Come away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o
Tucked away in a back street , behind the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, in Barcelona, I found this striking sculpture. I don’t remember there being any information, so I have no idea who created it, I just like it!
A sort of sparkly, circular spiral in my square for Becky.
Castelling is an ancient Catalan tradition, first documented in the early 1800’s, it began in Tarragona, but has since spread throughout Catalonia. I first saw it courtesy of the pink trousered one, Michael Portillo, in one of his tv programmes, to which I am addicted. As I was in Barcelona for ‘The Dia’ last September, I knew there was a fair chance of seeing it.
The Centre for Cultura i Memoria in El Born was one of the places it could be seen, the one that was easy to find, and close to a favourite little café!
After a croissant filled with coffee flavoured mascarpone, it was time to go out into the Placa Comercial,
Where preparations were underway.
And then it began.
In the background, you can see the first layer climb on the shoulders of the base level, or Pinya as it’s known. The Pinya is wide and formed by the strongest of the group, to make a base that can support the weight of the rest and be a safety net should anyone fall.
Several more layers are added, the Tronc, and finally, the littlest one scrambles atop, zoom in to see her nearly there, but I didn’t capture her with the camera, I was too entranced!
Once there, she gives a very quick wave, the crowd cheer and she’s back down the six layers beneath her, in just a few moments. Three troups performed that day, in competition, and each time I saw the wave, but my camera didn’t.
Paula has given us a list of five words to choose from for her Thursday special this week. I’ve chosen two, ascending and luminosity, in one photo.
Taken with my i phone 6, I think the graininess adds atmosphere – that’s my excuse anyway – from the 6th floor of Hotel Casanova on the Gran Via in Barcelona.
The other words on Paula’s list are idleness, jaunty and whiff in case you’d like to join in, you have until Thursday.
Happy Sunday!
Paula asks for a nightscape in black and white and says ‘the absence of colour lets us focus on shapes more’. I agree, clear definition and form seems to work best.
My photo was taken from the Arenas rooftop in Barcelona, which is a circle of restaurants with views over the city.
The Arenas was once the city’s bullring, and is now a smart shopping mall, a much better use, don’t you agree?
Barcelona’s Cathedral of the sea, isn’t actually a Cathedral at all, but a beautiful 14th century Gothic church. It was on my list of places to see in Barcelona this time, but on no particular day. In the event, we stumbled upon it by accident while wandering around El Born and La Ribera areas. In case you want to find it, it’s at the end of the street where you’ll find the Picasso museum, heading towards the sea.
The exterior of the church is a little dull, squeezed as it is in the narrow streets of the Ribera, and once you climb to the rooftop, you’ll see just how densely built the area is. You can enter the church without any cost at certain times of the day, but we were happy to pay our 8 euros for a tour of the rooftops. A tour was about to begin, so we had little time to consider the impact on our knees of climbing 140 steps!
There’s another chance to draw breathe after 60 more steps, then just 10 and you’re on the roof.
The church of Our Lady of the Sea was well worth the visit, I’m so glad we stumbled upon it. I believe that if your timing is good, you may get to hear musical rehearsals. It’s known as the people’s church, and because of it’s beauty, it’s also one of the most popular for weddings. I hope you enjoyed sharing my visit.
I went to Park Guell last year, but my friend didn’t so that was a great excuse to go again! But I won’t bore you with more of the same, instead, I’ve created a gallery of some of the smaller details, the Trencadis mosaics.
It’s commonly believed that Gaudi, Park Guell’s architect, invented the Trencadis modernist style, but it’s more likely that it originated in the ancient Arab world. I’ve tried mosaic work, just making a house number. The result was pretty good, but it was very hard on my hands, and I wouldn’t want to do it again. I can’t imagine the number of hours it must have taken to create Park Guell.
The day we arrived in Barcelona we were shattered, but determined to hit the streets after a bit of a snooze. Wanting to get out of the Ramblas as soon as possible, seeing a sign for the cathedral seemed a good idea. The Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia as it’s called in Catalan, was on the must see list.
We soon became distracted by the sights and sounds of the city, but knew we must be heading in the right direction, and once cooled by an ice cream we soon found it.
But it had just closed, so we had to wait half an hour, which we spent people watching on the steps.
Eventually we were allowed in, to admire the Gothic vaults built between the 13th and 15th centuries.
Remembering to look in all directions.
The Cathedral, which is the seat of the bishop of Barcelona, is known for its rather unusual cloisters and I have to confess that was what particularly drew me. There’s an odd looking fountain, but in the background . . .
Yes, geese, thirteen of them, representing the age of Santa Eulalia when she was martyred in Roman times.
Despite the crowds, the cloister was an extraordinary peaceful place, and it warranted more time than our tiredness would allow. Maybe next time.
In the absence of any food, I think she would have been happy to chat.
I’m leaving you with this beautiful Madonna and Child, there was something about her that touched me, I hope you can see it too.
