The Magic Fountains of Barcelona

Gaudi designed street lamps

Just before dusk

The Magic Fountains

Colour changing

The Magic Fountain is one of the attractions in Barcelona, and a nightly show is put on in the summer months for visitors.  The fountains are in Montjuic, near the Placa Espanya, just outside the city centre.   The fountains were designed in 1929 for the International Exposition, and were used for the closing ceremony.   The display starts at dusk, and the water jets are controlled to music, with lots of lights and colour, that get more intense as the evening gets darker.

Have you seen these fountains, or some others like them in different places?

Wordless Wednesday : Castle on the Hill

Cows and a Castle at Roches Point

 

Thursday Doors : 8 June 2017

Door from the Alms House in Youghal, Co Cork

Over the weekend we went exploring in Youghal, Co Cork – a town about an hour away from my home.    The main street of Youghal, on first glance, is a bit run down with lots of empty shops and derelict buildings, but there’s more to Youghal than first impressions.   The town was buzzing on Sunday as there was a ‘Moby Dick ‘ festival on, as this is where the film Moby Dick was made in the mid 50s.   There was music, food and dancing in the streets!

We decided to explore a little more, and got a walking map from the Tourist Office, and came across some hidden gems, including St Mary’s Cathedral, which is the oldest church in Ireland, with continuous worship since the 13th century.

St Mary’s Collegiate Chapel

One of the main benefactors in Youghal was Richard Boyle who was the first Earl of Cork, and lived in Youghal for many years.  He built 6 alms houses in 1601 for 6 retired soldiers, and granted them a pension of £5 per year – probably a princely sum in those days!   The houses were renovated about 20 years ago, and are now used as private dwellings, but the original stonework is still there in places, as you can see, and they look exactly like they looked when first built.

Another view of the alms houses.

Tyntes Castle, Youghal

This is the door of Tyntes Castle, called an ‘urban tower house’ and built in the late 15th century, it’s a 4 story residence in the main street, where the gentry lived in earlier centuries.

Tyntes Castle, Youghal

Linked to Norm’s Thursday Doors

Tuesdays of Texture : Week 24 of 2017

 

Roches Point Lighthouse

The sea, the grasses, the cloudy sky and the lighthouse – all different textures to make up my Tuesday of Texture!

Cee’s Which Way Challenge: 2 June 2017

covered walkway

This walkway in Mijas, in southern Spain, was a very shady spot in the heat of the day, which was full of plants and with steps leading down to another archway.  This archway was a shortcut out to the sunny street.  Mijas is built on the side of a hill and is full of interesting little laneways, and steps leading up and down to different places – and flowers everywhere.    The locals take pride in their village, and everywhere you go there are pots and hanging baskets, full of colour in the sunshine.

The big question of the day is – Which Way shall we go?

The Donkeys of Mijas

 

Linked to Cee’s Which Way Challenge

Wordless Wednesday : Mijas Taxis!

Ready to party in Mijas, Spain

Thursday Doors : 18 May

We have just been on a short trip to the sunshine in southern Spain, the Costa del Sol, and here are a few of the doors we came across.  Most doors that we saw were very ornate, and a lot of them had these wrought iron doors outside the wooden doors, which means the building can be cooler in summer with the wooden door open.

Or how about these ones?

Green Door

Horshoe door

Head on over to Norm’s for more