Day 424: Street Art in Bogota

It was supposed to take us eight hours to get from Armenia to Bogota. It took us fifteen.

We later found out that this is fairly common. We shared a taxi into the city with two other travelers and after dropping them off, we arrived at our guesthouse in Bogota around midnight, utterly exhausted. In my efforts to not bore you with another day of us sitting on a bus, or complaining about sitting on said bus, I put together a melange of street art that we discovered during our stay in Bogota. Just in our late night taxi ride from the station to our guesthouse alone, I was amazed by the beautiful murals along the highway. They were everywhere. They were beautiful. They were big. While it was too dark to shoot footage from the cab at night, I found some other equally impressive art throughout Bogota and tried to record as much of it as I could. Had we known from the start of our stay, we would have readily gone on the Bogota Street Art Tour, but didn’t find out about it until we were on our way out of the city.

There are some impressive artists in Bogota. Unfortunately the links that the aforementioned tour provide didn’t work for me, except this one. DJLU was one of my favorites. Also scattered around the city, were these public sculptures of famous artists as well as political and historical figures sitting on rooftops. As well as a few colorful walls and doors dotted the streets as well. How could I refuse taking a picture of this pretty juxtaposition of color?

Day 409: La Ronda by day

La Ronda, more specifically known as Calle La Ronda is more popular at night. It offers a vibrant restaurant and cafe scene with live music and more. However, as we were in the area, walking around the historical center of Quito, we decided to check it out by day and planned to return another night. By day, La Ronda is quiet. It’s quiet in a good way and feels peaceful and safe compared to other parts of the city where it’s practically unthinkable to whip out your camera to photograph a door or the façade of an ice-cream shop.

La Ronda is one of the oldest streets in Quito. There are explanations set up along the street about who lived there, what shops were operated, and how the street came to be. It’s interesting, and would have been even more interesting if more of the cafes were open so we could have sat down for a warm cup of coffee in the surprisingly cold city only thirty minutes away from the equator. We ducked into a couple of art exhibitions, (above is a piece by Carmen Davila Falconi) walked the entire length of the calle, and looked forward to returning to a more vibrant night scene next week!

Day 381: Puna Tienda Galeria featuring: Jorge Flores

You know what’s awesome? Walking into a new city, or making a new friend, or visiting a creative space and being completely swept off your feet inspired. Which is a little like being swept off your feet in love for the creative types. At least, for me it is. Anyway, I was certainly swept off my feet when we stepped into Puna one night on our way home this week. Not only was I immediately nostalgic for all of my art supplies, sewing machines (I have two. I think. In my sister’s room and/or somewhere in my mother’s house…) and a permanent space to be creative, but I also wanted to stay in Puna forever. Or buy everything I loved so I could at least take it with me. Instead, I asked the two wonderfully sweet girls working if I could return the next afternoon to photograph the space and perhaps learn more about what fueled something so creative and contemporary in a city that seemed to (rightfully so) embrace it’s traditional culture(s). Fortunately, Berenice and Stephanie excitedly agreed and when I returned the next afternoon, I was not only lucky enough to have the store mostly to myself, but to meet local artist, Jorge Flores as well! In the end I wanted to take the store and all three of them with me. Instead, I settled on some pictures, a “day in a minute” and in the end a print that I simply couldn’t live without.

When I returned to Puna, Berenice Diaz, the manager (below on the right) explained the objective of the gallery while Stephanie Guerra (below on the left) patiently helped translate when I didn’t understand. With only a few days of formal Spanish lessons under my belt, I was surprised I could follow along as well as I could, but there were some gaps that I was grateful to Stephanie for filling in the blanks for me. (Muchas gracias, Berenice y Stephanie!)

Practically everywhere else in Cusco (and from what I noticed in Peru) embraces traditional arts, especially the beautiful weaving so much so that it was almost a surprise to see a place with such modern and contemporary art on display. Berenice explained that Puna’s objective was to be a gallery and a store. While some stores (especially of this kind of variety- in my own opinion) look down on visitors wandering through simply to look, and not buy… Puna welcomes the chance to simply inform others- especially visitors to Peru of Peruvian art. I can’t emphasize enough how warm and friendly both Berenice and Stephanie were, and how grateful they seemed at my interest in Puna! I’m not the only one who thinks so highly if this little burst of contemporary culture in Cusco either. Trip Advisor has nothing but wonderful things to say, and to rate a “store” so highly has to say something, right? Right. I will say that most items fall outside of the typical backpacker budget, but if you can’t live without a piece, then the price doesn’t really matter. At least, that’s what I tell myself when I linger in front of an editioned prints with a price tag over $100.

Puna is modern art (and style) that meets traditional Peruvian culture. Currently 150-200 Peruvian artists have work on display and for sale in Puna. Traditional woven styles have been integrated into purses and even little clutches that I wanted so badly it hurt. Instead of wool llama ornaments, chic leather llama keychains were for sale. And the artwork, oh, the artwork. Where does one even begin? I’ll let the pictures -of beautiful pictures- speak for themselves.

Before I had met Jorge, I fell in love with another Peruvian artist’s work, Fito Espinosa. You can see some of his illustrations in the picture directly above. One print (not above) in particular plagued my mind for the next few days. I would have purchased it immediately had it not been for my backpacker budget. Andrew kept trying to talk me into getting it, and of course, the night I make up my mind to get it, we arrived to the store after it had closed. Good thing Andrew loves me so much because during our break from class the next (and our last) day, he ran across town to pick up the print for me! No easy feat in a city that is 11,200 ft above sea level.

Who is this Jorge (above) you might be wondering? Just another fantastic Peruvian artist who happened to stop by Puna to drop of some new work. It’s his work Berenice and I are talking about in the “day in a minute” above. And just like Berenice and Stephanie, he was so sweet and so talented that I felt so torn not taking some of his art home with me. (To make up for it, I’ve promised myself as soon as I’m gainfully employed again, I’ll be messaging Puna for several pieces of art, jewelry, a clutch or two…) Jorge is such a perfect example of a Peruvian contemporary artist who is absolutely unafraid of tapping into his cultural heritage yet making a statement with modern issues. He was dropping off some framed pieces of TEN, an installation of a grid of old Peruvian bank notes with different words painted over them. The individual pieces were striking, but seeing the photo of the installation on his website makes me want several pieces to have a small grid of my own!

