Gaudi

Leo at Sagrada Familia Barcelona

Posted by Leo. The Sagrada Familia was designed by Antonio Gaudi. First let me tell you about Gaudi known as a mad man or a genius. Anyone called by those names turns into a legend. Gaudi was inspired by nature and he followed the rules of nature even if it meant recreating his architecture. To this day many of his buildings still stand and our famous.

The Sagrada Familia towers 200 feet above street level and has 18 pillars including one pillar. Each pillar represents a different person. For example, the tallest one in the center represents Jesus Christ and the smaller one behind him (smaller than the others) represents Mary, his mother.

The inside is massive. The pillars instead of being like normal pillars spread out like branches of trees. He got this idea from the Sequoias. I thought the inside was cool and spectacular. With a ceiling towering 200 feet you can see forever. There are also stained glass windows which reflect different light inside. For example, in one part it was half blue and green.

There are some other Gaudi buildings that looked like icicles dripping from a roof. He hated squares and angles. He wanted all organic shapes. On one building, the roof is scaled like dragon scales and the chimney looks like sword stabbing the dragon representing St. George and the Dragon. We saw a lot of St. George on other buildings. 

Modernism is alive and well in Barcelona

On our Modernism tour of Barcelona

Today we took a tour of modernism in Barcelona. But first a shout out for the sharing economy. Our tour was through a Spain-based company called trip4real that's like airbnb for experiences. They're mostly in Spain but are expanding to other European countries. Our guides were great! Two local guys Marc and Albert who love Barcelona and knew a ton about the architecture and art.

We started at the Block of Discord where there are three of the most beautiful buildings in Barcelona. It's called such because the original home owners were trying to outdo each other with their home designs. One is Gaudi's Casa Batllo with the scales of a dragon being slayed by St. George on the roof. The other two were homes designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner and Josep Puig i Cadafalch.

We then learned about Gaudi's La Pedrera or Casa Mila which looks like a giant petrified wave. After a few more stops we ended at the mothership of modernism, the Sagrada Familia. My greatest impression is of a feeling of mortals ascending to heaven -- the soaring vaults, colors and light work seamlessly to evoke a quite religious experience. 

I mentioned earlier that we look out at the Sagrada Familia from our apartment so we can enjoy the fantastical exterior every morning and night. 

View of Gaudi's masterpiece

Just got into Barcelona. This is the view of the Sagrada Familia from our front deck. Stunning.

Smoking in Spain

So many people smoke in Spain. When we got off the plane from London to Seville these teenagers took out a box of cigarettes and right then and there started smoking. They were hardly older then my 15 year old brother Griffin.

After we settled in we saw hundreds of people smoking from the youngest of 12 to the oldest of 70. We went to many plazas and saw many people smoking. The memory that I can remember most is when we where outside sitting at a table and someone behind us pulled out a cigarette. The breeze was coming at us and the smoke made me want to puke. I got light headed and begged to move to another place but there were no empty tables. Finally when the food came I started eating but half way through I noticed there was blood on my plate. I had had it with this smoking and now blood on my plate from the meat. So that's what I can say about smoking.

Alhambra and sangria

Inside the Alhambra

We're in stunning Granada and loving this laid back town. Lots of hippy kids on the streets and families in the cafes. Granada would be Eugene if Eugene had a World Heritage site and a few dozen Renaissance churches. 

This town has really got afternoon tapas and cerveza down to an art. Tapa in Spanish means lid. Originally restaurants put a small plate on drinks to keep the flies out. They then put something salty on the plate as a treat and tapas were born.

We were at the Alhambra yesterday. It was cold so we didn't spend as long as we would have liked and didn't see much of the gardens but we loved what we did see. Today was sunny and warm. The photo of the Alhambra on the hill was from our table at lunch today. The most beautiful restaurant view in the world. It helped that there was plenty of sangria to go around. The mountains behind it are covered in deep crystal white snow. Must be some great skiing up there in the Sierra Nevadas. 

Off to Barcelona early tomorrow morning. 



View from lunch

 



Leo at the Alhambra overlooking the old part of Granada

My palace

Casa de Pilatos

I found my palace. Casa de Pilatos. It's a stunning palace in Seville with peaceful gardens, meandering fountains, mosaic tiles covering most of the walls and an ancient decaying aesthetic. I love it because it's small (too much palace is not a good thing) and I could really feel how life was lived there in the 16th century. Evidentially the family lived in the palace until the 1970s and now it's run by their foundation.

We also went to the Cathedral today which is truly an arresting gothic masterpiece but slightly overwhelming. Christopher Columbus is buried there in a crypt fitting the legend that surrounds him.

