Cruise Ferries at Barcelona Port: Grandi Navi Veloci

This is a view of Barcelona Port as taken from the gardens of Montjuic. Besides the harbor paraphernalia in the foreground, perhaps you can manage to see a big boat and you happen to see her name, Grandi Navi Veloci. This is one of the cruise ferries sailing the Mediterranean Sea between Italy, Spain, Tunisia, Morocco and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. You can always search for Grandi Navi Veloci ferry prices online if you wish but that's not the purpose of this post. Maybe it only means that the port of Barcelona is one of the most important stopovers for Mediterranean cruisers.

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Miramar Hotel at Montjuic Mountain, Barcelona

Miramar-Barcelona Hotel in particular being on Montjuic mountain, on Miramar road to be more precise, is a little out of the way. It is not inaccesible, but it is a mountain after all. Of course you have the best views of Barcelona port, Maremagnum and some other areas of the city from up there. There is a beautiful park nearby and an important botanical garden devoted exclusively to cacti thanks to the special microclimate along the wall of the mountain. This is a luxury hotel designed by Oscar Tusquet. Miró Foundation Museum is very near and MNAC National Art Museum not so near as they suggest but you won't get a heart attack before you reach the place. Of course the 15 minutes walk to get to Las Ramblas is feasible although that means you have to descend towards the city. Hey, if you have money for luxury hotels don't complain about transportation anyways.

Sunset Farewell at Barcelona Port

 

To kiss goodbye 2007 I should have published this image in due time. As it is written somewhere in the stars that my daily posting mission is too heavy a cross to carry sometimes, I come to you from the future to talk about the end of the year.

I had chosen this elder couple looking far away in the distance, perhaps taking their last pictures of Barcelona before turning back home, to make some kind of allegory about time, age, hope and whatever good thoughts this image may inspire. I let you with them watching the sun slowly set over Montjuic mountain. Tomorrow it will be just another day on earth, let's take the most out of it.

Guardia Civil Patrol Boat at Barcelona Port

A sunset image taken at Barcelona Port with a close look on a Guardia Civil patrol boat. Besides the Spanish police boat, the World Trade Center building in the background and the Jaume I cable car tower are also worth mentioning.

Taking Photographs at Port Vell, Barcelona: Romantic Couple

This is a picture of another picture. A young man taking some photos of his girlfriend. I wouldn't dare say they are Japanese tourists but you know the cliche about who is more fond of shooting at everything that moves. She looks like some model to me. The light was great right before the sun went down over Montjuic mountain. The Port Vell area was crowded and lots of tourists were waiting to pass to the other side of Maremagnum bridge towards Las Ramblas. Some others were trying to capture a good sunset shot, me too! But I couldn't resist sneaking into this couple's private world and snatching a moment of intimacy.

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Mermaid Human Statue in Las Ramblas, Barcelona

Once upon a time there was a little mermaid, a sad and lonely little mermaid, working nine to five out of the water to make ends meet in Las Ramblas, Barcelona. She only wanted to go with her father in the deep blue sea some miles away from Barcelona port but human money was better than devaluated seashells in her underwater world. Tough life indeed, so much makeup, scales getting dry in the sun and those stingy strange creatures with no tail staring at her like a school of fish. Yeah, it sounds like a tale but human statues in Las Ramblas are real people, they need the money so let's give them some coins to take back home cause they really deserve it.

Picture I liked today from the City Daily Photo group: Free Parking by Hyderabad Daily Photo, India. I like the silhouette of the road and the incredible amount of cars in the huge traffic jam.

Bridge Over Barcelona Port as Seen From Sightseeing Boat

La Porta de Europa Bridge in Barcelona Harbor - from sightseeing boat

This is the bridge over Barcelona Port as seen from a sightseeing boat of Las Golondrinas company, I already published a post with all the details about this magnificent bridge which I recommend you: La Porta de Europa

Remember this bridge is a project from Arenas y Asociados, built by FCC and considered according to the source, the largest bascule bridge in the world.

Reading on the Maremagnum Wooden Platform at Barcelona Harbor

The wooden platform along Maremagnum center is made in such a way that it is everything but a wharf. You can see people jogging, kissing, feeding the pigeons, taking pictures and many of them like this person, reading.

Gosh, I wish I had the patience to do that. Why is it that some of us find time and have the will to go to places and some others don't, I mean, the place is not exactly near any building, so you need to plan it, "today I am going to the port and read a book, no matter how cold it is, I will do it".

By the way, notice the buoy, pretending to look the other way not to disturb the reader or perhaps watching the seagulls fly!

Here are some other pictures of Maremagnum area I found interesting via Barcelona Yellow

The Clock Tower at Port Vell, Barcelona, Spain.

