Barcelona photos: Daily photographs of Barcelona, Spain. Pictures of a modern city with travel tips in a personal photoblog. A photography and travel site. Art, architecture, people and traditions. Travel to Barcelona through my camera, know more about our city and towns nearby. Welcome!
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June 01, 2007
Auto Reflections
My reflections on the side mirror of a classic car. Notice the iridescent orange coat of paint with polished finish that gives the auto an authentic 70s kind of mood. I don't like pictures with the photographer trapped inadvertedly in the image but they acquire a different dimension if we are part of the story somehow, accidentally or on purpose.
May 31, 2007
Barcelona Port Mouth: A Quiet Place
If you entered Barcelona by sea, like say, on board of a Mediterranean Cruiser or your own boat (stop dreaming!), you would necessarily have to see this place as it is the mouth of Barcelona Port . A very quiet place, away from the noisy city which can hardly be seen from this point on the blurry horizon if you could look left of course. Those fishermen you see came walking along the long concrete wall looking for a deep place to throw the bait. I have left the harbor for the open seas twice, one going to Menorca on a big ferry at night and the other, this time, onboard of a sightseeing boat. On both occasions the experience has been very pleasing, I mean, there is so much silence out there when you are alone with your own thoughts watching the hypnotizing beauty of the sea, that you all of a sudden rediscover that you are alive, that you are not attached to the city, to that portion of land and bricks, that you are not a number in the stats but a human being only attached to nature, to Mother Earth.
May 30, 2007
Garden Flowers: Musings
Not the first time I upload some flowers to my photo blog, and certainly I hope it's not the last time. Beauty is all around and as I am not going to have the eye of Ansel Adams for landscapes or Cartier-Bresson's gift for street photography, I'd better concentrate on capturing my modest reality come what may. There is always some art in minor things too. Take for example a bunch of orange flowers in a garden on your way to work or at your neighbors'. You can take a snapshot every time you pass them by and it will always be a different picture, not just because you arranged them in different compositions but because you were many times in a different mood. So art is also a state of mind, it has to do with the soul, with spirituality, and you must be satisfied first with what you create in order to please others. You may be good at it or clumsy as hell, but it's your work, and it is as legitimate as the art of Da Vinci or Michelangelo. This is what I saw, what filled my soul with joy for some milliseconds and now I want to share the scene with you.
May 29, 2007
Singers Rehearsing at Colonia Guell, Barcelona
The day we visited Colonia Guell in the outskirts of Barcelona it was a complete surprise to come across these singers rehearsing in front of the entrance to the crypt (the small church built by Gaudi). They were singing traditional Catalan songs and were supposed to walk towards the center of the small town to enter by surprise in bars to entertain clients.
May 28, 2007
Well Guarded Thorny Cactus
Well guarded secrets have been protected by the sword for centuries and so does nature sometimes with her treasures in many ways. These small flowers perhaps are meant to carry the fruit of this cactus in the long run so they are better kept somewhere safe among these deterrent daggers. Only insects allowed.
Two interesting links I stumbled upon today: Sidewalk Chalk Guy and Lost Cities.
May 27, 2007
Mysterious Faces From the Past by Igor Mitoraj
May 26, 2007
Seaside View of the Solar Panel at Barcelona Forum
May 25, 2007
Waiting for the Bridge: Rambla de Mar, Barcelona
May 24, 2007
Fideua: Paella Made with Pasta
Following with the odd image carrousel on which Barcelona Photoblog is often riding, lets introduce Spanish Fideua, the pasta version of widely known rice paella. As the name suggest you need noodles (fideos Sp.), but not any kind of noodles. A good fideua is made with capelli d'angelo or vermicelli noodles. Like classic paella, seafood is an essential part of the recipe. When cooking any of both bear in mind that you can obtain a delicious dish either by packing the pan with all ingredients you can or by adding just the right spices and a most tasty kind of fish, its stew and fresh seashells. Whatever way you choose don't spoil it all by overcooking the pasta (or the rice in the case of paella). Here is one of the most simple and well explained fideua recipes I found and here is another much more elaborate. During popular celebrations in Spain it is not strange to see these pans or bigger ones (called paelleras or paellas) full of fideua or paella indistinctly to treat passerbyes (sometimes you have to pay for it). This man in Terrasa near Barcelona, was being followed anxiosly by a hungry pack of humans ominously approaching for the feast.
