We got back in Barcelona just in time to watch the Spain v Italy soccer game. Spain won in PKs after a hard-fought 120 minute long game. There are fireworks going off like crazy in the streets. They were showing pictures of Madrid on TV, that place will be one giant party tonight. Tomorrow will be equally crazy with the Festival of Sant Joan, but I’ll fill you guys in on that soon. That, and details about Andorra after dinner.
I am going to Andorra today. I didn’t expect to go to Andorra today. I have no clean clothes or money. This should be fun. Back on Sunday.
If you want reading material between now and then, be sure to check out my roommate’s blog at http://gabybarcelona.blogspot.com/
Everyone decided to meet up and have a group dinner before people leave on our break next week. Everyone is bringing a dish and a drink. I went to the store to buy supplies. My shopping list?
I FINALLY finished uploading pictures to flickr from Paris. I told you it would take a long time….
There are around 300 from all over the city. I took a few that will actually be great photos once I get the chance to tweak the color balance, contrast, and alignment in photoshop. I know my camera isn’t crooked, so I guess that just means I’m crooked. Oh well, there are worse things in life. One of these days I will get around to putting pictures on facebook and writing descriptions for all of them. Until then, just leave a comment on a picture if you want to know what something is, I’ll see it and respond.
So, I wanted to post something last Friday but I was traveling so I was unable. Many of you are well aware that last Friday was Friday the 13th. What are your opinions on Friday the 13th? Like it, love it, afraid of it?Personally, Friday the 13th is one of my favorite days. It’s almost like a personal little holiday that I celebrate on the inside and don’t tell anyone else. I honestly don’t know why I like Friday the 13th or what about it makes me happy, I just like it. Maybe that makes me weird, I dunno. Maybe it is because my birthday is on the 13th and every few years my birthday lands on Friday the 13th. Who knows. Anyways, tell me your thoughts on this day that most people are paranoid over. What is your opinion of Friday the 13th?
I am back from the land of Pepe Le Peu
And it was incredible. Paris was so much fun! I walked pretty much all across the city (which is a great way to learn your way around) and saw almost everything there was to see in Paris. Of course I hit all the big sights like Notre Dame, the Eiffel, the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Hospital de Invalides, and a lot of the smaller squares and such. I even walked the entire length of Champs d’Elysées from about a mile north east of the Arc down through the Arc, to the Louvre, over to Notre Dame, back down through the Latin Quarter, past Hospital Invalides, and over to the Eiffel Tower. I had a blast just soaking it all in. It was really nice to be able to go at my own pace, walk fast when I wanted, walk slow when I wanted.
For those of you who don’t know about Hospital Invalides (I didn’t before I got there) it is a huge church in the middle of Paris with a dome that has 15 (I think) kilograms of gold leaf on it! It was built so that the king of Paris could go to the same church service as his army so there is a barracks built on one side. Part of it is also a working hospital. Currently it is the home of the World War I and World War II museums and the burial site of Napoleon I. Incredible monument.
The views from the top of the monuments were incredible. I was on top of Notre Dame during the day and on top of the Eiffel just after the sun had set. The very last night, I was eating dinner in a small cafe as the sun was setting behind me and the shadow of the Eiffel Tower crossed my table. It was hard to believe that it was real.
I had lots of good french food: delicious bread, fresh cheeses, duck, onion soup, creme brulee. Mmmmm, its making me hungry just thinking about it.
The three things that I spent a lot of time at were the Eiffel, the Louvre, and Versailles. The Eiffel because it felt so surreal. The tower is so large on a scale that you cannot predict and it just blows people away. There is a huge lawn on one side where people bring food and wine and just hang with friends. It was a lot of fun and I met some really interesting people out there.
At the Louvre, the sheer volume of art that they have caught me off guard. I mean, I knew the place was ginormous but the volume of art is well beyond anything I could’ve expected. They have incredible artwork just chilling in corridors and stairwells because there is no just other place to put it.
On Sunday, I went out to Versailles and saw the palace of the French monarchy. Wow. The French know how to build palaces. I saw the Bavarian palaces a few years ago and I thought those were extravagant but the French put the Bavarians to shame. As I was walking through the gardens out back, I really wished I could’ve ridden through them on horseback with a flowing cape and had a name like d’Artagnan. (Any Three Musketeers fans?) Louis XIV built Versailles because he wanted to escape Paris and he did it on a scale that is unmatched in the world. The hall of mirrors, the gardens, the estates of Marie Antoinette. Wow.
As I was leaving on the last day, I ran completely out of room on my memory card and my battery just gave out on me. (But at least now I can recharge my camera!). So run over to flickr and enjoy! (P.S. check back to flickr frequently because this volume of photos is going to take a LONG time to upload)
10 degrees warmer would be nice, but I’m not complaining.
Wow, things have definitely gotten busy in Barcelona. All of my projects have gotten under way this week and we are all frantically trying to organize into groups and determine the direction for these projects. I am taking several classes that are very different from the types of classes I typically take at Tech. These architecture classes are so vague in their requirements. Ugh.
Yesterday I went to the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA). The building was designed by Richard Meier, the same person who designed the High Museum in Atlanta. In fact, the exterior of the MACBA is the same as the exterior of the High. The building was pretty cool but the art inside was really pretty crappy. I usually get modern art but this stuff was way out there.
After class yesterday a big group of people went out to a very nice dinner in Placa Reial and then to a jazz club after called Harlem Jazz Club. There was hardly a place to stand in that place. We will definitely have to go back.
I leave for Paris in about 12 hours. Won’t have internet access at my hotel but expect great pictures when I get back!
I know I haven’t updated in a while. I am working on an update and it will be up soon. In the words of Calvin and Hobbes: “The Days are Just Packed”
I just booked my hotel for Paris. For this weekend. 
Now I just need to start reading my French phrasebook……