppose… This one, in the cloister of the cathedral, is better!
Parque Guell
No, no moon photo today, but one from Parque Guell, which used to be free, but isn’t anymore. Oh well, it is really, I mean really, worth a visit.
MNAC
This is the rather magnificent cupola at the MNAC, the national catalan art museum, on Montjuic hill. An absolute must see! The view upon Barcelona from up there is gorgeous as well!
Catedral del Mar
So many things in Barcelona are sea-related. Well, it is one of the main port on the Med.
Anyway, this is in my opinion the most elegant church in town, Santa Maria de la Ribera, the cathedral of the sea. You might have read Ildefonso Falcone’s book about about it, a local bestseller. More about the church here.
An artist
6th post in a row about painting, this one being about one of the painters on the Ramblas. You like painting? Check out some of my own works here, where I merge photography and painting. Painting with my camera.
Ajuntamiento
Next time you’re having a cafe solo (italian: un espresso) at the Mayor’s office, be sure to check the corridors… Many nice surprises, like this charming corner.
Beaubourg
And back to Paris! Beaubourg, better known now by it’s official name of Centre Georges Pompidou (a former french president). It is a huge culture center/museum/library/exhibition center, with some cafes, situated in the Beaubourg area of the city center. Quite a lot to say about the place, you can click here and here for more info.
Arcangel Soul
An art exhibition by an artist calling himself or herself Arcangel Soul. I don’t know anything else about him/her. But it’s quite funny, no? What caption would you add to it?
Gran Teatre del Liceu
The Liceu, as we call it, the Barcelona opera house. We went there on Sunday, as it was the European Opera Day. Grandiose would an understatement. They liked to build big, in the 1840es. With it’s 2292 seats, it is one of the biggest and oldest opera houses in Europe.
The ceiling above the main hall…
… and the one in the next room.
Theme day, continued
It is very nice to see that not all modern chairs in Barcelona are coming out of factories…
Not only in Venice…
… but in Barcelona as well, we do have some glassblowers. And glass shapers.
Yes, it is theme day again, and the theme is the creative artisan. Click here to see more entries to the theme.
The paperboy
This little guy tirelessly stands at the entrance to a cafe in our street, giving out Solidaridad Obrera, the newspaper of the CNT, an anarchist labor union.
Founded in 1907, the paper is a free publication since 2005, financed with the support of subscribers and donations.
This is for Dragonstar’s weekend in black and white, of course.
The life of Pi
The small art market on Pi Square, the small and lively place just behind Santa Maria del Pi church.
Traveling back in time…
Look who traveled through our area yesterday morning! Yes, it is the 2013 Barcelona to Sitges classic car rally! Enjoy these few photos, and don’t you just think that cars were so much more beautiful in those times?
Salo de Cent
The historic main hall of the city hall, called the Salo de cent, the hall of the hundred (hundred councilors ruling the city in medieval times). 2 of my friends are getting married here this year, in May and November.
Pati Manning
One of the many nice and quiet places in the city center where to have a drink or two. It is the Pati (patio) Manning, a former seminary built during the 18th century in baroque style, and named after it’s main benefactor. It is now a culture center.
Sitting Bull
I’ve been wanting to post this small statue of a sitting bull near Passeig de Gracia for ages, but all my photos were just… dull, and lifeless. Here is one possible solution against this dullness.
Casa Amatller
This stunning building on Passeig de Gracia is Casa Amatller. Built in the Modernisme style and designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, one of the great Catalan architects at the beginning of the 20th century. It is just next door to Casa Batllo, of which you can see a small part in the upper right corner. You can see much more of it here.
Details…
… are so often more important than the whole picture. In this case, the entrance to the maze in Horta.
Treasure hunt
I try to go on a photographic treasure hunt across BCN as often as I can, and here one of the many gems to be found in our fair city, a part of a school wall.
Stones and stories
Many stones in our cities tell stories, some more than others. These ones probably show popular conceptions from times long past.
Noies de calendari
Calendar girls… Did you ever see this delightful british movie, with Helen Mirren and others, based on a true story? Do you self a favor, and watch it (again).
And if your Catalan is up to date, you can see the theatrical version at the Poliorama theater on the Rambla..
