If It Was Today...

Water

Posted on February 26, 2017 by If It Was Today

It was gorgeous today. The sun was shining in a clear blue sky, perfect for a walk to check out the melting snow. There is something about running water, especially from melting snow, that brings out the kid in me.

You will note there is even a hint of green showing. Unfortunately it is still just a hint. the big picture shows that we still have a way to go before spring.

In case you are thinking we only have snow in the forest, this is not the case. The streets were mostly clear, which is wonderful for walking, but there is still lots of snow on all the lawns. I rather like this picture because you can see the layers of snow from each snowfall over the winter, almost like a sedimentary rock.

I’ll leave you with two pictures. The first shows the interesting textures even when everything is brown, if you only look.

And finally, the sun glistening on the running water.

I’ll try to keep posting pictures of snow until the last drift melts. It could be a while…

Posted in Photography | Tagged Canada, Photography, Running Water, Snow | Leave a comment

Winter

Posted on February 25, 2017 by If It Was Today

I haven’t been traveling at all for a while now. My last trip was early December. It’s one of those “good news – bad news” stories best shared over a drink, so I won’t go into it here. I’m okay with this development – I like it at home, even in winter. But it has limited my opportunities to take pictures. So I’m turning my attention, at least for now, to the one photography subject that is available in abundance. Snow. Even though it has started to melt (unusually early, as it happens) it will be some time before it’s all gone.

To start, let me go back to December 22nd.

In late December the snow always looks so festive, blanketing a drab brown landscape with fresh white snow.

By mid February you are no longer thinking back to the dull fall landscape. If you are an optimist, you are looking forward to the fresh green of spring. Of course, if you are a realist, you are looking out your front door to see this…

And between those two dates we were treated to more of the same, so the snow was beginning to pile up. It was around this time that we reached an important milestone – the snowbank in the front yard was higher than me.

Needless to say, those tender green shoots of spring have no intention of poking out any time soon.

Posted in Photography | Tagged Canada, Home, Photography, Snow | 5 Comments

Groundhog Day

Posted on February 16, 2017 by If It Was Today

The basic idea behind Groundhog Day is that the groundhog’s shadow will determine if we have an early spring or six more weeks of winter. This has always confused me because where I live these are pretty much the same thing. Perhaps that’s why local groundhogs generally don’t bother to come out at all in February. There is of course one notable exception – the famous Stittsville groundhog who appears every February to greet winter weary Canadians with a much needed party.

Meanwhile, outside where it was not quite so warm and cozy, the guests were enjoying the fresh air while skating on the lake, complete with … Christmas trees?

This was not your usual skating rink, which is basically a large (and rather boring) rectangle. This was more like a maze – kind of a snow-maze. Fortunately the snow wasn’t deep enough to risk getting lost when you came to a dead end in the maze.

Still, it was fun skating along the winding path. Interestingly, the general consensus was that the best part was clearing the snow to get started.

I realize that I’ve been missing for quite a while – the last time I posted was December 4th. I’ll try to use this post to motivate me, and to provide a theme. Snow. It’s going to be with us for at least another six weeks, so I might as well use it to advantage.

And all of you people who are watching the daffodils push up through the warm earth … I have nothing to say to you – at least nothing that could be said in polite company.

Posted in Canada, Photography | Tagged Canada, Groundhog Day, Photography, Snow | 4 Comments

Back To Reality

Posted on December 4, 2016 by If It Was Today

Less than twelve hours after arriving home from Barcelona, I was off again. This is not nearly as exciting or as important as it may sound. Fortunately, it is also not a typical occurrence. Thank heavens.

After a week of lovely weather in Barcelona, freezing rain was quite a shock to the system, and of course meant the plane needed de-icing.

An afternoon of meetings in D.C. followed by an evening train ride put me in Philadelphia for meetings the next two days. It is a wonderful location on the 45th floor, offering stunning views of the city. At least it usually does. This time the view was somewhat limited.

But walking back to the hotel in the fog offered some interesting views. It almost felt like I was in London.

But the next day was sunny with clear skies. What a difference.

After four weeks on the road, I am ready for a long rest. Fortunately this is my last trip until mid January.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged Philadelphia, Photography, Travel, Washington D.C. | 5 Comments

The Final Day

Posted on November 27, 2016 by If It Was Today

On our last full day in Barcelona we retraced some of the same route we had taken a week ago, just after we arrived. We discovered a small market with local food and wine that we assumed we’d missed last week. But then, by the cathedral in the Gothic district, we found a Christmas market. Last week it had definitely not been there, so perhaps the local products market was new as well. Who knows?

To finish the day, we enjoyed a glass of Cava back at the apartment to celebrate a successful visit to Barcelona.

It’s a good thing we got lots of walking in today, because tomorrow is a full day sitting in the plane.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged Barcelona, Photography, Spain, Travel | 2 Comments

Odds and Ends

Posted on November 26, 2016 by If It Was Today

Another quiet day as we approach the end of our time in Barcelona. We didn’t do much of anything today – just walked, nowhere in particular. As always, we were amazed at the layers of beauty the city has to offer. First, a decorative detail on the top of one of the famous buildings on the Block of Discord. We’ve seen the building countless times in the past week, and yet I’d never noticed this impressive detail. The more you look, the more you see.

Next, in Pl. Catalunya, a bed of roses. At the end of November.

And then, there was this … thing. Some sort of fern, or perhaps a palm? It looked more like the alien in a B-grade Sci-Fi movie. But as long as you didn’t get too close, it was very impressive.

An image of a dragon in the details of another building.

And finally, the Hospital de Saint Pau.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged Photography, Spain, Travel | Leave a comment

Something Different

Posted on November 26, 2016 by If It Was Today

Today we took it easy – even by our standards. Our guide book includes a number of self-guided walking tours, so we decided to check out the walk through the area where we are staying. I’ve already covered many of the more famous buildings on previous posts, so instead I’ll talk about the more unusual things.

