Tag Archives: historic

Photo: Historical Fortune Teller in Barcelona

Whilst wandering through an exhibit in Barcelona’s wonderful CCCB — Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona — we happened upon this benign-looking but eerie-feeling display.

The exhibit concerned life in the El Parallel district from the 1890s through the 1930s. This fortune telling machine was used during that period by inserting a coin and then waiting for the paper prediction to appear in one of the doors that open at the bottom.

A very pretty but eerie-feeling fortune telling machine from the early 1900s in Barcelona, Spain.

A similar fortune telling head was a pivotal element of the 1988 movie “Big” with Tom Hanks. The scary-looking male fortune telling doll in that movie granted the boy in the story a wish and he was able to become a grown man overnight.

She has a lovely face — I certainly acknowledge that — but she also gives off an odd energy and although I was completely alone as I took my photos, the entire very empty room was full of that edgy energy. I waited for Mark to come into the room to see what his reaction was and I asked him if he knew what it was. “Yep!” was the very short reply as he exited the room hastily. Hmmmmm!!!

Barcelona Days Out: Sagrada Familia

The day was gray and gloomy, but we eagerly took the two fast and efficient Metro trains to reach a site we had been longing to see, the uncompleted Antoni Gaudi masterpiece work, the massive Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain.

We emerged from the Metro onto the sidewalk and Mark laughed as I looked left and right and didn’t see the looming structure. “I did the same thing, Sweetie. Turn around!” I did, and here was what was immediately behind me.

Gaudi’s unfinished Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain

The visible difference between the old section and the new additions to Gaudi’s masterpiece Sagrada Famila in Barcelona, Spain

It was quite a shock since neither of us had the excited response to this massive landmark that we had expected to have and we had absolutely no desire to explore further than standing outside and taking exterior shots. The line to gain entry to the interior was wrapped around the entire right-hand block but when I asked Mark if he wanted to go in, he confirmed my ‘neutral’ sensation and said no, he didn’t want to investigate the interior either.

It was an interesting reaction since we had each been looking forward to seeing this place for several months! But my initial sensation as I turned around from the Metro exit was disappointment, not enchantment. There will be many people who read this entry and think that I am daft to say that, but it is a personal opinion. It looked like a vast, blobby mess adorned with cranes and I felt no thrill or curiosity whatsoever as I viewed it.

Sidewalk cafe on the Avinguda de Gaudi with Antoni Gaudi’s uncompleted masterpiece, the massive Sagrada Familia, looming in the near distance.

We ate lunch at a sidewalk cafe and began walking down the Avinguda de Gaudi. As we walked, I turned around and took the photo above which did please me since it clearly illustrates the size and scale of the Sagrada Famila as it sits in the neighbourhood landscape.

The ornate street lamps pictured below were also amongst the more pleasing photos that I took on that very mixed day.

Extremely ornate ironwork and glass street lamps on stone columns line the avenues near the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain.

Come back soon for more sights, suggestions, and truthful reactions from Barcelona!

9 Days In Spain: Intro

Barcelona for 8 days and Figueres for 1 — heaven! From traditional and historic to ancient to cutting edge contemporary, Spain has it all. We have just returned from a 9 day trip to Spain to celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary, so there will be an entire series of posts coming up in the days ahead.

I took over 2,000 photos during that trip — but then again, I typically shoot 3-4 of each scene or item so that I can choose the optimum image afterward. Some might call that a bit of overkill, but I end up with a better stock portfolio that way!

Here’s a few teaser pictures of what you will see in the weeks ahead.

Ruins of the previous Roman city in their excavation site beneath the streets of Barcelona, Spain

Contemporary sculpture to honour the volunteers for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain

The crossing lights in Barcelona, Spain reflect the fact that there are rather a LOT of cyclists as well as pedestrians crossing at the intersections.

Photo Of The Day: Cast Aside Without A Purpose

We’re in Australia for today’s photo of the day, at the gritty-beautiful Anderson’s Mill in Smeaton, Country Victoria, Australia. This huge 5 story bluestone building operated from 1861 until 1957.

It’s oddly empty, eerie, and fascinating to walk through such a vast building that would have been busy and purposeful until a few decades ago. But industrial objects are fascinating to photographers. And these are best left in black and white.

Vintage gear wheels at Anderson’s Mill (1861-1957) in Smeaton, Country Victoria, Australia.

Mystical and Mysterious Megaliths in Carnac, France

Black and white photography is oft-times better, especially when you wish to see the texture and depth of an object or scene and not simply be dazzled by the ‘prettiness’ of colour.

Legends have offered many explanations for the placement of thousands of Neolithic standing stones in rows or wavelike patterns at Carnac in Britanny, France. The chronicles of Julius Caesar mention that he met with a Druid chieftain within the complex of stones at Carnac and one legend claims that the unwelcome Roman legions were turned into the lines of stones.

Standing stones at Carnac in Brittany, France

The stark beauty of the unadorned stone is frequently better seen in black and white, so here is a continuation of the previous photo essay in colour. And this time the mood of the place itself is, in my mind, better interpreted by the black and white photos.

Standing stones as far as the eye can see at Carnac in Britanny, France. B&W

Faces are often seen in these wonderful stones and my own interpretation of the picture below is this. Of the 4 largest stones, from left to right, one might see a lion facing to the right, a cobra-faced man, and an elephant facing left with part of its trunk knocked off.

