movie night

Well, today was a very laid back day. Talk about a day of rest and relaxation.

We brought the projector from studio, tossed Brian's mattress and my mattress on the floor in the living room, and settled down for a good ol' movie night. Most of us haven't watched television or a movie since we got here so it felt good to watch the wall for a few hours. Gran Via came over and we had a full house for the Aldana premier of -007 in "Casino Royale." It was a good movie overall. I think I need to watch it again though because I missed a couple parts. Some good action and fight scenes. But in the end he didn't get the girl...que lastima.

After that, Gran Via headed out and the rest of us watched "The Prestige" with Hugh Jackman. That was a very good movie. I have been wanting to see that for a while. It had a good twist in the movie but I wish they could have found a different way to explain some things. Overall, movie nights are still a fun an typical evening in college.

from ancient Rome to magical fountains

Brandon and I walked aorund the Old City today. We went to La Catedral de Barcelona, stopping first at El Mercat de St. Josep and the courtyard of a hospital in the Raval section of town. We stayed in the cathedral for a while. There is so much to look at while you are in there, not only architecturally but also religiously and artistically. I was especially a fan of the courtyard, because not only is there a gaggle of geese, but also a few red eared sliders. There was a beautiful reception room for the big-wigs that come to the cathedral with incredible murals on the walls and ceiling. I was walking around the courtyard and there was a small opening in the interior fence. I walked through and found myself in an outhouse in the center of the courtyard. I found it a strange place for a bathroom, but I used them anyways.

We then walked around the old city, following a self-guided tour of the Roman ruins around the city. We followed the old city wall that remained from when the Romans constructed aqueducts, gates, and defense walls and towers. We then stopped in Santa Maria del Mar which is a beautiful church. There was a wedding about to start inside so we said a quick prayer for the groom and departed (game over for him).

We then headed back to Aldana and I took a siesta. Tom, Ben, Rob, Meg, Brandon, and I then walked down Parallel Ave. to Placa Espanya. I don't think anyone can come to Barcelona and not watch the evening show at Font Magica. I think this water performance was the best I have seen yet. The music selection was better than the previous shows I had seen and the fountains seemed even more powerful. We sat down close to the fountain on the bottom steps of the hill. I was able to get some good videos (once the loud and obnoxious Americans next to us left). We stopped at the small Cafe del Sol on the way back and ordered us some menus de los dias (I had read that Cafe del Sol was one of the recommended dining places in the city...we had no idea why). We all re-grouped back at Aldana and then headed up to Gracia to Placa del Sol, where I had done some sketching a few months ago (when we got there we saw the real Cafe del Sol that is a popular restaurant to go to...next time).

be our guest

Spanish this morning was in Spanish. The quote of the class was:

Sean: (in reference to our Spanish homework) Yeah, I spelled that word wrong.
Adriana No, you didn't spell it wrong. You spelled it in English.

I ran back to the apartment again (I enjoy that run) and took a shower. I packed a couple sandwiches and headed to studio. Tom and I went to Placa Catalunya to pick up Brandon around 8 30 pm. When the Aerobus pulled up and I saw Brandon wearing his old man Irish hat... I am glad he is visiting.

We ended up having a group dinner in Aldana (and Gran Tarde did come over) and made some Pasta Aldana (we had to use the sauce from OpenCor because Consum Consum formerly known as SuperSol was closed) It took me a while to get used to Brandon being here. I would look around the room and see him and be completely thrown off. You just can't throw a new face into the group...it confuses me.

Poble Nou

This morning we took a bus to Poble Nou for class and did a walking tour of the neighborhood. We walked through the 22@ district and ended in Plaza de les Glories. I enjoy the walking tours we have through the city, especially since they are part of our class.

For lunch, I gave in to the gods of the Doner. I hadn't eaten a doner or a durum or a kebab in over month, but Brian talked me into it. I got a doner pita at one of the "Barcelona-fast food-Middle Eastern-restauarnts." It was good, but I am going to have to wait at least a week until my next one.

Studio happened and then we had a firm visit. We went to a small firm and they gave us a very organized presentation in a very clean studio.

Cheers

Well, I have no idea what happened in Spanish today. I was hungry ALL class because we were learning about how to order food in restaurants and about different types of typical plates (and yes, Catalan foods ARE different than Spanish foods, just as Catalan technology is different than the world's technology). It isn't smart to talk about food during a 3 hour long class...it becomes difficult to ignore one's stomach.

I ran back to the apartment after class and Tom was kind enough to take my pants and books back to the apartment for me. We didn't have history because our visit to Sagrada Familia yesterday counted as our history class for the week. I did laundry, ate a sandwich, and had some good hot soup while watching the first episode of CHEERS from the fifth season (I needed it).

I went to studio late and stayed late...good day though.

Sagrada Familia

Unfortunately we were not able to sleep in this morning because we had to re-schedule one of our field trip classes for today. During class, we went to Vila Olimpica again, only this time we worked in water color. We are all turning into regular Pablo Picassos...maybe not.

