Sant Felip Neri Square, Barri Gotic, Barcelona

This is Plaça Sant Felip Neri, a small and very quiet square in Barri Gotic, Barcelona.

If you go up Carrer del Bisbe and take the narrow street on the corner of the archbishopric to the right, you will come across an archway that leads to this magical spot protected by leafy trees pierced here and there by beams of light that hit directly on the fountain you see in the picture (check location of Felip Neri square here).

The place holds the church of the Congregation of the Oratory of Barcelona founded in 1673 by Oleguer de Monserrat, a priest that had been in touch with the Oratory of Sant Felip Neri during his stay in Rome.

You should know that during the Spanish Civil War the square was bombed and the blast was so powerful that three houses, the church and the convent received considerable damage, up to the point that the iron doors of the church fell on the presbytery.There are still marks on the walls reminding us of such terrible events. What a contrast with the peaceful atmosphere you breathe in this quiet recess far from the mundane noise of neighboring alleys.

Sleeping on the Streets of Barcelona

I am not sure about the status of this guy. I don't know whether he is homeless, drunk, a combination of the two or simply an intoxicated tourist who knows? I just noticed there was a wonderful light falling on him while lying there on that granite bench at Portal de l'Angel street in Barcelona, one of the richest streets in Spain. In spite of the Starbucks coffee on the right, the scene has this sort of religious mood at least for me, don't ask me why.

African Top Manta Hawkers in Barcelona

It is not unusual to find African hawkers selling false Louis Vuitton and Carolina Herrera handbags in Barcelona. Holding the ropes tied to their blankets (sp. manta) they quickly pick up the merchandise in case the police show up. This picture was taken at Passeig de Gracia although it could have been taken anywhere in the city.

Note: I recently improved my gear. I was in love with my Nikon D70s but I got a brand new D7000 (bought in the US cheaper). I am trying to get used to all the new features but man, am I happy! I hope the new stimulus makes me publish more frequently.

Watching Barcelona Leaves a Tattoo Engraved in Your Memories

Like I said, the beauty of Barcelona city as seen from Mirador del Alcalde in Montjuic mountain overlooking the metropolitan area will leave some good memories in your mind maybe as colorful as the wonderful tattoos shining bright on this girl's shoulders.

Guided Bike Tours In and Around Barcelona: Discovering Passeig de Gracia

Although not precisely a bicycle enthusiast and certainly not an expert rider, I must admit that it must be a thrill moving around Barcelona on a bike. The more bicycle friendly the city gets the more frequent it is to find groups of riders exploring not only the small alleys of the old part of town but also big arteries like Passeig de Gracia (picture).

There are several companies providing this guided tour services in Barcelona. You can easily see the name of the agency on the guide's T-shirt (Barcelona Ciclo Tours), but of course you have a great selection where to choose from. Here is a good list of bike rentals in Barcelona.

Pa de Pages, Our Modest Catalan Bread

In Catalonia when we make things we make it big like say, this modest, tiny, insignificant bread. Hansel and Gretel would have had bread crumbs enough to leave a generous trail behind them, feed the birds and make a nice toast at the end of the road. Pa de Pages is, I quote: "...a rustic round loaf, baked in a shaped tin, containing wheat flour, water, salt and starter dough. It has a generous crumb and thick crust. The body of the bread is dense and rich in flavour, and it can be kept for several days providing that it is bought unsliced..." (Gastroteca.cat). I recommend you browse this interesting site to find a quite complete compilation of Catalan products and recipes.

Tools, Vic, Barcelona

Anvil and hammer. Two tools that changed the history of men. This picture was taken in Vic at a local fair. Sorry I haven't been around here lately. I have not forgotten about the blog. It's just that I am too busy, not so much to post but to take pictures. Anyway I'll keep trying.

Delishop, Mallorca 241, L'Eixample, Barcelona

Sometimes it is hard to talk to you about nice shops in Barcelona without making the whole post look like a commercial. This is not an ad. You have my word on that. When I browse for places I would love to visit I enjoy reading about interesting spots and I really don't mind some promotion in posts as long as I don't smell the money. Not that I wouldn't accept it here but I prefer sponsoring on the sidebar better than an advertisement-ridden content. Once said that, allow me to show you this snapshot taken at the Delishop at carrer Mallorca right before the clerk turned his back to ask me if he could be of help. The place has nothing special to it except for the looks and that practicality implied in a take away. And that is precisely why I love the place. It is on my way to work and it comes handy when I am in a hurry. Service is good and food is properly displayed. I thought it was a very big franchise but upon visiting their web I found that they are just a couple of young entrepreneurs with an interesting story behind. I guess that made me like the place even more. Now that I give them good reviews why not suggesting the link, don't you think? Maybe I can get my chicken rolls for free!: Delishop, Mallorca 241

Note: I am really interested in knowing your opinion about giving helpful reviews and tips in Barcelona Photoblog the way a travel guide would do or not. I mean, taking pictures inside places and giving my opinion now and then against the usual neutrality of my posts in that sense. Do you have the same problem in your blogs?

