First museum day.

Today was a big sightseeing day and my first official day of museums here. Since I have the luxury of being here for awhile I don’t need to cram in all of the museums at once and can take advantage of their specials for entry. For example, I went to MACBA (Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona) today because on Wednesdays they have a reduced rate of entry for 3,50 Euros.

The museum itself was this grand white structure with large windows on one side and slightly Apple store feeling on the inside (since I couldn’t take photos inside you will have to take my word for it). The exhibits that were there today were Francesc Torres and Nancy Spero. Torres is a Barcelona-born artist who also lived in NYC for about 20+ years and was a part of the SoHo art scene back in the 80s and 90s. His work was mostly in blacks, whites, and grays (with one final room of color photography) and mostly speaking about war, the caste system and consumerism. My first grouping of his were large oversize black and white photographs hung up simply with white pushpins of artifacts and bones that had been unearthed and were shot in the dirt in which they were found. More photos in this series were small groups of eldery women and then one final extremely large portrait of about 20 people standing over a dirt pile with skeletons. I learned this series was about the Spanish Civil War and the Franco years and it was really moving.

The second artist whose work was shown was Spero and she is an American artist based in New York as well. Her pieces took on the subject of subordination of women and the cruelty against women in some countries; a whole room was specifically about Chile, Uruguay and others in South and Central America. The most moving piece of hers was a poem she took from a German writer named Bertold Brecht about a woman named Marie Sanders who in Nazi Germany “slept with a man whose hair was too dark”. The end of the poem finds Marie killed while more and more German soldiers are coming. She uses a lot of handmade and hand-set typography, collage, and many printmaking techniques.

Overall, I enjoyed the MACBA and found it really helpful that both artists had influences from America so the majority of text to read in their work was in English. Not sure if this is usually the case at this museum, but I guess I lucked out today.





The smaller museo (which happened to be right next door) I went to afterwards and absolutely loved – Forment de les Arts Decoratives (this literally means Fostering Art & Design). I thought I was lucky that the MACBA had some English to read but here at this museum it felt like my birthday – there was an exhibit on Spanish book design!

This museum was pretty simple and funky with red-painted framework on everything and one long narrow room. I was also able to take photos inside which was great; I asked the guard and he told me I could but when I had gone down the fourth row of work I saw a sign with a diagonal line in a circle over a camera. Who knows? All I know is that there were some clever and beautiful books with lots of delicious letterpressed type and great illustration. Being a graphic designer, it was an extremely inspiring visit

After the museums I headed down Las Ramblas and went to the most famous market in Barcelona called Mercat de la Boqueria but I will save some writing for tomorrow as well as some picture-uploading!

To the sea!

I started my day yesterday thinking that I would just sit back, relax, and do some reading and writing. Well, I have found since arriving to this new city that you can do just that but must go see something new otherwise it seems a wasted day (which I know isn’t true and I know its something that by the end of this trip will be all I will want to do).

Yesterday afternoon I decided to hop on the Metro and go down to the water and see Port Vell (actually, I went down with only intentions of sitting outside and reading; though the weather was very overcast as you will see in my photos) and walk around Barceloneta. Port Vell is the area near the water which contains L’Aquarium and this large and long dock to walk out into to get a better view of the sea (of which I have decided to save for another day). It also is a huge marina used for docking mostly private boats and a few commercial sight-seeing ones. It was nice down there and after taking many pictures (of course!) I decided to sit and read my book along a concrete step and look out into the marina and watch the people pass.

After reading for some time I got up and continued my walk to find Barceloneta which I did. It’s the beach in Barcelona and it is man-made. There are a lot of surf shops and restaurants which are supposed to have some of the best seafood in the city served.

I have realized a few things about Barcelona in the past week but one is that it is very contained. Every neighborhood seems to border every other neighborhood and even for someone like me who can get lost in their own hometown, I have seemed to find my way around with no problem. The Metro is really easy to use and if you can see the ocean, you know which way you are going essentially. I guess I am used to Manhattan where you need to take a 30 minute subway ride from any area to another and even with so many neighborhoods in between. Its nice to come to a new city and not feel overwhelmed by its geography.

Dos discoveries for the morning.

This is actually not from this morning but from my first day. It just seemed to go with what I was talking about and felt I had artistic license to use it. The cafe and croissant here are much better than this one that is pictured.

