Passeig de Colom and Moll de la Fusta: The New Waterfront of Barcelona

If you take a look at the old image you will have a better idea of what the present heavy traffic road occupies in space from the sea up to the buildings in the back. Next to the buildings, we have the view portrayed in the first picture, that is, Passeig de Colom. In the middle of the palm trees you have the highway on the left of the second picture and finally on what is to the sea side of the palm trees you have Moll de la Fusta.

Moll de Bosch i Alsina aka Moll de la Fusta is named after the activities held in this place, the storage and stowing of wood, the very place where the Roman port of Barcino used to be.

As you can assume, the fact that the wood industry among other port activities occupied this side of the city, made Barcelona turn its back on the sea.

It was not until 1982, when the Port authorities yielded the area to the city to build communication infrastructures and 1987 when the Olympics 92 project started, that access to the sea was recovered, something that was bound to alter life in the famous Mediterranean metropolis.

Nowadays, Moll de la Fusta is the stage of great part of the outdoor cultural events in Barcelona as you can see on the right of the second picture, and it is most of all, a beautiful promenade next to the marina, full of artistic samples like the sculpture "Face of Barcelona", the work of the graphic artist and sculptor Roy Lichtenstein, the greatest exponent of American pop art, just to mention an example.
On the other side of the Moll (docks or pier) we can see the Maremagnum Shopping Center and the Rambla de Mar with its drawbridge, which are also part of this change of perspective that took place along Barcelona's new waterfront.

Under the Sea

Strolling along Maremagnum pier and in spite of pollution I found this paradise lost. The picture is rather bizarre but I like to see how life grows in its own mysterious ways. Have a nice weekend!

Maremagnum Barcelona, Shopping Center and Leisure Resort: A Bird's Eye View

Maremagnum Barcelona due to its privileged location is a sort of magnet that attracts tourists and locals alike. The shopping center does not hold the best stores in town, neither the best restaurants or the most thrilling attractions in the city but the fact is this renown place has a little of it all and it happens to be by the sea, in this sort of detached wharf where you seem to be floating on wooden planks spellbound by the smell of saltpeter, watching seagulls fly and shoals of fish gather around a crumb of bread somebody dropped into the calmed waters.

You are in Barcelona but at the same time you feel you can watch the skyline from the distance and abstract yourself from the context. Certainly Maremagnum is a must see. The Aquarium, the paintings market under the front pergola and the 3D IMAX movie theater are recommended visits.

As previous posts just offered details I thought it would be better to show the whole scene as seen from Montjuic mountain. Don't forget La Barceloneta in the background

A Song to Maremagnum

On the bridge to Maremagnum center there are numerous opportunities for interesting photographs. Many people stretch along the brim of the wooden planks looking both ways, the busier side where sightseeing boats and distant cruisers come and go or this part, where the marina is, much more idyllic and inspirational. Take a look at this musician in his solitude with no one but the boats, his guitar and of course me, annoying as a greedy seagull.

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A Mexican Hat, Black and White and Musings About the Past

In the streets the most absurd, the most trivial situation may be frozen up and become a scene in your imagination and eventually end up more or less fortunately imprinted forever on a photograph. Some of those scenes acquire more meaning or are better off in black and white or sepia. I don't know why is that so. Have you ever wondered why the lack of other colors turns a photograph into something more artistic, more symbolic, more serious perhaps? And wondering about that, why is it that after ten or twenty years, that significance grows exponentially. For example, I am somehow sure that this modest snapshot of a random guy showing off his brand new Mexican hat along the Rambla de Mar bridge near Maremagnum center, looks better in black and white but I am convinced that twenty years from now (not that it is meant to turn into a famous picture) this trifle, brief moment in time, will evolve into something more artistic, into a sort of message from the past, talking about other times, other people at least to me and my family. It is evident that black and white gives value to images because in our imagination we associate faded, blurry, noisy, black and white images with the past. And curiously enough, although recent generations have been surrounded by color photographs there is something there in the back of our minds that makes the association persist. Maybe it is something about chromatism, dreams, the subconscious mind...who knows. Here is a link to a previous version of someone else wearing a Mexican hat but this time in color: Mexican Hats in Barcelona.

Picture Location on Google Map

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Afternoon Relax

I am having some kind of kit kat moment along the way. I hope you don't mind. I chose this snap I took at Maremagnum shopping center cause it shows more or less how I want to be like, relaxed and enjoying the view. I guess it is the sight of future holidays around the corner what makes you reach a sort of peak in the graph of our life. You work all year long, nothing changes but when they show you a glimpse of how you could be doing instead of wasting your time at the office then that mental strength of yours starts crumbling down. It's like a race and the moment right before the finish line. Look at that seagull, can't you see it honey?

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Al Detall - Retail Commerce - 3rd Collective Exhibition by Barcelona Photobloggers in Maremagnum Center, Barcelona

Last night I had the pleasure to attend the inauguration of an exhibition organized by our group of Barcelona Photobloggers in the main hall of Maremagnum Shopping Center in Barcelona. This is our third group exhibition and it is called Al Detall (Retail). I translate part of the post at our group's site: "Commerce is part of our daily existence. The exchange of goods has adopted many forms since the beginnings of time. For long, two models of retail commerce coexist in our lives: the local neighborhood shop and the shopping center. The relationship between them both is the theme of this exhibition". I took this picture so you could take a glimpse but it is better to visit Maremagnum, have some coffee and take some time to enjoy the exhibition in detail. 

Waiting

A girl waiting at Maremagnum shopping center in Barcelona. I just liked the expression on her face.

