Cupola, Via Laietana, Barcelona

After much thought and starting working on my color version I completely deviated from my original path. It turned out that the cupola, the one you can admire if you walk along Via Laietana in Barcelona, looked better in black and white, well almost as I finally gave it this bluish touch. The building in fact has two cupolas and occupies a whole block of this heavy traffic street. Very near you have Palau de la Musica. There are plans to build new hotels in this area to which neighbors openly oppose. I have embedded this Google street view map so you can see the building, the cupola on the other side and if you turn left, Palau de la Música, the famous modernist concert hall. Right next to you Casa dels Velers but that's part of another story (Remember you have to click on the map and drag to enjoy the pano or move along the white path by clicking on the arrows). Should you want to see it from above check link here.

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Human Statue Lady at Las Ramblas de Barcelona

This is yet another human statue at Las Ramblas. A beautiful, fragile, delicate, hieratic woman standing on this populated street of Barcelona. I was attracted by her face, her makeup and the light coming from nearby stores in the background. Don't forget to check the labels below if you want to see more living statues. And always enlarge for the big format picture.

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Autumn Leaves

First of all let me tell you that this image was taken by my 12-year-old daughter, Sara. The day we visited Vallgorgina and while my wife, some friends and I were having a chat after lunch, I left her the camera and she pointed towards the nearby trees. The leaves of this platanero (Hybrid plane or London plane tree) looked gorgeous under the afternoon sun but I confess I underestimated my daughter's eye. Beauty comes from within and you always get surprised at how different people can produce astonishing results at a given situation that you would regard as too obvious.

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The Hanging Gardens of Barcelona Balconies

Not one of the seven wonders of the world but balconies with exuberant plants are not rare in Barcelona. This succulent specimen in particular is some sort of Graptopetalum or ghost plant according to my opinion. Maybe our botanic friends can help. What I was most interested in was the balcony anyway. The decay textures, the folded canopy, the historic architecture of the old part of town which I never get tired of admiring.

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Fray Bernat de Boïl, Columbus Monument, Barcelona

Here is a detail of one of the sculptoric groups at the base of the Columbus monument in Barcelona. The statue of Fray Bernat de Boïl preaching to an Indian kneeling before him by Manuel Fuxà.

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Mediterranean Tomatoes

There is nothing better than a good ripe tomato recently harvested. That is a fact. Probably one of the best products to illustrate the difference between your own orchard and big markets is a tomato. I don't know what happens along the way but the one we buy at the corner shop or at the supermarket is definitely different from the ones you grow yourself or buy on location directly to the farmer. This is what happens with this ripe tomato I captured at Monistrol market. It was a product from a small personal crop. Fresh healthy tomatoes with all the good properties mother nature gave them are an essential part of world known Mediterranean diet. You just need some olive oil, some green salad, some fish or meat, some red wine accompanied by some exercise to live longer among other things like luck!

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