Craggy faces in stone at Carnac in Britanny, France

The Silent Stones of Carnac

The mysterious megalithic standing stones at Carnac in Britanny, northern France, had been on our list of places to see for many years. So we were pleased to be able to take a side jaunt as we drove from the top of France to the bottom over a three day period. We arrived on the last day of winter, a mere one day before the official Spring re-opening for the tourists and the reinstatement of the guided tours.

Yellow blooms against mysterious gray megalithic stones at Carnac, Britanny, France

There are thousands upon thousands of these standing stones spread out over several miles. It is simply stunning to see this many ancient megaliths in one place!

Megalithic stones at Carnac in Britanny, France stretch as far as the eye can see

There were no admission costs to pay since we were out of season, but we also found ourselves locked out and unable to walk around the stones and we had to make do with viewing them across the ugly and flimsy wire fence that surrounded the entire area. I won’t lie — that was quite disappointing.

Fences keep visitors away from the Carnac stones unless accompanied by a guide

Over the years we have visited many stone circles or megaliths or dolmens and the only time we have been restricted from walking right up to the stones was at Stonehenge in England. I suppose that the reasoning behind the decision to enclose the Carnac stones within a fence is for the same reasons as the Stonehenge separation from the hoards of tourists — to minimize potential damage. But apparently it was a decision that has angered many of the local residents who resent the change in policy and the requirement to pay an ‘official guide’ to accompany them.

Sign at Carnac standing stones explains the requirement for an official guide

One of the interesting aspects of visiting ancient stone sites has always been the ability to reach out and touch the stones and ‘tune in’ to any residual energy that still dwells within. We were unable to do that in this place and I must admit, it left me with a curiously ‘detached’ feeling about a place that I had so looked forward to visiting prior to our arrival.

Ancient megalithic standing stones at Carnac in Britanny, France

Just as in the much smaller Avebury complex in England, the stones are within a village that has grown up around the ancient site. But it was surprising to see just how very, very close some of the stones were to the well-established houses.

White house nestled amongst the standing stones at Carnac in Britanny, France

Standing stones in Carnac run right up to the village houses

I can’t really comment on the quality of the guided tour since we were there out of season and didn’t pay the €9 fee, but the Carnac Standing Stones are an interesting stop in Britanny and certainly well worth a detour if you are in that part of France.

Medieval Mont St. Michel

Looming impressively larger and larger as you approach it across the gently undulating landscape of Normandy, the UNESCO World Heritage Site ahead of you — Mont St. Michel — is indeed an awe-inspiring sight. And when you notice that the ‘small’ buildings at the bottom of the Mont are frequently 4-5 story houses, then your brain begins to wrap itself around the scale of the medieval monastery that hovers over the village below.

The approach to the Mont is across a causeway, a road across the marshes that is going to be completely removed quite soon and replaced with a bridge. The renovation project is running quite far behind at this point and should have already been completed. We have local friends who have told us that there is quite a lot of ‘drama’ surrounding this project, the funding of it, and the plans for the future.

Dredging on either side of the causeway leading to Mont St. Michel

In a nutshell, the very ugly dredging activity that we saw on either side of the causeway indicates that the clearing out of centuries of silt and debris is still an ongoing process. Upon completion of the dredging and the construction of the ‘flyover’ bridge that will link the mainland to the Mont, the island will once again be quite a separate place — a true island surrounded by water. And visitors will no longer be able to drive up to the base of the Mont itself. Only the few local people who live in the village at the bottom and a series of shuttle buses will be allowed to drive onto the bridge.

We drove up the causeway and were directed by a man in high-vis construction clothing to turn into a paid parking lot and were not allowed to proceed toward the village at the base. The parking lot is no longer free. There is quite a significant hike from that parking lot just to get to the base of the Mont and that is followed by an approximately two hour climb to the top!

I have just recovered — literally just this week — from a compression of the 4th lumbar disc and I’ve been in far too much pain to to risk aggravating that twinge-prone back again. So no, we did not hike up to the top of the Mont on that hazy day to get less than clear photos and, oddly, neither of us felt as if we had missed some must-see opportunity.

As a result, we did a u-turn, headed away from the Mont, and pulled over into the breakdown lane where we stopped to take a few photos. And we noticed that there were quite a lot of other people doing the exact same thing! We also noted that there were several dozen people who had parked in the village of Pontorson (which is miles away from the Mont!) who were walking along the sometimes-there-sometimes-not footpath leading to the Mont itself. As you can see in the photo below, some of the pedestrians were forced to walk in the breakdown lane for the cars since everything on both sides of the causeway is such a mess and so inconsistent.

Pedestrians walking to Mont St. Michel along the causeway breakdown lane

There are several places on the exterior of the Mont where scaffolds are quite visible. I’ve read several articles over the last few years that indicated that there are simply too many visitors each year to this medieval wonder. It is not a theme park, it is not a medieval-themed shopping mall, and it was originally intended to be simply a village and a monastery — not the tourist highlight that it has become. But all of that tourist activity comes at a price, and parts of the Mont are apparently imperiled by the sheer volume of people who are shoulder to shoulder in those narrow streets and passageways in the tourist season.

View of Mont St. Michel from miles away in Pontorson, Normandy, France

The restoration of the water around the Mont and the construction of the bridge were meant to be completed this year and that is highly unlikely to happen now due to the multiple delays. Once everything is actually in place, the parking lots (paid!) will be several miles away in Pontorson and all tourists will be taken to Mont St. Michel in an official shuttle (paid!) and there are also rather sensible plans afoot to limit the number of people who are allowed onto the Mont each day in an effort to slow the erosion and destruction.

A Wanderful Life

The Neverending Journey