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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Monday, 09 October 2006 19:53 |
I am on the plane at the moment, flying back to New York. We are
scheduled to land there in about an hour or so. This was unquestionably
one of less pleasant flights I have had in my life, sitting here
wondering if my stomach is going to rupture any moment from a sharp
long piece of metal that is currently poking at my intestines.
To make a long story short, I have swallowed my tongue ring bar bell. I
do not know how or when, as I do not recall choking on it at all, but
it was in my tongue and is not there anymore… It was a cute one too,
purple one that I just got few months ago.
At best, my hopes are that when I get home I am going to have to take a
rather uncomfortable crap. Ands at worst, a surgery to remove a 2 inch
metal stick from my stomach. As uncomfortable as it sounds, I am really
hoping for plan A because plan B may set me back a few weeks, and
getting sliced up just does not sound so appealing.
On the positive note, my last day in Barcelona was an eventful one. Saw
a magic fountain show on Saturday. It was pretty neat; fountain lit up
in multitude of colors and shot water in every possible direction to
the music!
I was really excited about the pink colored water and wanted to play
with it, but someone pointed out that it is not allowed, for it may
kill me. No one in the crowd really wanted to see me electrocuted, so I
contained my urges ;)
There were some smaller fountains and a palace looking building in the
background. And they looked something like this…
Earlier that day I saw my first Spanish protest. On the streets there
was a gang representing immigrants rights. Mt policeman did not look
too happy.
As I was taking a metro train back to hostel I was wondering about the
oddly unnecessary fine amount for smoking on the train. Only
explanation I had for this, was that it was an evil plan to frustrate
the person who decided to light up, by giving them 95 euro cent change
in pennies only?
I took a night train from Barcelona to Paris and headed straight for
the airport to catch my New York flight. I did not have many regrets
about not spending any time in France, because my time in Spain was
amazing. Also French frighten me, as they do make little sense. Ici
Tampons…
So sometime tonight I will know my fate. I am hoping my stomach and my
ass will stay as singular body parts. I will report on my progress with
that for all if you concerned for my well being. Should I suddenly
vanish, consider that a sign that I am cut up in a local NY hospital
bed and will return in a week or so, but hopefully it will not come to
that!
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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Saturday, 07 October 2006 11:48 |
I never made it to the erotic film festival, but did make it to an
amazing beach ;) Sidges is a resort town 30 minutes outside Barcelona.
Took the train and was there just in time to catch some sun and enjoy
clean sand and emerald green waters of Spain…
I noticed an interesting building in the distance and decided to walk
up closer to it and see what it is all about. On the way there I passed
by this old cannon and took a picture of it. Go me!
Another interesting item was this very ancient wooden door with an aged
knocker. I thought it was interesting enough to be included ;)
After a lengthy walk finally arrived to the building I was interesting
in. It turned out to be al old sea side church. It was an amazing
discovery and I captured the moment.
Finally started heading back to the beach itself. They had quite a few
rules. Many things not allowed but ice cream and cookies were
acceptable. So I went in…
I got to swim and lay in the sun. Then Chinese lady sneaked up behind
me and offered me a massage for 5 euros. I accepted. She was great, but
my back was all greasy for the rest of the day. It is really hard to
get baby oil off of your skin. I caught a train back to the city at the
end of the day and it being Friday night and all we decided to head to
a club.
We had some free passes we picked up earlier for club Space. It looked
good on the picture so we drank a bottle of whiskey at the hostel and
gave it a go. We arrived there just in time to get in for free, and I
figured I would like to drink some more. Asked for Red Bull Vodka, but
got a Pink Fish Vodka instead. I did not complain. Any pink colored
creatures are fine by me ;)
Whiskey and vodka combined had a fascinating effect. Dance area was
empty when we arrived, but that changed as we started moving on the
floor. Thirty minutes later whole dance floor was filled with people.
There was a green mermaid looking dancer thing on the DJ stage that
caught my attention…
So I got to the point where I had to make a choice. Stop drinking or
downgrade to something less destructive. So I got a beer. Swedish guy
Pelle who happened to join us on this excursion held me up in his arms
and we took a picture together. I think pictures can speak a thousand
words sometimes, and this one might be one just like it. I was utterly
smashed…
We left the club and headed back to the hostel. I was still pretty
gone. Saw this really attention-grabbing graffiti art on the wall. This
was by far the best one I saw in whole Spain so far. In New York we do
it better!
