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!
Wanna be featured?
October 20, 2007
Chocolate Shop: A Halloween Nightmare
Today I'm gonna be mean. I am on a diet and going back to the gym so I am gonna tell you about these nightmares of mine where I dream I am surrounded by shelves full of chocolate of all sorts, in bars, fudge, covering strawberries, or cookies, white or dark, creamy or crispy. This shop at Princesa street gives an idea about the punishment a Barcelonian on a diet suffers everyday. As it is Halloween I will impersonate Mr. Hyde for a moment and offer you my trick or treat. Just to be mean as I said take a look at the shop one more time so all of you who succumb to the sin of gluttony repent and have to go to boring sessions of spinning, and sweat, and...just what do you think you are doing?...oh, nothing Dr. Jekyll.
Halloween Story: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Chocolate Recipes at Howstuffworks
October 19, 2007
Pumpkin Under The Sun
Halloween is here and common things start to look spooky in the dark. Shadows are longer, the autumn withers leaves and tints our dusks with yellow and red hues. Everything around us acquires strange forms that remind us of those monsters we used to imagine hidden somewhere in the back of our minds, or worse somewhere inside the closet, the open window, under the stairs, the bed, the kitchen. What looks like a harmless pumpkin may suddenly turn out to be a dwarf fishing with his rod, who knows, and who cares as long as we see things in means we are alive. Let the magic begin!
October 18, 2007
Bougainvillea
Walking along the beach at Sant Pol de Mar near Barcelona I spotted these beautiful bougainvilleas hanging from a white balcony right in front of the sea. Don't forget to check my previous posts about flowers.
October 17, 2007
Corn Cobs: An Ackward Design by Mother Nature
Feeding human kind from time immemorial, corn or maize, from Spanish maíz, is the largest crop in all of the Americas. Ears are female inflorescences. The tufts of hair are stigmas known as silks. Young ears are edible even if raw but once the cob grows in the summer it becomes tougher and the silk dries so you innevitably have to cook it before it dries. Maize is used as a biomass fuel, such as ethanol, to reduce fuel costs. Such practice has caused an increase in food costs and results in extremely profitable crops for farmers who obviously reject other products. The use of hybrids has grown substantially and big extensions of forest soil have been cleared up for the sake of money at all cost. Little by little, who knows, we will have "greener" cars on an emptier stomach. Talking about green and ecology, Mr. Al Gore, the Nobel peace laureate, received the prestigious Prince of Asturias award in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo.
Links to the kind fellow bloggers that have tagged me recently: Budapest Daily Photo by Zsolt, Flagstaff Daily Photo and this one goes to Sydney Daily Photo by Sally for all I owe to her :)
October 16, 2007
Casa de Convalescencia, Sant Pau Hospital, Barcelona
Casa de Convalescència, on the corner of San Quintin and Maria Claret streets, is part of Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau and was built by Pere Domènech i Roura, Lluís Domènech i Montaner's son. Pere Domenech was a cathedratic professor at the School of Architecture of Barcelona and architect director of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition.
Meant to be a maintenance building it finally lodged the wards for terminal patients and a church.
Back in 1969 it was granted to UAB (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona). At present it is the headquarters of Fundació UAB, Fundació Doctor Robert and Josep Laporte library, UAB Idiomes Barcelona (language school), Institut de Ciències de l'Educació and Escola de Doctorat i de Formació Continuada.
This representative of the last stages of Catalan Art Nouveau or modernisme is the perfect place for important events in the health field which in fact are held more than often in its high quality facilities.
Today's picture was taken inside the Aula Magna, a place that is not open to general public. Tourists are only allowed in the entrance hall on the way to the hospital venues.
I wanted to share this beauty with all of you, the amazing brick work of the dome and the light coming through the elaborate stained glass windows.
See also this link to all my posts featuring Sant Pau Hospital.
Meant to be a maintenance building it finally lodged the wards for terminal patients and a church.
Back in 1969 it was granted to UAB (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona). At present it is the headquarters of Fundació UAB, Fundació Doctor Robert and Josep Laporte library, UAB Idiomes Barcelona (language school), Institut de Ciències de l'Educació and Escola de Doctorat i de Formació Continuada.
