one, two, step
passionate performance, el palacio real as the backdrop
homeless man hosts friendly company in the park
Saturday, November 24, 2007
may i have this dance?
I've had these pictures for a while, thought I'd put them up.
one, two, step
passionate performance, el palacio real as the backdrop
homeless man hosts friendly company in the park
one, two, step
passionate performance, el palacio real as the backdrop
homeless man hosts friendly company in the park
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
spreek engels?
"Spreek engels?" a small blond woman asked me, possibly trying to start up a conversation for our 2 hour plane ride to the Netherlands. I looked at her, utterly lost. It sounded like she was trying to speak English, but was handicapped with some sort of alien/robot accent?? This was my first encounter with the dutch tongue, frankly a silly sounding language, yet similar to both English and German. Later I would watch in amazement how this woman, who was no more than 5 feet tall, could successfully finish off six beers, preciously toasting each one to her small Dutch husband seated next to her.
Although I flew into Amsterdam, I stayed with a friend from Davis who is studying for the year in Utrecht, a sweet and humble town similar to Davis in that everyone and their mother owns a bike. It was refreshing to be in this strangely familiar environment, complete with a farmer's market, a killer Kabob stand, and smiling towns people. I also found that Dutch desserts top all with their stroopwafels and ginger marzipan-stuffed golden pastries.
Yet remember, this town is still located in Holland and for this, did not lack an abundance of "coffee shops" nor a bustling Red Light district, both which remain very controversial. It was hard to grasp that these sorts of activities are decriminalized yet it was very believable that the majority of their consumers and clients are tourists.
An awesome tree in the main quad of Amelia's school
A canal in Utrecht, the tallest church stands in the distance
Amelia introduced me the famous stroopwafel, appropriately, it's too waffle cookies bonded together with either caramel or maple syrup
The tallest church of Holland stands in downtown Utrecht
We made it into the Amsterdam for an afternoon and walked past its famed canals and through parks painted with fallen colored leaves. Madrid's autumn scenery lasted a mere week so I was very happy to have caught a glimpse of Holland's autumn. Our greatest find was a bagel shop without a doubt. No, they did not have my favorite holiday seasoned pumpkin flavor, but I thoroughly enjoyed a whole wheat bagel, lightly toasted with a side honey-almond cream cheese.
Serenity. A biker pauses for a moment
Ofcourse, the group shot in front of the canal. Our photographer thought himself to be a funny man as he at first pretended to run away with our camera...
did I mention it was FREEZING? Amelia lent me her silly hat that so nicely attracted everyone's attention. "Are you cold miss? hehe..."
a canal in Amsterdam at night. a possible inspiration for Van Gogh's "Starry Night?" I think so...
The great company of my friends Amelia and Elyssa, the Netherlands' gorgeous countryside scenery, and a reunion with our very dear friend, the bagel, made this trip exceptional. In just a few weeks I will return to Amsterdam to check out the Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank's house during my Europe tour over winter break, and I promised myself that I would return to this lovely land again in spring time, in hopes see the country's famed tulip fields!
Although I flew into Amsterdam, I stayed with a friend from Davis who is studying for the year in Utrecht, a sweet and humble town similar to Davis in that everyone and their mother owns a bike. It was refreshing to be in this strangely familiar environment, complete with a farmer's market, a killer Kabob stand, and smiling towns people. I also found that Dutch desserts top all with their stroopwafels and ginger marzipan-stuffed golden pastries.
Yet remember, this town is still located in Holland and for this, did not lack an abundance of "coffee shops" nor a bustling Red Light district, both which remain very controversial. It was hard to grasp that these sorts of activities are decriminalized yet it was very believable that the majority of their consumers and clients are tourists.
An awesome tree in the main quad of Amelia's school
A canal in Utrecht, the tallest church stands in the distance
Amelia introduced me the famous stroopwafel, appropriately, it's too waffle cookies bonded together with either caramel or maple syrup
The tallest church of Holland stands in downtown Utrecht
We made it into the Amsterdam for an afternoon and walked past its famed canals and through parks painted with fallen colored leaves. Madrid's autumn scenery lasted a mere week so I was very happy to have caught a glimpse of Holland's autumn. Our greatest find was a bagel shop without a doubt. No, they did not have my favorite holiday seasoned pumpkin flavor, but I thoroughly enjoyed a whole wheat bagel, lightly toasted with a side honey-almond cream cheese.