The girl on the photo is trying to sell tickets for the other show, a mixture of opera and flamenco. Nice, but not very typical of Barcelona.
Angel
I sit and wait
Does an angel contemplate my fate
And do they know
The places where we go
When we’re grey and old
‘cos I have been told
That salvation lets their wings unfold
So when I’m lying in my bed
Thoughts running through my head
And I feel that love is dead
I’m loving angels instead
[Chorus]
And through it all she offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I’m right or wrong
And down the waterfall
Wherever it may take me
I know that life won’t break me
When I come to call she won’t forsake me
I’m loving angels instead
When I’m feeling weak
And my pain walks down a one way street
I look above
And I know I’ll always be blessed with love
And as the feeling grows
She breathes flesh to my bones
And when love is dead
I’m loving angels instead
[Chorus]
And through it all she offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I’m right or wrong
And down the waterfall
Wherever it may take me
I know that life won’t break me
When I come to call she won’t forsake me
I’m loving angels instead
[Repeat Chorus]
Robbie Williams
Poble Espanyol
One of the exits of the small museum in the Poble Espanyol museum village. A museum inside of a museum, if you want… Photos forbidden, as usual. As they were some guards around, I meekly followed the (silly) law. Me, a law-abiding citizen, yes Sir!
You want to see more? Just click on Poble Espanyol just below.
And don’t forget: it’s monthly Theme Day soon! Here‘s the link (not open yet). The theme is: people watching. On your cameras, go! See you all on September 1st!
Letting your hair down
Should you feel the need to do so, this seems to be a good place for it.
It’s a hairdresser, by the way.
Gaudi’s sudoku
It’s theme day again! Yeah! And the portal is still down… WHAT TO DO??? No worries, mates, there is a way. Even 2 ways.
First, you can post your posts (…) here, at Julie’s place. The more obvious choice. You know what to do, you’ve been there before.
And also, for all FBers, there is Eric’s page.
So, about this photo. This is on the Passion facade of the Sagrada Familia, the unfinished cathedral in Barcelona designed by Antoni Gaudi. Each row and column add up to 33, the supposed age of Christ at his death. In fact there are supposed to be exactly 33 different four number groupings that add up to 33; can you find them all? I tried, but guess I’m more literary minded. In fact, can’t stand sudoku, gimme my crosswords anytime, the harder the better!
By the way, and this is the Frenchie speaking, did you know that sudoku was invented by… the french? Yeah, really, don’t get confused by the not-so-very-french sounding name! Just check it out, here!
A window to…
The weather is so nice at the moment, that I would love spending my days just looking out of the window and watch the world go by… My employer says: no.
On a darker note… There are some huge forest fires in the north of Catalunya, right on the french border, thousands of hectares of woods and bushes burning. Our thoughts go to the 4 dead and the many injured and evacuated. We start actually smelling the smoke from here, 100 km away, brought by the very strong winds in the area.
Our world on Tuesday, the good and the bad.
Palau de la Musica, the bar
After a short interlude on the beach (really hot here), back to the Palau for a quick drink. Right in front of you, through the door…
That’s right, here it is. Enjoy your champagne!
Palau de la Musica: the stage
In a semicircle on the sides of the back of the stage are the figures of 18 young women popularly known as the muses (although there are only nine muses in Greek mythology). The monotone upper bodies of the women protrude from the wall and their lower bodies are depicted by colorful mosaics that form part of the wall. Each of the women is playing a different musical instrument, and each is wearing a different skirt, blouse, and headdress of elaborate design. In the early days of the Palau, many critics found these figures unsettling or even eerie, but today they are widely regarded as perhaps the best sculptural work in the concert hall. The upper bodies were sculpted by Eusebi Arnau, and the mosaic work of their lower bodies was created by Lluís Bru.
The dominant theme in the sumptuous sculptural decor of the concert hall is choral music, something that might be expected in an auditorium commissioned by a choral society. A choir of young women surrounds the “sun” in the stained-glass skylight, and a bust of Anselm Clavé, a famous choir director who was instrumental in reviving Catalan folk songs, is situated on the left side of the stage, under a stone tree. Seated beneath this statue are sculpted girls singing the Catalan song Les Flors de Maig (The Flowers of May).
