Thursday, March 29, 2012
Florence Field Trip IV
Wednesday, our class headed back to Florence for another field trip. We went through a basilica that was converted into a sculptural museum. We then headed to see two churches. Turns out, we were really headed for the stairmaster 5000. After quiiiiite a hike, everyone was out of breath and in need of a break. After lunch, we met for class at the Galileo Museum where our history professor showed us books from the 14-1600's. The temperature made it to around 78, for the first time so far!
Friday, March 23, 2012
Barcelona, Spain-- Days 4+5
Friday 3.23.12
Friday started off with Casa Batllo, another one of Gaudi’s. We were able to go on the rooftop here as well. My favorite part was the parlor area inside that had a huge window to the street below. I enjoyed Casa Batllo a lot. After lunch, we were able to finally hit the beach for a few hours. We then went to Park Guell which was a quite a hike with outdoor escalators between layers of stairs for a break. Gaudi also designed Park Guell. We decided it was time we visit our first club in Barcelona so we took the last metro available at 2am to get to Opium. We are not sure whether or not we were actually at Opium or its connecting neighbor, Shoko, a sushi bar. Either way, we had a lot of fun and left at 5am to catch the first metro of the day. Those are normal hours for night life in Barcelona.
Friday started off with Casa Batllo, another one of Gaudi’s. We were able to go on the rooftop here as well. My favorite part was the parlor area inside that had a huge window to the street below. I enjoyed Casa Batllo a lot. After lunch, we were able to finally hit the beach for a few hours. We then went to Park Guell which was a quite a hike with outdoor escalators between layers of stairs for a break. Gaudi also designed Park Guell. We decided it was time we visit our first club in Barcelona so we took the last metro available at 2am to get to Opium. We are not sure whether or not we were actually at Opium or its connecting neighbor, Shoko, a sushi bar. Either way, we had a lot of fun and left at 5am to catch the first metro of the day. Those are normal hours for night life in Barcelona.
the parlor
Casa Batllo at night
inside Park Guell
Saturday 3.24.12
Saturday we toured the Barcelona Pavilion by Mies van der Rohe. Next, we went to the Joan Miro Museum. We left for the airport at 1am for our 5am flight. After a few setbacks prior to boarding, we took off. Eventually, they tell us to buckle up for landing; however this was not a normal landing. Instead of a gradual landing, the next thing that happened was a lot of shaking and we were hitting the ground. This was followed by clapping, a trumpet tune, and an announcement about their 90% on time arrivals. The rumors about Ryan Air are true haha. We have heard that the pilots get paid more for quicker landings so they will do anything to make it there faster such as abrupt landings..We landed in Rome feeling like we had pulled two back to back all-nighters and waited for our train to Castiglion Fiorentino. After a total of 13 hours of travel we were pretty exhausted, ready for a nap and some clean clothes.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Barcelona, Spain--Day 3
Thursday 3.22.12
We woke up to rain continuing to pour down. It was almost laughable at this point. We were not going to let it ruin our plans though so we trooped out in the rain (umbrellas did not make the cut for our 2 week backpacks). We started out getting ‘chocolate and churros’ at a café. This is a traditional Spanish breakfast. They are long pieces similar to a donut that you dip in hot chocolate. The hot chocolate in Italy and Spain is not anything like the American version. Basically, it is warmed up chocolate pudding. Beyond amazing. After this it was still pouring so we decided to cave and buy umbrellas. We came out of the store and the rain had stopped…So you could say we paid ten euro for the rain to stop? We went to the DHUB museum which had exhibits about design and products prototypes. There was another interactive section that let us play with technology related inventions. We followed this with a visit to a chocolate museum that had chocolate sculptures of everything you could imagine. With the rain gone and the sun peeking out, we were able to finally see what we came there to see, Gaudi Architecture. We started with the Sagrada Familia. This basilica is still in the process of construction today. Construction began in 1882, resumed in the late 1950’s and the expected completion date is in 2026. Before seeing this, my favorite basilica was the San Vitale in Ravenna. Now my favorite is the Sagrada Familia. The front, “Nativity façade” of the church sculpturally represents the birth of Jesus. The sculptures were detailed but more simple. The inside of the Sagrada Familia was unbelievable. There was a lot to take in everywhere you looked. Before sunset, we were able to make it to another work of Gaudi’s, Casa Mila. We were surprised to be able to walk around on the rooftop as well as the inside. There were a lot of school children running around though so it was a little claustrophobic inside. For dinner, we went out for tapas at a place near our apartment called Tapas 24. In Spain, they eat tapas for meals which are small plates that the entire table shares. They are similar to appetizers and allow for consumption of tapas at multiple restaurants in one night, if desired.
churros and chocolate--churros are the long, skinny ones
break down of a Thonet Chair at the DHUB Museum
next to the chocolate "Up" house
Sagrada Familia
Nativity Facade
Casa Mila
patatas bravas
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Barcelona, Spain--Days 1+2
Tuesday 3.20.12
It was sad to leave Madrid on Tuesday. I was not expecting to love it so much since we just thought it would be a stop on the way to Barcelona. It is definitely one of my top, if not favorite, places I have been so far.