You might hear him say “It’s my lucky day!” at the end of the “day in a minute” but I couldn’t express enough to him, Berenice, or Stephanie that it was my lucky day to be able to meet and talk to them all!

Day 352: “What’s a Cornetto 99?”

Day 2 in London was more of the same, except we got to sleep past five in the morning. (What a relief!) Another wonderful homemade breakfast and we were out the door, again on bikes down to the River Thames. This time we jumped off of them and spent a couple hours exploring the Tate Modern before James introduced us to a Cornetto 99!

“What’s a Cornetto 99?” I asked James. He simply smiled with a twinkle in his eye and told me I would find out!

While it’s no longer 99 pence, it’s still delicious and worth every penny (at least once). In Kentucky, my friends would call this a ‘creamy whip.’ In other words, it’s a perfect (almost a cross between whip cream) ice-cream cone with a little cookie sticking out, and some chocolate drizzled on top if you prefer! It’s delicious. Try one the next time you’re in England!

The Tate Modern is – get this – free! Aside from special exhibitions. This is a LOT and more than enough to keep you entertained. Andrew and James headed up to concentrate on one exhibition, while I sprinted through several just to see what was there. My favorites included the Joseph Bueys photograph on canvas, the room full of Communist propaganda posters (of course), the dimly lit room full of HUGE Rothkos (too dark to photograph) and the Glenn Ligon (America) painted neon light piece below.

It was a great visit, but I have to admit, I was a little bit art-museum-ed out after spending so many hours inside them in Paris. We biked around some more, I got that sweet picture of James biking in between buses and taxis (above), and we stopped off at a few pubs in between. We weren’t exactly the perfect tourists, and I’m sure we could have done sooo much more with our day, but we were still reveling in James’ company, and letting go of the reins for a bit.

Day 349: Centre Pompidou et Le Marais

We weren’t supposed to go to the Centre Pompidou today, but it started raining, and we weren’t up to doing a walking tour without an umbrella… So we switched gears and headed to the Centre Pompidou for some contemporary art (a bit of a change from the Louvre yesterday) and then went to check out Le Marais! We went to bum around Le Marais on our own before joining up with another free walking tour (giving Discover Walks Paris a second chance). Let me just say that I’m glad we went on our own beforehand, because again, I was a bit disappointed with our guide, but in the end I was glad to have seen another part of the city that was new to me! I’m already a little bit anxious to explore it some more during our next visit!

Centre Pompidou is a bit of a stain on the Parisian cityscape. It’s a contemporary art museum that was built inside out. I like it. As much as I love how ‘stuck in time’ Paris is, I find this building a nice little reminder of today! I also like the whimsical Stravinsky Fountain and of course, the giant street art (portrait) overlooking the entire complex. Really, what’s not to love?!

We began our visit checking out the Simon Hantai exhibit. There was also a Roy Lichtenstein exhibition going on, but we saw a rather extensive retrospective in Chicago before this trip began- so we opted for a different artist today. I wasn’t as big of a fan of his earlier works- but I really liked his later “pliage” (folding) method. According to Wikipedia: This is when the canvas was folded and sometimes scrunched, covered with paint, and unfolded, leaving apparent blank sections of the canvas interrupted by vibrant splashes of colour. He stated: “The pliage developed out of nothing. It was necessary to simply put myself in the place of someone who had seen nothing… in the place of the canvas. I found it beautiful and in a way, a more methodical approach but in a somewhat similar style of Pollock- another favorite! I photographed some of the works when it was allowed. At the end of the exhibit, I cursed my already too-full backpack and the fact that we were over budget. If I could, I would get absolutely every big coffee-table style artist/exhibition book I could. Maybe I need to be more diligent about adding books to my Amazon list? One day I’ll have a house with lots of bookshelves and coffee tables, right? One day…

We headed downstairs to the permanent collection. We wandered in and out of rooms, sometimes together sometimes separate. I was standing in front of one piece trying to figure it out, when a very nice Sudanese man approached and asked me what I thought of the piece- in French. I was a little surprised, but quickly rebounded thinking how fun it would be to practice my buried language skills. I responded, in French that it wasn’t for me. It really wasn’t. It was a mixed media (wood mostly) piece that didn’t leave much to the imagination. Or maybe it left too much to the imagination and I didn’t have enough of it? Either way, his eyes grew wide and he though I was talking about the museum in its entirety. I quickly reassured him I was only talking about the one piece, and then the small talk began. I wandered into another room. He followed. He kept asking questions, I kept answering trying to ignore the little voice in my head that reminded me how stupid I sounded en Français. And then he asked me to sit down with him.

And it dawned on me that he wasn’t simply chatting to practice speaking French. Andrew was nowhere to be found. He never is, by the way, when I find myself in a position similar to this one.

“Oh… So sorry, I should probably find my boyfriend…” I responded. To which he responded asking why I had lost him in the first place. Then I got flustered and I think I might have said something along the lines of “Oh it’s ok to lose him” giving the wrong impression entirely. Andrew, of course was entirely amused by the story later, especially when I refused to be left alone in a room full of contemporary art.

Maybe the Centre Pompidou isn’t the prettiest building in Paris, but it still has one of the best views of the city from it’s roof and balconies.

Hungry, and nostalgic for our time in the middle east, we headed over to Le Marais to try some of the infamous falafel. I know, not exactly what you would expect to find in the middle of Paris, but maybe that’s only if you weren’t familiar (like myself) with the Jewish influence within the fashion district. En route, we passed this empty laundromat. For some reason (maybe it’s because my Grandmother owned a laundromat once upon a time?) I couldn’t resist taking a picture.

We ate on the street, interrupted only by Andrew freaking out over some pigeon poo running down his back. I couldn’t stop laughing. Had my hands not been full of falafel, I would have filmed it for sure. Instead, he yelled at me to stop laughing and help him clean it up- because obviously, as it was on his back, he couldn’t see it. Stuffed, we walked around, sat down on some church steps and waited for our walking tour to begin.

