Boats on Sant Pol de Mar Beach Near Barcelona, Spain

A glimpse of Sant Pol with some fishermen boats lined up on the sand in the middle of the winter it is always a pleasure to the eyes. To know more about this beach and its town visit my previous posts: Sant Pol de Mar, Maresme Coast, Catalonia, Spain and Sant Pol de Mar, Maresme Coast, near Barcelona.

Sant Jaume Square: View of Palau de la Generalitat in Barcelona, Spain

Sant Jaume square with Palau de la Generalitat in the background, a place many of you will remember if you've ever been to Barcelona. In case you haven't, you ought to know that Palau de la Generalitat is the headquarters of the Government of Catalonia and of the Presidency of the Generalitat. The building was originally designed by architect Marc Safont and erected under his supervision in XV c. over a previous property bought by the Council, further undergoing important structure transformation and blending of architectural periods. The façade and two important sections are of renaissance style but once the Courts took over the building in the XVIIIth century the chapel was extended and the bell tower was crowned according to the predominant Gothic style. In 1914 a major restoration was carried out to recover the palace to its original preservation state right before the occupation by the Courts. Those works were directed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, the prolific modernist architect many times featured in this blog as for example in my post: La Diputació (Barcelona Provincial Government) not to be mistaken with La Generalitat!.

Modernist Balcony, Ali Bei Street, Barcelona

Catalan Art Nouveau also called Modernisme treasures real beauties when it comes to balconies. Take a look at this building for example at carrer Ali Bei with protruding windows covering part of the main balcony. A long time ago another building on the same block (about two doors away) was featured in Barcelona Photoblog: Art Nouveau Balcony