rebness: (Catalonia)
rebness ([personal profile] rebness) wrote2007-05-14 08:10 pm
Entry tags:

Photos: Illegitimi Non Carborundum

There is a passage in the Bible where the Devil stands with Jesus on a mountain that looks upon "all the kingdoms of the world" and says, …Et dixit illi haec tibi omnia dabo si cadens adoraveris me-- "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Imagine looking out on all those riches, offered so much power! What a tempting, horrible moment. What a story.

It´s a dark, intriguing story, to be sure. And suppose you worked on the outskirts of Barcelona and all you had to do was turn to the right and look out of the window to see this imposing mountain named after that story rising up above the city, crowned by a church, omnipresent and impossible to ignore. In the end, Laura, my colleague, had to ask what I kept looking at and I told her. She enthused about going up Tibidabo, and how one can see all of Barcelona from there. Hannah chimed in with the story of Jesus and how she always thought about it when she saw the mountain.

So, of course, the logical thing to do was to go up there and maybe it would stop intriguing me so much. Though nothing is ever so easy in Barcelona. It is an attention h0r of a city, which is why I shouldn´t have been too surprised to get off the metro


Apparently, all these weird imitations of ancient statues had sprung up all over the Ramblas. Barcelona does so love its street art.



They were beautiful and huge and sinister. [livejournal.com profile] jaffacakequeen, I wish you had been there. You would have been clicking away like mad.







Even the very buildings are distracting. I notice something new each time. But I was going up that mountain, dammit!



I arrived at Avenida del Tibidabo and more attention h0r buildings.



Even the bar en-route couldn´t stop me. The drink is not mine, I hasten to add. I merely came for the view!



Okay, so it was a hot day and the road was uphill. Nae bother! Look, the church and shizz wasn´t too far away, surely?



Just a little bit further, Becky, I told myself. No, you´re not going to die up here. Just... a few hundred more metres. Upwards.



I tried not to think about how small Sagrada Familia looked over yonder.




Lots of nice flora there to watch me stagger past. Pretty, huh?




[livejournal.com profile] ozfille, remember when I said I had a real D´oh moment when I realised I could have got the funicular rather than struggling ALL THAT WAY? This is it. My face must have been a parody of shock and rage.



I was working my way back down the mountain when I came across this view and decided it absolutely could not be ignored.



Then I got lost coming down a mountain and limped my way along a Sleepy Hollow-esque trail.



...And back to non-sweaty civilisation. There are all sorts of weird and beautiful houses in the rich district on Avenida Tibidabo, but I was looking for one house in particular...



Number 32, the cursed home of the doomed Aldaya family in Carlos Ruiz Zafon´s novel The Shadow of the Wind. Except it´s an office, now, so one has to exercise a little extra imagination.



Those grand imposing gates help, though.



Poor Penelope. :(



It just looked neat. :D




So, tired, hot and hungry, I got back to Placa Catalunya to catch the train to my part of the city. Of course, Barcelona couldn´t leave it there and I ran right into all these people giving out free hugs. Barcelona has attention deficit disorder, I swear.

.


website stats

[identity profile] zhonghua2000.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 08:26 pm (UTC)(link)
LMAO!!! You posted that first picture for [livejournal.com profile] avariecaita, am I right?

Seriously though; the overlooking shots are breathtaking. <3

[identity profile] rebness.livejournal.com 2007-05-16 05:05 am (UTC)(link)
My God, good thing she wasn't there. Molesting statues would be a weird offence...

Thank'ees! Told you it was spectacular. :D

[identity profile] ladydaydream.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 10:15 pm (UTC)(link)
The drink is not mine, I hasten to add.

Yeah, yeah. I believe you. ;)

Lovely pics! :D The views across the city are simply stunning. And flowering cactus plants too!! One of my favourite pics is the statute of the head on its side. It looks so incongruous. I also love how you've captured the sunlight on the view up the mountain towards the church.

[identity profile] rebness.livejournal.com 2007-05-16 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
The sunlight was incidental, I think. I took it in a hurry, but when I saw the final picture I was very pleased.

I love the statue on its side, too! It's as if the colossus of Rhodes has just fallen apart, all tragic. Er, in Barcelona.

[identity profile] jaffacakequeen.livejournal.com 2007-05-15 08:16 am (UTC)(link)
i think i just passed out! believe me i cant wait to come and visit you. this is life! look at those views, and they are stunning pieces of public art! i would of been drooling and falling all over them. I love the fox one, thats really sweet. And i love the pic of the aloe vera/cactus type plant? in flower? Those views! i can see what you mean!

Those public art men with broken angel wings, they are quite beautiful. what i wouldnt do if i was close to one of them... i am quite flustered. Am i supposed to do any work today with those bronze men with wings and perfectly sculptured bottoms right before my eyes :-O

[identity profile] rebness.livejournal.com 2007-05-16 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
I'll be e-mailing you this week with a petition to get over here and general info on dates. Patience, dear Pen... the bottoms await you!
ozfille: (Default)

[personal profile] ozfille 2007-05-15 10:00 am (UTC)(link)
lol! I can imagine you standing there mouth agape and then with a face like thunder when you realised you could have saved yourself some huffing and puffing. I only knew about it because I'd read about it in a Barcelona Guide book. Perhaps you can invest in one that covers Catalunya.

[identity profile] rebness.livejournal.com 2007-05-16 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, it's pretty annoying. I have a Lonely Planet guide to Barca that I bought a few years ago when I was a tourist in the city and which I carry everywhere with me because its maps save me from getting too lost in El Raval or something, but it infuriatingly doesn't cover anything past the very main centre and so I missed out on all the info about Tibidabo.

I think you're right; I need a book on Catalunya, particularly as I want to explore the region more.

[identity profile] airiddh1.livejournal.com 2007-05-15 01:51 pm (UTC)(link)
it looks quite stunning! and to think all I'VE been taking pictures of recently are election posters LOL!

[identity profile] rebness.livejournal.com 2007-05-16 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
Muahahhaa. I could show you the election posters here, but I think you're tired of them. ;)

pandorasblog: (Default)

[personal profile] pandorasblog 2007-05-15 06:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh. My. God.

You really do live in an extraordinary city. And those statues reminded me of something which I can't explain about because I never did get round to sending you that book, and it now occurs to me that I don't have your address. Woecakes! Email me or face DEATH!

[identity profile] rebness.livejournal.com 2007-05-16 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
Point taken! I'll be e-mailing you. ;)