I was excited to learn more about the fashion industry, as the ‘free walking tour’ website advertised, but it seems as though our guide had other ‘fun facts’ in mind instead. We learned a good deal about the history of the neighborhood, we learned even more about her time going to a high-school in the same neighborhood, but not so much about the fashion industry or influence over Le Marais. I was disappointed. She was sweet, but it wasn’t a great tour, and I fully plan on returning next time to soak up more of this neighborhood and even maybe splurging on a not so ‘free’ walking tour?

Day 348: The Louvre, Tuileries, Champs Elysees, et L’arc de Triomphe

Did you know the Louvre is the most visited museum in the world? I overheard a young boy tell his mother in line that if you looked at every piece for one minute, it would take several days. It makes sense, there are around 35,000 different objects, art works, sculptures on display. Instead of seeing it ALL, we hit my favorites, stopped by the Mona Lisa, lingered for a few pieces in between and made our way out to take in the Tuileries, walk down the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe!

We took our chances and headed towards the Pyramids (entrance) and lucked out with only a twenty minute wait to get inside! While Andrew read the news, I occupied myself by taking pictures (of course) of the entrance as we moved closer and closer to getting inside.   The Louvre hasn’t changed one bit since my last visit. Except, possibly, again, it felt like there were ten times as many people visiting. It’s a bit overwhelming with different wings full of art, and different levels of modern additions mixing with the old palace layout, and sometimes long halls packed full of paintings from the floor to the ceiling.

While we were there, we couldn’t help but notice the works of Italian, contemporary artist, Michelangelo Pistoletto. I didn’t quite get his pieces, but some of them made for very fun photographs!

Not wanting to get worn out looking at pieces that weren’t my favorite, I dragged Andrew out of one wing and into another in search of “La Victoire de Samothrace” also known as Winged Victory of Samothrace. This may (or may not?) be a bit of a cliché, but it’s one of my most favorite sculptures ever. I think it has something to do with the placement inside the museum, there’s this long hall that leads up to a very grand staircase upon which the sculpture sits upon. It’s Greek, as it’s dedicated to the goddess, Nike, and was created around 200-190 BCE. I mean, think about it, how incredibly old this beautiful sculpture is! Click on the link if you want to read more about it. I sat next to the sculpture and read the information card while Andrew struggled to keep his eyes open. Maybe you won’t be as interested in its history as I am, so I won’t go on and on about what I read (or reminded myself about on Wikipedia) so I’ll let you take care of searching for more information on your own! Usually we aren’t so lucky with our timing, but I just visited the Louvre website and discovered the sculpture will be under conservation from September until the summer of 2014! Plan your visit accordingly! You won’t be disappointed!

We walked through  the Denon wing (I think it’s the best wing) in awe of the art, but also of the crazy (CRAZY!) amount of people. I didn’t even bother trying to get close to the Mona Lisa and instead took a few pictures to show you just how popular the piece is (which I’m sure you’re already aware) and while Andrew tried to get close to the Venus de Milo, I busied myself photographing the young woman visiting in a beautiful kimono.

On our way out, past the inverted pyramid, Andrew pointed out the new Apple store to me. “I told you!” he declared. He had mentioned there being one and I was in denial. But sure enough, it seems since my last visit a mall has been established inside featuring select stores and even some American fast food chains. It felt wrong. Back outside, we walked through the Tuileries, enjoying the green space and (for the most part) lack of traffic in the beautiful public park.

Forgetting just how far the Avenue des Champs-Élysées was, we simply kept walking… and walking… and walking… and maybe we ducked in a store (or two) before finally arriving at the Arc de Triomphe. We were only inside the Arc, well, at the base of it for a few minutes before policemen began blowing whistles at everyone moving us all to the other side of a metal fence set up around the perimeter of the arc. Then a line of heavily medaled military formed and it was apparent that something big was about to go down. 

“Do you think it has something to do with Morgan Freeman?” I asked Andrew, thinking back to when we had been directed to different entrances a few times as we tried to get into the Louvre. There was a film being shot in Paris, starring him and ScarJo.

“Maybe the French are going to honor Morgan Freeman here at the Arc de Triomphe tonight!” I got my hopes up slightly. We waited. And then some older French folk appeared. We started to leave and then saw some movement. No Morgan Freeman. Instead, it seemed like more of a memorial ceremony instead. We didn’t stay long, and instead made our way back towards our little French abode for one more night. Only seven flights up to the servants’ quarters where our gracious (and latest) couchsurfer host lent us her home while she was out of town for the long weekend.

Day 347: Museé D’Orsay, Rue Cler, et La Tour Eiffel

We were supposed to go to the Louvre. Until we discovered the Lion Entrance was closed for the day, and we became apprehensive of the long line through the Pyramid Entrance… so we headed to Museé D’Orsay instead. “What’s in the Museé D’Orsay?” Andrew asked. “Some Degas… a lot of impressionists, but the best part of the museum is the building itself. It’s in an old train station!” I explained, as we walked across the bridge. Afterwards, we strolled through the infamous (thanks to Rick Steves?) Rue Cler and then sat in front of the Eiffel Tower until the wind picked up and it began to rain, signaling it was time for us to head home!

Museé D’Orsay is an art museum that displays collections from 1848 to 1914. But it wasn’t always a museum. Before the 1900 World Fair, the French Government gave land to the Orleans Railroad Company. The Company in turn, decided to build a new railway station where a palace once stood, also named D’Orsay. (Quelle surprise!) Because the location was somewhat in between the Louvre and the Palais de la Légion d’honneur, all involved wanted a station that complimented its surroundings.

Architect Victor Laloux won a competition to design/build the Gare D’Orsay in 1898 and it was completed in time for the World Fair in 1900! The station was in operation for 39 years until the platforms had become too short for the newer, longer trains. A couple years later, a hotel complex threatened to destroy the old station until the Museums of France decided to instead, turn the station into a museum. In 1978, the building was declared a historical monument and it was commissioned to be a museum. In 1986, President Mitterrand inaugurated the museum and it was opened a week later on December 9th.

While I love the impressionist collection the most – and the Opera exhibition as well – I continue to find the history of the building itself (especially the old clocks) more fascinating and worthy of a visit. Andrew asked if this station was where Hugo was filmed, I assured him (wink wink) it was. Please don’t tell him otherwise.

