Lonely White Dandelion on a Sea of Green

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Gosh, I was tired that everybody had the classic photo of a white dandelion and I didn't. Maybe you don't, what are you waiting for? I have seen them from all angles, and focal distances, fully or partially blown. Take a look at a big stock of Dandelion photographs at Shutterstock for example. So there was I walking merrily down the park when I was bewildered by this lonely and tiny dandelion lost in a sea of green, calling me before the wind blew him away. Yeah I know, second post in a row pretending to be a poet, weren't they dead? Alas, behold
what I found, hark!: White Dandelion

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Reflections of a Little Girl

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Reflections of a little girl in a little hat blue; she couldn't care less about the future on earth the way you do, the way you do. They told me she was standing there, the other day in solitude, talking with her other self that wouldn't tell the hidden clue: the way to see the world beyond, where right is left and dreams come true.

Trivia: As you now Joost is in beta and recently it has associated with the big media. So the TV of the future is cooking right there and Barcelona Photoblog has been invited as a friend to try the channel catalog in Joost. My opinion? It works and it rocks! And gee that just looks great full size in my 19 inches screen. Live streaming, no interruptions or jamming, resizable window, widgets including chat, news, clock, etc and the main course, the catalog. A little scarce as of now but fully customizable. I captured a Joost screenshot so you had a glimpse of the future of television on the web.

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Iron Bridge Over Onyar River in Gerona, Spain

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Remember the view from a bridge over River Onyar in Gerona, this was the old iron bridge where I was standing that day. As usual it seems weird that this photo blog travels to another city being a blog about Barcelona and neighbouring towns. I once said that as long as it was in Catalonia on the one hand and was good for Barcelona Photoblog interests on the other hand some exceptions could be made. So revisionists, critics, purists, friend or foe, here I go with my image of the bridge over the Onyar river, one of the four rivers surrounding the city of Girona, the ancient Gerunda, inhabited by Iberians, Romans, Visigoths, Moors, Jews and even the French.

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Circus: Perch Act. The Human Flag

Talking about being lucky and random photography: We came across this show in Terrassa (in the outskirts of Barcelona) where a small group of artists was performing as part of the public activities organized by local authorities. 

The place was crowded and we were a little at a loss since this was only our second time in town. I took pictures of many artists but one of the acts really caught my eye: there were these two men, one holding a big pole on straps and the other climbing to the top with feline agility, they were doing the Perch Act. 

Notice the impossible pose of this guy, with his legs fully extended like some sort of human flag or vane pointing in the direction of the wind. I managed to take a picture of them backstage and to hear their names over the loudspeaker. Well, now thanks to the magic of the web and the little traces of memory I have left, I found out that these two men are well known in the circus world and the media. Here is their official site and some beautiful pictures. Ladies and gentlemen: Luciano Martin and Kike Aguilera from Zahir Circo. Let the show begin!

Two Little Ladies Looking in The Mirror

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This picture of two little girls having fun in front of a distorting mirror in Terrassa near Barcelona is one of those you like before you arrive home and sit to browse your work. No matter how much I plan my pictures I always come to the conclusion that spontaneous snapshots taken with a little luck end up pleasing me more by the end of the day. I chose this image to participate in the 24 Hours of Flickr Group and with it I hope the antiflower group take a little rest.

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Barcelona Guided Tours

This is one of the many sightseeing buses in the city. They add up color not only visually but also literally to your skin. On top of a double deck bus you really get a good tan. As you can see Barcelona Tours has an official site where you can learn about the routes and book tickets online. In the image, Christopher Columbus Monument right in front of Barcelona Harbor. Check labels for similar pictures and info.

 
Update 07/2023:

Sightseeing Buses in Barcelona: A Guide for Tourists

Barcelona is a beautiful city with a lot to offer visitors. From the iconic Sagrada Familia to the lively Las Ramblas, there are countless sights to see and experiences to have. If you're short on time, or if you just want to get a general overview of the city, a sightseeing bus tour is a great option.