This representative of the last stages of Catalan Art Nouveau or modernisme is the perfect place for important events in the health field which in fact are held more than often in its high quality facilities.
Today's picture was taken inside the Aula Magna, a place that is not open to general public. Tourists are only allowed in the entrance hall on the way to the hospital venues.
I wanted to share this beauty with all of you, the amazing brick work of the dome and the light coming through the elaborate stained glass windows.
See also this link to all my posts featuring Sant Pau Hospital.
Labels:
art nouveau,
ceiling,
modernisme,
sant pau,
stained glass
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Carrer de Sant Antoni Maria Claret, 171, 08041 Barcelona, Spain
October 15, 2007
Art With Exclamation Marks: Stained Glass at Sagrada Familia
In this picture I tried to isolate these three stained glass windows because of an unusual and reasonable resemblance with exclamations marks. Quality of the image is out of the question, that is, don't ask cause it is awful. I just wanted to highlight the punctuation marks and how they might be used as part of some publicity campaign or something to emphasize the work of Gaudi and his art, art with exclamation marks!!!
October 14, 2007
Pomegranate (Punica Granatum) - Detailed Image
This detailed image of a Pomegranate or Punica granatum is yet another weird still part of my collection of totally irrelevant shots in this Barcelona blog supposed to deal with Barcelona pictures. I consider that the title of my page should be regarded as two isolated words. Barcelona and/or Photoblog or even a third split, photo blog. After you muse for a millisecond on my nonsensical jumble of words and before leaving you alone with the photograph and the comprehensive wikipedia link, notice the etymology of the word: "pomegranate" derives from Latin pomum ("apple") and granatus ("seeded"). Now go ahead, pluck it.
October 13, 2007
Bolivian Dancers, NouBarris Quarter, Barcelona
This is a group of Bolivian dancers with their colorful traditional costumes, in Nou Barris quarter, Barcelona. As part of an initiative by a local guild of shops and other small businesses, an integration party was organized in an attempt to show all time neighbors what newcomers' traditions are like thus strengthening the ties among the old and new Catalans. Immigration numbers have been skyrocketing in recent years in Barcelona and the process has been so fast that it takes some time for locals to assimilate different aspects such as behavior, language, cultural activities, food. This process, which is part of globalization and is inevitable, as it is inevitable that humans travel, interact, blend, trade and make a living where they see fit, is an old issue in the rest of Europe, in countries like France, Germany or the United Kingdom and now it is Spain's turn to face it. Young people, specially students have no difficulties with ethnic or social traits but our parents and grandparents are sometimes old fashioned and narrow minded.
October 12, 2007
Stink Bug on Pumpkin: Mimetism
A stink bug trying to mimetize on the surface of a pumpkin is not related to Barcelona unless we recall that Halloween is coming and pumpkins are omnipresent in this magical time of the year. But let's face it the star of the picture is what I think is the nymph of a Southern Green stink bug or Chinche Verde in Spanish (scientific name: Nezara viridula (Linnaeus)). An amazing image of the same bug here: Nezara viridula nymph by Joaquin Portela. The peculiar name is due to the fact that when crashed or in case there are a lot of them together a foul smell can be felt. We can easily spot them on top of this smooth surface under the light of the afternoon sun because we know that such "lump" shouldn't be there but surely on first sight mimetism does the trick with birds or other predators. Now that I popped in the bug issue on today's post what better than a beautiful set of insect macros by Manuel M. Almeida (mmeida) at Flickr who also runs Imagina Fotolog
See also Insect Macros in my Barcelona Photography swicki or perform a specific search following my photography customized Google searchbox on the top right corner of the blog if you wish.
See also Insect Macros in my Barcelona Photography swicki or perform a specific search following my photography customized Google searchbox on the top right corner of the blog if you wish.
