Barcelona Photoblog

July 22, 2012

Papier Mache Art: Famous Artists Display, Barcelona

Papier Mache figures of famous musicians in Barcelona shop

The art of creating papier mache figures or sculptures can be simple if we consider the materials used but the final work can be as difficult as your imagination and skills permit.

Many of us at a given moment of our childhood have had the opportunity to shape small figures by pasting glued strips of paper on a balloon, a cardboard model or an armature of some sort. The final result was not always artistically worthy but it surely proved to be fun.

For those of you who always wished to make a wonderful artwork in paper mache and never could, here is another good sample of exquisite papier-mâché reproductions of famous artists like John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Freddy Mercury...(the other guy looks like the Edge from U2 but I am not sure).

There is this store near Plaza Sant Jaume in Barcelona where it is possible to buy such art among other articles. It is not cheap but you would impress your friends at home for sure and of course it is the heck of a present if you can afford it.

Check many other examples of such figures in my previous posts: Papier Mache Barcelona. I've been asked so many times for the address of this shop that I will reluctantly post it here and make them free publicity in spite of the fact they always come out and stop me from taking pictures:

Shop name: 2 Bis
Adress: Carrer Bisbe, 2 - 08002 Barcelona

June 27, 2012

Inner Courtyard Swimming Pool in Barcelona



Inner courtyard swimming pool

This beautiful swimming pool in some inner courtyard somewhere in carrer Berlin is just one of the many secrets hidden around the city where modern architecture coexists with Catalan Art Nouveau.

June 14, 2012

Cherry Tomatoes in Barcelona




Some beautiful ripe cherry tomatoes as seen at a shop across the street. Their succulent, juicy appearance was worth shooting. I like the contrast with the green beans or the asparagus nearby.

June 01, 2012

Old Farmhouse (Masia) Door: 1817


Old farmhouse wooden door


The texture of rotten wood, the pass of time reflected on this 1817 door inside the premises of an old farmhouse or masia in Granollers near Barcelona

May 08, 2012

Flowers on the Window

Flowers on Window [enlarge] 
On the same line as yesterday's post, let's continue with the spring flower topic on Barcelona Photoblog. While I find time to resume my photowalks around Barcelona what better than sharing some colors or some views that delighted my eyes in Spring.

Flowerbed

Flowerbed [enlarge] 
Some flowerbed somewhere in some garden in the afternoon. Seasonal flowers to enjoy the colors of Spring. I thought they looked better from ground level. Very common flowers. I don't even know the name. Who cares? Just some beautiful flowers. Maybe you can classify them for me.

April 24, 2012

Sant Jordi Rose, A Catalan Tradition

 [enlarge]
Yesterday like every April 23rd La Diada de Sant Jordi (St. George) celebrations took place in Barcelona. On a day like this, women are given a flower, a red rose while men are supposed to receive books. In the end everybody ends up buying books as this happened to be the Day of the Book as well.

April 17, 2012

Rusty Keyhole in Farmhouse Door

Rusty keyhole [enlarge]

Time is an acid that eats up on all things. It does not matter whether it's a stone, a wooden plank or a metal surface, it keeps gnawing on textures until damage is visible and eventually stuff disappears, disintegrates into some other matter. This keyhole on an old masia (Catalan for farmhouse) door was no exception, nor were the boards that painstakingly try to hold the lock.

April 12, 2012

Climbing Plant on Old Catalan Farmhouse

Climbing plant wall [enlarge]

Spring decorates every year the walls of Catalan farmhouses (cat. masias) with incredible strokes of color as if mother nature was immersed in some kind of restoration process to embellish what only seems to be held by the knots and entanglements of climbing plants like this. Watching the afternoon sun fall on these bright leaves is really a pleasure to the eye.

April 02, 2012

Romesco Sauce: The Perfect Companion to Calçots

How to Prepare Romesco Sauce [enlarge]

As mentioned in yesterday's post, Calçots are supposed to be soaked in Romesco sauce. I mentioned the ingredients too. I guess this video might do to get the idea considering I wanted it in English for everyone to understand. I wish it was some Catalan chef but the guy knows what he's doing anyway.