Today and tomorrow are my last 2 days in amazing Barcelona, my plane
flight back is on Monday, so I will try and make the best of what time
I have remaining here!
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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Thursday, 05 October 2006 08:39 |
Yesterday most of my day was spent in Guell Park. Commissioned by Guell
family, Gaudi designed it in his own twisted taste. Being here can be
closely compared to walking through Disney Land, minus the rides and
Mickey Mouse. Ceilings of the park that are formed by natural
landscapes are decorated with three dimensional mosaics…
Gaudi utilized hills to create tunnels and cave environments the
resemble something taken from science fiction space exploration
journeys. Either that or pre-historic times is what I felt like passing
through this one passageway.
Birds were taking a bath in the miniature fountain beds. Water was
splashing everywhere and reflecting in the sunlight. I snapped this
ritual without disturbing them too much.
One thing to mention, a walk top get to this park was a grueling one.
Approximately 2 kilometers walking distance up the hill. But in the end
it was well worth it. The view of Barcelona from the topmost point is a
breathtaking one!
On the way out I spotted more Gaudi mosaics, this one being in form of
a lizard or dinosaur of some sort. It was also a water fountain, with
stream coming out of its mouth. A little boy seemed really gravitated
towards it. This made for a good picture ;)
Day was running out so I decided to visit a local farmer’s city market.
I have never seen a more organized and well presented variety of foods
in my life. Got some tasty fresh squeezed kiwi juice and walked around
staring at the produce.
Few things I have never seen before were on display here. First, a
skinned rabbit which I opted not to take a picture of. His eyes were
still there in his head and all, but his whole skin was missing. I
heard rabbit meat is tasty, but it looked a bit too disturbing to think
of it as food actually. Second thing was in the sea food stand, a
rather unusual living creature called Percebe, which cost twenty seven
euros per kilo. It was very strange looking…
Last stop was a supermarket to get some munchies and a bottle of
something good. As I was examining the shelves I noticed some wine
bottles with no labels. White wine was priced at a little over a buck
per bottle, what a bargain! I decided not to risk my life however and
got something else instead.
Today feels like its going to be slow. It is already 3pm here and I am
planning to walk over to the closest WiFi point I have discovered 10
minutes away from hostel. There I will steal power outlet from a coffee
shop just as I have done this entire week and hope that they will not
remove me from the premises until I am done updating site and getting
outstanding UO deliveries taken care of. At night I would like to walk
around and explore more of the city. No solid plans as of yet, but I do
know for certain there is still much more to see and do before my
departure back home on Monday!
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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Tuesday, 03 October 2006 20:18 |
Barcelona is the city of performers. I have seen some quite talented
street acts on the streets of this amazing city. Yesterday for instance
I watched this guy perform a joggling and tap dancing act. He was fully
synchronized, both his feet and hands, performing music with his shoes
and the balls. Never seen anything like it and probably won’t see for a
long time…
I think I have finally produced my first gem. At least that is how I
feel about this photo. Randomly the moment came up to take a picture of
this girl who dropped her ball on the street. She managed to pick it up
and was quite happy about it. I captured the moment ;)
Gaudi is one of most radical and well recognized architects of all
times. In my opinion the man is a genius. I will let this picture of
Casa Battlo (House Battlo) speak for itself. To me the balconies look
like shark teeth, but some people I have talked to see animal skulls in
them. Judge for yourself!
I walked into one of street alleys because I saw something inside that
looked quite interesting. I have discovered this unusual sculpture. I
tried to interpret it and am not still sure what it is, but I do not I
like it very much.
A random walk down the street towards another one of Gaudi’s building;
Sagrada Familia and I spotted an interesting poster. I usually read all
posters, as occasionally they do turn out to be a good source of
information. This one was an ad for Erotic Film Festival of Barcelona.
I would not find anything like this in the States so I think I may
check it out towards the end of the week and give some reviews about
that experience ;)
Sagrada Familia, the largest unfinished chapel in Barcelona is a
spectacular sight. It took me a good 30 minutes just to walk around the
building and look at all details. I took many photos, but this one is
probably the most interesting one. Depicting carrying of the cross and
crucifixion of Christ in a rather unusual way then we are generally
used to, it stands out with its unique style of shape and form. If you
pay attention you will notice that top cross is made out of standard
construction steel blocks.
