plaça de Narcís Oller

In the barrio of Gràcia, between Via Augusta and the Travessera de Gràcia, there's a quaint park called the plaça de Narcís Oller.

Visually, it doesn't compare to other plaças in the barrio in terms of size and crowds and that's okay with me. I like the small plaça for it has a fun seating arrangement, a running water fountain, 5 restaurants or cafes, a small grocery store, a wellness spa called the the Flotarium, a computer repair shop and wonderful architectural structures.

The plaça is small, like I said, but on special days when the weather is great you hear children playing, and you see dogs running into the fountain to cool off.

Speaking of dogs, I believe it's been about 3 years since el barrio de Gràcia has placed dog leash restrictions. I can understand why without arguing a pro or con stance. In the day when the dogs roamed it was fun to see them play with one another and enjoy frolicking in the fountain like children.

Time surely flies as the days of today quickly become the days of yesterday, more than I want.

Blahssez faire

He's cool, sophisticated, carefree and

 

blah, blah, blah,

I'll let him be,

Blahssez faire.

He seems to me.

Hey! I don't pretend to be Ogden Nash nor a powerhouse writer.

But, I think I'll give myself a "C" grade for rhyming and,

For you, an "A+" for not minding.

Antonio

He sits each morning on a special ledge in a special neighborhood smoking his special cigar. 

 

His name is Antonio, an observer.

And,

His greatest pleasure is YOU!

Carrer de Mozart

It's the middle of August of 2013 and la festa de gracia is in full swing.

The photo is of carrer de Mozart. They won second place out of 17 participants.

La Diada Nacional de Catalunya

I love Spain. They have a holiday practically every month and the natives here just got back from a month long vacation.

Memo: If you work for the American Consulate you get the United States’ and Spain’s federal and Catalunya’s holidays.

Forn de Sant Tirs (Gràcia)
Barcelona, 2008

Tomorrow, September 11th, is a holiday in Catalunya with festivities, political demonstrations, and concerts to be held through out the province.

It is a day to remind those of Catalonia’s fall on September 11, 1714 to Philip V, their eventual loss of self-government and condemnation of their language, further repressed during Franco’s regime.

Around 6 years after Franco’s death, the Government of Catalunya made September 11th the National Day of Catalonia or La Diada as it is commonly called.

For now, I upload a photo of pastries to give you a taste and flavor of the holiday. (Pun intended). The pastries are decorated in the colors of the Catalan flag.

Forn de Sant Tirs (Gràcia)
Barcelona, 2008

Come back tomorrow to see pictures of the festivities.

P.S. Ironically, the United States remembers its own 911 and I will never forget too.

Keeping Contact

For the past many weeks I’ve been writing about a neighborhood, or barrio, called Gràcia.

And, Gràcia can teach many cities, municipalities, states and countries a thing or two.

Barcelona, 2008

Sometime in April or May of this year, Gràcia made available to its residents, wireless internet connection.

That means you can bring your laptop anywhere within its area and be “hooked up”, that is, have access to the World Wide Web for

Are you ready for this? FREE!

All you need is a laptop and you can sit, or squat in any café, restaurant, plaça, bathroom or vegetable stand and not miss any news on Amy Winehouse, Brittany Spears, Penelope Cruz and the more important United States presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain.

Why would anyone even bother is not my business.

Hmm … now there is NO excuse to be uniformed. All you need is a universal external battery to enjoy this great community service.

Got to go!

View barcalunacy's A Candid View of Everyday People FLCKR photoset.

Eusebi

He's a special guy whom I've been getting to know just a bit lately.

Because of Eusebi's unassuming, quiet demeanor and child-like innocence, the young waitresses, at a café I frequent, lavishly nurtured him, much to his delight.

Eusebi

Barcelona, 2008

He sings American tunes "out of tune" but he's got charm and grace.

His weapons of choice are a crayon and pen.

For pocket change he will do a portrait of you and yours.

Here's mine.

Eusebi's Drawing of Luna
Barcelona, 2008

Envious?

Support your local street artists!

The Diada Nacional de Catalunya, 2006

Catalunya is the only place I know that celebrates its own defeat: on September 11, 1714, Barcelona surrendered to Spain in the nine- year- long War of Succession.

Today, Catalunya commemorates this with memorials, speeches and gatherings.

You truly feel the pride of the Catalonian and their wish to be independent from Spain, even today. This pride is shown by displaying the flag everywhere, and I mean everywhere.

carrer Verdi, Barcelona, 2006

The flag of Catalunya is called the senyera, meaning sign and is treasured by many Catalans.

I have been told the senyera’s stripes represent four bloodied fingers smeared on a shield. In my research for this blog I found inconsistencies in how the flag’s design originated. Click HERE to read one of its colorful stories.

Anyway, while taking a walk we found ourselves at the Plaça de la Revolució, in the barrio Gràcia, where there was a wonderful crowd mostly of young persons, listening to Catalan music.

Plaça de la Revolució, Barcelona, 2006

I shot a video where you will hear the music, a speech in Catalan, (even if you don’t understand it, hearing the language is a treat), see a little of the plaça and the attentive crowd.

So click HERE for the QuickTime video.

Enjoy!!

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