May 23, 2007
Cactus Flowers
May 22, 2007
Topsy-Turvy Confidence
Being upside down, hanging from just one foot and depending on your partner's firm hold to keep your head safe some meters above the ground simply takes guts and a blind confidence in your fellow trapezist. This circus act took place in Terrasa near Barcelona recently (remember my previous post about the Perch Act). I added a vignette action in Photoshop to blur the distracting blue sign on the left.
May 21, 2007
Street Art in Barcelona: Lying Head
May 20, 2007
Igor Mitoraj: Hold me Tight
May 19, 2007
Folk Dancers near Barcelona
May 18, 2007
A Dalinian Friend: Portrait
A friend of mine, while we were having dinner at one of those tourist packed terraces in front of Barcelona marina. I don't remember the name of the restaurant, maybe the Rey de la Gamba or similar. The point is that he was sitting next to my daughter, laughing and joking and suddenly gave me this stern look, with his peculiar moustache and I couldn't help thinking of that famous Dali portrait. Portrait photography is not one of my gifts so I try to learn about the light, the focal length, the best aperture and most important identify myself with the subject to trap that inner something. I can't teach you portrait photography cause I have a long way to go myself but I will recommend a good tutorial on how to take portraits to start over with and the work of a couple of modern photographers that serve as an inspiration to me. One is the solid work of Istoica and the other the provocative art in David Lachapelle's collection of portraits.
May 17, 2007
Moritz Beer is Here to Stay
Moritz is an old brand of beer still present in the collective mind of Barcelona, in spite of the fact that the factory was shut down in 1978 due to financial problems. Moritz became the first big brewery in Spain by 1864 although it had been founded some years before (in 1856) as a small factory in the Raval quarter by Louis Moritz Trautman, an Alsatian brewer. Moritz company came to life again in 2004 and the 1864 brewery of Ronda Sant Antoni was commissioned to famous architect Jean Nouvel for restoration. The place is to become a new leisure and gastronomic project called “Fábrica Moritz” and is due to open in 2007. As a curiosity you should know that the basement of the building is a wonderful sample of XIX industrial architecture according to experts. The brand is easily recognizable by a blue M on top of a canary yellow background as seen in this picture of a van at the entrance of Fira de Barcelona venue. The company has reinvented itself not long ago by means of an aggressive and clever marketing campaign that associates itself with major Barcelona city assets. Its most fierce competitors San Miguel and Estrella Damm (featured in Barcelona Photoblog some months ago, see Damm Group post here), are still the predominant brands, especially Estrella, but Moritz is squeezing itself into the little niches big brothers neglect such as a more direct relationship with clients, an impeccable efficiency in production (now you can buy it almost at any bar in Barcelona after only two years of relaunching itself), an attractive design and what's more important an exquisite flavor.
May 16, 2007
Fountains of Montjuic in Barcelona. A Winter Photograph
This is a winter photograph I have picked up from Barcelona Photoblog archives. It depicts a line of small dry fountains as I am walking down the stairs on my way to Plaza España from Fira de Barcelona venues. In fact, the real Montjuic fountains, those that are illuminated to the beat of the music every September 24th during La Mercè celebrations are the ones you see in the roundabout. But these modest ones always call my attention and now after so much time I notice again the non-polluted light of the winter sun illuminating that perfect diagonal that I had accidentally overlooked in my previous daily publishing. For a bird's eye view of the place why don't you take a look at this Google Earth snap.
May 15, 2007
Mosaic Wall Signs at Park Guell. Why Park?