There are two official sightseeing bus companies in Barcelona, each offering a variety of routes and tickets.

The first official sightseeing bus company in Barcelona is Bus Turístic because it was created back in 1987 by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) and Patronat Municipal de Turisme  and is operated at present by TMB in alliance with Consorci de Turisme de Barcelona. Bus Turistic offers two different routes that take in all the major tourist attractions. The Red Route takes you to the Gothic Quarter, the Ramblas, the Sagrada Familia, and Park Güell. The Blue Route takes you to the Olympic Village, the Barceloneta district, and the Montjuïc hill. Each route lasts around 2 hours. The buses pass every 15 and 25 minutes, depending on the season.

Tickets are valid for 24 or 48 hours, and you can hop on and off the bus as many times as you like. The buses have open-top decks so you can enjoy the views, and they come equipped with audio guides in multiple languages.

Bus Turistic also offers a night tour.

If you're looking for a reliable and convenient way to see Barcelona, Bus Turístic is the perfect choice. The buses are well-maintained and the staff is friendly and helpful. Plus, the audio guides are informative and entertaining.

To book your tour, visit: the official website of Bus Turístic

Single day tickets cost €31.00 for adults, €28.00 for seniors and students, and €18.00 for children. Two day Barcelona bus tour tickets cost €42.00 (adults), €39.00 (seniors and students), and €23.00 (children). 

Check the discounts on other attractions that bus turistic tickets entitle you to

Barcelona City Tour is another popular official sightseeing bus company in Barcelona created in 2001 managed through the temporary union of companies Julià Tous i Marfina SA which operate through a concession of Autoritat Metropolitana del Transport (AMT). They also offer two different routes that take in all the major tourist attractions. The Orange Route takes you to the Gothic Quarter, the Ramblas, the Sagrada Familia, and Park Güell. The Green Route takes you to the Olympic Village, the Barceloneta district, and the Montjuïc hill. 

Tickets are valid for 24 or 48 in their hop on - hop off city tour 

They also offer the possibility of combined products including 1 hour or 90 minutes in a catamaran.

To book your tour, visit: the website of Barcelona City Tour

Of course Barcelona City Tour also offers discounts on hallmarks and relevant places in the city. Besides there is a free walking tour advertised on the website.

Additional Tips

• Consider the length of your stay. If you're only in Barcelona for a short time, you'll want to choose a tour that offers a comprehensive overview of the city. If you have more time, you can choose a more specialized tour that focuses on a particular area or interest.
• Think about your budget. Sightseeing bus tours can range in price from around €20 to €50. Choose a tour that fits your budget and your travel style.
• Read reviews. Before you book a tour, take some time to read reviews from other travelers. This will help you get a sense of what to expect from the tour and whether it's a good fit for you.
• Book your tour in advance. Especially if you're traveling during peak season, it's a good idea to book your tour in advance. This will ensure that you get a spot on the tour and that you don't have to pay a higher price for a last-minute booking.
• Check possible discounts for bus tickets online or at your hotel desk

I hope this update of an old post with a nice image of bus tours in the city and the Columbus monument in the background is useful to you and that many more updates may come. 17 years of blogging are exposed to a lot of changes! Although some things never change like standing in the same old line

Plants and Flowers: Carpobrotus Modestus

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This is a Carpobrotus Modestus. A succulent perennial herb with flowers that can be pink, purple or blue. I got a snapshot of one of them to share its beauty with you.
I wish you all a nice weekend.

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Send Flowers For Mothers Day 2007

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On the first Sunday of May we in Barcelona and the whole of Spain celebrate Mothers Day. Unlike the United States, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Belgium just to mention some of the countries that celebrate Mothers Day on the second Sunday, we will be busy till next May 6th trying to find a good present, writing a beautiful postcard, stealing the most precious flowers from our neighbors or looting the nearest park (hey this is just a joke!). Many of my visitors' mothers will have to wait until next week, some others already got their present as it is the case of the UK, but the important thing is that we all think of that very important person in your life and buy her a nice bouquet or at least a small bunch of flowers like the ones in my picture.
Note: This also includes surrogate mothers, mothers-in-law, stepmothers, mothers-to-be, adoptive mothers, etc. Find a good quote here but try to write your own card or poem for Christ sake!