Skateboard Pals, Passeig de Lluis Companys, Barcelona

Skateboard pals, taking a breath under one of those beautiful modernist lamps at Passeig de Lluis Companys in Barcelona. I have been out for some days so forgive me for leaving the blog a little unattended. It is great to rest for a while along the way. Next month I change gear so I hope photographs come out more frequently and improve a little a bit. Of course, the gear is no guarantee to take good pictures. That, I'll have to learn in the long run.

Outdoor BBQ Grill, Deltebre, Catalonia, Spain

A scene I found interesting the other day at the beach. An outdoor barbecue grill very near the water at Illa de Buda in Delta de l'Ebre. It is easy to find places like this in Catalonia but they are usually inland. There is a whole ritual around making fire and cooking around such public grills. You usually bring your own meat or fish and you can buy wood or coal at some facility nearby. Like it happens in most barbecues, the fact of gathering several people around the fire be it friends or members of the family turns it into a social event that may include not just the desired lunch but games like soccer, cards, parcheesi, etc. Besides showing you how these public BBQ grills are, I was interested in those people concentrated on the fire, the smoke spreading all over the place and that guy going towards the beach that of course has nothing to do with the barbeque but contributes to the depth to the image.

Fishing Lead, Delta de l'Ebre, Tarragona, Catalonia

Nothing you haven't seen before. Just a fishing lead hanging from a rod and a beach. Although this activity is regulated and there are certain hours and areas to fish, walking under a nylon line along the shore is something very common here. I only tried fishing once to find out I am not patient enough and I am more of the diving kind. If you ever went snorkeling, you probably have watched through the goggles at that man on the pier, wasting bait totally unaware of the deserted underwater prairie you have the privilege to explore. But fishing rods have that certain romantic look, they are part of the landscape, just like fishermen boats are in a painting and they meet their purpose which is, triggering a hypnotic status in the mind of the fisher-to-be. Maybe the most interesting thing here is the location, a wonderful natural park with wild beaches called Delta de l'Ebre, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia. Towns nearby are popular among other things for the fantastic paellas, smoked eel tapas, frog legs, angulas (young eels), etc.

Faithful Friends, Passeig de Lluis Companys, Barcelona

Friendship, love, hate, happiness or sadness are a universal asset, inherent to the human race. Friendship knows no creed. Anyone that is able to love, to be kind, to do good, to cultivate friendship is a person and not "the source of all evil". We tend to stigmatize religion, we foolishly fear the unknown, people that look different.

These two Muslim women, for example, covered with what we, out of our own ignorance, would refer to as just "a beautiful piece of cloth", are in fact wearing one of the many types of Hijab as part of their own traditions. Nonetheless, very often they are looked over the shoulder by many and are generally misjudged by the western world.

If I look underneath their headscarves, I just see two wonderful friends, maybe more valuable as persons than many ignorant racists of the so called First World. This is a delicate issue and perhaps the mere fact of musing on it sounds silly or irreverent. My anticipated apologies for that. By the way, let's not forget that other well known "good citizens" of this planet wear or have worn a veil and nobody ever cared. So this is another example of how absurd a debate (the use of the Hijab) can get to be. The picture was taken at Passeig de Lluis Companys, Barcelona.

Update: According to Gurvinder in the comments below (thanks!), these women are Sikh so they are wearing Chunni or Dupatta. If that is the case, this is proof of my poor and shortsighted "Western" approach to the matter. Sikh or Muslim, my point about racism is still valid.

Forest Fire in Collserola Mountain, Barcelona

Watching a forest fire from your own window is one of the saddest views you could ever have. This afternoon a small fire swallowed part of the woods on this hill at Collserola mountain. Now that I write this, at night, everything seems to be under control, but mother nature is not always that lucky. It is true that many forest fires start by a mere accident, like lightnings on a storm but the great majority are due to cigarette butts, bottles that act as a magnifying glass and outdoor barbecue grills which are forbidden. But the worst cause is forest arson which is probably what happened here. This is not the first time there's a fire around Barcelona, in fact one year several hills were completely devastated by the flames. The wind makes things worse and the fact the city is near is dangerous at least for those living at the slope of the mountain.

