Tango Dancers II, Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain

I am not too talkative today and besides an image sometimes speaks for itself. You all know what tango is. I only have to say that you can watch dancers like this couple at Las Ramblas in Barcelona. By the way this is the second time they appear in my blog, see the previous snap which is very similar although less contrasty: Tango Dancers in Las Ramblas I

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Holy Water Font or Basin Made With Shell, Colonia Guell's Crypt, Barcelona, Spain

Stationary fonts like this are placed at the entrance to churches as you all know but I am sure you never saw a holy water font made with an enormous shell nor have you seen perhaps such wonderful ironwork pedicle. Nothing is common and ordinary when you enter Gaudi's crypt at Colonia Guell. The place has columns, altar, stain glass and pews as any other church but you have to be prepared to digest the degree of variation of the holy elements. A church was supposed to be on top of the crypt, as the latter was part of a bigger project which started in 1908. In 1917 one year after Gaudi's art patron and friend, Eusebi Guell, died, the work was finally stopped. As you can guess foundations are very solid. Columns are made of basaltic rock and different kinds of bricks. The ceiling is vaulted in the most traditional gothic style. Every arch, every pillar, was precisely calculated with small sacks full of pellets which were tied to the ceiling in Gaudi's workshop by means of small pieces of cloth and string making up what is known as a stereostatic model. The weight of every sack was proportional to the load every arch element had to hold. But everything here is hard to imagine without visiting Colonia Güell of course. By the way, there were some posts in Barcelona Photoblog some time ago that might help: Caprice Supreme of Architecture, Modernist Door and Mosaic, Futurist Windows and Stained Glass

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CERRADO POR DEFUNCIÓN...

TAN SOLO FUE UN SUEÑO...

No, no pudo ser. Estaban en deuda con nosotros pero no cumplieron. Dejaron los deberes para el último día y suspendieron el exámen final. Cierto es que fueron superiores al Manchester en los dos partidos, al menos aparentemente. Cierto es que puesieron ganas y no tuvieron suerte, también. Aunque no más cierto que la constatación de que este equipo solo sabe jugar al toque, no tienen variantes, ni

Colorful Bolivian Tinted Feather Hat, Moll de la Fusta, Barcelona, Spain

At Moll de la Fusta (Barcelona Port, Spain), there are these occasional parties organized by interracial non-profit agencies that we city dwellers tend to visit out of pure curiousity at first and enthusiastically once you get addicted to. There's the usual inexpensive exotic food offer which in many cases is the luring part of it believe me, at least for many people, let's not be hypocritical, and then there's the leisure side, particularly for parents who can't find a better place to take their kids that really satisfies them both and finally there's the integration side which originally was supposed to be the first one. At least this is the way I see it although "committed" citizens might openly disagree. Wouldn't it be better to give immigrants other kinds of opportunities rather than selling feather hats they don't wear anymore, I mean this is like selling tomahawks and rabbit paws. You have to say that the hat is beautiful and that unfortunately many people in the world have to sell traditions as if they were souvenirs for a living. I don't mean to be radical, of course, there are many color shades as in the hat.

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Rambla de Mar Lightweight Bridge, Barcelona, Spain

Witnessed by the anxious crowd gathering on the Rambla de Mar lightweight bridge close to Maremagnum shopping center, gently sails this boat, stopping time for some minutes and forcing visitors to enjoy the view longer than expected, till the mechanism in the bridge extends the wooden platform towards the pier on the other side. The bridge by Viaplana and Pinion leads to Las Ramblas nearby and was featured in Barcelona Photoblog in the past: Waiting for the Bridge at Rambla de Mar and Maremagnum Wooden Bridge in Rush Hours.