October 11, 2007
The One Eyed Cat is King
In the country of the blind the one-eyed cat is king. I took the liberty of rephrasing this wise saying. I happened to read the story by H. G. Wells many, many years ago, about a man lost in the mountains, I think it was in Los Andes. There was some sort of cataclism and there was no way back. He wakes up in a town where everybody is blind and although for some time he thinks he was bound to be the king among the unfortunate inhabitants he soon discovers that he was totally wrong, in fact***spoiler ahead***they soon decided that he had to be deprived of his eyes so he could be one of them, a normal citizen. I digress a lot today, but this poor cat, so young and yet so impaired really caught my attention and reminded me of the famous words.
My recommended blogger of the day: South Shields Daily Photo by Curly.
October 10, 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:
- Nashville Daily Photo by Chris
- Kansas City Daily Photo by Waldo Oiseau
October 09, 2007
Amusement Parks: Swinging Ship Attraction at Tibidabo, Barcelona
Swinging Vessel at Tibidabo Amusement Park |
There are thrilling and exciting amusement park attractions and thrilling and nauseating amusement park attractions.
Take this swinging ship at Tibidabo for example. So beautiful a vessel can only inspire confidence in the rider-to-be! You might think "What the heck, I'll get on this one!, at least I don't go upside down or fall like a corpse with a concrete block tied to the feet". But alas! Upon the fourth or fifth swing, those friendly guys sitting upfront start grasping the security lever and they don't look that tough anymore. The beautiful lady right on the matching row on the other side was not that cute, in fact she could make it in the cast for The Exorcist V.
The usual screaming suddenly sounds like desperate calls for help and little by little, swinging up, swinging down, you remember that you got that hotdog with fries, and the memories turn so vivid!...Well folks, I hope you are not having lunch or dinner when you read this and that you visit Tibidabo Amusement Park...on an empty stomach of course.
Labels:
amusement park,
ship,
tibidabo
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Tibidabo, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
October 08, 2007
Spiral Staircase at CosmoCaixa Science Museum
This time Barcelona Photoblog has the pleasure to upload this picture of the spiral staircase, or better said ramp to the underground levels inside Cosmocaixa Science Museum in Barcelona. Today there is no possibility to enlarge the image cause quality was not good and I hate it when someone enlarges an image just to see a noisy or blurry background. Sometimes smaller works just fine. I am way behind schedule with my posting as you know due to an excess of work both at the office and at home so I apologize for the inconvenience. I want to point out that late posting does not mean I am quitting! Thank you for coming and for the kind comments.
October 07, 2007
Red Pepper Drying Up In The Sun
Red hot chili peppers could easily be the title of this post but I prefer to concentrate on the color and not the famous band. I don't think this is a chili pepper either but it certainly looks hot. The afternoon sun and the texture of the cement floor emphasize the shape and highlight the vivid color of the pepper which was drying up fast although not where it was supposed to be, hanging from a string on the wall nearby.
October 06, 2007
Barcelona Harbor: Las Golondrinas Sightseeing Boat
This is a closer look on a very similar scene that I featured in my post Barcelona Harbor Cruise: A City Teaser. This time I added some extra effects to enhance the picture. Notice the Columbus Monument and the Harbor Authority building mentioned in the past and seen here from a shorter distance.
The boat is one of the older Golondrinas (sightseeing boats company) cruising the harbor and I am taking the picture from a modern vessel run by the same company sailing not just the harbor but going along the coast till the Forum Area on the other part of the city.
One of these in the image costs you around 7,70 € adults and 2.80 for kids and that entitles you to go inside the harbor for around 40 mins.
Check rest of the offers here: Barcelona Sightseeing Boats
Labels:
barcelona port,
cruises,
golondrinas,
harbor,
harbour,
seafaring,
sightseeing
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Moll de les Drassanes, 2, 08039 Barcelona, Spain
October 05, 2007
Human or Living Statue: Goblins in Las Ramblas, Barcelona?
Some days ago I published Human Statues at Las Ramblas: Elf or Vulcan?, Barcelona. It is not very attractive to capture people's nape unless the faceless silhouette is expressive enough against the background. This time, on the contrary, the living statue was as stunning as it looked in the side profile picture. As it happened then, I still don't know if this is a goblin or what. Anyway, the man was well disguised. As we are dealing with people photography today I am going to suggest a set on Flickr you will never forget:
- A set about inhabitants of Papua, New Guinea by Eric Lafforgue.