First stop was a courtyard / park built beside a water tower. You enter through a nondescript covered alley. Without the guide book, you would never know there was anything there. But once inside, you will find a small park with trees, benches, a wading pool and a sand beach, with fresh sand brought in every summer. The original late nineteenth century plan for this area included features like this to make the neighbourhood more livable, and because the beach was, you know, so far away.

Another pleasant feature of this apartment is that every quarter hour (only during the day, fortunately) a local church bell rings. Today we found the bell.

The church had originally been in the old city, but when this district was being built in the 1880’s they wanted to give it a little character, so the old church was dismantled, stone by stone, and moved to the new location.

In a bit of artistic license, or fancy, the bell tower came from a completely different church.

To end the day, something completely different. I have a weaknesses for interesting beer, which often means micro breweries. This is not something I expected to find in Barcelona, but I discovered one has recently opened here. The brewery is open for tastings on Friday evenings but it doesn’t have a liquor license, so it has to operate like a private club. You register for the “event” online, and then show up at the door of a seedy looking warehouse where your name is checked against the “guest list” before being admitted. But once inside, it looks very familiar.

A sampling of the local favorites was a great way to end the week.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged Barcelona, Micro-brew, Photography, Spain, Travel | 2 Comments

Park Guell

Posted on November 25, 2016 by If It Was Today

Some people approach travel like a to-do list, working hard to cross as many locations as possible off their list.

We take a different approach. It’s fun to pretend, however briefly, that we live in a city. Try to experience daily life and maybe get a flavour of a neighbourhood. Of course we see many well known sights along the way, but it isn’t the only objective. I realize this is actually a luxury. We aren’t trying to see everything Barcelona has to offer because we are confident we will return.

Today we visited another famous Gaudi work – Park Guell. We started with a ride on the #24 bus, which turned out to be an adventure in itself. The bus was packed and our newly purchased T-10 pass wouldn’t work. We can get by in French but not in Spanish. Fortunately, thanks to the friendly locals and helpful bus driver, we had a replacement card within minutes and we were on our way. I love Barcelona.

Park Guell is another site that you cannot possibly do justice to with pictures – but I’ll try anyway. We approached from the side gate, and the first thing we saw was the aqueduct. It was clearly reminiscent of classical structures, but the rough stone work gave it a very different feel.

Another example of the contrasting styles was the pillars set on an angle, and with the stones creating an upward spiral.

Gaudi’s influence is apparent everywhere, but at the front entrance it is unmistakable.

The detail on the roofs is amazing.

The brightly decorated benches around the nature square offer the opportunity to relax and take in the scene.

We struck up conversations with a few of our fellow travelers, something that we don’t often do. Perhaps it has something to do with the strange times in which we live.

And of course, the location was originally chosen in part for the wonderful views of Barcelona. This is one of the more striking modern buildings visible from the site.

And finally, a hibiscus flower in the gardens. The first snow storm of the season hit at home this past week, dropping nearly a foot of snow. I much prefer the weather in Barcelona.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged Barcelona, Gaudi, Photography, Spain, Travel | 2 Comments

Sagrada Familia

Posted on November 22, 2016 by If It Was Today

When Gaudi began work on the Sagrada Familia 1883, he knew he would never live to see its completion. Even today, there is still a decade of work to finish construction.

The cathedral offers an imposing view, even though it is still under construction. When the central spire is completed the cathedral will stand nearly twice as tall as it does today. And yet, somehow, the pictures cannot capture the majesty. You almost get a better sense of just how inspiring it is from the faces of the people looking up in awe.

But just to give you a flavour of what awaits you, here is a brief sampling.

It doesn’t matter how many cathedrals you have visited, you have never seen anything like this. I highly recommend it.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged Barcelona, Photography, Sagrada Familia, Spain, Travel | Leave a comment

A Rainy Monday in Barcelona

Posted on November 21, 2016 by If It Was Today

We woke late to discover that a light drizzle had settled in. After Sunday’s wonderful weather we really couldn’t complain. Besides, the jet lag was pretty much at its worst today (please dear God, let this be as bad as it gets) so truth be told, we didn’t want to get up at all. A bright sunny day would have only made it worse. But we finally managed to drag ourselves out of bed and have a leisurely breakfast with lots of coffee while we researched options for the day. By the time we left the apartment it was a little after 1:00. Fortunately by then the rain had tapered off.

First order of business for the day was … lunch. Carrer D’Enric Granados had been recommended as a street packed with restaurants, so we headed in that direction. Along the way we scoped out a restaurant that had been on our short list for last night. We didn’t have the energy to walk there yesterday, but today we opted for the daily fixed price meal. The price included four courses – wine, appetizer, entree, and coffee. Very civilized. The clientele appeared to be mostly local. When we sat down a little after 2:00 it was empty; by the time we left at 3:00 it was packed.

After lunch we walked down la Rambla to the port, enjoying the architecture along the way.

The street featured many iconic Barcelona buildings such as this one by Gaudi.

Of course there are a range of styles, including those that are relatively modern.

At times the styles almost clash, and yet they somehow all work.

The end of La Ramble features a Monument a Colom – or Columbus Monument. A statue of Columbus is at the top of the column, but some of the detail work near the base seemed equally interesting.

Yesterday we thought the park was fairly busy, but La Rambla, even on a rainy Monday in the off season, was far busier. And I’m sure it gets worse. It is lined with outdoor cafes, though today most of them were closed, and the ones that were open were only half full. In the summer I suspect everything is packed – cafes, sidewalks, and the street. Wall to wall people, no doubt. I much prefer it now.