On the top floor, you can enjoy lunch or dinner in a small restaurant in front of one of the huge intact clocks before stepping outside on a balcony overlooking the Seine, the Tuilleries, and even Sacre Cour in the distance.

After the Impressionist collection, you exit the wing facing another giant intact clock. In other words, my absolute favorite part of the museum. If you wait long enough other tourists with cameras will clear out and you’ll be able to get a picture without any of them in front of the clock. I couldn’t resist this ajjumma (older Korean woman- in a visor nonetheless) and her daughter in front of the scene though!

It’s huge, as you can see, and worthy of an entire afternoon. The beauty, however, of revisiting museums in Paris is not feeling the need to see absolutely every work of art inside. We saw what we wanted to see, and after a couple of hours, we made our way out satisfied with our visit and less stressed than most who try to speed through in order to see it all!

We made our way over to Rue Cler, passing Les Invalides, at which point I declared to Andrew that it was one museum I refused to walk through again. I went with my Mom a few years ago, and military museums, even if it includes Napoleon Bonaparte’s tomb, are not for me. If you’re into history. war. armies. Check it out. Otherwise, keep walking (like we did) and head to Rue Cler, or the Eiffel Tower instead!

Rue Cler, was a result of my recent Google search for what to do in Paris. Like I said before, I wanted to mix as many new things into our itinerary as possible, so when I found a Rick Steves’ article all about Rue Cler, I thought it would be fun to walk through! We weren’t the only ones, as I saw others with laminated Rick Steves’ Guidebooks stopping in front of the same stores we were stopping in front of, reading the description. It was fun and felt like we were on our own walking tour, one that we could easily pop in and out of shops for fresh veggies (i.e. more avocado) and fresh pastries and a baguette for dinner later! I’ll let the pictures do the talking, and if you’d like to read more information about each shop or the street itself, click on the link above and read what Rick Steves has to say about it!

And then, only a few blocks away, we found ourselves standing in front of La Tour Eiffel. In English, obviously, The Eiffel Tower. We stopped to take pictures, we sat to eat our apple tart, and when we were too chilled to linger longer, we started walking closer arriving underneath the tower just as it started sprinkling rain down over the lines and lines of people winding around the bottom of the tower waiting for their turn to see the view from the top. I was grateful Andrew didn’t care to go up the tower, and instead we entertained ourselves photographing the tower from below.

I know, it’s probably overload, but I couldn’t help taking advantage of my zoom and getting some closeup photos. With the overcast sky, I’m sure they’ll look better in black and white, but that additional editing will probably happen when I get myself more in order and put images up for sale!

While walking back “home” we passed the Liberty Flame practically in the middle of a large intersection on the other side of the Seine. According to the plaque at the base of the sculpture, “The Flame of Liberty. An exact replica of the Statue of Liberty’s flame offered to the people of France by donors throughout the world as a symbol of the Franco-American friendship. On the occasion of the centennial of the International Herald Tribune. Paris 1887-1987.”According to one reviewer on Trip Advisor, it stands at the entrance of the tunnel that Lady Diana died. I’m not entirely sure of that fact, but it does make for some interesting speculation regardless.

Day 344: Picasso and Pinchos

Picasso Museum Round Two was a success! We introduced Nat to Bo de B (and got another salmon salad of course) and then headed to the Picasso Museum to see how crazy the line was and if we were up for waiting. It was long, but it moved surprisingly fast. The museum contained a LOT of Picasso’s first works and pieces that I’ve never seen before, yet there was a huge gap of Picasso’s life and works that are obviously in other museums throughout the world that I think everyone (me included) are more familiar with. We bummed around the Born and Gothic districts again before meeting up with Nat for another round of tapas! This time, we opted for pinchos! Tapas served on bread, count. me. in.

Have I told you lately how much I love the Born and Gothic neighborhoods (districts?) because I do! Check out the latest street art sightings just around the corner from the Picasso Museum! I also looked up some recommended vintage and boutique stores and popped into “The Box” which was also right around the corner from the Picasso Museum. Suuuper cute store! Also, Can I just say for the record that I love it when owners welcome me taking pictures! The boutique was so photogenic I couldn’t help myself!

We ducked into a few other boutiques, and one was really neat and very well designed- lots of vintage signage and props scattered around the store- along with ‘No Photos’ signs. As a photographer, this always annoys me. As a consumer, it makes me not want to buy anything! The Box on the other hand, was warm and welcoming and if the picture below doesn’t make you want to stop by and buy a few bow ties… something might be wrong with you!

 These cookies looked like they were to die for in the window, we opted for the carrot cake instead. It was delicious -a bit overpriced – but delicious nonetheless.

I was kicking myself for missing a previous photo opportunity of an accordion player roaming the streets of the Gothic district. When this musician passed by us this afternoon I was so excited, Andrew was rolling his eyes. Who doesn’t love a second chance, especially when it comes to taking a photo!

We sat in a square and people watched for a little while, killing some time before we met up with Nat one last time. Directly in front of the bench I was sitting on (while Andrew went off searching for some Dr. Peppers for us) a little girl only about two or three years old walked up to a younger boy in a stroller. She was completely enthralled by the younger boy. She put her face in his and attempted to touch his hand and then remembered there were others watching and looked up. Her father was standing behind her, encouraging her to say ‘Hola’ while the obviously non-Spanish speaking tourists laughed and encouraged their son to wave back. We all watched, amused at the miniature confrontation before one of the parents decided it was time to part ways. I marveled at how brave and innocent the little girl was walking up to a “stranger” and immediately touching his face. While I recounted the event to Andrew when he returned empty handed, I couldn’t help but wonder at what point do others become “strangers.” And then I was distracted by this family walking by with children slung over their shoulders like bags of rice, and all I could think of was how much I love people.

Day 343: La Sagrada Familia

La Sagrada Familia inside is a whole other world. The outside is somewhat dark (in a way) and a bit chaotic. It’s unfinished. It’s busy. It looks like wax was dripped over it from afar. But inside… inside is bright and organized. It’s finished. It’s clean. It looks like every detail was designed with a specific purpose. It’s not as much of a collage as the exterior. And it’s huge. It makes you nod your head when someone says “Gaudi is a genius.” Because one step inside of La Sagrada Familia will make you agree.