We're off to Granada via train.

Griffin, me and mom with the mosaics

View of Cathedral

Giralda tower at Cathedral

Weather

Weather in Seville

The weather here is the biggest difference between Seattle and Seville. Unlike Seattle where the weather can change in an instant, it changes slowly here. The temperatures here are always 60 degrees and above and that’s cold for here. It’s even warm when the clouds are out with no gaps to let the sun shine through. I can tell the people think its cold because I see them walking in big puffy coats. I have seen no one wearing shorts so that also helped me decide it was cold for the locals here.  

In Seattle the weather is 50 degrees and usually rainy. Even when it’s sunny out its usually still freezing in winter. Lately, in the summer the weather has brightened up and gotten sunnier and warmer. The other seasons are all the same. Winter is freezing but there is no snow.

Well that’s the weather >_<

Fashion

The style in Seville, Spain is different. The Europeans all have fancy curved waved hair and nice suites and ties. All the kids look the same with the schools uniforms and the wavy style hair and with the perfect amount of makeup. It’s like seeing thousands of twins. You can really tell the difference between tourists and the locals. When I walk down the street I can see people’s eyes staring at me because I dress differently. While people have big puffy winter coats on when its 60 degrees here I am just wearing shorts and no jacket but I don’t care.

          

Homelessness in Spain

In Spain there are not many homeless people. This past week I have only seen three homeless people. If I were in Seattle the number would rise higher.

The ratio here is small compared to Seattle. I think that the difference in numbers here is because Spain is a socialist country. To be exact, recently when the socialists lost the election another party took over as leader. Even though they are not a socialist country anymore most of the rules and laws still stand to this very day.

           I am happy to see that people here are not struggling as much and that there are not many people wandering the streets without a home to bunker down for the night.

Teh food of Seville

The food here is amazing everything is gourmet. For me gourmet is where it is perfect flawless no little crumbs on the side of the plate it’s not mass produced and it looks great. 

I saw the nastiest thing ever a gourmet sandwich in a vending machine! It could be all warm and soggy with cheese. 

The thing I loved the most so far is the crab it was fresh and caught that very day. It was harder to get out of shell then the crabs in Seattle. It was way better though. Unlike crab from Seattle that sit there for days on end. It felt stringy in my mouth, and it tasted like salt. They put a few pieces of rock salt on top of it. 

They also have American Restaurants such as burger king McDonalds and more. Everywhere you look there are Restaurants. There are from 7-10 per block. Even on the small 6 feet wide roads and 6 inches sidewalks. . Well that raps it up for the food of Seville.

-Leo

Dancing in the shadow of gold

All gold in the southern region of Spain was brought to this tower in Seville for safe keeping. It sits right on a beautiful waterfront on the only river to run all the way through Spain (according to Griffin). On seeing the golden tower (which really is golden in the Seville sunlight) Leo decided a dance was in order. 

I'm taking a sick day after waking with a fever and sore throat. Mom and Beth have coughs but thankfully the kids seem spared. We were going to spend the day in Córdoba, a nearby town, but have shelved that until we feel better. 

We have just five days left in Seville and then we're headed Granada for some hill town relaxation. 

A little comic relief from Bugs Bunny and Todd

Thanks Todd C. for providing a little comic relief for our visit to Seville. Particularly appropriate since we have our own resident "barber". This was a great overview of the music from the opera.

Bullfighting in Seville

Bullfighting is live and well in Seville. Fortunately or unfortunately the season hasn't started so we weren't able to see a fight but we did have a tour of the ring and the museum.

The ring itself is stunning. It was built in 1761 and construction lasted 120 years. There's a lovely museum in what used to be the infirmary with paintings and sculptures of famous fighters. One man started fighting at age 9 and was killed at 25. His brother strangely only fought sitting in a chair. How that worked I have no idea. 

The good news is that the horses don't die anymore because they're protected but it used to be that 14-15 horses were killed in each fight. Of course the bull always dies but they make good use of the body and sell all the meat except the head at the supermarket. Leo said he wants to avoid bull meat but I thought we might try it for dinner soon (he'll never know). 

On a personal note I wanted to say how proud I am of my boys. They have jumped right in and are living this experience. On our third day here Griffin took the bus across the city by himself easily finding the stop, buying a ticket and getting off at our apartment. All in a language he only had a semester of. They are becoming citizens of the world with the confidence to live anywhere.
 

Hot water, electricity si or non?

