Barcelona Photoblog

December 21, 2009

Bolets or Mushrooms You Can Buy at La Boqueria, Barcelona

Bolets or Mushrooms at La Boqueria, Barcelona, Spain  [enlarge]

I don't have the slightest idea about mushrooms so I am going to dare give names to these three species. According to pictures, the first ones on the left could be some variant of Tricholoma, in the middle and most attractive to the eye, Cantharellus tubaeformis or Cantharellus infundibuliformis aka Rossinyol in Catalonia and finally what seems to be Agaricus bisporus. But then again don't follow my word on this so as to go and collect some in the wild holding my image cause your life might be at risk. The photograph was taken last September at La Boqueria market. If there are boletaires (bolet is Catalan for mushroom and boletaire those who know about bolets) in the audience please help me with this one.

This is just a recommendation of course for you to have fun with media. And while you are at it, how about more than 7000 mushroom recipes to browse for fresh ideas and maybe add that final touch to your Christmas table?.


December 20, 2009

Sailing Boats Coming Out of Moll de Xaloc, Barcelona

Sailing Boats, Moll de Xaloc, Barcelona, Spain [enlarge]

A group of sailboats coming out of Moll de Xaloc right in front of Hotel Arts and Torre Mapfre in Barcelona. What seems to be a class or an organized tour of some kind is towed by a zodiac towards open seas. In the distance the beautiful silhouette of Hotel W Barcelona also known as Hotel Vela (sail) by Ricardo Bofill.

December 17, 2009

Barcelona Predators: Seagulls - Strange Animal Behavior?

Seagull holding dead pigeon - Parc de la Ciutadella, Barcelona, Spain

Food, speaking on global terms and not western world standards, is scarce, and this is valid for animals as well that urged by that innate code mother nature gave them tend to change their behavior and even their habitat pushed by this irrational human vicious conduct of throwing stones into our own fragile roof. It is well known that we are happily helping degrade our planet, "nobody lives forever so f*** the future" many think, therefore creatures of the earth find it hard to survive in such a mess. Who has not heard of thinner than ever polar bears coming into towns for food, birds not migrating when or where they are supposed to, insignificant fish captures due to drastic changes in ocean temperatures as a result of global warming of the planet caused by men. I remember those times, when a seagull used to be near the shore feeding on fish or crabs and carrying their prey to their nests in nearby hills. In Barcelona it has become rather common to see these noisy, cunning and robust birds nesting on the roof of our buildings, claiming their territory against pigeons and smaller species and in some cases attacking children in school backyards to steal away a sandwich. Seagulls are carnivores and sometimes scavenge a little so it is not strange that they kill a small sick bird or take profit from their decaying corpse. The ackward thing to me is to find it in the middle of the Ciutadella park surrounded by people, holding an animal so big as an adult pigeon and looking at me so defiantly in the most pure Hitchcock-The Birds style. Times are achanging my friend and for the bad.
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