The Palau de la Musica: The Luis Millet Hall
The Lluís Millet hall is a salon located on the second floor of the Palau that is named after one of the founders of the Orfeó Català. The hall is a popular gathering place for concert-goers and also serves as a teaching area for visitors touring the building. From floor to ceiling the hall is two stories high and affords views of the intricate mosaics on the two rows of columns outside its windows that are much better than those available from the street.
It is ornated by several bronze busts of musicians related to the Palau: Lluís Millet and Amadeu Vives (Orfeó Català founders), Pau Casals, Eduard Toldrà (founder and first conductor of the Orquestra Municipal de Barcelona, Just Cabot (Orfeó Català president) and pianist Rosa Sabater.
The Palau de la Musica: the concert hall
The concert hall of the Palau, which seats about 2,200 people, is the only auditorium in Europe that is illuminated during daylight hours entirely by natural light. The walls on two sides consist primarily of stained-glass panes set in magnificent arches, and overhead is an enormous skylight of stained glass designed by Antoni Rigalt whose centerpiece is an inverted dome in shades of gold surrounded by blue that suggests the sun and the sky.
Our World Tuesday, right here.
World Heritage
The Palau de la Musica Catalana… So many things to say about this absolutely magnificent building, a must see, should you ever come to Barcelona.
The Palau de la Música Catalana , (English: Palace of Catalan Music) is a concert hall in Barcelona. Designed in the Catalan modernista style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for the Orfeó Català, a choral society founded in 1891 that was a leading force in the Catalan cultural movement that came to be known as the Renaixença (Catalan Rebirth). It was inaugurated February 9, 1908.
The project was financed primarily by the society, but important financial contributions also were made by Barcelona’s wealthy industrialists and bourgeoisie. The Palau won the architect an award from the Barcelona City Council in 1909, given to the best building built during the previous year. Between 1982 and 1989, the building underwent extensive restoration, remodeling, and extension under the direction of architects Oscar Tusquets and Carles Díaz. In 1997, the Palau de la Música Catalana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with Hospital de Sant Pau. Today, more than half a million people a year attend musical performances in the Palau that range from symphonic and chamber music to jazz and Cançó (Catalan song).
And once a year, you can visit it for free… So get ready for a small series about this marvel!
Sagrada Familia: the doors
Josep Subirachs, author of the Passion facade, also made some truly fantastic bronze doors for the cathedral, based on the gospels of St Matthew and St John, and depicting Jesus’s last days. Here are some more details. All inscriptions are in Catalan, not Spanish.
Sagrada Familia: staircase to… heaven?
One fine spiral staircase, if I ever saw one! But wait… What could entice an adventurous mind more than a staircase to… where? Heaven? But no. Access forbidden. What a shame! But this makes it mysterious, and this is… nice. What might there be up there, in this place so different from any other churches?
Sagrada Familia: the zoo
Looks almost Celtic, doesn’t it? Well, it’s catalan, made by the Barcelones painter and sculptor Josep Subirachs. The whole cathedral is literally covered with animals, snakes, dragons, frogs, couple of cows, a giant turtle, birds, and so on. Here are a few of them.
Sagrada Familia: the windows
Another feature of the cathedral is at the entrance:
With a special thought to our friends in Israel, as today is Yom Yerushalayim, the 45th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. Shalom, friends.
Sagrada Familia: the altar
Sagrada Familia, post 1100
Every few years, I like going back to the Sagrada Familia cathedral, to check out the progression of the work. Not sure I’ll be there to see it finished, as the dates quoted by different sources go from 2026 to… 2150. Don’t want to live till 2150!!!
Anyway, they finished the main nave 18 months ago, and I hadn’t been back since. It is VERY impressive! Will show you more on my next posts.
This is the ceiling of the main nave by the way.
Here be dragons
After Tuesday’s post, I realized/remembered that Barcelona is actually full of dragons! The modernists loved them, Gaudi made some, the most famous one being the one in Park Guell. So here is one which figures on the monumental vases on both sides of Passeig Lluis Company. There are many many more, you jusr have to know how and where to find them. We will!
The title of this post refers to the Hunt-Lenox Globe, a map made around 1503-1507, the world’s third-oldest world map. In modern day China, called East India on the map, it says HC SVNT DRACONES, or here are the Dagroians, described by Marco Polo as living in the Kingdom of “Dagroian”. These people… feasted upon the dead and picked their bones” (B.II. c.14).