- My set about Humans Statues or Street Artists
- I have started a new blog that compiles blog posts, news, some videos and good widgets all related with Google Hot Trends list. Any of the tags referred to as volcanic or on fire are a gold mine if you manage to include them in your post and still make some sense. Please try Hot Google Trends and tell me what you think.
October 04, 2007
Chaos Machine at Cosmocaixa, Barcelona
The Chaos machine as I call it, can be found at Cosmocaixa Science Museum in Barcelona. Propelled into space by two powerful fans on the floor of the box, the balls simulate what could be the erratic movement of particles in an apparent disorder state, that is, chaos, although it is said that there is order inside this mess! Hmm, let's leave this to Maths geeks. I used autofocus in continuous mode to obtain these sort wormy shapes and added some violet overlay effect to make it more attractive.
October 03, 2007
Montjuic Fountains: The Magic Show
Watching the iridescent colors of Montjuic fountains at dusk can be one of the most relaxing things to do in Barcelona. However, before you go, make sure you know if some important event is going on since it is possible that the fountains are dry when you get there. On this occasion, I was invited to visit Sonimagfoto, a photography related event held in Barcelona Fair venues (my thanks to Barcelona Photobloggers guys who were exhibitors promoting Barcelona bloggers' community). On walking out of the exhibition area I stumbled upon the beauty of the fountains with Palau de la Merce and MNAC in the background. My first thought was "hey there's water in the fountain" then I stood in the middle of the avenue where there's this narrow traffic sign painted on the road about to steps wide and took some shots. It's a little bit noisy but worth showing.
Previous related posts: Fountains of Montjuic, Barcelona Skyline: Magic Mountain of Montjuic, Montjuic Fountain (BW)
Funny and popular today: Elecam. A webcam with a privileged view of...?
Interesting: Rotten Neighbors (are you planning to move? check in advance if your neighbors are not as cool as you expect - you can even add yours to the database!)
October 02, 2007
Billowing Flags of Sovereign...Cloth
A windy afternoon in the city of Barcelona, year 2007, three flags, the city flag, the Spanish flag, the Catalan flag. You are a tourist, what do you see? Nothing, just three sovereign sheets billowing in the balcony. But you know better, you know there is always history behind flags, there is always blood, "winners" and losers, territorial occupation, invasion, negotiation, abdication, overthrowing, peace treaties, armstices, scheming, alliances, treason. What is left in the end? Land, fed with the blood of millions of souls who abandon their right to live this reality in the name of a just cause. Together - apart, war - peace, hatred - love, what's left in the end?. I know that not taking sides is betraying their memory but everything was wrong from the very beginning. Remember the Spanish Civil War, remember the Spanish-American war, remember Carlist wars, remember succession wars, remember the conquest of Granada, remember the crusades...remember all those people. Anger only leads to more anger. What do I see here? Billowing flags of sovereign...cloth
October 01, 2007
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!
September 30, 2007
Spanish Souvenir: The Bull-Parade
This is an all-in-one souvenir, a bull, for bullfighting tradition followers abroad, designed and dressed the cowparade way. The curious thing is that instead of a bull hide this one has trencadis or mosaic in a clear allusion to Gaudi and other art nouveau artists. And the sort of blanket in the way of saddle must be the Spanish flag although it has the same colors as the Catalan flag. So ambiguity eliminates all barriers in order to sell and keep everybody happy. The history of mankind.
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Via Laietana, Barcelona, Spain
September 29, 2007
A Purple Fantasy: Bubbles at CosmoCaixa, Barcelona
Purple or magenta, the point is that this image is to be regarded more as an abstraction. I decided to follow one of those typical bubbles inside a lava lamp, you know, the ones that hypnotize and make you look like an idiot. The place CosmoCaixa again. This is more some sort of experiment and not exactly a lava lamp I guess but it reminds me of the old fashioned contrivance.
A Brief History of the Lava Lamp by Spacehopper.
