The cemetery of Poble Nou (and El Santet)

My grandmother used to say that having a cemetery close to home was not a problem at all, but something good: their tenants do not make any noise, they have no complaints and it is very unlikely that something else is ever build there that might disturb you.


Poble Nou Cemetery is the oldest in Barcelona, ​​although it was at first out of town. It was developped because there was the need to bury the dead outside the walls of the city, when Barcelona was still walled and lacked space and hygiene. Now, however, this cemetery lays in the middle of the city, and tenants have many neighbors who seem to have no complaints.


There are many famous Barcelonians buried in Poble Nou, such as the musician Josep Anselm Clave and the politician and engineer Narcis Monturiol or the actress Mary Santpere. But the niche that is the most visited belongs to Francesc Canals Ambrós. It gets so many visits that they had to empty the twelve niches around his to make enough room for the amount of gifts and flowers that he receives. Francesc Canals, known as "The Santet", was a humble boy from Barcelona who died at age 22, victim of tuberculosis. It is said that this young man, who was reputed to have powers of divination, is now able to intercede for miracles or favors (other than economic).


If you want to ask a favor to Francesc, you have to write the wish on a paper note, send it through the glass of the gravestone, say a prayer and go down the right side and not look back. Do not say I didn't warn you.

Block interiors of the Eixample

It is nothing new to say that the differences between the original Plan Cerdà for Barcelona and how the city was finally urbanized are more than remarkable. In fact, even though the locals are now proud of our orthogonal Eixample and can not imagine the city with any other street design, the truth is that the Plan Cerdà was not very appreciated by the people from Barcelona at that time, even less among the middle classes.

Thus, one of his ideas was to leave the central areas of the blocks free of buildings, in order to install gardens, usually as "corridors" between two parallel strips of houses.
It goes without saying that the block interiors were filled with buildings, often family workshops and small factories, and eventually ended up joining the two strips, closing the blocks completely.
And this way was, very briefly, how it was born another typical landscape of Barcelona's Eixample: what we see from the windows overlooking the courtyards in the Eixample.
The good news is that in recent years the City Council is making an effort of recovery of these gardens, and there are 44 block interiors recovered, open to us all.

Easter cake (La Mona)

The bakeries of Barcelona are always full of different types of candies depending on the season. Among others, there are the Lent fritters, the Sant Joan "coca", panellets for All Saints´ Day... But perhaps the king of them all (or rather, the Queen) is the Easter cake. For anyone who likes chocolate, walking past a bakery these days can be a delight. Tradition says it is the godfather or the grandfather who gives it to the godson for Easter. 
Initially it was a simple dough made ​​with sugar and other sweets, always topped with boiled eggs. Generally one put as many eggs as the age of the child, until age 12, when he made the Holy Communion.
But with time Easter cakes evolved and natural eggs became chocolate eggs, and Easter cakes were eventually made basically of chocolate. Now we find truly wonders, and must also follow fashion trends each year (although the issue of the Smurfs, such as the one in the photo, is a classic).
Particularly, I have to say I never was very fond of chocolate myself and also my godfather didn't give me my "Mona" because it is not a tradition in the Basque Country...but that does not mean that I stand in front of the bakeries to look at them!

Hydraulic mosaic of the Eixample

One of the things that amaze me of the houses of Barcelona are the mosaics of many floors of the Eixample. This pavement is closely linked to the Modernist movement, and for that reason it is so commonly found in Barcelona. It was a technique imported from France that was very popular among the families of Barcelona's high society.
One of the leading manufacturers was Escofet, who collaborated with architects as Domènech i Montaner and Gaudí in developing unique hydraulic mosaics, such as those found inside the Pedrera, hexagonally shaped and green-apple coloured, which later inspired the tiles of Passeig de Gràcia.
There was a time when many people, trying to be practical, covered these tiles with other materials such as wood flooring or ceramic which looked more "modern" and uniform. Fortunately, it now appears that there is some consensus in considering these ceramics positively and therefore make the effort to preserve them. Some have beautiful designs, others are more discreet, but they all have their charm, and are still produced using traditional methods, so can be considered unique pieces.
Those of you who have this kind of mosaic at home, take care of it and preserve it!

Chocolate at Petritxol street

Petritxol street is special for many reasons. Some reasons why:

- Because, despite being within walking distance of the saturated Rambla, and despite linking the busy Portaferrissa and Plaça del Pi, it conveys a feeling of returning to the past.

- Because it has ceramic tiles along its 130 meters of length, which explain stories that happened in that street.

- Because it was the first entirely pedestrian street of Barcelona. Even its name is said to come from the word "Pedritxol", due to the stones placed at the entrance to the street that prevented the carriages from entering it.

- Because of its unique combination of inimitable and art galleries and what we call "granges". Among the former there is the gallery Parés. It opened in 1840, and was a meeting place for lovers of art, who after the visit used to have something to eat in the area. And among the "granges" there are still surviving the Pallaresa and Dulcinea.

- For the infinite pleasure that gives eating chocolate with sponge fingers, a Swiss chocolate with "churros" or simply a dish of cream while you enjoy all those reasons!

Pigeons of Plaça Catalunya

I think I am right if I say that Plaça Catalunya is, for the people of Barcelona, a place we don't usually stay very long. In the old days, before the walls of the old city were demolished, there was a big space where markets took place and the paths to the towns in the vicinity started. Later, when the Eixample was developed, that area was occupied with cafés, theaters and fair stalls. Actually, the square was the scene of political and literary gathering for many people from Barcelona before Civil War broke out. Now, however, we hardly stay there for more than some minutes, unless there is a concert or a demonstration.
Perhaps there is another circumstance under which a Barcelonian would stay for a while in Plaça Catalunya: as a child, chasing (and sometimes also feeding) the pigeons. I have to say I am not a big fan of urban pigeons, that are a plague in Barcelona, transmit diseases and damage street furniture and fixtures. If I have to choose an urban bird, I prefer Argentine parrots, as I already commented.
Anyway, beyond my preferences, I must admit that pigeons form an very typical image of the city.
Ah, and one final curiosity: it seems that pigeons were introduced in Barcelona for the Universal Exposition of 1929, by a police chief that thought that the image of Plaça Catalunya with pigeons would be much more attractive! I don't think he was aware of how they were going to spread.

The Sagrada Família (from the outside)

It is obvious that the Sagrada Família is an icon, a benchmark for Barcelona, and its silhouette is associated with the image of the city itself. Just as London has Big Ben and Paris has the Eiffel Tower, we have the Sagrada Familia by Gaudi.

It is also true that many locals know it only from the outside. The Sagrada Família is there, we know it, we see its evolution, but we seldom visit it. The fact of having it so close to us, knowing that we can go whenever we want, makes us delay it so much so that we never go. And besides, the sight of all those tourists queuing, makes us difficult to find a good moment to do so. The Safrada Família is the most visited tourist attraction of all Spain, with near 4 million visitors last year.

If someone is waiting until the construction of the church is finished, you must know that we still have to wait a while. The most optimistic estimation is that the work could be ready by 2026, the centenary of the death of Antoni Gaudí, although no one dares to set a date. In addition to the complications of the work itself there is the expropriation to be done to complete the project. There is even the idea of ​​opening a wide avenue from the main entrance, on Mallorca street, to the Diagonal!

By the way, I visited the Holy Family (on the inside!) last weekend taking advantage of the visit of a relative who came from outside, as usual. I leave a couple of pictures in case you do come the urge to go visit. Indeed, it is worth it!