Update: April 18th: The police identifies three 14 year old teenagers as the authors of the fire yesterday Collserola Fire News in Spanish

Pottery: From Clay to Ceramics

The art of spinning a piece of clay, shaping it up with your bare hands until it becomes a jar, an amphora, a pitcher, a mug or whatever has been always a fascinating process for me. I remember pottery workshops at school and how clumsy I was. But if obtaining an object out of the blue may look mysterious in a way, placing it in a kiln to bake it is certainly magical. As usual, I wonder who was the first to have the brilliant idea of cooking a block of mud. Granted that this someone may have discovered some wet clay mound accidentally solidifying under the sun but it takes centuries to take that clay and put it in the fire to produce an object. And if that is not enough, glazing it and placing it back in the kiln to make it colorful is a great sample of the evolution of tools and skills throughout history, the history of our civilization.

Fish stall at Mercat de la Mercé, Nou Barris, Barcelona

Who said a female fishmonger had to be rude, shabby and smelly. Well, I guess they smell of fish of course but certainly these girls have a wonderful look. I realize my comments are stupid but I wanted to muse on cliches around professions. I don't know in your country but at least here I remember one: You shout like a fishmongeress, something that of course is not always true. Maybe you can share other cliches you've heard of in your city.

Compulsive Shopping at Passeig de Gracia

Shopping in the most expensive street in Spain is risky for the wallet and yet there are some stores along Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona where you can adventure into compulsively squandering your monthly salary. While on a shopping spree though, it is easy to pull out the plastic magic wand usually known as Visa and also referred to by many other names with unpredictable effects. At that moment, you are the luckiest person in the world, you have overcome centuries of cash exchange to finally manage to get goods for free. But fairy tales are illusive and the fantasy created by the wand gently fades away by the end of the month. You wake up naked wearing a fig leaf, fleeing from a bunch of goons in black sent after you to gently remind you that your magic wand has been cancelled and you owe money to the bank.

Llongueras Hairdresser in Barcelona

I did not really know what title to choose for this image. The man facing the woman in the poster, standing under a beautiful ceiling lamp was the first thing I wanted to show but then on second thought I realized that the Llongueras hairdresser in the background, run by a well known coiffeur in the city was better for my SEO. I find this a dilemma nowadays, either you get artistic with your titles, you know, trying to express a concept with one or two words, like say, "Waiting" or you mention the obvious: "Man and Lamp". But then there is the third choice which is the most abject, trying to please search engines to stay on top. Well, I think I managed to squeeze all possible titles in the post, that is the last minute resource. The hairdresser is at Passeig de Gracia, one of the many by the same name spread around Barcelona.

Balloon Man, Barcelona, Spain

Selling balloons on the street is an occupation almost inherent to gypsies in Barcelona but this man and two other at Passeig de Lluis Companys, in the Arc de Triomf area, seemed to be Portuguese, maybe gypsies too, who knows. I suppose this activity is regulated but they always look worried and vigilant as if they were hiding from the police. To tell the truth balloons are a good treat for our eyes and if they make our kids happy, no matter how short a helium balloon's life can be, then what the heck, let them speculate a little bit. What is selling balloons compared to the subprime mortgages crisis?!!

Medieval Pottery: Evoking Ancient Crafts

Pottery is an art that goes hand in hand with the history of man and civilization. It is said that the first known pieces were found in Japan between 400 and 10,500 BC (see A history of Pottery). Along the way,  a slow wheel or tournette was substituted by the fast potter's wheel around 2000 BC. Potters between XIII and XV had enough tools and skills to produce house utensils and building materials on a big scale, thus developing social relationships around this market and more specialization. But I am not here to write a treaty on pottery. My mission is to attract your curiosity and pave the way to your own research on possible topics on the web. If this happy potter image in a medieval fair in Vic, triggered your intellectual hunger, then the goal has been attained. In case you want to know what the sign says in the background: Taller de fang amb aigua calenta is Catalan for clay with hot water workshop.

Bubble Dreams

This image speaks for itself so I won't bore you with the place and what was happening. Well, it was in Barcelona and there was this man making soap bubbles in front of some kids. I tried to stand behind the man so you could see what that small kid was witnessing and more or less participate in the fantasy. To us adults this may not say much but the mind of a child makes wonders with the most insignificant of things. I wish I could see this way again but it's no use. At most, I can only remember my own childhood dreams, my own bubbles, somewhere lost in time.