Dragons appear on a few other historical maps.
- The T-O Psalter world map (ca. 1250 AD) has dragons, as symbols of sin, in a lower “frame” below the world, balancing Jesus and angels on the top, but the dragons do not appear on the map proper.
- The Borgia map (ca. 1430 AD), in the Vatican Library, states, over a dragon-like figure in Asia (in the upper left quadrant of the map), “Hic etiam homines magna cornua habentes longitudine quatuor pedum, et sunt etiam serpentes tante magnitudinis, ut unum bovem comedant integrum.” (“Here there are even men who have large four-foot horns, and there are even serpents so large that they could eat an ox whole.”) The latter may refer to the dragons of the Chinese dragon dance.
- The Fra Mauro Map (ca. 1450) has the “Island of Dragons” (Italian: Isola de dragoni), an imaginary island in the Atlantic Ocean. In an inscription near Herat, Fra Mauro says that in the mountains nearby “there are a number of dragons, in whose forehead is a stone that cures many infirmities”, and describes the locals’ way of hunting those dragons to get the stones. This is thought to be based on Albertus Magnus’s treatise De mineralibus. In an inscription elsewhere on the map, the cartographer expresses his skepticism regarding “serpents, dragons and basilisks” mentioned by “some historiographers”.
- A 19th-century Japanese map, the Jishin-no-ben, in the shape of Ouroboros depicts a dragon associated with causing earthquakes.
Montpellier 1
We went up north, to the beautiful french city of Montpellier, and this is one of the first things we saw… This was to celebrate the opening of some new tramway lines. Montpellier’s tramways are the sexiest on earth, according to the New York Times!
Will show you much more!
Sardana
The sardana is a type of circular dance typical of Catalunya. The dance was originally from the Empordà region, but started gaining popularity throughout Catalunya during the 20th century. When you walk through Barcelona on any holiday, be it religious or not, you’ll almost automatically come across some groups of people dancing. And several statues across town celebrate it. This iron one is on the Fundacio Fran Daurel, in the Poble Espanyol, by Manuel Alvarez.
Santa Eulalia: the cloister and the powder room
A last look at the magnificent 13th century cloister in Barcelona’s Saint Eulalia cathedral, and the garden within…
…and the 13th century urinal (yes, you read it right), which has now a section for the lady in need as well.
Golden Fleece
Back to the cathedral. Some of the sumptuous stalls in the choir, with the emblems of the Knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The order held it’s 19th chapter in the cathedral in 1519. More about this order here.
The last post of the year
Last post of the year, with a very fine example of the buildings along Gran Via, our main thoroughfare.
Time to forget about the crisis, and to celebrate the end of a year. We will be very happy to see all of you next year!
And don’t forget to have a look at Dave’s Weekend Reflections blog!
Monday Doorways
As my health is ever so slowly, but steadily, improving, I did last Saturday what I’ve been willing to do for 3 years, without it ever coming to it: I went to visit the old Poblenou cemetery.
Well, it is a beautiful place, the mausoleums are an open air museum. Recognized many names of the Barcelona bourgeoisie.
But… Why is this door open/broken???
I couldn’t resist taking a photo, of course, and posting it for Louis la Vache’s excellent Monday Doorways meme.
And of course, being me, I just had to photoshop it a bit!
Here is some more info.
Skywatch Friday
The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone. ~George Elliot
Skywatch Friday, right here.
SOOC versus HDR
A few more trade secrets… Above, a photo processed with Artizen, a High Dynamic Range program.
In image processing, computer graphics, and photography, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than current standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods. This wide dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight, and is often captured by way of a plurality of differently exposed pictures of the same subject matter.
The two main sources of HDR imagery are computer renderings and merging of multiple low-dynamic-range (LDR) or standard-dynamic-range (SDR) photographs. Tone-mapping techniques, which reduce overall contrast to facilitate display of HDR images on devices with lower dynamic range, can be applied to produce images with preserved or exaggerated local contrast for artistic effect.
Sounds complicated, but it isn’t really. Basically, it allows you to recreate on your photos what you’ve really seen. Up to a certain point, of course.