There was a free exhibition of Henry Moore sculpture and I had about 30
minutes before closing time. Jumped in and got to see some of the most
amazing organic form sculptures. Henry uses wood, metal and organic
materials to create some surreal shapes and figures. It was quite a bit
too much to absorb in such a short time but this one completely blew me
away!
Day was running out and I was quite tired from all the walking. My feet
are going to fall off pretty soon for certain. One last thing was the
view of the whole city of Barcelona from one of highest points,
National Palace located in the Plaza of Spain.
Tomorrow I would like to explore some city parks and see some more
things that may be interesting to talk about. But right now its bed
time!
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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Sunday, 01 October 2006 14:47 |
It is my second day in Barcelona. I must be honest and say that I am
very impressed with this city. It is difficult to put in words what
makes being here such a wonderful experience. I think the best way to
explain would be to simply say that people here are great and they
really know how to have fun. Everyone I have met or talked to have been
extreme friendly, easygoing and helpful. Stress level is the lowest I
have ever experiences in all my travels. There is much culture and
things to do. In fact there is too much to do, to a point I do not know
what to do first. My first stop was Catalunya Plaza!
This is one of main city plaza’s where people get together just to sit
around and relax. Here there are many gorgeous fountains, pretty
flowers and plenty of people to talk to here. I have met a Cuban man
who moved to Barcelona to live and he has expressed similar feelings.
In his words people here are simpler and do not worry much about
anything. They go out, eat, dance, have fun, talk and then repeat it
all over again. This conversation has reconfirmed my feelings about
Spain, even since I got here…
Inside the park I saw this amazing statue. I have found the lost gypsy
pirate ship! I walked around the vicinity and could not help myself to
not take the picture of this Vita Licio building. They were awaiting my
arrival?
What do you do with your PC when it really starts to piss you off?
According to polls I have conducted here in Spain there is nothing more
satisfactory then to throw it out of the window onto the street, as can
be seen here… ;)
Streets in Barcelona are very fun to walk on. There are many reasons
for this. First off they are either narrow or really wide. There is no
in-betweens and either way you get something unusual. Secondly, the
architecture is mind blowing. I have spent some time in old part of
town and it looks something like this.
I really enjoy waterfronts and 20 minutes is what it took me from city
center to the closest beach by foot. Water was clean and beach was well
up kept. People were relaxing worry free, quite a few topless women,
which I found unusual, but in Spain this seems to be the norm and no
one really makes a big fuss about it. In fact according to local law
you can walk around naked in city if you want to, as long as you do not
bother anyone.
I went for a swim and right before leaving I took this photo of the
beach and by pure accident captured one of these topless ladies. I will
leave it to you to find her on the picture. I am definitely extending
my stay here and plan to do a lot more picture taking around these
parts during coming week so check back for more Barcelona updates
coming soon!
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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Friday, 29 September 2006 09:06 |
This morning I have arrived in Barcelona. Last two days I have spent in
an old city of Toledo, Spain. It was a beautiful time, probably the
most beautiful city I have ever had a chance to walk through. And I am
running a little behind on updates, so here we go…
This is the Silken Cigarral El Bosque hotel where I stayed. It was a
stunning old building with a panoramic view of the city. I could not
have asked for better. It was very affordable and luxurious. It is rare
you get both of those things together, so it was definitely a score ;)
This is the gorgeous city view of Toledo from my hotel balcony. I spent
hours just looking at this view. My first venture out of the hotel took
me to the bridge that had to be crossed in order to get into the city.
It was freshly painted… pink!
From the bridge I looked at the sky and it was blue and rippled. Has
someone really scratched up the sky?
As I walked through outskirts to get to city center, the strangest
discovery was made. A strange hole in the wall of an old house.
Cardboard laid inside all over the floor. I think someone with no home
has made a corner for themselves...
When I made it into the city two things have struck me. I was amazed to
see how much old architecture has been preserved. Here is just one of
many shots I took of al old cathedral. There are tons of these old
buildings all over Toledo!