5am Tuesday morning, we wake up and pack for our flight to Barcelona. As I am stuffing the last bits of my belongings into my backpack, my finger has a not so friendly encounter with my upward facing, hidden razor. Fast forward through some gruesome details that made me almost pass out and it was my own finger. Chloe cuts up a pillowcase from the hostel into layers to wrap around my finger. So with a little less finger and a lot of shredded pillow case I held my arm up all the way through the subway, the Madrid airport, and propped up in flight in order to keep it from bleeding. I was thinking there probably would not be many people already starting their commute at that time…definitely wrong. Lots of people were there to witness my propped up and wrapped middle finger. I really know how to pick the right timing for mishaps..haha. Once in Barcelona, we met “Renaldo” who was supposed to take us to where we were staying (sounds sketchy & it was) The “deluxe penthouse” was up 96+ stairs with no lift option and was a liiiitle less than clean when we arrived. We went to the supermarket which had 2 floors and an escalator to buy groceries for the week. It was a really fun way to grocery shop with an escalator. It then started to rain in Barcelona. We cleaned the apartment to make it more manageable and rid of some smells. Now it gets interesting..one of the girls decides to take a shower. The next thing we know, there is banging on the door that does not stop or pause. Our hearts are beating 90 mph at this point. Then the door opens and this older lady walks in screaming in Spanish “chica de bano” “Agua”etc. Chloe and I go down to her apartment below since we know some Spanish and water is flooding out of her ceiling from a light fixture. The lady is crying, we have to call “Enrique”, the owner, it was a nightmare. We cannot use any water at this point, our cell phone ran out of minutes, we were told to wait for a plumber to come the next day. An interesting start to Barcelona to say the least..
We faced another day of pouring rain. We decided to go to the MACBA, Museum of Contemporary Art, by Richard Meier. It was ok, nothing to brag about but entertained us indoors for awhile. After that we went to the indoor market in Barcelona which was surprisingly fun. There were lots of vendors with counters for food service, fruits, vegetables, seafood, etc. We came back to the apartment hoping to see that we could use the shower, unfortunately that was a no.. Luckily, we were able to remove ourselves from that situation and we moved into another apartment in a safer neighborhood without having to pay more. However, this involved feverous packing within a 5 minute timeframe and lugging everything including groceries to our next living arrangement. This was quite the scene to see..
It was sad to leave Madrid on Tuesday. I was not expecting to love it so much since we just thought it would be a stop on the way to Barcelona. It is definitely one of my top, if not favorite, places I have been so far.
5am Tuesday morning, we wake up and pack for our flight to Barcelona. As I am stuffing the last bits of my belongings into my backpack, my finger has a not so friendly encounter with my upward facing, hidden razor. Fast forward through some gruesome details that made me almost pass out and it was my own finger. Chloe cuts up a pillowcase from the hostel into layers to wrap around my finger. So with a little less finger and a lot of shredded pillow case I held my arm up all the way through the subway, the Madrid airport, and propped up in flight in order to keep it from bleeding. I was thinking there probably would not be many people already starting their commute at that time…definitely wrong. Lots of people were there to witness my propped up and wrapped middle finger. I really know how to pick the right timing for mishaps..haha. Once in Barcelona, we met “Renaldo” who was supposed to take us to where we were staying (sounds sketchy & it was) The “deluxe penthouse” was up 96+ stairs with no lift option and was a liiiitle less than clean when we arrived. We went to the supermarket which had 2 floors and an escalator to buy groceries for the week. It was a really fun way to grocery shop with an escalator. It then started to rain in Barcelona. We cleaned the apartment to make it more manageable and rid of some smells. Now it gets interesting..one of the girls decides to take a shower. The next thing we know, there is banging on the door that does not stop or pause. Our hearts are beating 90 mph at this point. Then the door opens and this older lady walks in screaming in Spanish “chica de bano” “Agua”etc. Chloe and I go down to her apartment below since we know some Spanish and water is flooding out of her ceiling from a light fixture. The lady is crying, we have to call “Enrique”, the owner, it was a nightmare. We cannot use any water at this point, our cell phone ran out of minutes, we were told to wait for a plumber to come the next day. An interesting start to Barcelona to say the least..
apartment number 1, looks better than it smelled
we made tacos with green and yellow peppers, black beans, seasoning, and onions. They turned out really good!
