Remarkably, four bottlenosed dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were spotted inside Barcelona harbour (Moll de Barcelona) last month by wildlife experts, the first sighting in recent times in the port itself, though the animal is reasonably common in waters off Barcelona. Loved to have seen them! More here in Catalan
The Barcelona Photographic Archive has just released a hundred or so photos taken between 1907 and 1908. They were taken by Frederic Ballell, one of the pioneers of Catalan photojournalism, who delighted in documenting the daily life of the city. Above a goat herder passes by Palau Moja, below a puppy seller. From La Rambla, hace un siglo
See also History of Les Rambles
I love the idiosyncrasy of many of the small shops in Barcelona. One of my recent favourites is a lovely little shop selling dairy products in the centre of Gràcia, in Carrer Torrijos, just up from the market. The establishment was last functioning dairy (vaquería) in Barcelona. Changes in public health laws took away the cows some 25 years ago, but the old livestock stalls can still be seen today amongst the clutter of the shopkeeper’s storeroom. Many Barcelonans over thirty odd can still remember going with their mothers to buy milk fresh from the udder right in the centre of the city. In my mind, the place should be protected as part of the city’s heritage, but is under threat from the owners of the building.
Barcelona is failing to reduce its superpopulation of 256,000 pigeons in the city. Hordes of elderly protectors feeding them bread have ensured that despite large figuers being spent on their erradiction, the number of pigeons has increased from 180,000 in 1991. There is currently no city bylaw against feeding them.
Read in La Vanguardia
We came across this remarkable scene of Rafael and his flock of six goats in the Turó de la Rovira park, El Carmel last Sunday. The police have told him officially to remove his animals but seem to be turning a blind eye as long as he keeps them on this wilder side of the park. Photos by Mónica.