March 31, 2012

Peeling Calçots, Masia Can Palau, Vilanova del Valles

Peeling calçots at Masia Can Palau

In Catalonia, there is this part of the year when going out to peel calçots for lunch at any of the many masias spread around the country becomes almost a matter of state.

Most well-known places for calçotades are in the southern province of Tarragona, in a region called Valls but around Barcelona it is not strange to find a good spot in an idyllic environment.

The place I will mention today is just an example and of course you are free to choose. It is called Masia Can Palau and it is located in Vilanova del Valles some kilometers away from the city of Barcelona.

The 30 eur menu included Calçots with Romescu sauce, grilled meat (a mixture of chicken, sausage, lamb and rabbit with fries) and dessert. We had two generous rounds of calçots per person. They came wrapped in aluminum foil and were very hot.

But how do you peel Catalan calçots?

You have to grab the calçot by the leaves and with the other hand, press gently on the black roasted skin of the bulb and peel it off. Beware you don't press to hard and pull away the inner part of the calçot. It requires some practice. It should come out clean.

After that you soak the tender and juicy stems of the plant in an exquisite romesco sauce which is made with almond, garlic, red pepper, hazelnut, tomato, olive oil, vinegar, crumbs of fried bread, salt and pepper.

If you want to know how they cook calçots and what they are, check my previous posts: Catalan Traditions - Calçotada: A Close Look and Grilled Leaks...Check the sauce in next post.

March 26, 2012

Tattoo Shop, Barri Gotic, Barcelona

Tattoo Shop, Barri Gotic, Barcelona [enlarge]

Becoming an intruder into somebody else's moment, sneaking into that magic instant that is no more and freezing it for posterity is one of the most thrilling experiences at least for me and I guess for anyone that enjoys photography. Walking down the narrow alleys of Barri Gotic, in a street whose name I can't recall, there was this small tattoo shop. The reflection of the man on the mirror and that green pouring out of the blinds really grabbed my attention. I had serious doubts as to whether to use black and white here and I can tell you it looks great but if color made me capture the scene in color it will go.

March 20, 2012

Estacion de Francia, Barcelona: Lamp and Beer Pump

Beer Pump and Lamp, Estacion de Francia, Barcelona, Spain

Upon entering Estació de França in Barcelona and if you turn right and get into the bar you will find out that the place has been restored recently with great taste by the way. Worth mentioning are the big lamps hanging from the ceiling but today I would like to show you the ones on the counter (see image) next to the beer pump. A sweet mixture of tree, anemone and candlestick. I hope you enjoy the design and/or the beer.

March 17, 2012

Woman Waiting, Estació de França, Barcelona

Estacion de Francia, Barcelona, Spain [enlarge]

A woman searches in her bag while her thoughts are somewhere far away. The quietude at the train station hall is the perfect environment to meditate before that long ride to who knows where. The pendulums hanging from the ceiling contribute to the idea of time passing by while the ticking of the clock on the distant wall, almost audible, is only interrupted by the steps of the guard walking his beat. Such is the impressive atmosphere at this famous train station in Barcelona. Find out more about this place in my previous post: Estació de França and Dome Detail.

March 11, 2012

Boquerones en Vinagre (Anchovies in Vinegar), Mediterranean Delight

Anchovies in Vinegar [enlarge]

Having a tapa of raw fish macerated in vinegar is surely not quite luring for some stomachs. Mediterranean anchovies are not just gutted fish salted in brine, matured and canned or bottled in oil or salt as those you find in the market. They are also served fresh and marinated in vinegar as the ones in the picture. This exquisite tapa is called Boquerones en vinagre. By now you probably have guessed that not all anchovies prepared this way taste the same and that both the freshness of the fish and the quality of the vinegar really make the difference. Yesterday, we enjoyed these superb boquerones en vinagre dressed with garlic, parsley and some olives at Rincon de la Ciudadela, exactly at the corner of carrer Princesa and carrer Comerç in El Born, Barcelona. The restaurant is not modern, chic and trendy like many others in the area, but you know, good food, is not always in the coolest place.

