Barcelona/Babylon....summer time at Barceloneta!

June 2014. I had a chance to spend 10 days in Barcelona with my daughter and son.....I usually come alone, but I must say we really had a good time together! Barcelona in full summer is very enjoyable, the beach is only 10 minutes walking from the center and it's very nice to have the chance, any minute, to just reach it for taking a bit of sunshine, or take a swim, or go skating, or byking, of relax at one of its several chiringuitos and have something to eat or drink, meet new people....taking pictures! 

Time for a fresh drink!

The tattooed lady

Me! (part of!)

The tower Cubes!

This was early morning, before the crowd !!

Kris and Marina (on the rigth), it was so nice this time to have them with me!

Just loved the boy's tee-shirt with the titles of the Beatles' songs!

What to eat?

 From one of the numerous "chiringuitos" on the beach

Just in front of the beach

Police checking if everything is fine...

Cloudy morning waking towards the Olympic port

Always liked the wall of the building on the left side!!

May in El Born district!

Once more in Barcelona!! This time I stayed in El Born neighborhood, a lovely old district where it's easier to live the life of a local inhabitant of the town...well, a lot of tourists here as well, as it is a very nice area where the famous Santa Maria del Mar cathedral is....yet it is a quiet place, characterized by small narrow streets, little squares with cafés and tapas bars and you can sit outside in the sun enjoying a good glass of wine almost everywhere!! Here are just a few photographs to give you a hint of the place!

This is carrer Flassaders, where I have been living this time

Evening walk nearby Santa Maria del Mar (on the right)

El Paseo del Born, close to my apartment

Same place, opposite side, old El Born market in the background (used to hold the city's main market) Since the finding of ancient roman, medieval and post medieval remains has taken years to catalog, the market was closed for 36 years until this day, that it has become a multi-cultural space that hosts the city's fashion week as well as many other cremonies. 

"Something"

March 2014. Back to Barcelona again....can't stay too long away from this town! Everytime is like the first time and at the same time every time I feel more and more "at home".....might end up moving here some day...."Something in the way it moves...attracts me like no other lover..." the Beatles would sing....

Romance! Barceloneta beach, afternoon champagne

Rickshaw at the beach, so nice to be taken around using one of them!

Sitting in the sun. Macba (Museo Arte Contemporanea Barcelona)

Friends

The tourists' legs

The solitary artist. Raval neighborhood

Good warm light on cold grey stone

Peculiar window from inside a bookshop in the Raval neighborhood

After the rain!

Sweet little girl outside the school

El Borne neighborghood, early morning walk

El Borne neighborhood. Every time I pass by this area there is a new message written on the blackboard hung on the wall outside a local shop, and every time the words fit the way I feel in that very moment...

La playa en febrero!

Back to Barcelona for a few days......everytime it's magic....For a series of reasons, last time I came here I thought....uhmmm.....who knows if I will ever come back....and I made a post entitled "Goodbye Barcelona: last trip to Neverland".......But then....destiny brought me here once again......and I am really happy.....and hope to have the chance of coming back many times again....well....actually I'm thinking of renting an apartment on a yearly basis....and go back and forth from Rome......Well....let's see if this dream will ever come true!! As Paolo Coelho says "There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.", in spanish "Solo hay una cosa que hace imposible realizar un sueno: el miedo de fracaso."....

...but...I am considered as a rather brave and daring person....and furthermore... I am from Naples and  I am a "capa tosta", which means I am definitively a stubborn person!!! So......we will see!!

This is what I found on a wall in El Born district......maybe a sign of  fate? :-)

  This time I took a few pictures of the Barceloneta beach, where everybody can just relax, take a walk and smell the sea, do some sport, listen to very good music (every day there are different street musicians performing beautifully)......Enjoy...and start planning your trip to Barcelona!!! don't hesitate to contact me in case you need some advice!!

Nothing is better to really relax on the beach: a massage by the sea performed by one of the nice chinese ladies walking on the sand and kindly asking if you want to try...not expensive, and extremely well done: I tried and felt so well afterwards!

Good day for surfing

....and taking pictures!

...and kite surfing!

A little bit of salsa today!

...and you can watch these guys playing in this video I shot!

This is the gothic window of the apartment I rented this time: just in front of the old port, Port Vell

... and this is the view from my window during the day...

...... and at night!!

So....to make a long story short.....just can't wait to go back to "my" Barcelona!!! Ciao! and feel free to leave any comments!!!