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Colonia Guell: Windows - A Futurist Vista

These windows with futurist design at the crypt in Colonia Guell, Barcelona are more credible in a manga film, an avant-garde video game or a scifi illustration than drawn from the mind of a visionary architect in the XIX century. Gaudi in his constant search for perfection, beauty, divine inspiration and architectural challenges came out with these sort of armored skylights to absorb as much natural light as possible. The impossible lines of the building, the innovative stained glass work inspired in natural themes, the odd shape of the windows confirm the wonderful, almost supernatural, futurist vista of Gaudian architecture.

World Trade Center Barcelona: A Close Look

This is a close look on World Trade Center Barcelona (WTCB) at the end of Moll de Barcelona (moll means "wharf"). Built by Henry N. Coob of Pei, Coob, Freed & Partners, also known by his Hancock tower in Boston, WTCB is an eight storey complex divided in four buildings. Three of them, WTC North, WTC South and WTC East hold offices and the fourth is the Eurostars Grand Marina Hotel. Grand Marina with its 273 rooms is a 5 star GL hotel. I got this picture from the deck of a sightseeing boat. If you use the cable car or teleferic which happens to have one of his towers (Torre de Jaume I, the intermediate station which is 158m/519ft) in front of the hotel you will have a privileged aerial view of WTCB and the cruiser terminals on the same wharf. Zurbaran is one of the ships that belong to Acciona Trasmediterranea, a company sailing to the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla. There are international cruises in Barcelona port too departing from Adossat Wharf nearby but that is part of another story.

No War, More Graffiti

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As part of the XIII Solidarity Party organized by Intermon Oxfam (member of Oxfam International) some days ago at Moll de la Fusta in Barcelona, visitors had the opportunity to unleash their creativity on an improvised wall. See this young man here, expressing his ideas about war on a colorful mural. Graffiti fans might think it a decaf way of street art but anything counts if it is for a good cause.

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Green Veggies at Ninot Market in Barcelona

Just a curious way to dress up the stall at Ninot market in Barcelona. I am not fond of veggies and low carb vegetarian diets but have to admit they make a market stall quite more attractive.

Indian Punjabi Group

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This is the third picture about the Indian Punjabi Group. Some of you really enjoyed the colors so here it is. Greetings from Madrid to Barcelona Photoblog readers.

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Flowers from Madrid to Barcelona

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Hi, as many of you know, this blogger is spending his holidays in Madrid but I am already missing you. I want you all to have a nice weekend so here are these wild orange flowers for you to enjoy all the splendor of spring.

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Barcelona Harbour Cruise: A City Teaser

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As I said in a previous post about sightseeing in Barcelona harbour and along the coast, a cruise on board of Las Golondrinas boats is a good teaser or appetizer before visiting the city. Of course you can plan your vacation trip in whatever order you wish!. Remember I told you about big and small boats covering a full route including harbor and coast or just harbour respectively, well, today in my blog I wanted to show you the old Golondrinas (see the one next to the steps?). This photograph I took on departure on board of one of the modern ships. It was great to take pictures as the landing docks grew tinier in the distance. The wooden platforms and stairs were full of tourists as you can see. To the left the Columbus Monument and a little to the right of the Golondrina, the Harbor Authority building, featuring an impressive architecture which I intend to cover in a different post soon. The next days I may be publishing irregularly because I will be in Madrid until next Tuesday. I suppose I can publish from the hotel. In case I can't, you will get your daily dose of images in a row on Wednesday.
Feed Issue: I am tampering with blogger labels again so feed subscribers may have noticed the service broken. It is a well known blogger issue that, upon changing old labels or typos, the feed shows old posts as newly published. This inconvenience has been fixed now. In case anyone is interested you can find the workaround here.
Note: From here I would like to thank Conny of Saabrücken Daily Photo, for choosing me as the winner in her Haiku competition and recommending my link too.

