The tree houses in Barcelona

I visited Plaza Catalunya again. This time I made sure that I remembered to bring my camera along because I wanted to take photographs of the protesters who live in treehouses in the square. There are always groups and even crowds of spectators who come to the square, to catch up on the latest developments regarding the protest. Armed with my camera, I stood below one of the treehouses and looked up. There were some youngsters who were awakening and getting out of their makeshift beds. They seemed oblivious to the fact that there were several bystanders and spectators below them - who were taking photographs or commenting on what they saw. As I stood below the tree houses and took my photographs, I noticed some people climbing up and down the trees. I tuned in to hear to the languages and accents of the people who were protesting and camping out. To my surprise, I realised that there were some other languages being spoken!! It would appear that this protest is no longer only a Spanish thing. There seems to be English speakers amongst the protesters too. I wonder whether these non-Spanish speakers are tourists who are looking for a free place to stay whilst in this expensive city. There are banners and exhibitions in the square which are promoting eco-living and which denounce regulated modern ways of living. I ask myself whether this is still a protest against cuts in government spending or rather an exhibition of hippy culture? Either way, it still draws a lot of attention!

A frustrating incident!

I walked into a shop, intending to buy something sweet as I felt quite flat and a needed an energy boost. It is hard using one's feet to get around the city! There is a lot of walking done during the day, when you think about it. A five minute walk from your home to the nearest bus or metro station, then a five minute walk from where you get off the bus or train, to where you are going. That is assuming you are only going to one place. What about if you are catching several trains or buses during the day and have to go to many places? It can be exhausting. So, with all the walking I had done that day I felt like a sugary sweet. I entered the nearest shop, a DIA mini - supermarket, and proceeded down the aisle, looking for the sweet and confectionery shelf. The shop was not busy and it appeared that there was only one member of staff on duty at the time. It is a tiny shop and staff probably have to multi-task I suppose. As I entered, I noticed nobody working at the checkouts. The only staff member in the shop was a Latino woman who was packing goods onto a shelf. She saw me and bellowed over to me in Spanish. I could not understand what she said as I my limited knowledge of Spanish would not enable me to comprehend the bellowing. I took no notice of her and chose some sugar-coated strawberry sweets which were going to give me an energy boost. All of a sudden I felt a tugging on my back. The woman who had bellowed at me was now pulling at my back pack. She was muttering something in Spanish so I opened my bag to let her see inside it. By now I was already aggravated with her. I began to walk towards the checkout, with this woman still going off at me. Now she was motioning for me to take my back pack off and leave it at the parcel counter near the front door. Was she serious? I was about to pay and leave, so it made no sense to leave my bag at the front of the shop. Yes, she was. I was completely irritated so I put the item down and left the shop with nothing to raise my energy levels. My blood pressure was up though!!

Beloved DIA !!!

Protests in Barcelona

It is official, the world is in a financial crisis. There are uprisings, protests and riots in many places. Some of them have been successful in producing the change that people wanted and others have not. Spain is no different. The cash-strapped government has had to implement several austerity measures in order to save the country from economic disaster. Many people - especially the youth - are discontent and are showing their dissent by organising marches and protests in many areas. Plaza Catalunya is one of the busiest squares in the city of Barcelona. It is a tourist hotspot because many high end stores and hotels are located around the square. The famous La Rambla begins just off Plaza Catalunya. In their efforts to show their discontent, some people have decided to camp out in the square. Around the fountains and statues you will see sleeping bags, tents, makeshift housing, litter, animals and people - lying about in all various degrees of cleanliness. Protest banners are wrapped around the statues and flags flitter in the air. The young people are not happy with the "cuts" the government had to make in social welfare. What these people don't realise is that there are people younger and older than themselves, in the poorer countries of the world, that receive absolutely nothing from their governments. Think of places in Africa, Asia and Latin America. People there have to be self-sufficient as there are no "handouts" from the government. No free education. No free health care. No social welfare system. As I look at these protesters lying about in their different states of filth and inebriation, I wonder if this is really a protest or simply an excuse to set up a hippy colony in the centre of the city. These people seem like they would not be eager to work a day's labour anyway. They appear to be people who enjoy the hippy lifestyle. Oh Barcelona, what an eye-sore!

Camping around the fountains

Call for action against the government!