I have had two wonderful discoveries here so far this morning. The first is that my overhead light in my bedroom actually DOES work. It is a large plastic half-dome thing that I had just thought had a broken bulb. Well, those who know me know I am klutzy and wouldn’t you know I knocked my arm into the lamp by mistake this morning while getting dressed...and LIGHT!

The second discovery I am at right now; a coffee shop that I have walked by every day since I have been here, at least twice a day as it’s only 4 blocks from my flat. They play American music (Katie, you would be happy to know that Michael Jackson is on as I type this) as do most establishments around here which just boggles my mind. Other reasons I love it is that it has Wi-Fi, great café and croissant, and a nice staff. My only issue here is that there is smoking allowed. And people do. In fact, here in Spain, I have noticed that they smoke everywhere and anywhere; even if there are signs saying “NO FUMAR” (NO SMOKING). Oh well, what can I do but deal with it and put it on my short list (so far) of things I miss about the United States.

Sagrada Familia.

Obligatory shot of the whole Sagrada Familia though it doesn’t even do it justice (and I think I should have walked around to the other side to get a fuller photo sans the trees which I realized once I uploaded these pictures).

The entrance had many sculptures of biblical references; this was one of about 5 that I took photos of.

One of the two gorgeous stained glass windows that I had access to (much of the interior is taken over by construction).

My far one of my favorites of the day – there were two doors FULL of what seemed like old-fashioned typeset letters. Not many full sentences; just words juxtaposed next to each other with some higher than others to stand out. Who knew Gaudi was a graphic designer too?

One of the views out of the round spires (those are the stone pieces to the left and right framing the photo) I was up inside; the sea and Montjuic in the distance (and as you can see it wasn’t very sunny today).

The Sagrada Familia is where I spent my afternoon today! For my parents and others who haven’t heard of this grand structure, it is Antonio Gaudi’s most well-known piece as a working architect. His work can be seen all around Barcelona but this one piece was his most grand. Not only is it famous because he worked on it, but more so because the project started in 1882 and is STILL being worked on today. Literally, when I was there construction was taking place. Gaudi had the opportunity to work on this masterpiece for 40 years until his unexpected death when he was hit by a car on the street. From what I have read, Barcelona mourned and then as their devotion to the man, dedicated their time and money to finishing the Sagrada Familia in his honor. I can only imagine that when it is completed there will be festivals for weeks all over the city.

I have only shown you a handful of photos but it was seriously incredible though in my opinion the exterior is far more beautiful than the interior. Each piece of this huge temple’s façade has been carefully designed, which includes many different materials and processes.

Being inside was pretty amazing but the best part was getting to take a lift up to the top of one of the spires and seeing the view of Barcelona below. I had a view of everything between Sagrada Familia and the sea. The hour-long wait behind a German family and in front of a French couple was definitely worth it. As I was pondering getting into a line that had markers (a la Disney World) saying “90 minutes” or “60 minutes” I realized that this was a prime example of why this trip I am on is so great; because I have an hour to kill to stand in line to get up to the top of the Sagrada Familia. It was definitely worth the time and I also got to do some writing when I reached the benches (benches = close to the front). When you are done at the top you can decide to talk the lift back down or walk down; I chose the walk which was nice because there are a few stopping points where you can go outside for views you didn’t see at the top. The downside was that spiral staircase was really narrow and quite dizzying!

Sagrada Familia means "Church of the Holy Family" (Matt, you will be happy to know I looked up the meaning)

*I took about 90 pictures here today and am only sharing about 5 of my favorites. There was SO many things to photograph on, in, and around one building!

The best lesson in Spanish I have had...

A great street to stroll down in the Gothic Quarter

Plaza de Jaume

Some serious detail.

*No pictures from this dinner but just a few more from yesterday’s trip to the Barri Gotic.

I hope that when I come back to the US that I don’t take talking for granted ever again. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to chat. In fact, when I was growing up if there was one issue any teachers had with me it was that I liked to talk during class (at least my parents have told me this). Well I have never listened so much as I did during dinner this evening with Sonja (yes, that’s the same “Sonia” I have been writing about but just realized I had been spelling her name wrong) and two Spaniards named Javiar and Joseph (that’s right; do not pronounce the j’s which of course became an issue when it came time to pronounce my name upon learning it).