Afternoon Barcelona Tourist Bus Near Maremagnum

This is just a glimpse of the well known double decker tourist buses of Barcelona. More than a picture of the bus as such I wanted to convey the feeling of riding along Maremagnum by the sea watching Barcelona skyline in the afternoon.

Rambla de Mar Lightweight Bridge, Barcelona, Spain

Witnessed by the anxious crowd gathering on the Rambla de Mar lightweight bridge close to Maremagnum shopping center, gently sails this boat, stopping time for some minutes and forcing visitors to enjoy the view longer than expected, till the mechanism in the bridge extends the wooden platform towards the pier on the other side. The bridge by Viaplana and Pinion leads to Las Ramblas nearby and was featured in Barcelona Photoblog in the past: Waiting for the Bridge at Rambla de Mar and Maremagnum Wooden Bridge in Rush Hours.

And just in case you would like to enjoy the same view daily here is list of Barcelona hotels near the port:

• Grand Marina hotel
• H10 Port Vell hotel
• Serras hotel
• Hotel Duquesa de Cardona
• Hotel Jazz
• Axel hotel
• Hotel Brummell review by Conde Nast
• Hotel Miramar

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.

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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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

Maremagnum Wooden Bridge: Rush Hours

The wooden bridge at Maremagnum was featured in this photo blog a long time ago (see Waiting for the Bridge at Rambla de Mar for all details about the bridge and the architects Albert Viaplana and Helio Piñon). As you can guess, the place being a neuralgic spot in the city is crammed with people during rush hours, which are basically all day long in the Port Vell area. The Maremagnum wooden decked or moveable bridge is a remarkable testament to the collaborative efforts of its architects and construction team. It seamlessly integrates with its natural surroundings, harmoniously blending human ingenuity with the beauty of the environment it spans.

Women Paintings at Maremagnum Promenade, Barcelona

These paintings of women wearing veils, hats or ties at Maremagnum promenade or Passeig D'Itaca looked so beautiful I decided to take a snap agaisnt the artist's will (check google maps below). I just don't know what gets into their minds when they see a big camera. You come with a small compact and nothing happens, you stick out some big lens and they immediately jump at your throat. Take it easy man, this is free advertising for your work which on the other hand is amazing and hypnotic, according to my opinion. Please buy him some paintings and tell him I was the one he shunned the other day.

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Waiting for the Bridge: Rambla de Mar, Barcelona

These people were waiting for the wooden decked swing bridge at Moll d'Espanya to close again after letting boats sail into the marina. The wooden platform and the path along the bridge towards Maremagnum, the big leisure center, is called Rambla de Mar. The bridge was designed by Albert Viaplana, professor of Architectural Project at the School of Architecture of Barcelona University and Helio Piñon, his partner, teaching at the school since 1970 and co-editor of Arquitecturas-bis since 1974. They are responsible for major projects in the city so I suggest you check their work here Viaplana & Piñon. Here is a Google Earth Map with a view of the bridge at Rambla de Mar and Maremagnum.

Catalan Sculpture: Satyr Riding on Top of Dolphin

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This is a satyr riding on top of a dolphin blowing a seashell. A clear allegory of a Triton, the merman son of Poseidon, half man half dolphin. There are four of them, being restored at Duke of Medinacelli Square next to Passeig de Colom and Moll de la Fusta (see Google Earth map picture). There are four satyrs in all, surrounding the first iron monument built in Barcelona (Damia Campeny, 1851), a big column holding the statue of Admiral Galcerà Marquet, Counselor of Barcelona in times of King Alphons the Magnanimous of Aragon. The place takes its name after Luis Francisco de la Cerda, Duke of Medinacelli who was the Spanish viceroy of Naples who yielded a part of the estate to the city town hall to build a square after the old Sant Francesc convent was demolished in this area of the city waterfront. The mythological creatures are being restored now but it will surely be a nice place to stay when water springs out of the seashells again. It is a recommended square to sit and relax under the shade of big palm trees on your way from Columbus monument to Maremagnum going along Passeig de Colom. By the way, did you know, that when this square was built the sea used to hit directly upon a high wall or malecon right across the road and all you see nowadays beyond Passeig de Colom is land gained from the sea? But that is part of another story.
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Futuristic Square at Maremagnum, Barcelona

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No, this is not a roof, nor the surface of Mars, it is a small square next to Maremagnum shopping center. I really like those peculiar hills you wouldn't expect to see in a park. Maybe that becomes customary in the future, who knows?

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Poverty in Barcelona: Tramp at Maremagnum

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Alienated, abandoned, neglected, homeless tramps. Poverty goes with society, it has been there before and it will be there in the future, it is the byproduct of human ambition. Being different and impaired is punished with ignorance and rejection for the sake of the pack. When are we going to think and act as civilized animals instead of just animals?

Aerial Photo of Maremagnum in Port vell, Barcelona via Google Earth.

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Maremagnum: A Leisure Resort in Barcelona Port

As many fellow bloggers know, this is not my first post about Maremagnum, the leisure resort in Barcelona Port, so today I will concentrate on the image. As in previous photos taken at Port Vell water front, I chose reflections of the people at the cafeteria out in Maremagnum Shopping Center's terrace. I like the way in which the glass panels tend to distort the image creating optical illusion. To find out more examine my previous posts: Maremagnum Mare Nostrum Reflections, Escalators at Maremagnum in Barcelona, Spain, Sitting on the Dock of the Bay and specially Maremagnum Tourist Paradise. I think there are some more. I hope you enjoy them along with...