About the header: Fons Magica, the magic fountain in front of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
Please click on the pictures to see them better!
Please click on the pictures to see them better!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Blue women carrying water
Found near Barcelona's Cathedral, in the Barri Gotic.
Sorry, friends, don't have much time to browse your blogs lately, as I am a bit under the weather at the moment. Will be back a bit more, as soon as I am better.
Labels:
architecture,
art,
Barri Gotic,
old town
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Intruders...
One of the many canons adorning Montjuic Castle. What was deterring intruders years ago seems now to be welcoming all the foreign tourists on the big ships in the background...
By the way, the 5th visitor from now on, 8.14PM in Barcelona, will be the 10.000th... A big welcome to you, my friend! Have some cake!
8.46PM: welcome to Lois, from Tallahassee, one of our first visitors ever, and also our 10.000th visitor! Lois has a wonderful blog, please check it out, it is really worth it!
By the way, the 5th visitor from now on, 8.14PM in Barcelona, will be the 10.000th... A big welcome to you, my friend! Have some cake!
8.46PM: welcome to Lois, from Tallahassee, one of our first visitors ever, and also our 10.000th visitor! Lois has a wonderful blog, please check it out, it is really worth it!
Labels:
Montjuic
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Catalan Blue
If I had to define the "natural" color of Barcelona, and generally Catalunya, I would choose this fantastically rich blue you can find everywhere here. This is another door, in a small village just north of Barcelona, along the coast. I think it is the door at number 69.
What would be the defining color of wherever you live?
What would be the defining color of wherever you live?
Labels:
architecture,
colors
Monday, November 16, 2009
Murano glass
Small horses, lamps, glasses, necklaces, boxes, vases, etc. You can make pretty much anything out of glass. Here is how they do it in Murano, island world famous for it's... glass.
And here is a woman. Made of glass. Beware: glass women are FRAGILE!
And here is a woman. Made of glass. Beware: glass women are FRAGILE!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Masks
Many Venitians spend a small (or not so small) fortune dressing up for Carnavale, costumes, shoes, and masks. Here are a few traditional masks, mainly meant for tourist in search of a cheap (or not so cheap) souvenir.

And then, there is the other way, as seen below...

