Shelagh's Lens
Bringing Vancouver and the world to inspired travellers
… And How Would You Feel?
… if you’d been pulled from your natural environment, shipped off to market and put on display for consumption?
Being the mother of a vegan certainly affects one’s perspective but, seriously, how could one not respond to this face? It certainly drew me in during one of our visits to Barcelona’s La Boqueria. Formally known as the Mercat de Sant Joesp de la Boqueria, you’ll want to simply look for “La Boqueria” when you visit Barcelona.
I thought Vancouver’s Granville Island Market was great, and it is, but La Boqueria is a sensory feast that goes beyond the mouth (“boca”) referenced in its name. I had the good fortune of visiting more than once, so watch for more images to follow.
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Waiting for Business
Here, in the shelter of shade outside the Seville Cathedral, these horse and carriage drivers held a striking affinity to cabbies outside any airport or hotel.
Although this group appeared to be more relaxed than their counterparts who queue up on busy city streets cluttered with traffic lights, more than one among these drivers was poised and ready for customers wishing to travel the old fashioned way.
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Capoeira in the Latin Quarter
Paris’ Latin Quarter, after the Bastille Day parade and afternoon celebrations, and yet a couple of hours before people began jockeying in earnest for position near the Eiffel Tower and along bridges for views of the fireworks …
Tourists, whether dining outside the cafes or poking through shops for keepsakes, collectively turned as music and an energetic group burst upon the scene. The young athletes cleared a path, beat the drum and treated us to a fast-paced display of Capoeira before passing the hat for bits of change. Then, just as quickly as they’d arrived, they were off, making their way down the road to entertain and lighten the wallets of the next cluster of tourists.
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Pucker Up
If you ever read the Brothers Grimm, who popularised folk tales such as Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White, you may also know the story of The Frog Prince.
There are various iterations of the tale, which sees a pampered, privileged princess coming across a prince who has been transformed into a frog. In some versions, the princess restores the frog to a prince by bestowing a kiss upon him.
These days, it seems, frogs and other amphibians could use more than a kiss. A number of frog populations are on the decline, and are recognised as endangered species.
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Gaudi’s Barcelona
This is the house that Gaudi built, in Park Güell.
Like many, we chose to visit Barcelona based in part on word of the wonders of architect Antoni Gaudi i Cornet. This Catalan genius was born south of Barcelona in 1852 and, during a childhood of delicate health, he endured necessary periods of limited physical activity – periods in which his love of nature was nurtured. Gaudi ultimately lived a long life, which was curtailed in 1926 after being run over by a tram.
Among his other breathtaking creations, Gaudi was responsible for the design of an estate for his patron, Eusebi Güell. Originally envisioned by Güell as 60 exclusive housing lots amid nature, the failure of the housing development was ultimately to Barcelona’s advantage, as it resulted in this unique park. This is the house in which Gaudi lived, complete with furniture of his own design. Here, looking over the city and out to the Mediterranean, there is a sense of wonderous beauty all around you.
A note about visiting Barcelona: We’d received more than a couple of warnings about pickpockets and so on, but exercised common sense and had no such issues. While there, we were told that, along with areas such as Palma, Barcelona is among that country’s leaders in terms of economic recovery. With the beauty of its natural setting and architecture, it seems inevitable that this cosmopolitan gem will continue to draw people from around the world – a number of whom are once again investing in Barcelona real estate.
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Gelato Girls
In Palma de Mallorca’s upscale Passeig des Born shopping area, you can find luxury clothing boutiques, a fabric store brimming with gorgeous designs, souvenir shops, elegant jewellery, restaurants, cafes … and two of the friendliest faces a tourist could hope to find.
These gelato girls from Giovanni L offered this friendly reception even without my purchasing one of the many tempting flavours on display, and they were consistent in their welcoming approach to all who stopped by their counter. The next time we passed their shop, on yet another sun drenched Palma afternoon, I did stop for a gelato and it was delicious.
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Dominoes
Pick a bike, any bike.
On a dreary Vancouver day earlier this year, this colourful array of bikes, so neatly arrayed, called to mind a stack of dominoes awaiting a gentle prod to set things in motion.
Silly thoughts aside, this veritable rainbow was a welcome intrusion on the grey skies around us.
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Big
When you’re little, everyone and everything around you can seem big, but just consider the size of the statues around this little fellow in the blue shirt.
Scale can be fun. While the painted orca is roughly two meters high, and its apparent enormity is a trick of the eye, the tin solider truly is as tall as he looks. Recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s tallest tin soldier, he stands 9.75 meters tall, weighs 4,540 kilogrrams … and stands on size 60 boots!
Sargeant Major Soldier, as he’s known, has proudly guarded the New Westminster Quay, overlooking the mighty Fraser River, since 2002. He was created to honour the Columbia Detachment of Royal Engineers who, between 1859 and 1863, founded, surveyed and set out the City of New Westminster.
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By the Quay
Near the foot of a steep hill by the New Westminster Quay, this overpass serves as a link between the old and the new. New West, British Columbia’s original Royal City, has century-old houses mere blocks from the shiny new building to the right of the overpass, and from the multiple high rises just to the left of the frame. This compact city is seen as one of metro Vancouver’s remaining areas where a family can purchase a reasonably priced single family home without the need for bridge traffic. 
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House of Beauty
Montreal, Quebec is among Canada’s older cities, and is home to Notre-Dame Basilica, which began as a chapel constructed between 1672 and 1683. Architectural influences range from baroque to gothic revival, and the church – which received basilica status in 1982 – is a major tourist attraction.
The building is also a place of substantial beauty.
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