Since I have been here for the past five days I have had to clearly think about my sentences before saying them; there is no casual conversation on the fly. Everything is very concentrated; sometimes I find myself planning a sentence or question in my head while walking to a store or just down the street.

This evening was the best Spanish lesson I have had since I arrived on Wednesday. Following conversation was at times difficult and sometimes I would feel completely lost and then I would hear just one verb and adjective that I knew (combined with a great use of hand motions) and I would be back on track. I must say, my brain hurt by the end of the meal but it was SUCH good practice. I did my best to keep up with conversation, though I am sure my grammar was atrocious (ironic as it something I pride myself on in the English language), and my dinner companions were sympathetic and understood what I was saying the majority of the time; though sometimes I had to lean on the crutch that is my English/Spanish speaking German roommate, Sonja, to translate for me.

This dinner was a reminder that one of the reasons I came on this trip was to learn the language (not that I had forgotten) and now I am really looking forward to my daily Spanish class which begins next week!

La Playa (beach)!

The trifecta of beautiful church, the mountains AND the sea

Some great blue and white umbrellas on the beach. Not sure if you can tell how CROWDED it was!

Just another example of the attention to detail in Spain – street signs were done in beautiful ceramic tiles.

One of the streets we took to walk to the beach (only about 10 mins) from the train station

A beautiful clock tower in the center of the town

A perfect day at the beach in Spain today! Sonja, myself, and Anna (Sonja’s coworker who is also a student in Germany) took the train from Barcelona 25 minutes south to a resort-y beach town called Sitges (pronounced Seet-jase) known for it’s international gay community that visits the area. It was small and quaint with a beautiful chapel in between the mar (the sea) and the mountains (first picture shown here). When we first arrived, in fact, next to the church fireworks started going off to celebrate what we think was a wedding (to be honest, I think fireworks at 12:30 in the afternoon are slightly pointless as all you can do is see white smoke and hear POP!).

The water was perfectly warm and the air was hot. I am happy to say that I did not get any sunburns for my first Mediterranean beach-ing experience (Dad, yes of course, I used sunscreen. Aren’t you proud?).

This beach was like none other I had ever been to and maybe because I have never been to a beach outside of the US (other than the Bahamas and Israel) so I have no other European beaches to compare it to. These were things that I observed that I thought were quite different from the states:

1. There was only room for three towels length-wise from the sea wall and the ocean
2. There were some topless women
3. There were many men in Speedos
4. There were only a couple of people that were overweight
5. There were Brits who brought a thermos of hot water and loose tea and promptly at 4pm began brewing

The Barri Gotic.

Plaza Real

Catedral de la Seu

Some funny looking faces next to faucets.

A beautiful lampost.

Fun typography - it took me awhile to have NO people in this shot.

Today was the first day that I felt REALLY here. It was the first day I wasn’t doing “housekeeping” kinds of things like buying a pillow, finding an apartment, moving into an apartment, calling the bank, etc. I think it’s because it started off with the normalcy of grocery shopping and making breakfast and then into my first sightseeing trip to the Barrî Gotic area of the city.

Barrî Gotic has the oldest gothic architecture in Barcelona and was really quite incredible. My roommate Sonia and I walked around and around the narrow streets taking in everything with our eyes and camera lenses. Some wonderful photos I captured were of the Catedral de la Seu, Plaza Jaume, Plaza Real (those who I work with will note that this is the same Plaza that I have had as my desktop image for the past few months – I must also say that it was much better in person), some great store signage, and beautiful lampposts (I have recently found out that I am a little obsessed with them and you will for sure be seeing a lot).

The afternoon ended with a discovery of a delicious Catalan restaurant called Bell Amic (Catalan is what over half of Barcelona speaks. Catalonia used to be its own entity separate from Spain. When Franco took control of Spain he made Catalonians speak only Spanish and since his fall from power they have done all they can to bring it back to life…that was my quick Barcelona history lesson for you. As for the food and language; it’s a little French, a little Spanish, and a little something else.). We learned from the chef that the structure the restaurant was in actually used to be connected to all of the buildings on the block. You could see the discoloration in the walls where it looked as if there was an arched ceiling of some sort and it turns out the place used to export wine to the United States.