And just in case you would like to enjoy the same view daily here is list of Barcelona hotels near the port:

Abba Rambla - Barcelona Hotel near port
AC Miramar - Barcelona Hotel near port
Apsis Millenni - Barcelona Hotel near port
Auto Hogar - Barcelona Hotel near port
Barcelo Raval - Barcelona Hotel near port
Catalonia Avinyó - Barcelona Hotel near port
Eurostars Grand Marina - Barcelona Hotel near port
Gran Hotel Barcino - Barcelona Hotel near port
Hesperia Del Port - Barcelona Hotel near port
Hesperia Metropol - Barcelona Hotel near port
Hotel Barbara - Barcelona Hotel near port
Hotel Duquesa de Cardona - Barcelona Hotel near port
Hotel Barcelona Universal - Barcelona Hotel near port
Hotel Husa Internacional - Barcelona Hotel near port
Hotel Gotico - Barcelona Hotel near port
Husa Oriente - Barcelona Hotel near port
Medinaceli - Barcelona Hotel near port
Neri Hotel - Barcelona Hotel near port
Parallel - Barcelona Hotel near port
Principal Hotel - Barcelona Hotel near port
Tryp Apolo - Barcelona Hotel near port

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10 RAZONES PARA CREER, O NO...

10 RAZONES PARA NO CREER...1.- Porque el equipo no ha ganado un partido importante en dos años.2.- Porque están en mejor forma que nosotros.3.- Porque juegan en casa.4.- Porque hemos hecho una temporada desastrosa.5.- Porque nuestros jugadores no se lo merecen.6.- Porque tienen a Cristiano Ronaldo.7.- Porque es Old Trafford.8.- Porque nos jugamos la temporada a una sola carta.9.- Porque hasta

Can Can Girls at Far West Saloon, Port Aventura, Spain

After a long journey through all attractions in Port Aventura amusement park, the best way to rest is choosing one of the many shows available. The Far West area is for me one of the most complete and genuine. This is a picture I took in the saloon where these beautiful girls were dancing can can ("The can-can (also spelled cancan or Can Can) is regarded today primarily as a physically demanding music hall dance, performed by a chorus line of female dancers who wear costumes with long skirts, petticoats, and black stockings, harking back to the fashions of the 1890s. The main features of the dance are the lifting up and manipulation of the skirts, with high kicking and suggestive, provocative body movements. The cancan first appeared in the working-class ballrooms of Montparnasse in Paris in around 1830. It was a more lively version of the galop, a dance in quick 2/4 time, which often featured as the final figure in the quadrille. The cancan was, therefore, originally a dance for couples, who indulged in high kicks and other gestures with arms and legs. It is thought that they were influenced by the antics of a popular entertainer of the 1820s, Charles Mazurier, who was well known for his acrobatic performances, which included the grand écart or jump splits—later a popular feature of the cancan. At this time, and throughout most of the 19th century in France, the dance was also known as the chahut. Both words are French, cancan meaning "tittle-tattle" or "scandal", hence a scandalous dance, while chahut meant "noise" or "uproar"." Wikipedia). Suggestions: Try to finish your drink before the show ends cause the house is emptied so the next group of people standing in line comes in.

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Cello Duet: A Close Look

Recently I went to see my daughter play the piano. She attends a music school called Tritó, one of the many small academies subordinate to the Municipal Conservatory of Music of Barcelona. Twice a year, students are supposed to play in front of an audience and seniors are sincerely worth listening to. In the picture, you can realize how near my chair was from the musicians, so close, these two cellos wouldn't fit completely in my viewfinder. Not that you haven't seen a cello before but it was curious to notice how aesthetic it is when both hands catch up in a similar position, both bows being parallel and all. The cello duet, made up of teacher and student, did quite well and we enjoyed some classical moment in an almost intimate atmosphere. To add some mood to the post, here is a cello video I came across on YouTube: Bach Cello Suite No1 i-Prelude.

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The Bat in Colonia Guell At The Secretary's House

This is a bat, a symbol that was part of Güell family's coat of arms, and on top the omnipresent pigeon, that seems to be some sort of evil partner watching me from his master's shoulder, sorry, wings. She may not harm anyone but she did cover the historic figure with all her glorious s***. The house, belonged to Colonia Guell's secretary (remember Colonia Guell was an industrial estate in Santa Coloma de Cervelló, near Barcelona). It was founded by Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi in 1890. Güell was a wealthy man and his wife Isabel López Bru, was the daughter of Antoni López i López, first Marques of Comillas who was also a very rich man. Güell ran important textile factories in Barcelona but those were hard times for the sector. To be competitive, especially with the British industry, workers had to produce more for the same money or less. So people started to get organized and to claim for their rights and Güell decided to build a better place out of the city where workers could live around the factory and integrate themselves more in the company. He managed to do so for some time but trade unions and their claims arrived to Colonia Güell in the end.