Honestly, from the outside when we visited the other day, I was like “Yea, this is big… It’s unfinished… I guess Gaudi was an amazing architect…” But as soon as you step inside La Sagrada Familia, you feel small. Small is probably an understatement. You feel TINY and for once, you’re not as bothered by the vast amount of tourists surrounding you because it seems impossible to fill the space that Gaudi designed to be held up by tree-like columns. You’re practically in a forest. It’s pretty magical, and even more striking than the infamous exterior. At least, that’s what I think. I had a greater appreciation for the outside once I saw the inside… and I had even more of a greater appreciation for Gaudi once I stood in his forest of a church.

The Glory Facade was still under construction during our visit, but we were able to duck outside in a little enclosed area to view the doors from the outside. So. impressive. (I might not be able to say that enough about La Sagrada Familia!) Andrew and I always hunt for the Korean when different languages are represented. I think Korean tourists are always amused when they hear us read or speak Korean to each other. I’m pretty sure the LOUD Korean couple sitting behind us inside the church were downright shocked when I turned around and told them to be quiet – in Korean.

We sat for awhile, as we usually do when ducking into a church or mosque (if I’m allowed) or temple. It always makes for interesting people-watching. In this case, it was mostly watching one of the staff members try to remain calm with all of the tourists talking – or stopping to take pictures – or sitting where/when they shouldn’t have been. Behind the main altar were several smaller side altars, views of another altar below, and these giant organ pipes. Wandering back out to the center nave and I was immediately struck by the light coming through the stained glass and bouncing off of the columns. Kinda within the church, an exhibition of how Gaudi was inspired by nature was beautifully presented. As if I wasn’t already blown away by his mansions, Park Guell, and La Sagrada Familia itself- to see the comparisons between the different kinds of plants, flowers, trees, even honeycomb… and how he integrated nature into his work was ah-mazing.

We walked out to see the Nativity Façade and looking up, you tried to imagine how one would have thought of integrating so much into one façade, let alone completing the construction of it all! We walked through the exhibition of how La Sagrada Familia was realized and sometimes found ourselves just standing in front of something completely dumbfounded at how Gaudi hung bags of sand to see how he could construct La Sagrada Familia by reversing what was hanging. I’m not sure if that makes sense, and maybe you can see it behind Andrew in the video- but it was genius. That’s all there is to it. After La Sagrada Familia, we went back towards the Gothic and Born areas for an early dinner at what was to become (possibly) our favorite restaurant in Barcelona; Bo de B. If you find yourself in Barcelona, go here. Get the salmon salad. You won’t be disappointed. Well, maybe you will when you have to leave, but just walk around and look at the gorgeous street art and that should make you feel better…

We headed over to La Boqueria, the main market in Barcelona. Unfortunately, we were stuffed from our salmon salad and burger that we couldn’t even think about trying any of the food in the market! That was silly of us… But it was still fun to walk through, despite so many of the shops being closed for the summer holiday!

I’m not sure if you know this about me and Andrew (possibly even more true of Andrew) but we love gummy candy. And this stall was heaven. So much heaven that we stood in front of it for a full five minutes looking at how BIG the gummies were before we remembered we were still stuffed from Bo de B and didn’t need anymore food in our bellies.

And then, we made our way to the beach. Once we got there, I was a little amazed at how many people were crowded onto one small area. We lucked out hitting Greece before the tourist season picked up. Zanzibar was rather low-key and even Goa during Christmas was downright quiet compared to Barcelona Beach in the middle of August. And we went well after peak hours!

Day 342: Museu Picasso on a Sunday

Just don’t do it. I know you’ll be tempted…  Museu Picasso on a Sunday is free after three! But unless you get there at noon, to stand in line for three hours to get in for free at three, then you’re better off just going another day… Because chances are the line will be long and you won’t even have enough time to stand in it allowing you enough time to actually see the museum once you get inside. It’s bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Our plans foiled, we did what we do best: wandered around town, searching for street art, ducking into churches, people watching, and in general soaking up the city du jour.

Our day didn’t start off the smoothest. Perhaps I should backtrack to us finding out a few nights prior that we couldn’t stay in the same place and had to frantically find another place at the last minute. Europe in August (aside from our wonderful few days in Burgundy) was proving to be difficult. Couchsurfers were either fully booked or out of town. Hostels were expensive. Hotels were even more expensive and/or full. It was stressful to say the least. We finally managed to find a place on Air BnB (not our favorite site) had to pack up our things, move across town, and were very warily welcomed into the house of a stereotypical Frenchman (i.e. the complete opposite of all of my lovely, welcoming, warm French friends) and his overly sweet Columbian girlfriend. It was strange, and even though we looked forward to exploring the city, we didn’t exactly look forward to returning to our rented room at night… It’s a great thing Barcelona is such a wonderful city to get lost in!

I don’t know what it is about light fixtures and this trip, but for some reason I keep finding myself drawn to them! I saw this one in the window of a restaurant and thought it was so clever! Note to self: I want to figure out how to make this for my future kitchen!

We snuck inside Santa Maria del Mar thinking it would be calm, cool, and quiet. It wasn’t exactly cool nor quiet, but it was beautiful and the stained glass was impressive. Despite the heat, Andrew and I sat inside for awhile taking the architecture in.

Party in the street! Now, where are all of the people? I couldn’t get enough of this festive street! We then remembered the Museum of History was free today as well, so we thought we’d give it a shot, knowing we might walk away from it just like we did at the Picasso Museum. I guess not as many people are interested in history as they are in Picasso because there was no line and we were able to walk around freely! Unfortunately, the museum offered few descriptions in English- most were in both Spanish and Catalan and we were at a bit of a loss looking at some of the exhibits. It surrounded (and was under) Placa del Rei, so it made for a nice entry and exit past the same steps I mentioned during our Old City walking tour.

We walked around town some more, heading towards a restaurant for an early (by Barcelona standards) dinner. I’m not sure what this sign means in English, but thought it was pretty regardless if I understood it’s meaning or not.

Day 341: Get ready for some Gaudi!

“I never knew this guy existed!” Andrew said as we started the tour. ‘This guy’ was Antoni Gaudi (1852 – 1926) and in case you haven’t heard of him either: He was a Catalan architect fueled by nature and religion and incorporated a variety of crafts (ceramics, stained glass, ironwork, and carpentry) into his work. He has a crazy distinct style and most of his work is concentrated in or around Barcelona. He’s most famous for La Sagrada Familia, the unfinished church that some say looks like wax was poured over it in the middle of the city.