The day finished with Sonia and I at my favorite plaza bar doing some emailing and chatting. I have just finished uploading the photos from the day to my computer and typing this in hopes my eyes get tired so I can fall asleep before 1am…

On a Saturday stroll for some café...

This is what I see when I look out my window (straight ahead) and when I look left. Hope the people across the way don’t think I am a peeping Tom.

I woke up at my (now) usual 10:30am after not falling asleep until after 2 last night. We stayed in last evening as it was raining and lightning which was fine; just talking with my flatmate Sonia talking about life in the States, Germany, and Spain. It is so interesting hearing about the differences in the countries.

This morning we ran out of toilet paper so I asked Sonia where to buy some and that is when I found out about the supermercado (supermarket) that is only a few blocks away (THAT was an experience. I will write about it later and need to show pictures from some of the packaging, but I didn’t bring my camera. Lets just say I bought a brand of milk that has a picture of a woman kissing a cow on the front). I decided that I also wanted some café so I walked there first and then turned back around and hit up the supermarket. On my way to get some café I found myself doing my usual NYC speedwalk down the Gran de Gracia; that is when I looked around at the buildings that I was rushing by and the fresh clean Barcelona breeze and cut my pace. There was no need to hurry. I am here for a total of 78 days (yes, I counted it) and I plan to take in all that I can while I am here but I do not want to rush by anything. Full advantage will be taken of the pace of life here; it is not like that in New York City and that is one of the reasons I decided to embark on this journey – to take a break from that quick pace of life I have been used to for the past five and a half years.

Upon changing my speed to a stroll, I got some coffee and noticed all of the small shops and the buildings they were housed in. I am only assuming that the detail that the architects paid to their buildings was for the many future passerbys that may be lucky enough to take in their creations. I know I feel lucky.

Telefono.

My happy English-speaking phone

My bedroom (yes, that is a single bed)

The bathroom. Funny seeing that extra piece of porcelain. And the toilet pulls to flush. Not pushes.

The living room/kitchen with a little balcony

The kitchen is SO nice and bright.

A happy phone is a phone in English (at least for me). Since buying my cell phone here on Tuesday it has been in Spanish and I have only been able to figure out what a few things mean; not that I am making that many phone calls but I would like to know how to change settings, etc. I thought that having a phone with Spanish prompts and buttons would be good learning but I have decided that I will learn Spanish other ways and I want my phone in MY language (of which I have not heard at ALL since I have been here; with the exception of speaking to my German roommates inside our flat).

A big muchas gracias goes out to the guy that works in the tech department at The Phone House (yes, that is really the name of it) across the street.


*I thought that not only would I show you a picture of my happy English-speaking phone, but also some photos from my flat.

My first problema.

This will forever be the place in Barcelona that reminds me that Bank of America has the best customer service ever In case anyone was planning to go on vacation, double-check that you tell your bank that you are going (and not just your credit card company…even if it is the same) otherwise they will be awesome police and notice “irregular activity” and put a stop on that “thief” (aka YOU) who has been trying to withdraw Euros from the ATM so they can pay their rent and eat.

I won’t go through the whole story but let’s just say that after I posted earlier about being all calm and comfortable at Verreina Bar and drinking my café, I had the first obstacle in my trip (of which I am sure there will be a few more) which involved using up my minutes left on my phone card while talking to the bank customer service (the first call), not being able to BUY a card because my ATM card was inaccessible and some places don’t take credit cards, having to use my last Euros to call the bank (my second call) from the tourist information office in Plaza Catalunya only to have the machine eat my money and my call to not go through, eventually getting my card up and running via a third call (and where the picture above was taken in honor of), THEN having Duetche Bank not allow me to take any money out (resulting in a fourth call to the bank).

This story ends well as I was able to withdraw some funds from a bank in my neighborhood around 5:30 and rewarded myself with a bocadillo de espinache (sandwich with spinach among other vegetables and raisins) and a lovely glass of sangria; ending the fast that had been my day since I had no euros for anything but café and an apple.


*Photos above are from Plaza Catalunya (the first was where I was standing when the wonderful man who works in the security department at the bank told me they would take the hold off my account); the main Plaza in Barcelona that is tourist central!

Banners in Barcelona.