How to make your own Lava Lamp
September 28, 2007
Plasma Ball Detail at CosmoCaixa Science Museum, Barcelona
This is a detail of a plasma ball at CosmoCaixa Science Museum. Many of you have seen these balls that seem like octopuses or aliens extending their tentacles whenever someone dares to touch the surface of the crystal sphere. It was hard to take this picture since I had to avoid the use of flash on the reflecting surface and I had no tripod with me at the moment to gain stability and look for more natural light in the dark pavilion. I hope you like the result. The tiny star-like spots are just reflections on the ball that I did not edit to keep the cosmic look of the image.
Now to enrich our scientific knowledge a little bit, a definition of
plasma [YouTube video].
September 27, 2007
Sea Urchin Skeletons or Tests at CosmoCaixa, Barcelona
What looks at first sight like a submarine photograph, the kind you would see when those robots scan a deep oceanic bottom with their spotlights is nothing but a cross section inside a crystal box full of sea urchin skeletons or tests at CosmoCaixa, an interactive science museum in the upper side of Barcelona (address: Teodor Roviralta, 47-51). Cosmocaixa is modern in design, and good in quality but above all it is fun for kids who discover that science is not just a boring book with entertaining pictures here and there, but a fascinating world full of mysterious experiments, amazing optical illusions, curious instruments and what is best, things they can touch and play with to obtain magic results. If you come with your children to Barcelona this museum is a must. This is a Google Earth snapshot where you see CosmoCaixa's location and also a closer look. As to my picture and sea urchins, I thought this cross section offered nice textures and made you think in a way about evolution of species and science.
Here is a short video to get an idea about the experiments: Defying Gravity
September 26, 2007
Inflorescence
September 25, 2007
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
September 24, 2007
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.
September 23, 2007
Marina and History Museum of Catalonia, Barcelona
September 22, 2007
La Fura dels Baus: Naumon Ship at Port Vell, Barcelona
September 21, 2007
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.
September 20, 2007
La Pedrera or Casa Mila by Gaudi: Balconies and Ironwork
Casa Mila by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi is logic defiant, even hard to frame properly with the camera!.
This modernista house is also known as La Pedrera (quarry) and has been featured in my blog several times.
Today I just want to concentrate on that set of irregular balconies with elaborate and impossible ironwork.
As you notice, the stone is cut and aligned in such manner that the balcony appears to undulate, like foamy waves that cast seaweed upon the shore.
Of course the seaweed would be the floral adornments in the wrought iron.
Gaudi was commissioned by the industrialist Pere Milà to build Casa Milà in 1906 and finished it in 1910.
It's a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1984 and thanks to Caixa de Catalonia (the bank that bought the building) it was restored and opened to the public in 1996.
September 19, 2007
Mermaid Captured in La Rambla, Barcelona
This mermaid was captured with my Nikon D70s while fishing for human statues along La Rambla, Barcelona. Fishy things there were indeed in the sea of tourists, like pickpockets or trileros trying to swindle people with cards, but those were dangerous species to play with. Besides I felt charmed and subdued by the irresistible chant. I tried to tie myself up to a lamp post and covered my ears like some modern Ulises but then she pulled out a small jewel box covered in shells, insinuated a smile and I succumbed. One more euro!
September 18, 2007
A Marvel of Marble Human Statue
This is for me one of the greatest human statues at Las Ramblas de Barcelona. It was hard to capture white colors properly. As you know the ccd of the camera can be fooled by bright or dark surfaces thus making the picture too white or too dark depending on which surface you focus. The guy was smiling at me after I gave him one euro. Sometimes a picture is worth the money and these street artists really deserve it.
Note: Barcelona Photoblog has been invited to be part of Saatchi Gallery Online, a free showcase for photographers and a world leading interactive resource created for the art community. See some of my pictures here at Saatchi Online.
September 17, 2007
Giants in Catalonia: The Eagle
This is a detail of an eagle, the eagle that represents the city. Yes, it is not a closeup on a small adornment but a figure taller than me (anyone of course!) which can be admired among other giants in the Palau de la Virreina building at La Rambla, 99. This is the original figure from 1999 by Xavier Jansana. You can also see its replica at the popular site known as La Casa dels Entremesos.