Although on looking at the thumbnail (some of you come through the City Daily Photo Blog portal or directly searching for Barcelona pictures in Google images) you might think these are a couple of hand wrist Swatch watches nothing could be further from the truth. These are the two mosaics found on the wall at the entrance of Park Guell, which were made following the trencadis technique used by Antoni Gaudi. For English speakers the name is completely normal but it is odd for us that it reads Park and not parc (Cat.) or parque (Sp.). Why "Park"? Basically because the place was initially conceived to be a sort of city on the lap of the mountain based upon the Garden City model by British inventor, Ebenezer Howard, who impressed by a futuristic novel published in 1888 and some other preceding works created his own Utopian plan about a garden city, a new home for an idyllic society that would make a better world. Remember that Gaudi and his art patron Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi were very influenced by the modern ideas of those times, coming from Europe and the United States, and besides, they were very religious men. About the image, I should say they were taken on a dull weather day and are not especially my favorite, in fact, I think the idea of mixing both words in one is not new but they surely have helped me make my point about the origin of the name.
May 14, 2007
Old Trades: The Basket Weaver
May 13, 2007
Yellow and Red Flowers for Mothers Day 2007
*© This Picture is Free
Although here in Barcelona Mothers Day was celebrated last Sunday, I would like to wish all mothers in the world a very beautiful anniversary to enjoy in the company of her beloved sons and daughters. To them I send them these impressive flowers, you may use them as wallpapers, print them, sell them, this particular picture I give everyone for free. Happy Mothers Day 2007!
May 12, 2007
Castles: Salvana Tower at Santa Coloma de Cervello
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An abandoned castle near Colonia Guell in Santa Coloma de Cervelló, Barcelona city. Known as Salvana Tower, the castle was first documented in 992, the year it was sold by Ramón Borrel i Ermengol to the lord of Masquefa castle whose heirs first acquired the Cervelló name and the title of Baron until 1297. After that it was occupied by different illustrious families until 1857. Most of the castles I see here in Catalonia are lost up there in the mountains and I rarely have time to take my camera and climb up for some good pictures, so being this close has been an interesting experience. It is a pity that being so near to Gaudi's Colonia Güell , nothing is done to restore the tower, at least. Behind the building there is a beautiful valley the dwellers must have been scrutinizing constantly for different reasons and in between, the highway to Barcelona.
May 11, 2007
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
May 10, 2007
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.
May 09, 2007
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.
May 08, 2007
Circus: Perch Act. The Human Flag
May 07, 2007
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.
May 06, 2007
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
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 TurÃstic 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 TurÃstic 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 TurÃstic
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
May 05, 2007
Plants and Flowers: Carpobrotus Modestus
May 04, 2007
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!
May 03, 2007
Colonia Guell: Windows - A Futurist Vista
May 02, 2007
World Trade Center Barcelona: A Close Look
May 01, 2007
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.
April 30, 2007
Green Veggies at Ninot Market in Barcelona
April 29, 2007
Indian Punjabi Group
April 28, 2007
Flowers from Madrid to Barcelona
April 27, 2007
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.
April 26, 2007
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!
April 25, 2007
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.
April 24, 2007
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.
April 23, 2007
Bascule Bridge La Porta d'Europa, Barcelona Port
La Porta de Europa Bridge in Barcelona Harbor |
April 22, 2007
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.
April 21, 2007
Ninot Market, Barcelona: Fresh Mediterranean Food
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The Mercat del Ninot (Ninot Market), is one of the best places to buy fresh food in Barcelona and worth the visit if you appreciate the benefits of healthy Mediterranean cuisine products. This renown traditional market, located in Mallorca, 135 between Casanovas and Villarroel streets, has more than a 100 years of history behind. It was inaugurated in 1894 as an open space in Les Corts, that was back then, a town out of Barcelona. In 1933 it was remodeled and covered with a big metal roof to give it the look that we can admire at present. The name Ninot comes from a small ship's figurehead located on the façade of a famous tavern that sold the best wine in the area. The figure can still be seen in the Drassanes Naval Museum of Barcelona. The place is very big so I decided to show you one of the fruit stalls, called Natura't which belongs to Luis, a friend of mine! Wanna try the best fruit in Barcelona, grab his strawberries or his pineapples, simply exquisite. Here is another shot of the Ninot Market and a link to the official site which is in Catalan only.