Serenity. A biker pauses for a moment
Ofcourse, the group shot in front of the canal. Our photographer thought himself to be a funny man as he at first pretended to run away with our camera...
did I mention it was FREEZING? Amelia lent me her silly hat that so nicely attracted everyone's attention. "Are you cold miss? hehe..."
a canal in Amsterdam at night. a possible inspiration for Van Gogh's "Starry Night?" I think so...
The great company of my friends Amelia and Elyssa, the Netherlands' gorgeous countryside scenery, and a reunion with our very dear friend, the bagel, made this trip exceptional. In just a few weeks I will return to Amsterdam to check out the Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank's house during my Europe tour over winter break, and I promised myself that I would return to this lovely land again in spring time, in hopes see the country's famed tulip fields!
Monday, November 19, 2007
WHERE'S PHIL? HAVE YOU SEEN PHIL? PHIL?!
For those that don't know, "Holiday in Spain" is a song by the Counting Crows, one of my all time favorite musical groups. It's about leaving your worries behind and all that seems impossible to overcome at that very moment. Its about a new start to new life, hence it's the link to this blog (yes I know it's corny so I'll refrain from further cliches). Anyways, it mentions packing up your bags and heading to Barcelona, something I was just able to do at the first sight of winter's gloom here in Madrid.
Barcelona differs from any other European city I have been to, mostly because parts of it resemble southern California! People are noticeably more laid back, the youth is obedient to surfer culture, and the seafood is unmatchable to any Madrileño attempt of paella. There is space, the city is oriented to the outdoors, and the weather is ultimate. People speaking Catalan threw me off a bit, but no permanent damage was done.
Climbing the play structure at the beach, I don't know how those kids are so brave, I was having some difficulties...
Self-portrait, always the best
Sandy sunny beaches!
Antonio Gaudí is my new obsession. I will be presenting on him for my art history project, so I guess I'll enlighten you guys with a few facts. Fascinated my nature, he incorporated its angles and curves perfectly into his works. His most famous piece, La Sagrada Familia, is obviously inspired by trees and flowers, stamping his architecture with a chilling uniqueness, distinct from any other artist even in his same school of thought. In addition to this one-of-a-kind cathedral, stand many other Gaudí works all over the city, of which all are aesthetically pleasing to their spectators.
La Sagrada Familia, in construction since 1882
Group shot in Park Güell, Gaudí's work that overlooks the entire city its beaches, especially stunning at sunset
Our trip to Barcelona was not managed by any binding schedule. Sagrada Familia and Picasso's Museum were on the list, but other than that, our time would revolve around pure relaxation on the beach along with a side plate of exploration and discovery. We managed to come across live music performances every single night, ranging from a holiday ensemble accompanied by a special seasonal dance, to a reggae festival celebrating Arab-Spanish identity, to an underground jazz hub that served as a harmonica player's sanctuary the night we showed up. We also found ourselves meandering down a gay nude beach, quite the surprise...and I tried roasted chestnuts and scallops for the first time, separately of course.
I didn't know Sydney too well, but we had a fantastic time together!
We found a great outdoors market with the catch of the day, fresh fruit, and of course candy!
Lastly, I'd like to take a quick moment to explain this entry's title. As Allie, Sydney and I were touring through Sagrada Familia, we heard a few English speakers talking amongst themselves. It is still so easy to drown out Spanish and remake it into incomprehensible gibberish, but English now stands out more than ever, as we rarely hear it in Madrid. So these people were unmistakably Americans: Hawaiian shirts, cameras around their necks, a clear cut east-coast elderly accent... At first, it was just a few women and one man, cute, identical to your bubbies. They had a worrisome tone in their voices, concerned about some man by the name of "Phil"... and so the drama begins...
"Doris, have you seen Phil? Where did Phil go?"
"I don't know Sylvia. Roger, have you seen Phil?"
"Phil? No, where'd he go?"
"Phil? Oh no, we lost Phil. I told him to stand right here," said a woman who looked like she could easily be a Gladys.
"Well, Phil isn't here. Who knows where Phil is?"
This all became pretty annoying after a while, and became even more agitating as it lasted all through the entire walk-through of the cathedral...continued into the gift shop... and then outside the gates... Just as we thought we had escaped the "finding Phil" nonsense, the disquieted bunch, now around 15 to 20, made there way across the street to where we were looking at trinkets and gadgets on a street corner.
"Oh gosh, what could've happened? Poor Phil!"
"Phil!" one lady screamed, pointing at someone.