There are many places where you can learn more about it, for example here. If you want to start doing it, I would suggest a little free program called EasyHDR. Or Photomatix.
And you can find many fantastic examples right here.
Below, the original SOOC, or Straight Out Of the Camera picture.
Caixaforum
I am stuck at home for a while, so here is one more archive photo, the entrance of the Caixaforum museum of modern art.
This is for Dragonstar’s Weekend in Black and White.
Indios
Indios in Barcelona. Not exactly what you might be thinking. Indios, Indians, were people from Catalunya who emigrated to the West Indies, mainly Cuba, during the 19th century, made a fortune there, mainly with cane sugar, rum, and so on. They later came back rich, and built many of the fine buildings in Barcelona. One of them opened this shop in the Raval, where you can still buy good quality sheets, linen, blankets…Many of the rich merchants who helped the struggling modernist architects such as Gaudi at the begining of the 20th century were Indios.
Colors
Extremely bad weather here, didn’t go out much lately. So here is an old archive photo, taken… can’t remember where.
Free theatre
This is the Teatre Lliure, or free theatre, on Montjuic Hill. More info here. Not sure what Agricultura’s got to do with it, but the building is quite somptuous.
On, right now, something called “Thank you Satan”.
L’Hivernacle
In Ciutadella Park, between the Zoological and the Geology museum stands this building called the Hivernacle, or winter glasshouse. It was designed by Josep Amargós in 1884. The structure is an excellent example of the iron and glass based architecture from the same period that saw the construction of the Eiffel Tower.
Underneath, a fish-eye sight of the side of the Hivernacle.
No photos!!!
The bar at the entrance of the Palau de la Musica. Nice, no? You might notice the ‘no filming’sign on the side. Well, no photos either, as we have been firmly told by one of the minders. We played the not-knowing tourists, of course… Well, we didn’t know, we noticed the beauty of the place, not the ugly little signs next to the trash cans.
Arc de Triomf
The Arc de Triomf. Built 1888, for the Universal Exposition. A very familiar monument, passing in front really often. But… last saturday, I spotted this…
There are 2 of them, and I don’t know why they’re there.
Update: Ken just sent this to me.
On the triumphal arch, you will find attached some stone bats. It was
the emblem of King Jaume I. (1213-1276) (James of Aragon). Under Jaume
I., Barcelona flourished economically and he liberated Valencia,
Menorca and Mallorca from the Moors. On 31 December 1229 his troops
conquered the city of Medina Mayurka. The bat was his lucky charm. The
city of Medina was later called Ciudad de Mallorca and in 1717 it was
renamed again in Palma de Mallorca, as the city was called in Roman
times.
The bat is still the emblem of Valencia and was for example also part
of the first crest of FC Barcelona.
Fodor’s Barcelona Guidebook says:
“Jaume i’s affinity for bats is said to have stemmed from his Majorca
campaign, when, according to one version, he was awakened by by the
fluttering rat penat (literally, “condemned mouse”) in time to stave
off a Moorish attack. Another version attributes the presence of the
bat in Jaume I’s coat of arms to his gratitude to the Sufi sect that
helped him successfully invade Majorca, using the bat as a signal
indicating when and where to attack.”
Moltes gracies, muchas gracias, thanks Ken!
Woman and Bird, by Joan Miró i Ferrà
What used to be Barcelona’s slaughterhouse is now a very nice park, with lots and lots of palm trees, and this sculpture by the famous barcelones artist Joan Miró i Ferrà. It is called (in Catalan) Dona i Ocell, woman and bird. He created it in 1982, just one year before he died, aged 90.
It is 22 meters high, made of concrete, and covered in ceramic tiles styled by Joanet Gardy Artigas.
I chose to publish the photo on a big scale, so you can appreciate how big this thing actually is.
Weekend Reflection: CCCB. AKA post 877
The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (also known by its acronym, CCCB) is one of the most visited exhibition and arts centres in Barcelona.