All I wanted was a little bath after 5 days of travel etc. Elizabeth and her mother left to go grocery shopping and I was more or less off duty. The problem is the hot water only runs hot for about 45 seconds  which means I'm heating water on the stove and running to the bathtub over and over. Additionally, we heat our apt room by room with small space heaters. Just when I think I have the perfect bath and warm bathroom I realize most of the water has run out. 

I climb in to 4 inches of lukewarm water when the electricity in the apt goes out. No bath, no heat and no lights I realize the luxury of our life in Seattle.

Griffin asked if the bidet was a toilet for toddlers. Funny boy.

Royalty in Seville

Griffin at the Palace

Yesterday we went to Real Alcazar, the Royal Palace in Seville. It is an amazing example of Moorish architecture and the current Andalusian base for King Felipe and his family (has anyone else noticed how beautiful the royal families are in Europe?). We were struck by the blue, orange and yellow colors all throughout the building and the lovely gardens and pools. I like to imagine the Kings and Queens holding parties in the huge rooms and secret gardens. I do wonder how they kept warm in the winter since the thick stone walls keep everything chilly. We decided they had fires and furs to keep them warm. 

To keep us warm we sauntered over to the Starbucks across the street -- oh yes there are two within a block of the palace. It wouldn't be a good day for Griffin without a stop at the local Starbucks. Tomorrow we take a look at the University of Seville. 

By the way, we figured out the mystery of the oranges. They are bitter oranges used for marmalade, a major export from this area. The city harvests them into huge containers. That explains why no one is eating them and the oranges I bought today came from Florida. 

Have mouse, will play or reflections on a lazy day

Today is a lazy day. Hopefully I will only have to do 2 hours of work then I will be able to go to the media market and get a new gaming mouse. I don't want to go anywhere today. We probs will go out even though everyone said today we would stay home. Even if we do go out it'll probably be at 1 like usual. Then we will probably get lost for an hour or two. Then we finally get home by sheer luck, perfectly on time.

Bushi with a side of mushrooms

Bushi means burger with sushi

Today I saw a giant white mushroom. It was white and had holes in it. It towered maybe 200 feet. We saw a sign that said “Bushi” which was a hamburger bun with sushi inside. We also saw kids riding miniature Segues. The mushroom had four sprouts where it came out of the ground. It looked like it was made out of wood but it was reflective, with the white coloring. The name in Spanish is Metropol Parasols aka teh mushroom. #Leo #staycool #DontReadWhatMyMomWrites

High on mushrooms

Metropol Parasol or The Mushrooms

Seville has an interesting structure called Metropol Parasol or Las Setas del Encarnacion. It’s shaped like gigantic white mushrooms and is accessible by a walkway around the top from which you can see the entire city. It takes up a city block and is located in the old quarter of Seville--the contrast makes it even more beautiful. It was built in 2011 and is said to be the largest wooden structure in the world. We wandered around and walked all over the top of it with a picnic at the top.

People in Seville are incredibly kind and welcoming and we always feel safe. It’s an easy city – bike lanes on every street, people walking, parks and green spaces on every corner and families and kids everywhere. Plus the tapas and wine culture can't be beat.

On top of Metropol Parosol

 

Supermarket and churros

At the supermarket….There weren’t that many people, it was pretty small. Not many people spoke English and if they did it was limited. The funniest part for me was when Griffin was standing in line and a guy was speaking rapidly in Spanish to him. Griffin was telling him in English that he didn’t know Spanish but the guy kept talking. The food looked like normal American food. Another really funny part was when Beth was looking for Caesar salad dressing and they took her to the aisle with Canola oil. They didn’t understand what salad dressing was. Finally, we found it. There were only two kinds. I got sunflower seeds.

This morning I had hot Churros for breakfast from the café across the street. You’re probably thinking the American type with sugar and cinnamon but this one was just plain, just grease. It tasted good but better with honey.

That’s it for today from the Leo news channel.

First day in sunny Spain!

Stepping off the plane at the Seville airport

We're here! Sunny Spain. The sun and late night social life really help cure jet lag. We had an easy trip to London and the perfect soft landing at Deardra and Tahir's home (thank you Deardra for an incredibly yummy dinner and hot scones as we walked in the door). The flight to Seville the next morning was quick (although Leo says it was horrid as he had terrible motion sickness).

We're staying in the Nervion neighborhood in Seville. It's full of orange trees that are covered in ripe oranges. What do they do with all that fruit? No one seems to be picking them and there aren't any on the ground (maybe there are late night pickers that gather just the ripest). The boys and Beth found the local market across the street and Leo will post next about their experience there. Today we're off to the Plaza de Espana and the University of Seville.