Taking flight, ©voyager, all rights reserved
It’s been a crazy, busy day around here and Jack didn’t get out until much later than usual so to make up for it I took him to the lake. I figure you guys have seen lots of wet dog photos lately so instead of another one here’s a nice bit of fluff.
Wedged in between the mountains and the sea, Barcelona’s streets tend to be narrow and dark, and beautiful.
But it’s also a place where you can see the contrast between rich and poor, with people sleeping rough, begging for change and trying to make ends meet by selling knickknacks. When you come to the harbour you will have the multi-million dollar yachts next to poor immigrants selling cheap sunglases.
I will say one thing in favour of Barcelona and that is that they don’t seem to actively work against the homeless population. There was a spot at Catalunya where our bus arrived and left where a homeless guy had his place, with a small foam mattress and a few belongings. He usually wasn’t there when we arrived, but at least nobody destroyed his things and the police didn’t remove them.
My kids were wondering about the “junk”, not knowing that this was somebody’s home, and when I explained it to them they emptied their pockets and put all their change on the mattress. I was never prouder of them than in that moment.
Narrow street just off the Rambla. ©Giliell, all rights reserved
©Giliell, all rights reserved
Next year I am definitively going to plant several sunflowers. They are beautiful and are home to many insects. Bumblebees apparently love them to bits, there is always at least one buzzing around.
©Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
Red Admiral butterfly, ©voyager, all rights reserved
Red Admiral, underside, ©voyager, all rights reserved
The weather here was a bit strange last week. We had very high humidity and bouts of rain, but it was cool making it feel more like late spring than the middle of July. I’m not really complaining, cool is definitely better than sweltering, but it was weird. Today, though, things seem to have reset. The humidity is mostly gone, there isn’t a cloud in the sky and the temp has climbed into the mid-twenties and seems to be staying there. This is what I call a perfect day. So does Jack, who had a welcome spring in his step this morning.
A quick birdie before I crawl back to bed.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
Just off the big Boulevard “La Rambla” is the big market hall Boqueria. The front is dominated by the stalls that mostly offer their goods to tourists, but in the back you can find the Barceloneses doing their shopping. Fresh fish and fruit and most delicious baked goods for prices that let you forget that you’re supposedly in a tourist attraction.
Marzipan and sweets in the market.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
What I interestingly couldn’t find were signs and comemorative plates of the terrorist attack that happened there last year.
Pretty in Pink ©voyager, all rights reserved
Reach for the sky, ©voyager, all rights reserved
Does anyone know what kind of tree this is? I’m having difficulty figuring it out from my plant guide. It looks and smells a bit like hydrangea, but I’ve never seen a hydrangea tree. Whatever it is, I think it’s beautiful. It’s been in bloom for several weeks and the flowers move from a deep rose colour to the palest of pinks. It has a small, sweet scent and it attracts butterflies. I waited around for a bit hoping one would turn up to add to the photo, but Jack was restless and no doubt keeping them away.
Please let me know in the comments if you can give me any information about this tree. I think I might like one for my own garden. In the meantime, happy Saturday. I hope everyone has a good weekend.
The centre of Barcelona is the Plaza Catalunya. Lined on one side by the traditional Corte Inglés shopping centre and start of the Rambla, the main boulevard, there’s a snowball’s chance in hell you’ll miss it. Most tourist buses start and stop there (our shuttle bus from the camp site dropped us off there and picked us up, and so did most others), the hop on- hop off buses stop there, the metro lines do, the regional train station is under it.
Above it are the pigeons.
The fountain by night.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
The fountain by day.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
Did I say fountain? What I meant was “pigeon bath”.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
How many pigeons can you count?
©Giliell, all rights reserved
Naughty boy, ©voyager, all rights reserved
So, I’m trying to focus my camera when I see this. … Jack, no, stop, don’t pee on plants! Naughty boy!
I wish I could show you the grin he gave me when he turned around, but I was kerfuffled in the moment. It’s his way of telling me that I’m taking too long with my camera. Well, message received, Jack. Lets go home.
Camp sites are probably an El Dorado for sparrows, who know no shyness but really like breadcrumbs
© Giliell, all rights reserved.
Barcelona is home to 1.65 million people, the travel destination of 7 million people a year and one of the most densely populated areas in Europe, second only to Paris. I’ll start my series on the city as such with a few panoramic shots to give you an idea. They were either shot from the Parc Güell or the Tibidabo, both which will get their own posts in the future.
The city in full
© Giliell, all rights reserved.
Shot from the ferris wheel in the Tibidabo.
© Giliell, all rights reserved.
You can see the big parallel boulevards running down to the harbour. © Giliell, all rights reserved.
The Zoo, one of the few green spaces. ©Giliell, all rights reserved
Panoramic view, with the torre de Agbar and the Sagrada Familia in the centre.
© Giliell, all rights reserved.
In the middle you can see the Torre Agbar or Torre Glóries. I never gave much of the interpretation that all towers are phallic symbols, but this one takes the cake.
A PG 18 rated tower…
©Giliell, all rights reserved
The Sagrada Familia, Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece. The Catalan architect is all over Barcelona and we will visit one of his works, Parc Güell, later. Be advised to book your tickets in advance if you want to visit the place.
The Sagrada Familia
©Giliell, all rights reserved
A counterpart to birth of a tiger lily, from Nightjar. Click for full size!
© Nightjar, all rights reserved.
Happy Jack, ©voyager, all rights reserved
Jack was complaining this morning that I haven’t posted a picture of him for awhile, so here is the boy being all Happy Jack in his natural environment. When Jack was just 7 weeks old we took him to the lake for the first time and he ran down to the water and dove in with total abandon. There he was, this tiny little puppy in the water for the first time and swimming out way too far. So far in fact, that we sent our older dog out to bring him in. Swimming came as naturally to Jack as walking did and if there’s water around, even puddles, you can be sure that Jack’s in it.