Long ago in medieval times when theater and religion used to go hand in hand in the form of mystery plays staged in the streets, giants began to play an important role in Catalan towns. One of them was the figure of L'Aliga (eagle). In spite of not being as tall as the rest of the figures, the animal was a symbol of the corresponding city and its municipal authorities, thus the crown, and was mainly used to receive important personalities that came into town. The eagle is often holding a white pigeon in the menacing beak. There was a time when the pigeon was alive and was to be eaten by participants later on.
L'Aliga is the only giant that is allowed to dance before the altar in church and there are specific procedures to observe when walking her in processions.
September 16, 2007
Tango Dancers in Las Ramblas, Barcelona
After some hieratic figures of human statues I decided to show you the tango dancers of Las Ramblas, Barcelona. They definitely make up a much more dynamic image. There isn't much to say here, only that you can find them almost at the end of the street near the sea, more or less next to the wax museum alley. The middle sidewalk along Las Ramblas seems to be less crowded in that area and some interesting quick performances take place. I was lucky to find a YouTube video with the same couple dancing in Las Ramblas, it is called Tango Dans La Rue
September 15, 2007
Human Statue in Las Ramblas, Barcelona: Elf or Vulcan?
Yet another human statue in Las Ramblas, I wonder how many they can be! This time I can't really tell what he is, an elf, a goblin or a Vulcan like Mr. Spock from the Stark Trek saga. At the moment of shooting he was not working. In fact he was smoking and had this vacant stare into space way beyond his future customers. I bet he was thinking about what a crap this job can get to be. But then he seemed to sigh and started finishing his makeup. For the point of view of people photography these artists make a much striking picture before or after they pose, because that's the precise moment when they reveal their true personalities, their souls.
September 14, 2007
Spanish Paintings in Las Ramblas, Barcelona: Collage
Here is a collage of Spanish paintings about topics such as bullfighting and flamenco plus some everyday scenes of Barri Gotic or El Raval streets, two quarters nearby Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Paintings like these are frequently ignored by Barcelonians and I guess this happens in other cities like say Paris, London...,but they obviously trap tourists like ants on a sugar lump. I don't say it isn't art but they are mostly centered on cliches and contribute to enhance them. When we visit Paris or London they do the same to us and we bite on the bait! Come to think of it I would do the same if I were to paint for money. So this is not the artist's fault, it is the cultural authorities' responsibility to promote a more representative art without forgetting, and I stress this, the cliches which are also part, in this case, of Spanish culture.
September 13, 2007
Seasoned Human Statue Sitting in Las Ramblas, Barcelona
Yet another street artist or human statue I captured while walking down Las Ramblas towards the sea. The weathered man was sitting on this chair showing off his painted clothes and glasses while he read a book. I couldn't really tell if he was sleeping or watching you drop a coin on the can cause his eyes were hidden behind a thin orange coat of paint in the middle of the spectacles. The whole disguise made him look elegant, like some famous writer, maybe he was some sort of Kafka. He wouldn't say being a statue and all.
September 12, 2007
Street Artists in La Rambla, Barcelona: Human Statue
As I said yesterday I took some new pictures of street artists performing in La Rambla, Barcelona. Human statues that turn around and make funny faces, wink an eye, freak you out with a sudden movement or hold a ball on their fingertips while they elegantly pose for your camera as this man, dressed like a tree or some kind of deity, maybe trying to suggest a fruit and the equilibrium Mother Nature needs nowadays to survive.
Recommended: I would like to recommend Olivierdestroy whose artwork I came across today at Flickr. Some may like him, some others not so much but you won't remain indifferent. Note: requires to be logged in.
September 11, 2007
Flower Bouquets at Flower Stall, La Rambla, Barcelona
These colorful flower bouquets I found at one of the flower stalls along La Rambla.
It was a holiday in Barcelona as today it was the day of Catalonia, that is, La Diada that happens to coincide with the anniversary of the terrible events of the twin towers on September 11th or what we all know as 9/11.
I went to see if I captured some new images of street artists so abundant in the area and I managed to take some pictures in the end. I will show you in coming posts since on second thought I preferred to post the flowers to honor 9/11 victims and commemorate our Diada.
