La cena en Gracia: Dinner in Gracia

Today I hit up studio for most of the day. I'm really frustrated with my design. Nothing seems to be coming together and I don't really have a goal or vision for it. I guess this happens sometimes.

Tom, Bob, Ben, and I went running today. I am WAY out of shape...not good. Where is Andrew Kracht when I need him?! We ran down to the port, then over to MarMagnum through crowds of people walking to or from the mall/aquarium/movies/etc. From there we came back towards Columbus then cut up Las Ramblas and over onto Parallel. Tom and I got stuck on one side of the street by Columbus and a kid named Ishmael asked if we run every day. I was out of breath and tired so my spanish was pathetic, but I gave him my cell number to get in contact with us to come running. "Who says you can't meet people running?" Tom said.

We checked out the place Tom's parents will be staying off Las Ramblas, got home, showered and headed to Gracia for dinner organized by Cece.

Gran via was late with Christi, and Cece never showed because she was sick. It was cool, though, cuz Aldana just sat and ordered some water and looked over the menu. We ordered Calcots...the root-like plant, which is basically only available at certain times of the year, and must be an ancient barbaric catalunyan tradition, as Cece described it would be.


You basically get a bib and a plate of grilled Calcots, which you peel the outside off of and dip them into sauce, then try to put this foot-long plant in your mouth without looking like a barbarian...which is basically impossible.


The calcots were ok, but I couldn't have eaten them as a meal or I probably would have been ill. We got meals to eat after our calcots, and spent a good deal of time just sitting, eating, talking, and laughing before heading out in search of the restaurant where Luis works.


From there, we lost Christi and headed back toward the apartments, checking in on City Hall, where a world-famous DJ was working tonight, but didn't see it being worth 30 Euro...nope, notsomuch.

Nada mucho: Nothing much

The boys went running today. I'd like to go with them, but I know that I'll hold them back and I don't want them to have to deal with that. Oh well.

I think I might have a couple of good ideas for my block, but I need to figure out how to implement them and model them...I'm not sure if they will work in combination with eachother. I guess we'll see.

I got to talk to Chels and Matt today. They picked up my spirits a bit. They always seem to know how to help.

The world feels pretty small.

Mis favoritos: my favorites

“People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering.”

-St. Augustine

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you will never see the shadow"

-Helen Keller

“As a single footstop will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kinds of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives." -Thoreau

" Your problem is to bridge the gap which exists between where you are now and the goal you intend to reach."
-Earl Nightingale

"The sand is the only one who understands it when you say, you wish you could just disappear for a while."

"If you're lucky enough to be at the beach, then you're lucky enough!"

-Anonymous

Villa Olimpica: Olympic Village

So, I slept through the alarm once again...that's what happens about halfway through the semester when you get a bit worn out, I guess. No worries, though, I had set it way early to try to get up and do some work before class, but instead just went at the usual time. Today was really beautiful...a perfect day for Villa Olimpica where the athletes stayed and whatnot during the Olympic games in Barcelona in '92. Our assignment was another photography one, and my area was the entry to the village. It's interesting because it is meant to be a facade for the olympic village, but to me it reads as very flat and typical. I feel like instead it should have reflected the use of the vilage as many nations coming together. Oh well. I also think in a way that instead of welcoming people in, it acts as a barrier because the facade is continuous for a very long span. Either way, I really enjoyed the village and I appreciate the attempts made to create great spaces for the people using it.

Facade at the entry to Olympic Village

A space-age-looking bridge

Use of space over roadway as bridge between blocks and office space

sculpture in pedestrian zone

Bob and Bill at oscillating bldg.

Bill at the beach.

group on the boardwalk

Gehry's Fish sculpture

face sculpture

Smokestacks reminiscent of industrial days of this area

Park area buffering facade and the rest of the city

Tot va molt be: Toda va muy bien: Everything is going very well

Planned to get up early this morning, but managed to sleep through my alarm somehow. Bummer.

Got to studio and finished up the homework for Catalan class before walking down Tallers to Las Ramblas and over to school.

History class was actually really interesting today. It was all about modernism in Barcelona. I think we were more interested because we have a bit more background on it and have been able to physically see examples of it throughout the city. I think we're going to have another class on modernism next time, too. Hopefully it will be as good.

Pensando en espanol: Thinking in Spanish

It's tough to get back into the swing of things, not only having been gone for over a week, but in a country with a completely different language and way of life. I haven't spoken spanish since I've gotten back, nor have I really listened for it on the streets as I've walked back and forth from studio to the apartment.

Not much to speak of today. I did a lot of sleeping then went to studio where we are working on the block scale in studio which should hopefully be a bit easier than the urban design stage. Our proposal is pictured in the sketchup model above in red.

We had to pick one of the blocks that our group designed so that the 3 of us are working on the same site. From there we are working individually to modify the block's massing and, later on, to design a building on the block. We picked a good block, I think because it is a good transition point between the neighborhoods that are existing and the plaza that we designed in the center. The block is a combination of two blocks that exist currently, to the mountain side of the plaza. In the proposal they are on the top, and we have created massing of two L-shaped Cerda blocks to create smaller green spaces before people reach the main city center.

I'm making dinner tonight...and Rachel inspired me this weekend, so I'm going to do French Toast--which I haven't done since "Noon O'Clock Breakfast" with Mitch, Jung, Molly, and Steve back in Buffalo (yeah, that IS a long time). Wish me "suerte!"

Regresamos a Barcelona: We return to Barcelona

We got up, said our goodbyes to Rachel, and hit the road toward the Munich Airport. No hitches; we got gas, dropped off the car, got it checked over, got a call from Mike to check on us, got on the plane, and arrived safely at home base.

Our only issue was once we got into the terminal and went to the wrong baggage area so we had to leave and go through security to get into the correct baggage area.

Once back in Espana territory, we checked back into hotel Aldana, also known as our apartment, to see how everyone else enjoyed their breaks, then went to studio.

Time to grab some dinner then probably just hanging out and showing our apartment-mates a picture slideshow. Gotta love crazy breaks...somewhat unplanned, in a brand new country...who does that?

WE DO.