Wednesday 3.21.12
We faced another day of pouring rain. We decided to go to the MACBA, Museum of Contemporary Art, by Richard Meier. It was ok, nothing to brag about but entertained us indoors for awhile. After that we went to the indoor market in Barcelona which was surprisingly fun. There were lots of vendors with counters for food service, fruits, vegetables, seafood, etc. We came back to the apartment hoping to see that we could use the shower, unfortunately that was a no.. Luckily, we were able to remove ourselves from that situation and we moved into another apartment in a safer neighborhood without having to pay more. However, this involved feverous packing within a 5 minute timeframe and lugging everything including groceries to our next living arrangement. This was quite the scene to see..
notice name spellings: "jesica" and "cloe"..ignore oversized middle finger
fruit at the market
walking Renaldo needed a breather halfway there.."por un minuto"
Monday, March 19, 2012
Madrid, Spain--Day 3
Monday 3.19.12
Scattered throughout Madrid, there were lots of American chains such as Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, KFC, etc..Monday Morning, Chloe and I decided a visit to Dunkin Donuts was in order for breakfast. The coffee was not as good but the donut was delicious, I ordered the Boston Crema Coco. The coffee in Spain is a lot stronger than Italy, lots of sugar was needed every time. We also ordered potatas (fried potatoes). I have noticed that in Italy and in Spain when you order fries they offer mayonnaise for a dipping option…After breakfast, we walked to the Caixa Forum where a ballet costume exhibit was going on. It was really good to see how they exhibited the pieces and what kind of directional graphics they used to move you through the spaces. They also had a persistence of geometry in architecture exhibit which we went to as well. We finished up the day going to another market with vendors and seeing the royal palace of Madrid. Finally, we walked through Park Retiro when the sun was setting. This was a huge park with lots of beautiful scenery. There were people everywhere and lots of street shows performed by random people.
Scattered throughout Madrid, there were lots of American chains such as Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, KFC, etc..Monday Morning, Chloe and I decided a visit to Dunkin Donuts was in order for breakfast. The coffee was not as good but the donut was delicious, I ordered the Boston Crema Coco. The coffee in Spain is a lot stronger than Italy, lots of sugar was needed every time. We also ordered potatas (fried potatoes). I have noticed that in Italy and in Spain when you order fries they offer mayonnaise for a dipping option…After breakfast, we walked to the Caixa Forum where a ballet costume exhibit was going on. It was really good to see how they exhibited the pieces and what kind of directional graphics they used to move you through the spaces. They also had a persistence of geometry in architecture exhibit which we went to as well. We finished up the day going to another market with vendors and seeing the royal palace of Madrid. Finally, we walked through Park Retiro when the sun was setting. This was a huge park with lots of beautiful scenery. There were people everywhere and lots of street shows performed by random people.
royal palace
inside Park Retiro
These boots were made for walking...
Rough times for my booties. They are beginning to really show how much I put them through on a daily basis. Below, I have included some snapshots of Chloe and I's boots showing the wear and tear they have endured over the semester. So much walking.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Madrid, Spain--Day 2
Sunday 3.18.12
We started the day off at the market in Madrid. Their market stands as the largest market in Europe and they are not kidding. There were tons and tons of people everywhere. Prime time opportunity to get pick pocketed. You could not even browse around because you were not able to let your guard down around so many people. We then went back to the Reina Sofia to see the modern art and architecture of the building. There were glass elevator shafts and a rooftop terrace that was really unique and interesting. It was nice to see some modern architecture for some contrast. We went back to the 24 hour taco place for lunch. An interesting ingredient to their tacos is a mixture of pineapple and onion that they pour on top. It is tastier than you would imagine. After lunch, we went to the Royal Botanical Garden. It was beautiful and I took far too many pictures. The visit concluded with a greenhouse of tropical plants. Overall, the garden had a lot of interesting connecting pathways and would be even better when in full bloom. Following the garden tour, we went to the Prada Museum which was enormous. There were multiple levels with many rooms of art. It was slightly overwhelming and we went during the free time of day so large amounts of people were walking through as well. I did see the painting “Las Meninas” During my years of learning Spanish, we talked about the meaning of this painting a lot. It was really neat to stumble upon that and see in real life. Later that night, we went to a glass marketplace where vendors and restaurants sell products. It was closing but we were able to walk around and experience it. 
playing a song with glasses
trapped with all of the people at the market
Reina Sofia
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