out and about

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

out and about... life in Spain.

 

balconies in la Barceloneta

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

rooftop urban art

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

...on the way to Park Güell.

serpentine bench

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

This trencadis mosaic serpentine bench is unusually comfortable to sit on, believe it or not! I couldn't stop taking pictures of the beautiful mosaics used to create this magnificent work of art in Park Guëll.  Gaudí worked alongside Josep María Jujol, a specialist in trencadís mosaic design, to carry out his projects.

blues, greens, browns...

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

How beautiful is this?!!

trencadís mosaics

 

blues

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

Anyone who knows me knows that I love blue!

trencandís mosaics

greens

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

Discarded broken tile shards from factories were often used in Catalan modernism adding a colorful effect to its architecture.  The name given to this type of mosaic is trencandís.  Antoni Guadí was most famous for using this style.

I, for one, love mosaics of this sort!

World Book Day

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

Happy World Book Day!  

Read!  Let your imagination wander!

 

rainy days

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

If it's a rainy day... make it shine with a smile!

the magic of Gaudí

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

Travel

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent in the ideas of living."

-Miriam Beard

 

Modernism

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

Josep Puig i Cadafalch - Casa Amatller
Antoni Guadí - Casa Batlló
Modernism

Passeig de Gràcia, 41-43

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

Josep Puig i Cadafalch - Casa Amatller
Antoni Guadí - Casa Batlló
Modernism

above and beyond

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

 Go above and beyond in whatever you choose to do...

Josep Puig i Cadafalch - Casa Amatller
Antoni Guadí - Casa Batlló
Modernism

a grand entrance

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

spring again

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

"It is spring again.  The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart."

-Rainer Maria Rilke

 

sweet spring

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

"sweet spring is your
time is my time is our
time for springtime is lovetime
and viva sweet love"

(all the merry little birds are
flying in the floating in the
very spirits singing in
are winging in the blossoming)

lovers go and lovers come
awandering awondering
but any two are perfectly
alone there's nobody else alive

(such a sky and such a sun
i never knew and neither did you
and everybody never breathed
quite so many kinds of yes)

not a tree can count his leaves
each herself by opening
but shining who by thousands mean
only one amazing thing

(secretly adoring shyly
tiny winging darting floating
merry in the blossoming
always joyful selves are singing)

"sweet spring is your
time is my time is our
time for springtime is lovetime
and viva sweet love"

 

-e.e. cummings

 

observe

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

Take note of the things around you that you see every day.  Beauty can be seen everywhere if we just open our eyes and observe.

Vila de Gràcia

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

The Gràcia neighborhood is great!  You're in the middle of Barcelona, but at the same time it doesn't feel like you're in the middle of a big city.  Everything necessary is at your fingertips!

live the present

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

 "Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have.  Make the NOW the primary focus of your life."

-Eckhart Tolle

(details of sidewalk on Passeig de Gràcia)

Mercat del Born

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

This iron structure once served as a market area and marked the Modernisme era in Catalan architecture.  Today it has been converted into a cultural center.

hidden courtyards

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

Walking around the Gothic Quarters of Barcelona surprised me with its stunning courtyards!

fish

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

This sculpture, in the form of a fish, was designed by Frank Gehry to modernize the Olympic village of Barcelona in 1992.  The titanium structure sits in the Barceloneta neighborhood facing the Mediterranean Sea and glimmers with all its might reflecting the sun's rays.

priceless moments

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

Walking around La Barceloneta gave me great joy.  It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and I felt free.  These moments are priceless.

new experiences

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

"A mind that is stretched by new experiences can never go back to its old dimensions."

-Oliver Wendall Holmes, Jr.

 

change

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

I couldn't agree more with something I heard on a travel program in Spain (Españoles en el Mundo) - "la chispa de la vida es el cambio contínuo" - roughly translated as something like "continual change is the spice of life".  

Change keeps life interesting!

street lamps

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

Street lamps in Barcelona... come in many shapes and sizes!

Passeig de Gràcia, 92

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

Casa Milà - La Pedrera - Modernist building by Antoni Gaudí - 1906-1910

Sant Joan

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

This church is located in Plaça Virreina, one of numerous squares that can be found in the easy-going Gràcia neighborhood.

Gràcia

Barcelona (Catalunya), Spain

This adorable building in the free-spirited Gràcia neighborhood is found in Praça del Sol, a square full of outdoor cafés with people who have lost all notion of time and are absorbed in the moment.