Of course I can't go to a new place without stopping to check out the design everywhere. These street banners were along the Passeig de Gracia and though I can't read them all, the design is clean and simple and I KNOW what they are trying to tell. Although it's morbid, my favorite is the one with the simple graphic of an assassination.

THE Fiesta...

If you were wondering why the second photo is a little blurry, ask yourself if you would be able to hold the camera straight when an explosive BOOM went off a mere 20 yards from you.

So I have now experienced THE fiesta here in Gracia. Wow. It is after midnight there are still hundreds and hundreds of people in the street drinking beers, listening to the music and watching the crazy people dressed in black and red march through the streets with sticks armed with firecrackers. It is like nothing I have ever seen. They are marching to the beat of a few drums and the sound of the fireworks being lit and then going off? It’s the hissssssss, then a pop, then a BLAST! And all through the streets in this neighborhood! At one point I didn’t think I was going to be able to get back home because marching fire-making people were in my route to get to my flat. Still in my bedroom I hear the not-so-faint sounds of the drums and blasts.

What a way to celebrate my first day in the neighborhood…

I have a home!

My first bar in Gracia, in what I think is Plaza del Sol.

Just one of MANY quaint streets here in my new neighborhood.

Decorations for the Festa de Gracia – butterflies!

Well, well, well here I am in the neighborhood of Gracia. MY new neighborhood. I couldn't find an internet cafe where I could plug my computer into and found a company that has wireless BUT they do not service Macs so I wandered and wandered until I found a most adorable plaza and a guy typing on a laptop at a table at a bar. Outside! I asked if they had Wifi and this cafe does, he gave me the password and I am in! Despite having to breathe in the smoke from the table next to me, it is worth it to be a) outside b) online and c) drinking a beer. I think this might be my regular spot!

So, I didn’t wake up until 12:30 today which I was oh so happy about considering I was up for so long yesterday (seriously, it might have been one of the longest days of my life) and then after going to bed at 10pm, ended up being wide awake at 2am until 4:30 or as some of you may know because you got emails from me. I figured staring at my Mac might help make my eyes drowsy; which it did.

After a great night’s sleep and sitting on my suitcase to get it closed again, I checked out my hostal, told the kind woman who worked there that I would be taking off for my apartment in Gracia and said “gracias para un buen noche primer en Barcelona” (thank you for a great first night in Barcelona). I had 40 minutes to kill before coming to Gracia to meet my new flatmate, Andrea (a 30 year old German girl), who would be coming home from work to let me into the flat. To take some time and to wake me up, I sat at an outdoor café and attempted to order an iced coffee. Either they don’t sell iced coffee in Barcelona or I haven’t figured out how to order it yet as this was my second time trying to order it and second time ending up drinking hot coffee. But oh, was it good.

From there I got in my first taxi here and ended up at the correct destination; each time I use Spanish and have the other person understand what I am saying I do a little victory dance in my head. See guys? My Spanish podcast of the past 7 months paid off!

I lugged my heavy suitcase up four flights of stairs (Matt, you know how heavy that is considering you are the only one aside from the workers at Aer Lingus and my taxi driver who have lifted it), which was no small feat and I have considered it my exercise for the day, and now here I am in my new flat! It is a great space and my room isn’t as claustrophobically small as the other flat I looked at yesterday. It’s a tad loud (which Andrea had warned me about but I told her I have lived in midtown Manhattan so I would be okay) but other than that I love it (aside from the fact that there is no internet access). I am all unpacked and the only issue I had was that I blew the fuse plugging in my DreamMachine to the adaptor my parents gave me and now it is dead (those who have lived with me know that I have had that little clock radio since the 5th grade...Mom & Dad, don't feel bad. I think it was time for the DM to go). The location is incredible; right in the center of Gracia.

This afternoon I walked around and used Spanish and bought bath towels and an apple.

Gracia is a part of Barcelona that actually used to be its own town within the city. It has lots of little squares and side streets that connect to each other in a grid formation with great shops and restaurants at each turn. The buildings are of course amazing with their attention to detail on the railings and facades. In fact, just looking out of my bedroom window I see a turquoise floral relief pattern on a light coral concrete (I’ll send pictures later). Gracia just makes me happy walking around and I hope this is something that doesn’t wear off. There is lots of exploring to do! Tonight, as I mentioned is the last day of the Festival and I am definitely going to check out the fire throwing and concerts that will be right outside my door.