Tents and make shift housing

Barcelona Beach Life

Famed for its beaches and liberal attitude to everything, Spain attracts many visitors to its beaches. Beachgoers from all over Europe and the world flock to Spain in the summer months, to partake in the S S S - sun, sea and stand. Barcelona has some beaches in the city. These beaches are popular with both tourists and the locals. This is because they are easily accessible. The city beaches can easily be reached via the city's trams, buses or the metro. If you use the metro to go to the beaches you can always spot the beachgoers on the train because they often wear board shorts and flip flops or they carry their beachbags and beach balls. When the train stops at the Barceloneta and Ciutadella Vila Olympica stations the hordes of beachgoers disembark and the carriages become empty and quiet. Barceloneta is one of the busiest beaches as it is the first city beach. As you travel further north, you reach some beaches which are a little quieter and less congested. The promenade from Barceloneta to Ciutadella Vila Olympica is very pleasant. There are many restaurants, kiosks and beach bars along the promenade - which is teeming with people, doing all sorts of things like : strolling, jogging, power walking, cycling and rollerblading. There is also a sprinkling of fitness equipment along the promenade so many people are engaged in al fresco fitness exercises. Icaria beach is quite the happening place because there are many young people who are busy with all sorts of activities ranging from sunbathing to Capoeira. Other activities include beach volleyball, soccer, and paddle (like tennis). People bring their own equipment such as raquettes and balls but the volleyball nets are provided. There are several improvised and volleyball courts on the sand. It looks like some of these local beachgoers are way more than amateur volleyball players. The atmosphere on the beach is fun and pleasant, with that prevailing Spanish openness and tolerance for everyone and everything. Yes, there are many topless female sunbathers scattered along the beach and many male sunbathers in lycra swimsuits. People of all shapes, sizes and colours appear to be enjoying themselves on the beach, whichever activity they are engaged in!

Icaria Beach - not a busy day.

Beach activities

Bicycle Week in Barcelona

Last week was Bicycle Week in Barcelona. There were a multitude of activities and events in and around the city, centred around bikes. You could hire bikes - free of charge - at several locations in the city, for a certain length of time. There was also a two day bike show at the port. The port is a modern outdoor entertainment area which is suitable for outdoor festivals, concerts and other such events. The bike show was an exhibition of all things combining human movement and wheels. There was rollerskating, rollerblading, tricycling, off road biking, outdoor spinning classes and much more. You could see and participate in all of these events and activities if you wanted to. Bike week culminated in a massive ride from the city centre to the port, at 10 o'clock in the morning on Sunday. This popular event is called the Bike and Skate Party ride. It is held every year. Thousands of people take to the streets on their wheels, both on bicycles and rollerblades. There are two courses. One for the bikes and another for the rollerblades. Both courses collide when the bikers and the rollerbladers converge to make their way along the promenade, to the port. A fun, festive occasion was enjoyed by all. People had various types of bikes : bikes with a sidecar, bikes with big seats in front or behind, tandem bikes and many more. When reaching the port, cyclists with the free bikes had to return there bikes before they could enter the festivities area. The mass movement from the city to the port, is a huge display of colour. People had colourful balloons of various shapes and sizes tied to themselves or their bicycles. Adults, teenagers, families and children alike, all seemed to enjoy the festive atmosphere. So do it the odd pet dog that was dragged along from the start!

Lots of bikes for hire - free!

Off road biking at the show

Rides for kids

Bikers rest at the end

On rollerblades too!

Good Samaritan

1. 

   Dog owner on a long phone call ...

   On a late afternoon, after a rainy morning, the sun finally decided to show itself again. I decided to venture out to a nearby park where I would be able to sit in the sunshine and complete some work. I sat on a grassy patch in the glorious sunshine. Before long I heard the screeching sound of an animal. Behind me a dog was mauling a bird! It had the bird firmly in its mouth. The dog's owner and was involved in a heated conversation, on his mobile telephone and it took him a while to realise what his dog was doing. He yelled at his dog - which was caught up in such amusement - with the bird in its mouth, screeching in despair. The dog let go and the poor bird - which I thought was something resembling a green parrot, deliberately walked off into the nearby bushes, in search of safety. The owner of the dog, reprimanded it and went searching in the bush to find the poor bird, whilst still on the phone call! Suddenly an unknown man came into the scene and also started looking in the bushes. I assumed she might be the owner of the "escaped bird". It appeared however that he was not the owner but instead, a good samaritan who had heard the screeching bird and had come to help. He too crawled into the bushes and grabbed the bird. As he emerged with the bird in his hand, I noticed blood streaming down from his hand. The frightened bird had clawed his hand to shreds. The dog and its owner had left a while back. The good samaritan asked me if the bird was mine since I was standing close by and showed an interest in the situation. Poor fellow, he had helped to save the frightened bird and it did not even belong to anyone. He struggled with the clawing bird, which ripped the skin of his hand, before placing the bird onto a branch of a tree. The bird waddled along the branch, in search of a safer place. Just as well, because before long, a group of children arrived and noticed the bird sitting in the tree. They began to throw sticks at the bird, which flew up to a higher branch in its search for safety. I was compelled to intervene and told the children to leave the poor bird alone. It had already endured a lot. It was at that moment that I was able to take a photo of the fretting animal, that had finally found safety.
   