Situated in the Raval district, about 3 minutes walking distance from where we live, the Centre’s core theme is the city and urban culture. Its success is based on quality, its rather eclectic approach, attention to a broad cross section of publics and the unique way it addresses issues with the aim of linking the academic world with creative processes and citizens in general. The CCCB organizes and produces exhibitions, debates, festivals and concerts; programmes film cycles, courses and lectures; encourages creation using new technologies and languages, explores and promotes the ongoing fusion of languages and different genres, and takes in-house productions to other national and international arts centres, museums and institutions. The underlying aim of these activities is to generate debate, thinking and reflection on the theme of the city and public space, and other issues that define current affairs. The CCCB is also an open space for creators, associations and freelance programmers with whom it has forged links over the years.
The CCCB offers the public access to part of its holdings, a manifestation of its activities in the form of a multimedia archive comprising materials created by the Centre during its years of activity. A wide variety of materials (documents, publications, digital files, audiovisuals, etc.) on key themes of contemporary culture and society are available for consultation in the CCCB ARCHIVE, which is constantly updated. Also available for public consultation is the Centre’s XCÈNTRIC ARCHIVE, a digital archive of experimental and documentary film, comprising over 700 titles related to its programme “Xcèntric. The CCCB’s Cinema”.
Thank you, Wiki. And here is a kind of 3D panorama of the fabulous courtyard of the same CCCB, one I made earlier, as they say on TV cooking programs.
http://photosynth.net/embed.aspx?cid=cf9304a3-a0df-4598-a86c-9e6c92c0f86d&delayLoad=true&slideShowPlaying=false
For those interested, I used a (free) program called Photosynth. It’s very easy to use, and I absolutely love it!!! You’ll find it here.
OK. This post is for James’s Weekend Reflection meme. You’ll find it here!
Monthly theme day: mystery objects
Aaaaahhh…. Second post for today, as I totally forgot about the theme day, as usual. Must be getting old.
So, mystery object. What is it, you will ask… Have a look:
It is a lover’s park bench! Any volunteers for sitting down on it?
Let’s hope the link below will work this month!
Merce 2011: the enchanted city hall
This year again, our city hall was transformed into a feast of light, colors and music. A very good computer operated animation on the whole facade of the building.
My apologies to all the people whose heads I cut of while cropping these photos. Hope it didn’t hurt too much.
More photos here.
The Nobility of Time
The Salvador Dali sculpture, the ‘Nobility of Time’ has been placed in Andorra’s capital city, in the Piazza Rotonda Andorra la Vella.
It was donated to the Andorran government by Enric Sabater, who was Dali’s agent, collaborator and confident between 1968 and 1982. The stunning five meter high sculpture has been placed in the city’s most prestigious and historic square, in the towns oldest quarter which dates from the twelfth century.
The bronze sculpture is one of the melted watch series of sculptures which was created by Dali to symbolise the passage of time. The soft melting watch is draped around a tree trunk; atop the watch face is a crown, synbolising time’s master over humanity.
And here is the back side of it.
Our World Tuesday
Second post about the Museum of Ideas and Inventions. This is a dunk-mug. Fabulous!
The sun is moving, your plants don’t get enough light? This is the solution!
This is supposed to be, believe it or not,a bicycle. Yes.
The Museum of Ideas and Inventions – MIBA
We spent a very entertaining hour at the tiny but great Museum of Ideas and Inventions…
Now, did you ever wonder how they do the weather report??? Here it is!
What would you call this? A mop-rophone?No, we didn’t buy one.
Take a boiled egg, put it in the egg cuber, push the thinggie on top…
Last (for today) but not least…. This is a seat you can use when you need a suppository. Just pull the lever.
Wasting time…
Sittin’ in the mornin’ sun
I’ll be sittin’ when the evenin’ come
Watching the ships roll in
And then I watch ’em roll away again, yeah
I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time
Thanks, Otis, you’re still the best!
Watery Wednesday, the place to be!
Watery Wednesday
Does anybody know what this type of fountain is called, if it has a specific name? Spotted it in the archetypical Spanish village in the Poble Espanyol a few weeks ago.
Whatever it is, it is for Watery Wednesday, right here.
Festa Major de Gracia: detail 2
And another detail…
We were away for a few days, in Andorra and Madrid. Back to normal tomorrow.
Poble Espanyol: the romanic monastery
Just outside the village at Poble Espanyol, there is this wonderful 11th century romanic monastery, with it’s sculpture garden. Unfortunately, it was closed when we went there. This is where yesterday’s fountain is situated.
