I need flickr

Because when I mean "write a blog post" I usually mean "post a string of photos with captions." But my mom asked me to post some more photos of my neighborhood, and how can you say no to your mother? But first, photos of this beautiful city.

Ocupa y resiste:

I think visitors must attach these to the fence at Parc Guell. I don't know why. Also it made me sad that people had carved their initials into the cacti. It's a world heritage site, leave it alone.

I wish I understood the history of the park better so I might go look up a book on it at the library. This monument did not look gaudi-ish, it was a mountain of stone with some stone crosses at the top. I met some German people there. 

This is just after sunset at Parc Puxtet. The golden building is the church on top of Tibidabo. Parc Puxtet is one of my favorite places in Barcelona.

A lot of the shops in my neighborhood have signs like this that tell you where to enter and exit. Inside, the shop is a U-shape, with the register in the middle of the U. My neighborhood, Gracia, actually used to be its own little town, but in the 1800s it was absorbed into the city. So that's why not on quite as large a scale as the other neighborhoods nearby. 

I love these windows. On a building on my way to the library.

This intrigues me so much. It's next to a boarded-up shop. WHEN DID THIS EXISIT?

Met Leo while he was painting a sign for the organic market near the metro stop. He did a really beautiful job; his blog does not even do his work justice. The word for "gilding" in Spanish is "filetes." "Filete" is also the word for "leading," in printing.

The public fountain. The sign reads, "This fountain was constructed in 1844 for the good citizens of Gracia." Today people use it to water their plants and when they're walking their dogs. But in 1844, this was probably an important spot in the neighborhood, where some people got all their water.

The main plaza, where the seat of the local government is, has this sweet clock tower. Thanks Rachel for showing it to me!

This private home is near my apartment. Sadly, my apartment does not resemble it at all. Catalan architecture is playful, decorative, organic, and eccentric. UPDATE: later I found out that this was Gaudi's first big commission. And I thought all those Japanese people with cameras had just stumbled on it, too.

A neighborhood street with light pouring in from above. Barcelona has strict building codes to make the city liveable and retain its character, so you can't build too high.

One of my favorite architectural details in buildings are terraces that have stone- or tile-work below. It's a thoughtful gesture to the street viewer.

A few snapshots of a parade in Poblenou. Reminded me so much of the Mayday parade in MPLS. 

This is what I did yesterday. These little books were made to take advantage of some paper scraps that were lying around the shop. I painted the striped paper with Noodler's Ink, which is my favorite. Coptic bindings are as old as books are. 

Setting type for some very special, bilingual business cards ... stay tuned!