   

   

   Good Samaritan looking for the bird in the bushes

   
   

The bird finds safety at last

Barcelona Restaurants...

Little plazas in Gracia

In the afternoon I received a text message inviting me to a book launch. I had no idea who the author was or what type of book it was. Having no plans for the evening, I accepted the invite and looked forward to attending. I met my mother and my brother at the Fontana metro stop - which is where we agreed to meet earlier. Fontana station is the metro stop in the Gracia area of Barcelona. Gracia is quite an elegant, old part of Barcelona, with a Bohemian feel to it. There is a maze of little side streets running off the main thoroughfare. Each of the side streets is very different from the other, and is home to its own unique collection of shops, bars restaurants and pubs. The sidewalks are teeming with people, making their way to pubs, bars or restaurants. The whole area comes alive at night. Various languages and accents from all corners of the globe permeate the air. The restaurants boast cuisine from all over the world. For an early dinner, we decided upon an Egyptian restaurant which even sells pizza! This restaurant advertised a "two for one" special on its pizzas so we were hooked. After being seated and looking at the menu, we discovered that there were conditions to these special offers. We had to order several entrees which were above certain prices before the "two for one" pizza special was applicable... Much time was wasted trying to navigate the terms and conditions to be able to get the second pizza!! Far too technical for my liking. After all that navigation, the entrees and the pizzas were excellent. After dinner we made our way - taking several wrong turns in the maze of side streets - to the bookshop. The bookshop is called Hibernian and. It is a bookshop which sells secondhand books in English. I am sure it is successful as there are many English speakers living in Barcelona. The smell of paperback books pervaded the air inside the shop. The atmosphere inside the shop was congenial - with groups of people engaged in friendly chatter. The book which was being launched was called "5". It is a collection of poems and short stories by five authors of different cultural backgrounds and different languages. The five co-authors are from different parts of the world. The book's poems and short stories are written in different languages. An interesting evening was spent chatting to the authors, in the balmy ambience of an English secondhand bookshop in the Spanish city of Barcelona.

Shops in side streets of Gracia

A passage in Gracia

Spring in Barcelona

There is a change of season. New sights. New sounds. New smells. The rainy days are over - maybe fewer, if not completely over. The sun is becoming a regular visitor and a welcome one! The city has a fresh new "mood" and is an exciting place to be in. I can actually hear birds singing in the early hours of the morning, and continuously throughout the day. Bare trees are once again fully clothed in their green leaves. Ladybirds and bees are back, thanks to the blooming trees and flowers. The pollen count is high. I have heard that the pollen count worldwide is alarmingly high this year. The question "Who is really in control?" needs no answering. With the change of season, I have noticed a change in people's activities and behaviour. Colourless clothing has been replaced by a bright, cooler colours. People are wearing tank tops, miniskirts, sleeveless shirts, vests and board shorts. The sightseeing buses which ply the city's tourist routes are back on the road. It seems like the flow of tourist visitors is increasing. You can hear many different languages being spoken all over the city. Ice cream shops are back in business, as the warm weather makes people feel like eating ice cream. The street vendors are also back on the street. From the African guys who sell handbags, sunglasses and watches, to the Asian guys who sell gimmicky souvenirs, the streets are alive. The main street in the city's Barrio Gotico (old district) is called La Rambla. La Rambla is a pretty oak-tree lined street, running from Plaza Catalunya down to the port. La Rambla  is a "must do" place on almost every tourist's itinerary so you can imagine how busy it is on La Rambla. The pedestrian walkway in La Rambla is throbbing with people. It is so busy you get frustrated walking behind groups of people who walk abreast and prevent you from passing. Or, the typical tourist who stops at everything, to look in a shop window or to take a photo. Thankfully, Spring has breathed new life into Barcelona and the city is alive with new vigour.