Secondly, all streets are very narrow. Originally designed for horse
carriages these alleys are extremely hard to maneuver on, yet locals
drive on them!
I found it peculiar that some people still dry their laundry on the
string. I guess not everyone got dryers installed in their homes
here ;) If you pay attention, there is a bird trying to crawl up into
the hole in the wall where its nest is.
Got pretty hungry had some gazpacho soup and excellent paella...
Crashed at the hotel. Next day in Toledo was spent mostly inside museums and galleries so could not take many pictures. Got to see the house of El Greco and much of his art work. I think he is now on the personal list of my favorite painters. I just checked into Barcelona hostel and plan to hit the showers and go explore and take pics. Mucho more updates coming up!
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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Tuesday, 26 September 2006 19:25 |
It is starting to feel that I will never actually leave here. Original
plan truly was to leave Madrid for Barcelona two days ago, but my
hostel feels particularly homey and for a variety of reasons I do not
feel it is yet time to go…
I consider myself a person who pays attention to all the detail. In the
end smallest things do matter. And something as undersized and
insignificant as the street sign is to me a work of art in this city.
Compared to plain signs of US cities, these kind of minor things do
suck me into staying around here a little longer as well. But there is
so much more…
I have visited the largest art museum in Madrid today. Prado museum had
so many paintings to see that I had to pick and choose in order to meet
time constraints of the day. I was surprised to see that other painters
like this one were allowed to work inside the museum off the originals.
Outside of museum I have watched a bearded hombre walk into bushes and
come back with a pile of bricks. Mysterious… but it was all explained
later. He was running a small street business selling art posters to
tourists. Bricks were only logical to battle the wind!
Just a few steps over there was a small park alley, which separated
street traffic going opposite direction. I saw this homeless person and
snapped a photo. I felt really bad for him. He did not look like the
type that would be a criminal or even a bad man. Just a bad turn of
luck in life I guess…
On the other spectrum, here is a very happy couple on the grass. I do
not think they were aware that I sneaked up on them like that. I think
I know why I truly love taking these kinds of photos. They seem to
carry more meaning to me, and I can connect to them better, unlike the
pictures of still things like streets and buildings. I would like to
begin moving away from still and into the state of continual momentum
in all the photos I take.
But occasionally even still objects speak. If these cow legs could
speak, I think they would say “This is so not cool. To just be hanging
around here like this”. But locals do love meat here. Madrid… the city
of meat…
I am going to visit Toledo tomorrow. It is an old capital of Spain and
a city rich in medieval history. I think I can take some great pictures
there. It is only a few hours bus ride from Madrid, so this will make a
good day trip!
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Written by Vita Drakonia
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Sunday, 24 September 2006 09:37 |
Yesterday was September 23 “Noche En Blanco” (Night of White). This is
the night when everyone in the city comes out to dance and have fun. I
found out about this party and was really excited to check it out…
I figured this might be a good event. It was free and I knew some of
the DJ’s on the flyer. My expectations were exceeded by far. This was
probably one of the best free outdoor city events I have ever been to.
I would estimate that about 5,000 people showed up. The venue was
broken up into three areas. Huge tent and two gorgeous buildings like
one below served as dancing stages that fit few thousand people each…
Inside of the structure it looked something like this. Décor was
awesome and they really put a lot of effort into the event especially
considering it was free admission.
And here is the area where I danced for most of the night. The VJ did
an amazing job; just take a look at the screens. People smoked a lot of
sweet smelling stuff all around me. No one was getting into any trouble
so I joined in ;)
Party went on till 7am, I left exactly then and as I was walking out
there were about 100 or so Madrid cops lined up by the exit watching
the procession of rave kids and adults alike walking past them. One
thing I found interesting is that I felt safe having these guys around.
They were there to make sure nothing got out of hand, nothing more.
Back in NY if I saw 100 cops waiting for me as I was leaving the party,
I would probably assume it is about to be busted and would run the
opposite direction. But these guys were cool and it seems to me that
authorities here in Spain are way more lax about people having a good
time. And that works for me!
Its 4pm and I just had breakfast. Eggs and fries at this café. It was
yummy, especially since I danced for good 8 hours and my only food was
ice cream at 7am. I will hop online shortly to do some deliveries and
catch up on UO stuff. Then if any time is left I would like to walk
around and explore the city some more at night!
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