As you probably know it is common to find flower stands along this famous street, in fact this part is called Ramblas de les Flors or Flower Ramblas because of the big assortment of flowers.
There is a great offer of bouquets, made not only of natural plants but also of dried colorful flowers, some of them even painted.
Here are some links to examples of some flower bouquets of Las Ramblas, Barcelona as shown in other posts:
- Flower Bouquet at La Rambla dels Flors
- Carnation Fresco in Flower Stall
- Flower Stock Photography
- Small Colorful Bouquets of Paper Flowers
- Purple Flower Fantasy in Las Ramblas
- Pink Flower Fantasy in Las Ramblas
Labels:
bouquet,
color,
flower photography,
flower stall,
flowers,
las ramblas
Location: Barcelona, Spain
La Rambla, 65, 08002 Barcelona, Spain
September 10, 2007
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.
September 09, 2007
Classic Marionettes at Tibidabo Amusement Park: Clown
Marionetarium at Tibidabo Amusement Park |
Since one picture wasn't enough here is a second marionette: the Clown. In fact at Tibidabo they have a workshop where experts make new marionettes for the park and preserve the old ones which are part of Herta Frankel's collection.
Herta was a famous Austrian puppeteer that came to Barcelona in 1942 and became very well known for her TV series for children.
Tibidabo's show only lasts about half an hour but you are going to see authentic collectionist antiques there. The place is called Marionetarium.
Labels:
amusement park,
clown,
marionette,
tibidabo
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Tibidabo, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
September 08, 2007
Classic Marionettes at Tibidabo: Trapezist
These are classic trapeze marionettes you can admire inside Tibidabo Amusement Park.
The trapezists were hanging from the ceiling on our way to the small room where the marionette show was about to start.
I am sorry if the picture appears to be upside down. There are many flaws because the image was snatched in a hurry. It was totally forbidden to take pictures of the marionettes.
September 07, 2007
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.
September 06, 2007
Red Flowers in Memoriam
How much I admire a person with a gift. Not the mundane kind of gift like when you have a talent to make money or to memorize the yellow pages, but the sort of gift that transforms an individual into a unique person, a historical character, a reference for generations to come. Most people have to die first so others become aware of their imprint on history but a few are lucky enough to leave this world with the satisfaction of not being just a number but an idea, a spirit, a name, flowing in the stream of the collective mind till the end of times. I did not have any particular reason to post these red flowers today but one item of news called my attention this morning: Luciano Pavarotti dies at 71. One single headline lost in a sea of tragic stories but ladies and gentlemen we should rise and give his eternal soul a stand-up ovation and throw a thousand red flowers in memoriam.
Una Furtiva Lagrima - Luciano Pavarotti
September 05, 2007
Keith Richards and Woody Allen - Paper Mache - Barri Gotic, Barcelona
Is it possible to see Keith Richards and Woody Allen in Barcelona, both in the same room, considering that the only thing in common that they have is they are weird and play an instrument?
I had the chance to live such mystic experience in front of a souvenir shop in Barri Gotic, but both celebrities were made of paper mache. I had my doubts with Keith though!. Keith cost about 220 euros as I read on the tag hanging from his "cigarrette".
Don't say it wouldn't be great to have one of these somewhere around the house just for the fun of it, if affordable of course.
September 04, 2007
Palau Sant Jordi Sports Center and Concert Hall in Montjuic, Barcelona
Palau Sant Jordi, not far away from the tower in yesterday's post (yes, that white tip is not on the roof) is a totally different building both in design and functionality. This time we are facing a wide almost square building (see the Palau Sant Jordi on Google Earth) that in spite of looking big standing at the entrance, seems to be terribly flat from the distance as proportions are deceiptful in the enormous square of the Olympic ring on Montjuic Hill (check Palau Sant Jordi in an old post to see what I mean). Palau Sant Jordi was meant to be a sports center and as such was inaugurated in 1992 for the Olympic Games in Barcelona. Nevertheless, designers were wise enough to conceive the facilities as a multiuse space that can shift from a skating rink to a tennis court, a swimming tank, a basketball court and what's best, an important concert hall where famous bands and singers have performed. The building was designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki & Associates. Find out about what other important works by Arata Isozaki here: Arata Isozaki & Associates via Emporis.