My second post about the clock tower (torre del rellotge or far del port) at the Moll dels Pescadors (Fishermen Pier), Barcelona (see Tower of the Clock) is somehow a new different approach since I preferred color and a different pespective this time. I offered a map to locate it then but I will mark the place on my new Google map with the picture so you play with the zoom in the surroundings too.

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Capgros. La Merce Celebrations, Port Vell, Barcelona, Spain

One of the shots of Capgrossos I took during La Merce celebrations last September at Port Vell, Barcelona, Spain. Check my previous post: La Merce Celebrations 2007

Olympic Stadium on Montjuic Hill: An Inside View

The Olympic Stadium, where Barcelona 1992 Games famous opening and closing ceremonies took place is part of the Olympic Ring that is also made up of Palau Sant Jordi, the National Institute of Physical Education, Picornell swimming pools, a new baseball field, another pool, an enormous square and Santiago Calatrava's telecommunications tower. These facilities are on Montjuic hill that is topped by Montjuic castle, an old fortress facing the entrance to Barcelona port. Check my new Google Map of Barcelona at the bottom of the page to have a general view of the mountain.

Suggested links from fellow bloggers:

1. Nashville Daily Photo by Chris




2. Kansas City Daily Photo by Waldo Oiseau

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Absent Minded Giant at Port Vell, Barcelona

Oh Janet, no, not again! Hmm, bad joke! Hey, this is what happens when an absent minded giant or gegant is too busy holding the basket and the bearer is concentrated on the road along the sea in Port Vell, Barcelona, which by the way, doesn't have any handrails! Well, in fact, the gegant is already dressed that way and this is another sample of traditions and folk humor...do you think this picture will be banned like J.Timberlake & J.Jackson - Superbowl 2004. Oops!

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Thirsty Turist in Barcelona

Just for a change I publish in today's post this sepia image of a turist I came across last weekend while I was visiting a wine fair just in front of Port Vell. The man was carrying a cup for the wine and a bottle of water inside his bag. It was pretty hot that afternoon and the sun was quite annoying. Nevertheless the light coming in his direction was fantastic and considering the haircut, tattoos and necklace I thought I'd better give it a try with my camera for my people photography collection.

Here are two old posts with cool hairstyles: Skamania and Social Distortion

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La Merce 2007 Celebrations in Barcelona, Capgros

Besides the splendor of La Mercé 2007 celebrations at night by the fountains of Montjuic I can only show you what happened in the afternoon at Port Vell. As usual giants and capgrosos (big heads) gathered to start the parade that serves as an early introduction to the big night show in front of the multicolored fountain that moves to the sound of music and the fireworks. For some us the real party starts too late and the site is packed with people. When you have kids crowded places late at night are practically impossible to attend. I hope you like capgrosos which are present in many Catalan celebrations all year long.

La Fura dels Baus: Naumon Ship at Port Vell, Barcelona

As I am behind schedule with my posting so I will just show the whole version of yesterday's image: The Naumon ship of a La Fura dels Baus theater company. Notice the figure of the giant lying on the deck.

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The Rusty Anchor of the Naumon in Port Vell, Barcelona

To start let's say that this is just an anchor, a rusty anchor against a very bright background. But it happens that the anchor belongs to a ship and the ship is called Naumon. Naumon belongs to Fura dels Baus, an important theater company in Barcelona that among other things organized the opening ceremony for the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992. It is complex to talk about La Fura in just a few lines. No matter what they do it is avant garde, polemic or at least innovative.

La Fura del Baus Naumachia: Part 1, La Fura del Baus Naumachia: Part 2, La Fura del Baus Naumachia: Part 3, La Fura del Baus Naumachia: Part 4, La Fura del Baus Naumachia: Part 5.

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Sailboat Coming In Barcelona Port

A sailboat coming in Barcelona Port towards the marina at Port Olympic. While on board of a Golondrina (swallow) which is the name of the sightseeing boats in Barcelona harbour, I took this picture of the vessel sailing past our wake. There in the background, you can see some tiny fishermen at the far end of the port's mouth. For a better idea about this area please follow this link to my Barcelona port label.

Recommended: Today I would like to suggest a new search engine implemented on top of Barcelona photoblog. This is a Google searchbox customized to look up for photography terms. It feeds from top photography sites and it is going to grow as I increase the number of sources. If you know about top-notch photography sites please drop me a line and I will add them right away.

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Gold Fish by Frank O. Ghery, Barcelona

The Gold Fish or Peix D'Or by Frank O.Ghery near Hotel Arts and Paseo Marítimo is located in the middle of a complex of restaurants, shops and discos known as the Olympic Port which is one of the most visited spots in the city specially at night. Check a previous post with the Gold Fish silhouette in the distance. The sculpture built in 1992 for the Olympic games acts as a canopy for some of the restaurants and a fountain in the underground floor.

Port of Barcelona

This is a view of Port of Barcelona as seen from Montjuic Castle on top of a nearby promontory.

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Montjuic Cannons Facing Barcelona Port

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