April 20, 2007
Bank of Sabadell Diagonal - Balmes, Barcelona
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This is the emblematic Banco Atlantico building, as seen from carrer Balmes in the city of Barcelona, which The Banco Sabadell Group acquired from Arab Banking Corporation. SabadellAtlántico was then adopted as the brand name of the commercial bank for the whole of Spain. This Bank of Sabadell branch is as we said before established in what used to be Banco Atlantico, a high-rise building, in fact the first skyscraper built on Diagonal Avenue. With its 83 meters and 23 floors it has a privileged view of the city which is not too tall. Construction of Banco Atlántico was completed in 1969 by architects Francisco Mitjans Santiago and Santiago Balcells. I hope you enjoyed watching Balmes street and the combination of old and relatively new architecture.
Now to relax a little bit after such a boring litany on banking I leave you with todays' recommended link. This time a humorous video. Maybe you have seen it before, it's about music, classical and modern. I say no more, please watch: Pachelbel Rant
April 19, 2007
Catalan Art Nouveau: Modernist House at Colonia Guell
April 18, 2007
Fresh Spring Flowers Online From Barcelona, Spain
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Fresh spring flowers for my stock. My online collection is growing so fast that soon I will be able to open a separate photoblog for flower plants. No need to call 1800 numbers to order a bouquet. Come around here every other day and I'll give you your daily dose of colorful flowers in between stones and landscapes. This time I found these strong pink specimens with pointed fleshy leaves and well defined petals. Here is a good list of flowers you can use to help me find the name. I know some of you are real experts so I count on you. I wish I could give you tips on how to plant bulbs for the new season but I can't possibly be more ignorant on the matter.
April 17, 2007
Modernist Door and Mosaic at Crypt in Colonia Guell
So this is the entrance to the crypt in Colonia Guell, the textile complex property of Eusebi Güell. The gates to the sanctuary: a big metal door topped by an elaborate mosaic created using the trencadis technique, that consists of breaking tiles in small shards to compose an image which in this case portraits the Holy Trinity. I gave you enough detail yesterday so if you came here directly check previous post. Both Eusebio Güell and Gaudi were religious men who also had a passion for architecture, in different ways of course. In the case of the Catalan empresario it was more the will to immortalize his name and legacy. As the mosaic is the most remarkable piece in this composition I will show you a detail too.
April 16, 2007
Colonia Guell, Barcelona: Art Nouveau Stained Glass Window
Colonia Guell, was a textile community which was established in 1890 along river Llobregat like many other such water-powered industries. There was an important recession from 1885 to 1890 in this sector. Eusebi Güell, an important Catalan businessman who commisioned Gaudi many of his works (remember Park Guell), had to move his factory from Sants to his lands near the city, the municipality of Santa Coloma de Cervelló at present. In 1880 there were important steam-powered factories near Barcelona, like Can Batlló in Les Corts or La España Industrial and Vapor Güell in Sants that were slowly declining. Antoni Gaudi had started to build a church for all the community inhabitants in Eusebi's estate but it finally ended up as a mere crypt (but what a crypt!) due to the financial problems of his mentor in the middle of this economic crisis. The entrance to the crypt in Colonia Güell is quite similar to the impossible inclined column pattern imitating the aerial roots of trees in Sagrada Familia, in fact this small sanctuary served as a small scaled model for the cathedral. I took this interior picture of the stained glass windows, featuring a cross but also suggesting a big flower as elements of nature were a leitmotif in all of Gaudi's work. The image is taken in a hurry as opening hours are limited due to Mass service. So I only had 10 minutes to madly rush along the oval temple and then run up the external staircase to the unfinished part of the building where the church was supposed to be (there is only a small belfry). I was the last one to come out of the ugly fenced perimeter which makes it impossible to take a decent full scene shot. More to come tomorrow.