I knew of him, but I didn’t really know the extent of his awesomeness until today. Perhaps that’s how everyone is… until they go to Barcelona and get their minds practically blown by Gaudi’s creativity. Which is what happened to us.Again, I might have gone overboard on the photos, but I just couldn’t help myself. We began the day with another RunnerBean Free Walking Tour (this time devoted to Gaudi) and ended the day in Park Güell marveling at the incredible amount of architecture and design and just plain awesome (yep, I said it again) art.

First stop: Palau Güell is a mansion built for Eusebi Güell between 1885–1890. We stopped on the sidewalk outside of the beautifully ornate building and heard about how expensive it was to build and how Gaudi simply didn’t care how much money he went through when designing and building the house. I think he drove the poor guy bankrupt when designing and building this house! We heard about how the first floor was where the horses would enter and the floor above was where the family received guests. I would have loved to go in, but there was a long wait and we were on to the next stop before I knew it.

Second stop: Casa Batlló (maybe my favorite house by Gaudi!) is also a mansion designed for the Batlló family between 1904–1906. It was a redesign and we were told that the interior not only reflected similar design aesthetics of the outside (curvy lines, mosaics, etc.). Even the sidewalk outside reflected the same design! The bone shaped windows and the mosaics (of course) were my favorite. I couldn’t get enough of either. At the top of the building, there was a tiny little balcony that you would see a couple every once in awhile step out onto for a picture that would be taken automatically by a camera positioned on a rod outside of the building. If I had to pick only one of Gaudi’s houses to go in, it would be this one! Why don’t more architects design crazy houses like this one!

Third stop: Casa Milà was yet another mansion built for Roser Segimon and Pere Milà between 1906–1912. As much as I loved Casa Batlló, I loved the story behind this mansion even more. We were told by our guide that when it was built, mothers would cover their children’s eyes as they passed because they thought it was shameful or something! Ha! Also the wife, Pere Milà sounded like a real piece of work. In other words, she hated the design. So much so that she even altered some of the interior design. We were pointed out a beautiful interior ceiling from the sidewalk outside, it looked like an ocean of white waves. She hated it and ordered it to be covered up.

Andrew nudged me and asked if I thought it resembled Cappadocia. I nodded, and quickly after, Andrew asked our guide if Gaudi had ever been to Turkey. He hadn’t, but our guide knew exactly what he was thinking and quickly opened his binder up to show a picture of the same fairy chimneys we visited in Turkey a few months ago! It was one of those moments where we both felt a little bit smart, and a bit of ‘We really ARE learning things on this trip!’

Fourth stop: La Sagrada Familia and no, it’s not a mansion. It’s the huge (HUGE) unfinished church that Gaudi worked on starting in 1883 until he died in 1926. According to our guide, the Roman Catholic church will be finished in 2026 (100 years after Gaudi’s death) but he seemed to roll his eyes that it actually will be finished by then. I have to say, I might be somewhat surprised as well considering how much is finished compared to the pictures of what was left to go.

Again, we stayed on the outside of the church hearing all about it, knowing we would come back another day to spend more time exploring the interior. I have to point out though, some of the designs on the outside reminded me a bit of Star Wars characters. Can you see it? I just love seeing and wondering of the possibility of all of these different artistic influences. Ancient fairy chimneys in the middle of Turkey influencing Gaudi… in turn influencing George Lucas… Maybe it’s a stretch, maybe it’s not, either way it’s fun to fantasize about the connections.

Outside the church, vendors lined up with the usual fare. A few made use of their time by sneaking in a chess game. En route to our next stop, I couldn’t help observe this out of place balcony in Barcelona. Where is the laundry? The Catalan flag? The pretty chairs and potted plants? What’s going on with this larger than life barbie?

Fifth stop: of our own, not a part of the tour, we picked up some picnic food and headed to… Park Güell! It was actually a perfect idea because it fit in nicely with our Gaudi themed day and it turned out to be such a lovely place to sit and eat and people watch! I couldn’t resist snapping a picture of this “Free Park Güell” graffiti because park officials (or maybe city officials?) are debating charging an entrance fee to the currently free park. After our visit, and considering how expensive it is to get inside any of Gaudi’s houses and/or La Sagrada Familia, it would be such a shame to charge an entrance fee to this beautiful park!

We actually sat in the lower court, enjoying the cool concrete and shade for awhile. I couldn’t get enough of the mosaics on the ceiling. Aren’t they gorgeous? Groups of tourists would try to take pictures of themselves with the ornate circles, but I was more keen on placing my camera on the ground to get a good shot with my long lens.

Afterwards we headed to the colonnaded footpath with huge rock pillars twisting up to support the roof above similar to the pillars supporting La Sagrada Familia. It was beautiful, and even more beautiful when we walked down a bit further away from the crowd and it suddenly felt like we had the place to ourselves- that is, after I politely shouted in Korean to the Korean girls looking at pictures of themselves to please move out of my shot. 

The main square was lined with a snake-like mosaic bench and provided a beautiful view of Barcelona below. Park Güell was actually supposed to be a housing community, but only two houses were built- one of which can be seen at the main entrance to the park and the other bought and lived in by Gaudi.

Gaudi’s house has since been turned into a museum and features some furniture that he designed for others, furniture that he himself used in the house, and some drawings and plans by Gaudi himself.

We walked around some more, and then eventually made our way out of the park through the main entrance, past the multicolored mosaic salamander (the dragon), and a boatload of people taking their picture with it. It seemed like a bit of a circus and I thought it was a bit funny to see people posing with so many others in their picture! So, I took a picture of everyone taking pictures. You know, getting all of the madness in before we left.