Studio today was not held in studio, but instead inside La Sagrada Familia. The church designed by Gaudi (viewed as a god in Barcelona), has been under construction for over a century, and the finish line is still barely in sight. We were able to get a tour of the site by the current lead architect: an elderly man with a very soft and low voice. It was incredible walking around freely on the site and looking at the architecture that once was ahead of its time and still is an amazing concept. We took the elevator up as high as the building has been built so far (100 meters in the air!). The views of the city were breathtaking, and Gaudi had planned to have viewing stations from the top of the church. We took the makeshift construction stairs down to the bottom, which was quite an experience for those of us who are afraid of heights (I walked slowly holding onto everything I could...my knuckles were white on the railings...okay so I am a little scared of heights).

We went into the basement of the church where there is a museum talking about Gaudi and several of his projects, but with a concentration on La Sagrada Familia. On display were the actual hand drawn renderings and construction documents done by Gaudi. They also had many of his study models on display and explained how he came up with his ingenious ideas and building methods.

Visiting La Sagrada Familia was possibly my greatest architectural experience so far in Barcelona. Looking at a project that has been going on for so long, influenced by so many architects, but still all strongly based on the concept and drawings of the great Gaudi.

chinese buffet

When I woke up to check my email, my computer had jumped forward an hour. I was confused so I set it back an hour. Tom and I then went to 11 o'clock mass and came back to the apartment for a good lunch. That is when we realized that last night was "Spring Forward" for Spain's Daylight Savings. So after losing an hour, we all went and got lost in studio. Ben, Rob, and I then decided we had to get out somewhere so we went to the Vila Olimpica to the Chinese buffet at the mall there. We stuffed ourselves very unhealthily with food that was very un-Chinese. We never complain about the phrase "all-you-can-eat" though. We headed back to studio and stayed a little bit longer than we were expecting.

All in all, it was not a bad day because I am starting to try and work out a day to day schedule for my backpacking trip in May, and I got to talk to my parents for a while on Skype...and the Hoyas won, which I guess is cool since it's my brother's alma mater.

hacemos footing a la universidad

After spending all day in studio working on my sketchbook, Tom and I decided to go for a good run somewhere. We decided to run (or as our Spanish professor would say, hacemos footing) to the university. We ran to the architecture building, which is about 3 and a half miles from our apartment. We ran up the all the steps of the building just like Rocky Balboa (there are about 6 steps...maybe 7). On the way there we saw two large events going on. The street was closed off for one of them and there was a stage with a couple of belly dancers on it. We weren't too sure what the other gathering was. It was a tough run because the sidewalks were packed with people for several blocks.

After the run we came back to the apartment and had dinner. We bought a HUGE can of tuna and fixed A LOT of tuna sandwiches. I like tuna. Felipe's friend Paula came over for a few hours and hung out with us. She had the night off from babysitting Felipe's son and wanted to do something. We weren't too lively though because the tuna made us pretty tired. We taught her some English phrases which was fun. Rob played professor and we all got a kick out of it. Maybe he will pursue teaching English...maybe not.

BILBAO to BARCELONA

Well, the train ride back was quite a trip. I slept in a small room in a train car with complete strangers. When I got to my assigned room on the train, I met James: a British traveler in his mid-20s that was just finishing up a week of backpacking through Spain. The next two to join us were engineers from India that were on a 3 week long business trip, stopping at several major cities all over Europe. We all talked for a while before we went to bed. The one gentleman gave me his business card and told me that I am always welcome to come to India. Hopefully, I can some day. I didn't exactly fit on the bed so I had to curl up a little bit on the narrow bed. The pillow was about as thick as a folded up T-shirt, so I stuck my jacket underneath it. I slept very soundly until our door was loudly slid open in the middle of the night and 2 more guys came in to sleep on the top 2 bunks. I fell back asleep and when I woke up, we were down to othe original 4 in the train car. The train arrived in Barcelona about 2 or 2 and half hours late so we just sat in our car and talked for a few hours. We talked about India, England, and the U.S. We covered everything from education to religion to architecture. I exchanged e-mail addresses with James, so if I ever end up in Newcastle, UK I will have a place to stay.

When we got back to the apartment, I threw in a load of laundry and unpacked. I then went for a run down to the beach (the sun can be very taunting). The beach was so full of people that I couldn't help but take off my shoes and socks and stroll along the beach for a while. I walked along as the waves covered my feet every few steps. I picked a spot in the sand and just sat there for a while. It was very relaxing just watching the waves crash and then gently ride up on the sand and then retreat back. There were a lot of walkers on the beach and sun-bathers, but not too many people in the water. It was funny how some people in swim suits were lying next to people wearing pants and a sweatshirt. The weather is warming up quickly though. Spring is here to stay.

BILBAO is under a black cloud

BILBAO in the rain

ROME to BARCELONA to BILBAO

ROME to VATICAN CITY to, well, ROME