March 05, 2012

Gallery on Building by Enric Sagnier, Gran Via 654, Barcelona

Gallery, Enric Sagnier, Gran Via 654, Barcelona, Spain [enlarge]

Eclectic building influenced by Catalan Art Nouveau but rich in baroque ornaments built by Enric Sagnier i Villavecchia back in 1904. Notice the beautiful undulated shapes of the stone gallery and the impressive ironwork of the balconies. You can find this building at Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 654 exactly between Carrer Roger de Lluria and Carrer de Pau Claris.

February 23, 2012

Barcelona Photoblog Celebrates Sixth Anniversary, Cheers!

Freixenet bottle [enlarge]

Yesterday, February 22nd, but six years ago, Barcelona Photoblog started a project that was meant to change this author's life a little bit. I have devoted many sleep hours to write almost 2000 posts and lots of long walks around this beautiful city to portray our reality. In 2005 I was lucky to find a good name but had the blog empty for over a year. I had no idea what to say or do. In 2006, there was this French guy, Eric, who had started a group called City Daily Photo meant to publish a picture a day about each member's city. I owe a lot to them and I am thankful for all the help and the enthusiasm the group gave me back then and through the 6 years of blogging. Barcelona Photoblog was also inspired by Barcelona Photobloggers, a solid community of photographers from Barcelona that have always been a reference to me. Bearing both communities in mind, my goal has been to document, report, narrate, highlight as much as I could and with all my heart about Barcelona. I hope I can keep shooting and writing for another 6 years. If anyone found this useful in anyway then every hour was worth spending. I would like to uncork this bottle of cava to virtually celebrate with you all these years of Barcelona images: cheers!

February 19, 2012

Roman Temple, Vic, Catalonia

Roman Temple, Vic, Catalonia, Spain [enlarge]

There are numerous good samples of the Roman past of Catalonia throughout our geography. This Roman temple from II a.c in the city of Vic is not precisely the best example since it underwent two important restorations but the fact is that at least part of a column shaft and the Corinthian capitals on the right hand side of the entrance are authentic. What is certainly special about this temple is that it was discovered in 1882 while demolishing the old Montcada's family castle who lived there in XI century. In IX c. Guifré el Pelós decided to integrate the old VIII c. fortress it had been during Saracen times, into a castle.

February 15, 2012

Gruyere Cheese Wheels, Vic Market, Catalonia

Le Gruyere [enlarge]

If you are a cheese lover you should not miss the sweet, nutty flavor of this exquisite Le Gruyere named after the valley of Gruyere in Fribourg, Switzerland. Such enormous wheels of cheese I found while visiting the Medieval Market in Vic. There were other posts in the past about such market here in Barcelona Photoblog: Medieval Musicians, Rabbit and Pumpkins, Spinning Yarn on a Drop Spindle

January 29, 2012

L'Ou Com Balla or The Dancing Egg, Barcelona Cathedral

L'Ou Com Balla or Dancing Egg in Barcelona Cathedral, Barri Gotic
L'Ou Com Balla tradition at Barcelona Cathedral, Barri Gotic, Barcelona

In the cloister of the Cathedral of Barcelona there is a beautiful fountain decorated with flowers that reminds you of idyllic gardens, of some paradise lost on earth.

It is the Sant Jordi fountain. Surfing over the soft cushion of its water jet once a year you can see a fragile eggshell that seldom falls which is called the L'Ou Com Balla, which translated literally from Catalan means how the egg dances or how dances the egg.

This is not the only place in Barcelona where you can find a dancing egg (there's one a la Casa de l'Arcadia or at Museum Frederic Mares' courtyard for example) but I think this is the one with more tradition, a tradition that goes back to the XIVth century and has to do with Corpus Christi celebrations, the eggshell itself representing the body of Christ.

The exact date to see L'Ou com Balla changes but it takes place at the end of May or in June depending on Corpus Christi Feast.

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