Day 324: DOX Museum & Letna Park

Andrew likes to introduce me to new television shows and films (especially of the foreign variety) while I like to introduce him to art. More like: he humors me when I say I would like to visit a contemporary art museum. I promised a beer garden after- perhaps this helped. I have to admit, I really enjoy contemporary art museums, much like I enjoy thrift stores. As we were walking through the DOX Contemporary Art Museum, it dawned on me that they can be quite similar experiences. Often, in a thrift or secondhand store, it’s filled with a lot of things you aren’t interested in. at. all. You may even walk out with nothing, feeling a bit disappointed. But when you do see something you like- or even love- it’s like a bit of a treasure and it makes up for having to sift through so much that you simply didn’t appreciate. I felt this way walking through the DOX today. I was on the fence about the Disabled by Normality exhibition until I saw the Isolabella film by Danica Dakic and fell in love with the concept. I think Andrew even liked it… although I’m pretty sure he enjoyed Letna Park, the views of Prague complimented by the old school hip hop blasting from the skateboard park, and the beer (of course) a little bit more. But, hey, it’s pretty hard to beat this view, so I don’t blame him.

The exhibition was interesting, we may have done it in an incorrect order (I can never understand why museums don’t use more arrows) but like I said above, by far, my favorite part was this super interesting short film made in Bosnia and Herzegovina by Danica Dakic. I’m pretty sure it was the best part of the entire (somewhat large) exhibition.

Within this post, there used to be a still I managed to take of the video, of one resident playing the piano with his mask on backwards. I had credited the photo as being a still from the video made by Dakic, and in no way was trying to infringe on copyright, but was contacted by another photographer, who didn’t state any relation to Dakic. This photographer was unhappy with how I inserted the still of Dakic’s video in this blog post. Not only was he unhappy, but I found his message to be super condescending. Frankly had he not been so condescending or perhaps explained his relationship to Dakic… moreover if Dakic himself had contacted me- I would have immediately taken steps to appease him by “appropriately crediting” Dakic, even though in my opinion, I already had. It’s unfortunate. Dakic’s website is so minimal, it does not even provide stills or clips of the video to link up to at least try to convey how lovely the film turned out. It’s photographers and artists like the one who contact me that make me cringe and frankly dislike being any part of the “art world.” If I was Dakic, I would be ashamed of having this other photographer speak on my behalf. Artists, moreover photographers (like the one who contacted me) don’t have to be rude and condescending.

Instead of providing a still that I took (of one of my favorite moments of the video), and a complimentary “about” the video that I loved, I just took it all down out of annoyance. It’s a shame that art can’t be spread around the world because of persons like the one who emailed me.

I also enjoyed Kamila Ženatá’s solo exhibition: The Women’s Yard. When we got to the last room, it was filled with hanging crystals and changing lights. It was quite beautiful, but I scared myself silly when I walked into the dark room and then saw someone sitting (working) in the corner. He laughed at me. a lot. And then let me take a few pictures, but they really don’t do the light in the room justice…

After the DOX, as promised, we headed to Letna. First stop: the metronome. There used to be a huge (HUGE) Stalin monument here, but it was removed and a few years later this giant metronome was put in its place as a symbol of the change over time. The shoes hanging from an electrical wire were new to me though (so within the past six years they’ve been added) and I loved them! There were even a pair of old ice-skates dangling from the wire. They made me a little nervous, I mean, wouldn’t that be just my luck they accidentally fell on top of me walking underneath them? We walked around the park, and then doubled back to have a couple of Pilsners in the gardens before heading “home.”

Day 282: Knossos

Knossos, also known as the oldest city in Europe was the center of Minoan civilization during the Bronze Age. In other words, it’s super old and it’s the thing to see when you visit Crete. I’m not super familiar with the Minoan civilization other than it being responsible for the two early writing systems, Linear A and Linear B. Arthur Evans was the archeologist responsible for the discovery, the excavation, and the partial restoration of the palace. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t really expecting what we saw. I shouldn’t have been surprised there was so little… but in a way, I was. It was a bit like going to see The Temple of Artemus in Turkey. We saw, we took a picture, we left. That’s probably not fair to Knossos as there is a lot more to see than just one remaining column (as there is at The Temple of Artemus). We walked around for about an hour, perhaps more than that. I found the restored artwork the most impressive part of the entire palace.

Another impressive detail of the palace were the many levels. If I caught myself looking at the stairs at a certain angle, I liked to imagine it used to be an Escherian stairwell back in the day of the Bronze Age.

According to Greek mythology (I had to look this story up), Minos was the King who lived at Knossos. He had a labyrinth constructed for his son, the Minotaur. Maybe you’re wondering how Minos came to have a minotaur for a son. Let’s back up. Minos received a bull from Poseidon that he was supposed to sacrifice to honor the god in order to keep his power as king, not giving it up to his brothers. Unfortunately, Minos kept the white bull, and instead sacrificed another less pretty bull of his own. As punishment, Aphrodite made Minos wife fall in love with the bull that Minos didn’t sacrifice. His wife figured out how she could mate with the bull, and subsequently gave birth to a minotaur. Crazy, right?  The minotaur grew ferocious and ate men instead of other traditional food. Obviously this was a threat, so Minos had gigantic labyrinth constructed to hold the Minotaur (in or near Knossos). It’s said that Theseus (a prince from Athens) killed the minotaur with the double axe out of love, I think for Minos’ daughter.

There were a few double axes visible at Knossos, coincidentally the double axe is labrys in Greek. Which is, if you haven’t figured it out, it’s part of the world ‘labyrinth.’ I think that sums some of the mythology behind Knossos up. If it doesn’t, please ask Google. It’s interesting to compare the mythology to the actual ruins that are there today. There were so many stories within this palace and it was a bit maze-like. You would go up stairs and around a corner and be at a different level unable to get to the level just below you. This image below was the King’s room. There was a line to walk past and take a quick picture. Not a lot of explanation was given on the site, unless you had a guide with you. We were approached by one guide, asking us if we spoke German.

I’m not exactly sure how much is the reconstructed bits from Arthur Evans and how much was standing upon excavation. Either way, I appreciated what was there for visitors to see.

Since Turkey, and the archeological museum there, Andrew has enjoyed pointing out any and all ‘jugs’ on display. “So many jugs!” he’d exclaim. “Look at those jugs.” he’d wink. “Now those are some big jugs!” he’d nudge me- in the middle of the Istanbul, in Athens, and now in the middle of Knossos.

I gave up trying to be the mature, responsible one and asked if he wanted to take a pictures with those jugs. He rolled his eyes, like I was sooo immature, and then posed with a big smile.