All looked hopeful, but a second later the man replied:
"I'm not Phil..."
"Oh," said the woman, puzzled.
Then, all of the sudden a man's voice said:
"Uh guys, I'm right here..." said Phil (apparently), but in a tone of voice that hinted that maybe he didn't want to be found; this making complete sense, especially after having witnessed how worked up this whole group can get.
I was so relieved, and without thinking I turned around and shouted, "YES! Someone found Phil!" They looked at me confused, but this awkward moment passed as we all started in a slow clap which soon lead into a full on applause upon finally finding Phil. It was a kodak moment for sure and a potentially very clever short film.
Barcelona differs from any other European city I have been to, mostly because parts of it resemble southern California! People are noticeably more laid back, the youth is obedient to surfer culture, and the seafood is unmatchable to any Madrileño attempt of paella. There is space, the city is oriented to the outdoors, and the weather is ultimate. People speaking Catalan threw me off a bit, but no permanent damage was done.
Climbing the play structure at the beach, I don't know how those kids are so brave, I was having some difficulties...
Self-portrait, always the best
Sandy sunny beaches!
Antonio Gaudí is my new obsession. I will be presenting on him for my art history project, so I guess I'll enlighten you guys with a few facts. Fascinated my nature, he incorporated its angles and curves perfectly into his works. His most famous piece, La Sagrada Familia, is obviously inspired by trees and flowers, stamping his architecture with a chilling uniqueness, distinct from any other artist even in his same school of thought. In addition to this one-of-a-kind cathedral, stand many other Gaudí works all over the city, of which all are aesthetically pleasing to their spectators.
La Sagrada Familia, in construction since 1882
Group shot in Park Güell, Gaudí's work that overlooks the entire city its beaches, especially stunning at sunset
Our trip to Barcelona was not managed by any binding schedule. Sagrada Familia and Picasso's Museum were on the list, but other than that, our time would revolve around pure relaxation on the beach along with a side plate of exploration and discovery. We managed to come across live music performances every single night, ranging from a holiday ensemble accompanied by a special seasonal dance, to a reggae festival celebrating Arab-Spanish identity, to an underground jazz hub that served as a harmonica player's sanctuary the night we showed up. We also found ourselves meandering down a gay nude beach, quite the surprise...and I tried roasted chestnuts and scallops for the first time, separately of course.
I didn't know Sydney too well, but we had a fantastic time together!
We found a great outdoors market with the catch of the day, fresh fruit, and of course candy!
Lastly, I'd like to take a quick moment to explain this entry's title. As Allie, Sydney and I were touring through Sagrada Familia, we heard a few English speakers talking amongst themselves. It is still so easy to drown out Spanish and remake it into incomprehensible gibberish, but English now stands out more than ever, as we rarely hear it in Madrid. So these people were unmistakably Americans: Hawaiian shirts, cameras around their necks, a clear cut east-coast elderly accent... At first, it was just a few women and one man, cute, identical to your bubbies. They had a worrisome tone in their voices, concerned about some man by the name of "Phil"... and so the drama begins...
"Doris, have you seen Phil? Where did Phil go?"
"I don't know Sylvia. Roger, have you seen Phil?"
"Phil? No, where'd he go?"
"Phil? Oh no, we lost Phil. I told him to stand right here," said a woman who looked like she could easily be a Gladys.
"Well, Phil isn't here. Who knows where Phil is?"
This all became pretty annoying after a while, and became even more agitating as it lasted all through the entire walk-through of the cathedral...continued into the gift shop... and then outside the gates... Just as we thought we had escaped the "finding Phil" nonsense, the disquieted bunch, now around 15 to 20, made there way across the street to where we were looking at trinkets and gadgets on a street corner.
"Oh gosh, what could've happened? Poor Phil!"
"Phil!" one lady screamed, pointing at someone.
All looked hopeful, but a second later the man replied:
"I'm not Phil..."
"Oh," said the woman, puzzled.
Then, all of the sudden a man's voice said:
"Uh guys, I'm right here..." said Phil (apparently), but in a tone of voice that hinted that maybe he didn't want to be found; this making complete sense, especially after having witnessed how worked up this whole group can get.
I was so relieved, and without thinking I turned around and shouted, "YES! Someone found Phil!" They looked at me confused, but this awkward moment passed as we all started in a slow clap which soon lead into a full on applause upon finally finding Phil. It was a kodak moment for sure and a potentially very clever short film.
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