Poble Espanyol
The Spanish Town (Catalan: Poble espanyol; Spanish: Pueblo español), where we met the Illustrious Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha, is an outdoor open-air architectural museum, located on the mountain of Montjuïc.
It was constructed in 1929, for the Barcelona International Exhibition, that was held in Barcelona that year.
Josep Puig i Cadafalch had the idea for the museum: a town in which the architecture, style, and culture of various locations from around Spain were preserved in a single place. The aim was to produce an ‘ideal model’ Spanish village, a synthesis of monumental Spain. The architects that designed the town were Francesc Folguera and Ramon Reventós. In total, the town was built in 13 months, and although it was only needed for 6, for the exhibition, it was not demolished and was kept open as a museum.
The museum occupies a total area of 42,000 m² or about 138,000 ft² and contains 117 buildings, with streets and squares reproducted to scale.
The tower above is a copy of the Torre de Utebo, near Zaragoza.
El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha
The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, aka Alonso Quixano, was obviously not from Barcelona! But we met him here yesterday, looking for his Dulcinea, Aldonza Lorenzo.
This seems to be his place when he is here, a very fine 16th century house from La Mancha, in the Poble Espanyol.
And if you’ve never done it, please read Miguel Cervantes’s book, or watch one of the many good movies or operas about El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha. It’s marvelous!
Theme of the month
This month’s theme day is about postcard-worthy photos. So, I made a postcard of the glass ceiling in the Palau de la Musica Catalana!
Black and white weekend reflection
This is not an easy picture. It was taken at the Forum building, which is a paradise and a nightmare for photographers, all at the same time, with it’s unlikely shapes, and with so many reflective materials.
Well, have fun trying to make sense of it! It probably helps if you make it bigger.
This is for Dragonstar’s Black and White Weekend in Ireland, and James’s (formerly from Newtown) Weekend Reflection meme.
After reflection (…), here is a color version of the same shot. Might help.
My World Tuesday
Shopping trolleys. Everybody’s got one, young, old, male, female, posh people, students, rich, poor, etc. We have 2, an old orange one and a brand new purple one. In the supermarkets here, you need to leave them near the tills. But no worries: you put one euro in the thingy and you can chain your trolley up, so nobody can take it.
Some trolleys even come complete with a foldable chair, so you can sit down anywhere. Very convenient. Some are made of fabric, some of leather, plastic, moleskin, and so on and so forth. Some are real pieces of art, made by designers. It is truly a fashion statement here. And they can be extremely expensive, of course!
When will you get your own?
Please check out how other people’s World looks like on Tuesdays!
It’s hot!
It’s very hot in Barcelona at the moment, so this might be a good idea: a striptease workshop. Just take your clothes off and get comfy.
Oh wait… Might be getting even hotter!
This is not related to the previous at all: happy Independence Day to all my friends in the US. Good thing it’s on a Monday, so you have a long weekend!
Balls.
And then there is this, at the end of Via Laietana, the hotel covered with hundreds of balls. Don’t know what they are, maybe lights, but I rarely go to this part of town at night. We will one day.
Foxy post for our 2nd blogaversary!
Yet another beastie roaming our streets in full daylight, the Foxy Van! Art assault, vandalism, made on purpose… Who knows?
Other beasties and stuff roaming our fair Worlds on Tuesday, right here.
Oops, I almost forgot… This post also celebrates this blog here. I started it on May 10th, 2009. A work of love! This is the 722nd post, I missed a few days at the end of June, early July last year, being hospitalized for a week.
722 posts, many more photos (yeah, I know, the one photo a day rule…). And we made so many friends! We even met some of you, and realized, you’re really very nice people!!! More to come, from Greece this time…
Some numbers…
424, the number of followers so far
???, the number of visitors (who cares), from pretty much every country on Earth, including Vatican City (who might it be?)
8150, number of comments as I write this
But, the most important number is…
3
Year 3!
And the most important name is….
MANDY
Couldn’t have done it without you, your love, your patience.
Happy Easter and a good Sunday!
Catalan art from the 14th century. Well, happy Easter to many of you, a good Pessach for some of you, and a beautiful and restful Sunday to all of you!
Barcelona Daily Photo 
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