The stairway to the sky was my favorite. Where did it once go? Anywhere? Nowhere?

The very first picture of this post is a close-up of the picture below. It’s restored, but you can see the original pieces of it are raised up from the background. I thought it was simply incredible. How did they know this was what it looked like? What if this is not it at all and they have fooled everyone? Regardless I fell in love with the design aesthetic. I tried to take a few more images of other pieces, but the glare on the glass on some was too much and it took away from the paintings themselves.

And then we were finished. We made our way out of Knossos and headed back to Heraklion to catch another bus to Milatos, where we would meet Andrew’s sister’s friend and husband who have retired there. Both well traveled, they knew how to make us feel at home and immediately took us down to one of their favorite cafes right alongside the sea. When the water got a little rough, the waitress, and their friend informed us that “the shower was for free.”

Day 248: Istanbul Modern

“Are you going to stick it to them?” Andrew asked, laughing at me, as I stood outside of the museum after our visit ready to film one whole minute of the outside of the building.

“Yes.” I pouted, annoyed that the museum wouldn’t let me take any pictures (or video) inside. I snuck a few Instagram shots (which of course I got yelled at for every time) but that was IT. I even had to check my backpack. So, instead of being able to show you visually some of the really rad installations, including one of my most favorite contemporary artists, Olafur Eliasson (you can see more of his work here), I give you a boring one minute of Istanbul Modern.

(Boo, Istanbul Modern, Boo.)

I always wonder if it’s the museum or the artists being showcased who insist no photography is allowed. If I ever end up in a contemporary art museum, I think I’d pay people to take pictures of my work, I’d be so excited! I also get super frustrated when prints of the art I want aren’t available in the museum shops. I’m not going to print it out from my iphone or anything, I just want to remember (and share) what I saw! It’s one of my biggest pet peeves of the art world. 

Moving on: in case you’re interested in seeing what Istanbul Modern has to say about two of the exhibitions that we saw, you can read about Past and Future here, and about Fantastic Machinery here. (There were two other exhibitions in the museum, but there doesn’t appear to be any information on them on Istanbul Modern’s site.) Fantastic Machinery was probably my favorite exhibition. It was really well curated AND there were some Robert Frank images in the collection!

Day 179: Arusha Cultural Heritage Center

The beauty about having breakfast with fellow travelers at the hostel you’re staying with, is not only in having someone else to talk to (as much as I love Andrew, other faces are a delight!) but having another person tell you what there is to do around the town you just arrived to! The Arusha Cultural Heritage Center was suggested, and wanting a little art in my life, off we went.

We went by foot, which might not have been the best idea, as it took nearly 45 minutes to get there under the blazing Tanzanian sun. Whew. When we arrived, I didn’t even care how much the cafe was going to cost, all I wanted was something cold and shaded. The milkshake was definitely not worth the five dollars. The avocado tomato salad was worth the three. So, I guess despite the menu being in dollars (usually a bad sign in a foreign country) we pretty much broke even.

The Arusha “Cultural Heritage” Center is a glorified shop/art gallery. In my opinion, I’m assuming, it’s where rich people go before or after their safari to browse for “cultural artifacts” that are factory made. Ok, not everything is factory made… But not everything is made by Tanzanians either- and considering it’s supposed to be Tanzanian Cultural Heritage, I found this a little disappointing.

BUT. There were some good pieces that were made by local, er, African artists, that both Andrew and I did appreciate. We just would have appreciated it a bit more if it was only African artists featured in the gallery and perhaps if Tanzanians were employed in the gallery as well. (It seemed to be operated by Indians only) Our favorite part of the visit was the bottom floor featuring masks, furniture, and African carvings. (Photos weren’t allowed, otherwise I would have a plethora of images for you to see.)

I was also completely enamored by the “trees of life” that were outside and inside the gallery. As in, I want on and would totally track one down and send it home to sit next to my dragon IF Africa wasn’t as crazy expensive as it is and we weren’t over budget. Bah. I snuck a photo of the information plaque because I thought the story behind the trees is just beautiful.

If your eyes are as bad as my hearing: “The more traditional pieces represent clambering masses of people, reaching eternally upwards, as if struggling to grow and move forwards… they depict extended families of past and present generations, gently supporting each other in the journey of life…”

Isn’t that beautiful?

We grabbed a dala dala back into town. Genius modes of cheap transportation- and much more fun than a taxi. Vans slow down on the side of the road when they see you standing there and you pay less than twenty cents (USD) to jump in and get out where you want to go. We’re never sure where they are going, so we ask first before jumping in. They’re not made for anyone taller than myself- Andrew wasn’t comfortable in the least, but I enjoyed watching the Masai woman watch him during the ride. When she caught me smiling at her amusement towards Andrew, she eyed me skeptically as well, until she eventually deemed I was ok to talk to. Fortunately, I was sitting next to a super nice Tanzanian who spoke both Swahili and English and helped us converse.

At first, she clasped her ears, full of intricately beaded earings and a few gaping holes (one in her lobe, and one in her upper ear). She eyed my own ears (one lone piercing in each) and asked where my earings were. I raised my finger up to say that I had one piercing, and told her my jewelry was at home, save for my one, lone, Arabic necklace. I may as well have been naked sitting across from her. She pointed out the holes in her ears, and again, asked where mine were. I made a face like “Ouch! Pain!” and she shook her head and told me it didn’t hurt. Then she counted on her fingers, at first I thought she was trying to tell me how old she was, but then my new friend told me she had twelve children. Again, she asked about me. I made a zero with my hand and told our translator that I was too young! He laughed. (I don’t blame him. I’m in Africa. No one is too young to have a baby here!) She told me she wanted me to take one of her children. I smiled and told him to tell her that I was still a child. He laughed again. I’m not sure if he told her that. I think he translated what he liked throughout out conversation. I’m pretty sure the woman got frustrated with me as well for not speaking Swahili. Although my new friend wouldn’t tell me in so many words that was so… She definitely asked me why I didn’t speak Swahili though. I told her it was the first time I needed it. She ranted a few Swahili words I couldn’t understand, and my new friend didn’t translate. I assumed it wasn’t mean spirited and smiled.

Ignorance is bliss, and I continued to believe the older Masai woman liked me and had enjoyed our conversation as much as I had.