September 03, 2007
Santiago Calatrava's Montjuic Communications Tower, Barcelona
This is Santiago Calatrava's Communications Tower standing against the sun in the middle of the big square at the Olympic Ring on Montjuic Hill. The structure is located near Palau Sant Jordi sports center, Picornell swimming pools and the Olympic Stadium.
When you think of this artist, Calatrava, you think about impossible structures of steel and glass that resemble skeletons, carcasses with exposed ribs, sails, etc. In this case we are just talking about a 136 meter high tower that was meant only for telecommunications. But still it doesn't look like one of those horrible antennas full of dishes. It is weird I know but elegant at the same time.
The tower's white steel structure with the tip tapering like a flame, does recall the Olympic torch or perhaps the jet engine of some extraterrestrial airship and oddly enough it doesn't stand in the way, maybe because of the line of nearby columns illuminated at night or the immensity of the square that evokes Soviet or Maoist grandiloquent and megalomaniac architecture. I digress.
Some brief facts about Calatrava then: Born on July 28, 1951 in Valencia, Spain, he studied architecture in the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura (Valencia) and later on took post-graduate courses in civil engineering in Zurich. His work is well known all over the world so I will not deal with the many projects in his prolific career that you can consult in the following useful links:
- Santiago Calatrava: The Official Site
- Wikipedia: Santiago Calatrava
- Santiago Calatrava's Buildings Communications Tower: Another Approach
- Calatrava's Montjuic Communications Tower: Previous Posts
Labels:
architecture,
calatrava,
montjuic,
tower
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Pg Olímpic, 17 - 19, 08038 Barcelona, Spain
September 02, 2007
Door Ironwork at Casa Mila or La Pedrera
This is a frontal view of the fabulous ironwork door at Casa Mila aka La Pedrera by Gaudi.
Check this great link: Iron and Metals in the Works of Gaudi
September 01, 2007
Nativity Façade: Herod's Soldier Slaying Baby
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Labels
architecture
(164)
modernisme
(81)
gaudi
(74)
art nouveau
(73)
food
(67)
flowers
(63)
street artist
(55)
sculpture
(48)
barri gotic
(39)
las ramblas
(39)
sagrada familia
(33)
dancers
(29)
beach
(28)
amusement park
(27)
port
(27)
human statue
(26)
art
(25)
mosaic
(25)
tibidabo
(25)
guell
(23)
barcelona streets
(22)
sant pau
(22)
tips
(22)
Catalan traditions
(21)
barcelona shop
(21)
market
(21)
montjuic
(21)
gothic quarter
(19)
la boqueria market
(18)
opinion
(18)
carnival
(17)
costa brava
(17)
domenech i montaner
(17)
christmas
(16)
ciutadella
(16)
maremagnum
(16)
folklore
(15)
classic
(14)
balcony
(13)
modernist
(13)
sea
(13)
street art
(13)
barcelona hotels
(12)
catalan art nouveau
(12)
catalan towns
(12)
costumes
(12)
graffiti
(12)
la pedrera
(12)
stained glass
(12)
casa mila
(11)
casa modernista
(11)
door
(11)
fountain
(11)
history
(11)
barcelona market
(10)
ceiling
(10)
la rambla
(10)
barcelona port
(9)
bikes
(9)
chocolate
(9)
crafts
(9)
paper mache
(9)
pedralbes
(9)
port aventura
(9)
vintage
(9)
architects
(8)
cosmocaixa
(8)
harbor
(8)
hotel
(8)
motorbike
(8)
passeig de gracia
(8)
arc de triomf
(7)
classic cars
(7)
dali
(7)
gracia
(4)
palau de la musica
(4)
accommodation
(3)
barcelona bar
(3)
casa batllo
(2)
cheese
(2)
cruises
(2)
gracia quarter
(2)
ham
(2)
wine
(2)
hostel
(1)
parc guell
(1)
picasso
(1)