Playing Petanca, Passeig de Lluis Companys, Barcelona

Here are some old men, retirees perhaps, playing petanca in Passeig de Lluis Companys, next to famous Arc de Triomf.

According to wikipedia: 'Pétanque (French pronunciation: ​[petɑ̃k]; Occitan: petanca [peˈtaŋkɔ]) is a form of boules where the goal is to toss or roll hollow steel balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet (literally "piglet") or jack, while standing inside a circle with both feet on the ground'

This as you know is quite common in Catalonia and I have covered it in a previous post.

I like the fact they are standing in groups and they are quite concentrated in the strategy of the game.

Moving in Barcelona

Moving to a different house or apartment in Barcelona is of course as in many cities something very common. It is not strange to see these huge ladders with a lifting platform hanging from balconies here and there. This was not always like that. I remember that in the 80s heavy furniture in general had to reach upper storeys by means of pulleys hanging out from the roof or using the staircase or elevators if any. In the picture, moving service staff at work in one of those El Born buildings with the beautiful arcades right in front of Ciutadella parc.

Barcelona Railway Stations: Estació de França

Railway stations have that certain nostalgic mood associated to departures, to waving goodbye and leaving your beloved behind. Many times we think of steam, of steel, of ticket collectors and whistles as if we were in the XIX century, maybe evoking famous movies, you know, the kind where the guy runs along all the platform to find the girl and hold her hand or to try in vain to get her off the wagon. After I finished writing these words I found there was a good article about trains in films. Among other things the author talks about the different emotions triggered by a railway station. I think Railways in Film by Jiro Hanyu fits the kind of atmosphere I wanted to portray with this photograph of Estació de França in Barcelona.