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Y FERGUSON SE EQUIVOCÓ...

No acertó Ferguson con un planteamiento cobarde, al contraataque y confiando en ganar en casa. Un 0 - 0 ciertamente me parece un buen resultado para el Barça. Todos hubiésemos preferido una victoria, pero este resultado da una ventaja bastante clara estadísticamente hablando. Al Manchester sólo le vale la victoria, cualquier otro resultado nos es favorable. Y creo que no acertó porque tal y como

Rats at Exotic Animals Stall in Las Ramblas, Barcelona

Some baby rats at exotic animal stall in Las Ramblas, Barcelona. As I am no expert and I can't tell a rat from a mouse I leave you a link about these rodents' morphology: Rats and Mice: Differences. Of course the study of animals is not the purpose of this blog. The rats were in Barcelona and they happened to make a perfect pack.

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Barcelona, Gothic Quarter: Casa de los Canónigos at Bisbe Irurita Street

Casa de los Canónigos o Casa dels Canonges (Canons' House) at Bisbe Irurita street and next to Sant Jaume square is a XIV c. Gothic building restored in the 1920s by Rubió i Bellver and Jeroni Martorell. It was then that neogothic elements were added to the original building like this bridge connecting Palau de la Generalitat premises with the abovementioned religious house that until 1980 used to be the Official Residence of the President of La Generalitat. Jordi Pujol, the first elected Catalan government president after the 1978 Constitution discarded the house as private residence and so have done his successors.

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Vildsvin, The Old Tavern in Ferran Street, Barcelona

Vildsvin, The Old Tavern (L'Antiga Taverna), 38 Ferran, Barcelona. It is funny to use a Swedish word to baptize the stylish but informal middle European tavern conceived by Sagardi Euskal Taberna Group. If you are reading this you know English, so Vildsvin might ring a bell. Let's see in German: Wildschwein. Huh, do you get it now? Wild Swine? Ok, let's quit it. That's a wild boar. Would you believe that a cute, chic place, with tiled floor, noble wood furniture and an oyster bar in the ground floor is called the Wild Boar? Nope. So I can imagine some smart guy, saying hey, it has to be a wild boar cause a tavern is a tavern but we are going to make it sound a little posh so we create an atmosphere here.

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ETO'O, PORQUE NO TE CALLAS?

Hay gente que cada vez que abre la boca es para cagarla. Eto'o es uno de ellos. Además de tonto, bocas. Dice que si el año que viene no ganamos ningún título, se va a ir. Como queriendo salirse de la foto, de la triste foto de esta temporada, como queriendo dejar entrever que él no es culpable de las dos temporadas sin títulos. No señor, no te quites de enmedio, tú eres culpable como el que más

SIN COMENTARIOS...

FUENTE: SPORT (Caye)

MENOS MAL QUE ERAN UNA BANDA !!

Hay que ver como está el equipo. El peor momento desde que ganamos la champions, 2 añitos hace ya. Los jugadores desquiciados, la afición no menos, el entrenador echando más leña al fuego, etc. Si es que lo hemos hecho mal de cojones, y me refiero a todo el mundo, no solo al club y jugadores, la afición tenemos nuestra culpa. La pañolada que vivimos el sábado llegó como UN AÑO Y MEDIO TARDE. Sí,

OJO!! QUE VIENE EL ATLÉTICO!!

Pañolada, y no es para menos, lástima que llega tarde, muy tarde, tardísimo. Y el ballena del presidente diciendo gilipolleces e insultándonos, sí, insultándonos. Va el tío y dice en Hospitalet que no hay que dejarse engañar por hipócritas y embaucadores. O sea, insulta a los que creen que este ciclo se ha acabado y lo escriben o lo dicen bien alto, y también insulta a los que también lo creen

TILAS EN MANO, HOY VUELVEN A JUGAR LOS GOLFOS

Hoy tenemos otra cita con esta panda de golfos. O lo que es lo mismo, otra hora y media de sufrir y lanzar improperios frente al televisor. Lo que ha pasado hasta ahora es una sucesión de hechos que se podía predecir, y evitar si los que tienen poder de decisión hubieran hecho algo al respecto.Que las decisiones se tienen que tomar al final de la temporada? No estoy de acuerdo, echar a todos a la