Tag Archives: crowd

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Sunday Morning, El Rastro

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Sunday Morning, El Rastro,Madrid
“Sunday Morning, El Rastro” — Dense crowds at Madrid’s Sundary morning El Rastro street market.

El Rastro is the huge open air street market in Madrid’s barrio de Embajadores. It is held every Sunday morning and has been for many decades. I read that there can be up to 3500 vendor stalls! They spread across many streets in the area, and you can find almost every imaginable item for sale. At its peak, the streets are jam-packed with shoppers and sight-seers — so much so that it can be difficult to move.

When we visited we knew there was a “street market,” but we had no idea of what a big deal it is. We walked from where we were staying, and we first arrived at some stands in a small square and thought, “That’s it?” We saw more stalls across the street, and when we went to investigate we saw that they extended off into the distance. We plunged in and walked through a good portion of it.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Christmas Market, Montpellier, France

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Christmas market in Montpellier, France
“Christmas Market, Montpellier, France” — Throngs of people crowd the Christmas Market at Montpellier, France.

Today’s photo is a bit photo-journalistic, but sometimes that is appropriate for travel. We ended up at this Christmas market in Montpellier, France almost by accident. We knew there was a market, but we were not sure where it was located. We went on one of our morning “random walks,” heading toward the high point of the old section of the city, where we found a pond where an ancient aqueduct terminates. The market filled a large hilltop square between that and the upper end of the city’s main street.

We knew about German Christmas markets, and one of our goals during the first weeks of our trips was to visit them. We were less aware that these markets are actually all over Europe — we saw them in France and Spain during our trip. While the German markets seem to be best known, the other markets follow the same general theme — rows of booths selling food, drink, warm clothing items, Christmas decorations, and much more to throngs of holiday visitors.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel

Munich Christmas Market

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“Munich Christmas Market” — The evening crowd at the Munich Christmas Market.

Among other things, we timed our late-2024 trip to Europe to coincide with the Christmas market season. We had heard about these events for years, and this was finally our opportunity to see some of them as we visited various cities. Our main targets were in Germany, but before we were done we also saw some in France and Spain. They are everywhere, and the basic theme is similar despite regional variations. (Gluhwein in Germany becomes vin chaud in France.)

Munich was the final Germany city we visited this time. We were not there primarily for the Christmas market — we planned to attend a concert, go out to dinner, and generally experience the place. But on the first afternoon our walking route took us right through this main market. It was crowded, to the point that it was hard to walk. Vendor stalls lined the street, selling all kinds of holiday items, from food and drink to Christmas ornaments and warm gloves and socks.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Bar Martinez 1942

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Bar Martinez 1942
The evening crowd at Bar Martínez 1942 in Donostia/San Sebastian, Spain.

Bar Martinez 1942. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

The evening crowd at Bar Martínez 1942 in Donostia/San Sebastian, Spain.

In a sense, it felt like this summer’s big European adventure (ten weeks of travel!) really began in Donostia/San Sebastián Spain. Our arrival felt different from much of the rest of the trip, where mostly it was just the two of us, traveling light and sometimes a bit randomly. But several things were different at this first stop in Spain. We met a couple of “our (adult) kids” here. Within about an hour of our arrival, a stage of the Tour de France also arrived a short distance from where we stayed. And we did something else a bit unusual for us — we took a “pinxtos tour” on our first night.

If you don’t already know, pinxtos are essentially the tapas of this Basque region of Spain — wonderful, varied, “small plate” foods, and Donostia/San Sebastián is known for this culinary style. We usually plunge into such things on our own, but the “kids” had arranged for a tour with a local guide. She took us to a series of pinxtos bars, and it was a lot of fun. The photograph comes from the area of town where these businesses are found, and I snapped it as we wandered about in the evening.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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