Old Friends, New Places
Photos from the 'City of Counts'
Wasup everyone. I've been feeling in a funk lately and it's been difficult to get myself to put stuff up here, but here I am! Throughout May and June, I took three separate trips to Barcelona and saw a bunch of people I know from back in the states. Thank you to my aunt Suzie, my friend Jacob and his family, and my dear mother for coming to see me :^) I had lots of fun getting to know the city, and hope to be back before too long. Here are some photos from these experiences:
I don't know the name of the dance that these people were performing outside the cathedral, but there were dozens of different circles of people dancing simultaneously.
I was fortunate enough to see La Sagrada Familia with my mom, and the design of this church truly is unlike anything I have seen in my life. Personally I enjoyed the contrast between the classical and stylized scenes sculpted into the facades on opposite sides of the building. There is a reason this place has been under construction for hundreds of years - the designs are just that intricate. We had just missed the pope by about a week when we visited; apparently he came to bless the recently finished construction of the Jesus Christ tower.
Selections from within and without La Sagrada Familia
After seeing Gaudí's most famous building, we went onwards to Parc Güell, which he also designed. It initially was planned to be a gated community for the richest people in Barcelona, but that plan was pretty quickly scrapped and it instead was turned into a place for public recreation. Personally I was struck by the seashell/shallow ocean motifs, which manifest in just about every structure in the park.
Some of the notable features of Parc Güell
I only caught one good photo of an animal this time around, but I mean look at him:
I laid down on a bench in the park today. After reading two chapters from Dickens’ Great Expectations on this very bench, I slipped downward into a half-asleep state for the better part of an hour. During this time, I opened my eyes to observe the various birds which were flying overhead. I have been birding once before, and I recall it was surprisingly easy to observe a great number of species, so long as you remain patient and keep your eyes open.
The most common sight today on the bench was the sparrow, or some other similar small, frail bird. I was entranced following the crescent-like silhouettes zig and zag around the sky in pursuit of tasty bugs. During my time watching them, there was a consistent presence of sparrows, which in a few instances would swell into a frenzy. For a fleeting moment, dozens of birds would dance and weave across my vision, surely wreaking havoc upon a large cloud of mosquitoes, or whatever it may be. The sparrows would adjust their altitude accordingly, sometimes coming quite low and many times ascending to great heights.
These were not the only birds I observed, however. There was another species which I found to only pass through my vision in pairs, perhaps a male and female searching for food together. I do not know what kind of bird these were, but I do recall seeing a more complex feathering pattern and a sort of iced coffee brown coloring along their tails. These birds stuck to low altitude, presumably passing between the trees which stood around the park.
Finally was the occasional seagull, la gaviota. I only saw the seagulls a handful of times throughout my watch, but they were starkly contrasted against the group of sparrows in each instance. These birds are notable for their wing shape, sort of bent in the middle, as a chevron. Beyond this, their white plumage and larger size made them quite easy to recognize. I must imagine the seagulls were merely passing through on the way towards the sea, where there might be plenty of fish to satisfy their appetite. Regardless, I am grateful for their having made a pass above my head.
