Barcelona

Tiles

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments
Someone commented here on how lovely the tiles are that you find in modernist buildings in Barcelona. Last week I went back to Carrer Valencia to pick up some last things and took photos of all the tiles I found just in this three bedroom flat. Each room has a different pattern and an individual style. Imagine the work involved, down on hands and knees putting each small tile in place!
The tiles are made of cement and are officially called ‘encaustic cement tiles’. Follow the link I have added to the word ’tiles’ and you will find more information. They are beautiful and practical and decorative and to be found in many houses and shops and bars in Barcelona.

New Homes

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

Yesterday – the last day of February – I said goodbye to my rooms in Carrer Valencia and brought all my things to my new home in Granollers. The flat was in central Barcelona, in an area called Eixample (roughly pronounced Ah-sham-pla) which is the 19th century extension of the old cityIt is famous for its grid pattern of streets, octagonal blocks of houses and shops whose chamfered edges create open intersections giving a sense of space and light and of course many people come to see the modernist architecture of many of the buildings. The building of the Eixample in the area outside what were the city walls connected the old town with what had been outlying villages. It is the first major example of modern urban planning on a grand scale.In 1859 the city council ran a competition to find a designer for this area. It was won by Antoni Rovira i Trias but then as now, politics intervened and a decision was made in Madrid to give the job to someone of their choice. The Eixample was designed by Idlefons Cerdà but eventually his plan too was plan was ignored in some of its parts – especially the vision of each block having a central garden to give the people more green space and peace. The spaces exist but generally look like this.I had two rooms in a large flat which I shared with my friend Marta. There is no lift and we lived on the forth floor. ……………103 stairs. You tend to remember to buy the milk. Or do without!
The floors are called Entresuelo, Principal, Primero, Segundo, Tercero and Cuarto which means that if you live on the 4th then it’s really the 6th.
Some entrance halls are magnificentThe flats are generally airy and spacious with beautiful floor tiles. Yesterday I had my first party there to say thank you to all the friends who have helped me over the past 7 months. A lunch party that began at the traditional time of 3pm and ended about 8pm. Then we packed my things – amazing how much stuff you accumulate over a few months – lugged it down the 103 stairs, and drove home.

Safe-keeping

~ Kate Wilson ~ Leave a comment

I am going to Barcelona later today to see friends and dance some tango. Then tomorrow back home to Granollers which is a town about 40 km outside of the capital. (More about this place soon as I want to take a walk with my camera and show some of the beautiful buildings that are here.)
But today I will take the train to ‘the city’ and the buzz.

Last week I did this same journey and when I arrived I went to a cinema, the Alexandra on Rambla de Catalunya to retrieve the clasp I use to keep my hair in order. I lost it on Sunday while watching the film Agorra and was amazed and impressed to find they had kept it for me until Wednesday. Barcelona may be a big city but it hasn’t lost it’s human kindness and honesty.

Rambla de Catalunya has an exhibition of Rodin sculptures at the moment which make it even more of a pleasure than usual to walk along the central pedestrianised pavement. Actually when I first saw them I assumed they were copies but when I was researching it for this blog I found they are actual Rodin sculptures. And they stand there untouched or damaged in the centre of Barcelona.

A Walk at Lunchtime

~ Kate Wilson ~ 8 Comments

 

The problem with going out dancing tango at night is that the following morning I don’t feel like getting up before 10am (or later). By the time I am finally out on the streets I am often met with this……or thisOn Wednesday I set off to buy speakers for the computer and headed for Ronda St Antoni as it has a long run of electrical shops. (One thing I love about Barcelona, and actually other European cities too, is that shops of the same sort congregate together so you can easily browse without having to go too far) On this day I was met with the usual crashing down of persianas which signals at least two hours when I can’t get on with shopping. After 6 months here I am still always caught out.
I set off to walk down to the Maritim Museum to meet a friend for lunch – lunch here generally starting around 2.30 or 3.00pm.
Here are some of the sights on my route.
The Mercat Sant Antoni is one of several large steel skeleton markets in Barcelona. Until recently it was still open with fresh food and clothes and books and stamps and virtually everything you can want to buy, but it is now being refurbished.
There is a temporary replacement which sits in the centre of a now pedestrianised road opposite the original. Across the street by the metro entrance is a cafe called Els Tres Tombs which I have only now found out has nothing to do with Tombs but is named after the ritual which takes place on Sant Antoni’s day January 17th. Sant Antoni is the patron saint of animals – farm and domestic – and there are many festivals to celebrate this including a very famous one on Mallorca. The Tres Tombs signify Three Turns where animals – often horses – are taken around the streets to be appreciated and blessed. Other smaller animals are taken to church.

I then walked down Sant Antoni Abat and found these signs – I still am looking for the meaning of the red horse which appears all over the Ciudad VellaOn an old stone wall there were carvings of lions and this head- Sant Antoni himself?After I turned onto the Rambla de Raval I noticed yet again how much this part of the city is changing. A wide road has been created after knocking down some slums and the central part which is free from traffic is a relaxed place to stroll. Allthough the Rambla de Raval still carries a whiff of seediness there is also a tall hotel rising onto the skyline and a feeling of a place in transition where at the moment two worlds meet – the tourists are coming, new bars opening, people feed the pidgeons and read in the sunshine and women work on the streets.
Fernando Botero’s cat confidently stalks up the centre of the Rambla.