Cheerio Loves!
Smashing holiday in London! More soon, long flight – quite zonked. Cheers! (Look Mom, I can speak British!) me, in front of parliament
London Eye
The view from the London Eye at sunset was lovely…. the ferris wheel thames river eye from above parliament liane and me
Around London
attempting to punch policeman outside of buckingham palace. westminister abbey was closed again. (it was also closed the last time i was in london.) fortunately, i was able to get in early monday before my flight. the poets’ corner was my favorite. black cabbies in front of buckingham palace gratuitous tourist shot eye on the thames liane, raaj, & patella on millennium bridge
London
I usually ponder my next trip for a while, before I buy a ticket. About 3 weeks ago, though, a high school friend IM’ed me at work. I was mid work email, so I was ignoring him. :) And then he wrote something like, “I was talking to Liane last night… and we’re thinking of doing a long weekend in London. Flights are cheap. Wanna come?” My initial reaction, was… are you guys crazy? But, I checked and there was a direct flight from Seattle for $530. We figured out we could get free hotel on Starwood points. The trip …
Back From Spain
And I’m back. And totally jetlagged. Spain was great – a fabulous country. I will definitely go back again. Also, it turns out that "vacation" vacations do have some nice perks over "adventure" vacations: Being able to brush your teeth without worrying about getting sick. Being able to eat fruit from street vendors without worrying about getting sick. Knowing that you’re not totally screwed if you lose your passport. Not stressing about safety when calling a cab. Western toilets. Oh, and amazing wine and cheese. Though, the exchange rate is rather killer. Next trip? I’m thinking back to south america …
The Guggeheim in Bilbao
The last stop in my trip to Spain was Bilbao. The city in recent years has become an international destination with the building of the Guggenheim. The building, designed by Frank Gehry, is shaped like a “ship” with fish-like titanium scales. I loved how it caught the colors of the city at different times of day. The collection housed inside of the Guggenheim was much smaller than I expected. The temporary Munoz exhibit was very good, and my appreciation for Richard Serra grew after seeing his permanent pieces. But overall, the building itself much overshadowed the art inside. the …
San Sebastian
San Sebastian is an absolutely gorgeous beach town. Unfortunately, it got hit with a case of “seattle weather” while I was there…. so there wasn’t a lot of frolicking on the sand. Fortunately, Spain summer sales started that Monday – so I ended up being pretty productive anyways. 🙂 looking down at san sebastian relaxing with sangria & new yorker window dressings seaside soccer on the beach merry-go-rounds beach can you hear me now? twilight near the beach
La Sagrada Familia
La Sagrada Familia is Gaudi‘s “masterpiece.” Construction on the temple began in 1882, and has been ongoing ever since. Gaudi died in 1926, and so several different architects have been tapped to flesh out the master’s design. It was especially interesting seeing the interior of the temple, which had progressed significantly since I was there 4 years ago. the famous shape of the la sagrada familia the soldiers were modeled after the shapes on the la pedrera’s roof parts of the passion facade sculpture of jesus ceiling of the temple an unfinished stairwell …
Spain Wins Euro Cup 2008!
It was the first time that Spain won the Euro Cup 2008 in 22 years. (And the first time in about the same number of years that I watched a soccer match.) The game was in Austria, so the viewing location was a bar in the Barri Gotti. The celebration in the street afterwards was particularly memorable… and also where I learned the life skill of operating an SLR with one hand, while have a beer in the other. folks were lined up on the street to see in… …and the celebration starts friendly …
Casa Batllo
Unfortunately, I was only able to see Casa Batllo from the outside this trip (it was closed when I tried to go). It’s one of my Gaudi favorites.