Labels:
technology,
tradition,
Venice
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Water Closet Palace Hotel
In the same shop where we found those strange bearded women yesterday, there was this, the Water Closet Palace Hotel.
Needless to say, this was not OUR hotel!!!
I am creating another small blog with some more classic views of beautiful Venice. Here are the first pictures. You can also click on our Venice blog, just above this post.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
La isola di Burano
Near Venice, in the laguna, is the very beautiful island called Burano, famous for it's lace. Now, you know that this blog is rather colorful... Here are some more colors for everybody to enjoy!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
L'uomo ucello
Well, we've been away for a couple of days, to the wonderful Venezia, Venice, for some sightseeing, window shopping, and some serious photo shooting. This being a blog about Barcelona, I wont post too many pictures of Venice, just a few selected ones (out of the hundreds we took).
L'uomo ucello, the birdman, greeted us from what probably is his favorite perch. Fantastic mask, a bit scary! And the costume is not bad either, for a big bird.
Thanks for all your wishes for this blog's first 6 months, and for our little trip! It was cold, very wet, windy, but it was wonderful!
Labels:
Venice
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
6 months!
This is Barcelona! Perfect picture to celebrate the 6monthaversary of this blog, started on may 10th, 2009!
I will be away for a couple of days, taking my wife to one of the most romantic and beautiful places on earth, Venice, Italy. Therefore, this is an automatic posting. And yes, we decided against taking our laptops on the trip! See ya all tomorrow.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Montserrat
I will be away for a couple of days, taking my wife to one of the most romantic and beautiful places on earth, Venice, Italy. Therefore, this is an automatic posting. Back on wednesday. And yes, we decided against taking our laptops on the trip!
Photo taken on top of Tibidabo. On the mountain in the back, you can (barely) see the sanctuary of Our Lady of Mantserrat.
Photo taken on top of Tibidabo. On the mountain in the back, you can (barely) see the sanctuary of Our Lady of Mantserrat.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Window
Window near the Cathedral, in the old town.
I will be away for a couple of days, taking my wife to one of the most romantic and beautiful places on earth, Venice, Italy. Therefore, this is an automatic posting. Back on wednesday. And yes, we decided against taking our laptops on the trip!
Labels:
architecture,
cathedral,
old town
Saturday, November 7, 2009
A street car named Tibidabo
This is the 107 years old little street car going up the hill, to Tibidabo.
I will be away for a couple of days, taking my wife to one of the most romantic and beautiful places on earth, Venice, Italy. Therefore, this is an automatic posting. Back on wednesday. And yes, we decided against taking our laptops!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Rock the boat
Seen this on some rocks in northern Catalunya.
I will be away for a couple of days, taking my wife to one of the most romantic and beautiful places on earth. Therefore, automatic postings for the next few days .
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Yearly beach chairs report, brought to you by Daily Photo Barcelona!
This is the very first yearly beach chairs report, brought to you by Daily Photo Barcelona! Welcome, have some cake, free drinks in the back.
Not much to say today... The summer is over, here anyway, beach chairs are being stacked, cleaned and put away. Small boys walking away. Please don't cry: summer will be back again next year!
Some hardened weather beaten people left on the beaches, wearing sweaters and jackets. Or diving suits. Being a northerner myself, north east of France that is, it is still very nice for me, no sweaters for me yet. Weather beaten, me? Not likely! I'm a big softie (as confirmed by my wife).
Well, this is it: end of the first yearly beach chairs report! Stay tuned folks! Coming soon on this very channel: the first yearly sweater report!
Labels:
beach
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau - 3
Another detail of this magnificent hospital, one of the pavilions. Please click on the label below the post to see the other photos.
Labels:
architecture,
hospital,
world heritage
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Waiting...
Waiting... Ignoring each other...
There are people from over 100 countries living in Barcelona, many Chinese, Pakistanis, several thousands French, Indians, Moroccans, and so on. Integration is still a problem, despite of the efforts of the local gouvernment (the Generalitat). Immigrants are offered free Catalan classes, free access to culture, but still, the divide is great. Also, we are in Spain, but it's hard to get a job here if you don't speak Catalan. But then, Catalan doesn't help you very much in the rest of Spain...It's hard to get a job anyway, with or without Catalan, as the unemployment rate in Spain is the highest in Europe, with 19.3%. Over 3.8 million people are unemployed here.
The mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, recently blew a fuse about the "anti-publicity", the bad name of the city in the news lately. Corruption, grand theft, prostitution, drugs. So, not all is fair in our fair city. So what? Welcome to the real Barcelona, a place finally like any other place, with a good side, and a bad one!
Monday, November 2, 2009
And one more...
Yesterday, I hesitated quite a while.... Which doorway for the theme day, as I have a good choice of pictures to choose from. Was hard.
Anyway, here is another one, in Sant Pol de Mar as well. Part of a church compound, I believe. Much simpler than the one yesterday, but simplicity has it's beauty.
Labels:
architecture,
doorways,
Sant Pol de Mar
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Theme of the month: Doorways

This is one I discovered this afternoon in Sant Pol de Mar, on the Costa del Maresme, north of Barcelona.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants of thos month's theme day.
Labels:
architecture,
theme days
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía

A bit more of Valencia, a picture that combines both my love for music and my love for science fiction. Just behind what I showed yesterday is this building, the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (Queen Sofia's Arts Palace). An opera and concert hall looking like some stranded space ship.
Will go tosee Puccini's Madame Butterfly in January. It will be a GREAT evening!
Friday, October 30, 2009
la Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciències
Short trip to Valencia. Valencia, where they speak valencian, a type of catalan, is a beautiful city south of Barcelona, renowned for it's food (the paella comes from here, originally), culture, architecture... It also has, in the city's cathedral, the Holy Grail, or so says the present Pope.This picture was taken in the very futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, also known by the not so nice acronym of CAC. Amazing architecture.
The round building is a cinema, and the arches on the side are part of a car park.
More about it here.
My blog of note for today is about Minnesota's 8th largest town, the beautiful Eagan. Seems to be a really nice place to be, and some of it's inhabitants are quite quirky! Have a look, here.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Asterix and Obelix in Catalunya
October 29th, 1959... That day, for the very first time, was published a comic which would become famous around the world, as it has been published in 107 languages: Asterix and Obelix.The went pretty much everywhere: America, Rome, Egypt, England, Belgium, Spain...
Even to Catalunya, the proof being this picture! Yep, another shutter, another closed shop!
Other birthdays today: Winona Ryder, 38, Richard Dreyfuss, 62, the Internet, 40. 40 years since Charley Kline sent some data from the University of California to the University of Stanford, an L and a O, on a Honeywell computer.
Happy birthday! Have some cake!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Posting 1 and 172: El Cul

This, my friends, was my very first posting, almost 6 months ago. I didn't know by then anything about this sculpture.
Very recently, I came upon some info about it, and... I just can't resist sharing it with you guys, as it is totally silly, and so typical of Barcelona!!!
The photo was taken in a little park off Avinguda Icaria.
Open quote:
This park holds one of the sculptures built to celebrate the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. It is El Cul (The Bottom), a bronze piece 6.5 metres high by Eduardo Úrculo, and was dedicated to Santiago Roldan, the President of the Barcelona Holding Olímpic between 1989 and 1993. Úrculo was very pleased that "Barcelona was the first Western city to have a monument dedicated to the bottom". The sculpture, situated next to the Himalayan cedar forest, consists of long thick legs supporting two perfectly round buttocks.
End quote.
Stay tuned, folks: tomorrow is an important birthday for many people, specially for Frenchmen.
Labels:
art
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Little boxes

| 1. Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky-tacky, Little boxes, little boxes, Little boxes, all the same. There's a green one and a pink one And a blue one and a yellow one And they're all made out of ticky-tacky And they all look just the same. 2. And the people in the houses All go to the university, And they all get put in boxes, Little boxes, all the same. And there's doctors and there's lawyers And business executives, And they're all made out of ticky-tacky And they all look just the same. | 3. And they all play on the golf-course, And drink their Martini dry, And they all have pretty children, And the children go to school. And the children go to summer camp And then to the university, And they all get put in boxes And they all come out the same. 4. And the boys go into business, And marry, and raise a family, And they all get put in boxes, Little boxes, all the same. There's a green one and a pink one And a blue one and a yellow one And they're all made out of ticky-tacky And they all look just the same. Malvina Reynolds |
Labels:
markets
Monday, October 26, 2009
Bundles
This is the cat formerly known as Bundles. We were unable to take her with us to India, and then to Spain, so we had to leave her where we found her, in Larnaka, Cyprus. She was a street cat, and we rescued her when she was 2 or 3 month old. Bundles of joy! She has a happy life!
Labels:
animals
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Window shopping: India?
My wife treated me to a nice Pakistani reataurant last friday night. Nice food!Anyway, en route to the Shalimar, we went down the Ramblas, the main tourist area in the city center, and passed in front of one of the many many souvenir shops (fans, Tshirts with different "funny"texts, ashtrays, etc). This one was different... Next to some Rosina Wachtmeister cats (in a future posting!), they were selling this. Quite a surprise to find this here, even though there are approximately 28.ooo Indians living in Catalunya!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Welcome!

Welcome to my 158th follower, Sishir! Have some cake from that fabulous shop in Avinguda Gaudi! Everybody is invited, got 7 more of them! Nice weekend to all!
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