Spain | the vibes

Posts Tagged With: Spain

Secret Doors of the World

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Mark

Little House, Oia, Santorini, Greece.

I’ve found myself in some strange places. Camera in hand, partner and tourists rolling their eyes: it’s a door. Why is that man taking pictures of a door? I love the stuff that other people walk straight past.

Rusting door, Castlefield, Manchester

It’s the mystery, the history, the peeling paint and the rust. Forgotten locks and handles, or maybe some overwrought filigree. To me, the texture of weathered neglect is beautiful.

Weathered wall and iron gates, Santorini, Greece

When the sleeve gets tugged I say ‘Go and flick through Facebook in the café – I’ve found something fascinating…’ There are hidden wonders to be found if you wander from the beaten track.

Haçienda, Barcelona

Coming back from Parc Güell above Barcelona, I spotted this charming little haçienda and in my mind, I bought it and moved in straight away.

Fantastic Art Nouveau shop door, Brussels.

As beautiful as Brussels is, I could have spent all day in Grote Markt and missed this elaborate example of Art Nouveau architecture which was hiding down a side street. I stopped the traffic to get this shot, while the horns hooted.

Categories: Photography, Random, Travel, Vibe Monitor | Tags: architecture, Barcelona, Brussels, Doors, Greece, Greek Island, iPhoto, Oia, Photoshop, Santorini, Spain | 34 Comments

Gaudi Wonderland – Park Güell, Barcelona

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Mark

‘A fool or a genius, time will tell,’ said Antoni Gaudi’s tutors as they handed him his degree. Spain’s greatest architect is famous for his gothic psychedelic style which predates the colourful extravagance of the sixties by decades. Park Güell, so named because it was based on the English Garden City Movement, was definitely a work of genius: an undulating pleasure garden of vibrant colour and form.

We stayed in Sitges on the coast, just outside Barcelona, and ventured into the city for a Gaudi expedition and shopping at Desigual. You have to take two escalators up a mountainside until you reach the summit which boasts sweeping views of the city, with the Sagrada Familia just a toy on the horizon.

Speaking of toys, Park Güell is like falling down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. A panorama of spiritual symbolism and gingerbread houses create the ideal environment to relax and enjoy the view. I listened to a busking violin as craftsmen repaired broken tiles, which betrayed the real age of the place.

After the tourists have gone and the sun starts to set, the park starts to feel magical, and you can almost see through Gaudi’s eyes. Influenced by Moorish architecture, Gaudi was a visionary, a Modernista with perhaps a penchant for mushroom tea…

I was fascinated to see how Gaudi recycled unwanted ceramics, or trencadis amongst his mosaics and made something beautiful out of damaged and discarded materials. It’s incredible to think this place is a century old.

Gaudi actually lived here in the park in this house which was intended to be a show home: Park Güell was originally supposed to be a housing development for rich aristocrats! I wonder if their names were Dougal, Florence and Zebedee?