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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.
Recommended: If you like social communities and web 2.0 stuff, follow this link via mashable: Social Tracker. Don't get too hooked up on this new toy!

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Sightseeing Along Barcelona City Coast

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Sightseeing Barcelona city harbour and coast is one of the most gratifying experiences in our Mediterranean urbis. As in some other major cities like Paris, London or New York, taking a boat to navigate along the river or the coast in this case helps you to take visual shortcuts throughout the territory you are going to explore in the most pure discoverer or pioneer style. Sightseeing boats in Barcelona port are called Golondrinas (swallows). You get tickets and depart from Moll de la Fusta in front of the Columbus column monument and prices are not expensive considering today standards. You should know that there are the classic smaller ships which were the original vessels seafaring inside the harbour for about half an hour and more modern boats doing just that plus a cruise out of the port mouth and along the coast till the Forum area on the other side of the city and return to departure point. Last weekend I travelled on one of these and believe me the one hour and a half journey really was worth the 10 Euros I paid. I thought my fellow photo bloggers would love to take a peek too as an appetizer for a future visit. I hope you like this waterscape and the reflections on the intense blue sea.

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Dancer in Punjabi Dress at Moll de la Fusta, Barcelona

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To follow with the Indian Punjabi Group pictures I leave you with this beautiful dancer. As you know they were performing at Moll de la Fusta during Intermon Oxfam activities. I took some other colorful shots that day. I was really surprised by the brightness of the day and the intensity of color tones in the dress and other garments.

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Bascule Bridge La Porta d'Europa, Barcelona Port

La Porta de Europa Bridge in Barcelona Harbor

La Porta d'Europa is a basculant mobile bridge at the entrance to the port of Barcelona by Juan Jose Arenas de Pablo, Profesor PhD. of Special Structures of Design at the University of Cantabria in Santander City.

Arenas is also known by other famous works like the The Bridge of the Barqueta (main entry of the EXPO-SEVILLA 92), The Bridge of HispanoAmerica in the city of Valladolid as well as The Cathedral of The Wines in Navarra.

The Porta d'Europa bridge insures traffic between island (due to increasing traffic volumes a new harbor entrance has been built and part of the port becomes an island) and mainland while retaining the existing harbor entrance.

State port authorities are incorporating private investment to enlarge the docks facilities, maximize maritime foreign trade of Catalonia and make Barcelona harbor a world class port that responds to Europe's increasing need for transport, distribution and logistic services.

If you want to see the bridge from this perspective take the Las Golondrinas sightseeing ships at Moll de la Fusta.

This is a Google Earth aerial photograph of La Porta D'Europa Bridge in Barcelona Port.

Punjabi Turbans and Oxfam at Moll de la Fusta, Barcelona

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These Punjabi Turbans could be seen at Moll de la Fusta today as part of the XIII Solidarity Party organized by Intermon Oxfam (member of Oxfam International), in 47 Spanish cities to claim for the better world we can altogether build and to explain participants what is being done to defend human rights. There were musical groups, games for kids, international cuisine dishes like Indian or Filipino and dancers like the ones I particularly enjoyed: An Indian Punjabi Group of boys and girls in traditional Punjabi colorful clothes that were like candy to my camera. I managed to reach the backstage to capture the turbans from behind against the sky. The pose is totally accidental but I like the resulting silhouette of both starched fans that are said to be a distinguishing feature of social standing among men in Punjabi communities. Punjab comes from the Persian words panj (five) and ab (river) and means "Land of the Five Rivers." Check this source for more information. The event is supposed to gather 200.000 participants when it is over next May 5th and 6th in remaining cities.

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