My first meal in Barcelona...

A little Gaudi architecture to brighten my day (even if it ended not so brightly). The third photo is a detail from the second image – Casa Batllo

...was nothing to write home about and yet I am writing home about it.

I am staying on Passeig de Gracia which is a very main road with a lot of high-end stores (think Fifth Avenue right before the Park in Manhattan) and what I am pretty sure are mostly tourist trap kind of places. I decided that although all I wanted to do was go to bed three hours ago, that a shower, some clean clothes and some tapas for my first night here might be in order. An added bonus was that while walking to the the restaurant I passed my second and third Gaudi structures up close and personal as I had taken pictures of them from across the street a few hours earlier. Looking up in my Fodor's book, a place was mentioned that unbeknown to me at the time was in Las Ramblas – a pretty street lined with trees and shops but is known as being a tourist haven and for having restaurants that rip you off with food that's not so good. Well, I stumbled into Fodor's suggestion only to be victim of the aforementioned issues with restaurants on Las Ramblas. The food was terrible and I really only ate one of the three tapas I had ordered; in fact just thinking about it now my stomach is turning.

I decided that I couldn't let that deter me from eating the "first dinner in Spain" and so I ended up at a place that I had passed earlier in the day that also looked like a tourist trap called "Tapa Tapa". I sat at the bar, practiced my Spanish with ordering, and had a glass of red wine and a parmesan and asparagus toast. Both were good and saved me from starting off this trip on a bad (food) foot. I am looking forward to tomorrow when I move into my apartment (yes! I found an apartment to live in today!) and can go grocery shopping at the Boqueria in Gracia for lots of fresh produce and not have to stress about finding a restaurant that won't make me feel ill.

Tomorrow is also the last day of the Festa de Gracia I had mentioned a few posts ago and since I will be with housing by then, I plan on taking in this much talked about festival. I saw parts and pieces of it today as I walked around the neighborhood (which was cuter and quainter than I had imagined; and I had imagined very cute and quaint) and of course took some pictures which I will post once Blogger lets me do so.

Okay, it is time to go to bed and end this longest day ever. I feel like I left New York at least two days ago yet haven't slept in a bed in over 36 hours. Buenos noches!

Quality time at the Dublin airport...

The only thing I took from Ireland; aside from a stamp on my passport.

The Dublin Airport is everything I thought it would be and greener. Literally every store and every sign is green and white. I survived the first leg of my flight, despite my knees being a little sore as well as my ears (god that woman in front of me was chatty with her new seatmate Dennis), from NYC to Dublin and have about an hour to kill before I need to go downstairs to the gate where my final leg of my trip is departing from. That was the longer of my two legs and I look forward to a flight that will be under three hours. This airport is pretty funny in that parts of it seem brand new while other seem rather dated.

At the ATM I withdrew my first Euro. Pretty exciting. Except two things; 1. The machine told me I could take 70 but then two steps later told me it had to be in multiples of fifty and 2. Because the machine gave me only one bill of 50 Euros no one here would let me break it to buy a water which I desperately needed. Eventually the woman at the bookstore said she would take my debit card.

There is a man with a yoga mat in the downward dog position a bit over to my left and slightly behind a currently unused gate B24 desk. Part of me wants to join in and part of me wants to pass out as I can feel my eyes are fairly heavy. I think I slept on the flight because at one point I awoke to a four foot three Irish woman placing my airline pillow back on my chest as I guess it had fallen into the aisle and was impeding her way to the bathroom.

First European colloquialism I have heard: Lines are queues. “Please step to the queue on your left” was what directed to me as I was going through security after having my passport stamped “DUBLIN”. Wish I could stay here for a little while as it’s funny to me that I am staring out the window at a darkened Irish sky and won’t be seeing anything in this country at this moment in time.

Though the clock on my Mac says it is 12:45am I am feeling like it is nowhere near that time and am unsure how I will feel once I land in Barcelona. The sun is going to be up and I am going to be on my way to the Hostal Oliva. I want to try and keep my body on this new time zone and going to bed anytime before 8 most likely isn’t going to help that.

Off to gate B31 to see about boarding a plane to Spain!