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
Excellent article from the Guardian on the fall from grace of what was once Barcelona’s best loved street. “Drunken tourists, desperate prostitutes and petty crooks have rendered it charmless, tawdry and dangerous.”
The article also quotes La Vanguardia in a similar tone “A dark boulevard where drunks impose their style, where wallets disappear and there are fights and muggings,” it reported. “The sensation is of chaos, of a lost city. Barcelonans are turning their backs on it.”
Photos of a stall selling the delicacies of bull’s penises and testicles (criadillas in Spanish, turmes in Catalan) at La Boqueria market. I’ve had the latter on several occasions. They are not unpleasant.
Along Les Rambles de les Flors just in front of La Boqueria Market, there is this quirky piece of public art: a rather wonderful art deco building (Casa Bruno Quadros) decorated with a fearsome Chinese dragon holding a lamp and an umbrella. It once advertised a now-defunct umbrella shop.
El font de Canaletes, located at the top of Las Ramblas, is perhaps the most famous fountain in the city. The legend goes that if you drink from it you are condemned to return here (Aquél o aquélla que beba de su agua volverá a Barcelona).
Barça fans traditionally congregate here to celebrate victories. The tradition dates from the 1930s when fans would gather here to read the scores of Catalan teams written on a blackboard outside the offices of the defunct newspaper.
Lucy's Barcelona nature blog
One of many people's favourite piece of public art in Barcelona is The Cat by Fernando Botero. The cat has moved several times around the city, but seems finally to have decided to settle down here in the Raval del Raval. It was originally bought by the council in 1987. I love watching people interact with it. Children like to (try to) climb it. Old men like to slap it. There's another sculpture of a horse by Botero at the airport.
Spring returns to Barcelona
March 16, 2010
After a long, grey and grueling, tiresome and draining, never-ending cold, wet and miserable winter, spring appears to have finally arrived in Barcelona. More...
Las Arenas bullring
March 16, 2010
Excellent article on the woes of Las Arenas bullring by journalist Nicholas John Mead. Barcelona is already famous for problems that have beset the Sagrada Familia, but for the last two years the prestigious €100m Las Arenas bullring restoration project in Plaça Espanya has run into setback after setback with contruction only resuming a few weeks ago. Read here
There were once three bullrings in Barcelona - Plaza de el Torin which was built in 1834, but was demolished long ago ; the above Plaza de las Arenas, built in 1900 and closed in 1977; and the present bullring, the Plaza de Toros Monumental, built in 1914.
Barcelona's urban heat island
March 11, 2010
Barcelona’s urban heat island effect causes markedly higher temperatures in the city than the surrounding rural areas. The difference is most pronounced at night during anticyclonic conditions in the winter with temperatures as much as 6.9ºC lower. There heat is channeled along corridors of flats, and there a mere 200 hectares of green areas in the city, though the city’s 100,000 street trees have a mitigating effect. The heat island is most noted in the Eixample. The Besós River functions as a corridor bringing in cold air to the coast. More details in Catalan
Books in English set in Barcelona
March 8, 2010
The Oh Barcelona site has a short but good round-up of the books in English set in Barcelona. Montalbán, Mendoza, Ruiz Zafon, Tóibín, Hughes, etc. More here
Where is Columbus pointing to?
March 4, 2010
![[Colom.jpg]](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_mO07g9kbB7Q/S40rAjuBfKI/AAAAAAAAAL4/Vq5FvFMUssc/s1600/Colom.jpg)
Not America that’s for sure. The Barcelonautes blog claims to have the answer: La Platja de Sa Calobra in Mallorca. After that it’s Algiers, the Sahara desert and the length of Africa.
Tàpies foundation reopens
March 4, 2010
The Fundació Antoni Tàpies opened its doors this week after being closed for reforms for several years. More in English
Timeline of Barcelona
March 1, 2010
I’ve put together this timeline of Barcelona in the history section. Still very unfinished.
Spanish flu in Barcelona
February 15, 2010
Spanish flu killed 1554 people in Barcelona in the terrible outbreak between 1918 and 1919. 370 people died in a single day in the city on 21st 1918.
Barcelona photoblog Por Barcelona BCN Council news Barcelona Metropolitan news Badrash in Barcelona Oh Barcelona Els Barcelonautes From Barcelona South of Watford (Madrid based. Very good) Nicholas Mead on Spain