A Few Busy Days...

Tuesday and today were a rough few days. Having just gotten back from Italy on Monday, we leave for our class trip to Morocco tomorrow!!! As much as the whole class is looking forward to the trip, there has been a good bit to do before leaving. Seeing that the Muslim culture in Morocco doesn’t look too highly upon tight clothing that most of us are accustomed to, Lindsey and I went on a shopping trip with Hawra who, being Muslim, was about to help inform our decisions on what would be appropriate to wear while in Morocco. Aside from needing to go on a shopping adventure, last week, Christi cancelled our sketching class so that we would be able to finish our studio work—but asked us to promise in return to dedicate these two days to sketching. Consequently, we spent from about 9:00am each morning until late afternoon walking through Barcelona and sketching at various sites.
On Tuesday, we visited Montjuic where a large cemetery, the Olympic village, the Botanical Gardens, and the Barcelona Pavilion are located. While here, our primary focus was in the cemetery at a memorial park. Here, we looked at the procession into and out of the space. Today, we went down to the water. The weather, as with yesterday, was perfect—sunny and warm. While we sketched up on the walkway, there were old men basking in the sun on the beach below, along with some younger people playing volleyball. Our focus for sketching today was the revitalization and integration of parts of Barcelona. This integration is known as 22@.
We ended the day at Glories, an outdoor shopping center, where we were able to find clothes appropriate for our trip.

Adventures through Milan!

After saying goodbye to my grandparents in Sicily, I ventured to Milan, Italy by myself for the day. At first, I was excited about spending the day in Milan; however, when I made my plans, I failed to think about the fact that I would be in Italy the day after Easter, and Easter’s a big deal in Italy! It’s a tradition in Italy to have a barbeque on Easter Monday, and I supposed that’s where most people in Milan were. Once I landed in Milan, I decided the first place I wanted to go was the Duomo—the second largest cathedral in the world. It was extraordinary. Even though it was being cleaned and there was scaffolding over much of the front façade, I was still able to imagine the full facade.
Despite that nearly all of the shops in the area were closed, the placa in front of the cathedral, Placa de Duomo, was filled with people. The benches surrounding the statue in the center was filled on the three sides with sunlight while children climbed up on to the fountain. Adjacent to the placa was an outdoor, covered, shopping center that formed an axis with the elements of the placa. Additionally, on the side opposite the shopping center was a façade that mirrored the shopping center façade. This mirroring affect gave Placa de Duomo an effective border. It was interesting to see how people moved through this space. Seeing that there was a sole statue in such a large space, it appeared that visitors still formed static places of their own.

After spending some time in Placa de Duomo, I decided to see if I could see the panting of The Last Supper. After wandering through the city and finally finding the monastery that housed the fresco, I was disappointed to find out that admission for the day was sold out.
From here, I wasn’t sure what to do next, so I started to wander. While I was walking down one of the streets, a sculpture caught my eye. Once I arrived at the space, I noticed that there were two sculptures that went together. On one side of the street was a threaded needle. On the other side of the street was the knotted end of the thread inside of a fountain. The sculpture was planned such that it looked as if the needle was pulling the thread beneath the street and out on the other side. The context which the fountain and sculpture were set in were such that they divided a larger road into smaller streets leading off into different directions. As for the use of the space, it was a sunny and warm day; therefore, a few people sat on the edges of the fountain. Across the street where the needle poked out of the ground was a metro station, which was occupied by metro riders awaiting their trains, as well as relaxing in the sun.
The sculpture in the area was a nice way to attract people’s attention when looking for the Cadorna metro station. It served as a landmark or reference point for visitors new to the city.

Roots in Italy

Back from Easter Break, which was the best Easter I've ever had!! I finally got to go to Sicily where my Grandfather is from and learn about some of my heritage.

It started off a little rough--it was my first time flying/traveling by myself, and when I landed in Trapani airport in Sicily, it was a bit of an ordeal figuring out how to meet up with Nonni and Nonno! However,everything worked out and we began our great Easter weekend together! Once we arrived in Balestrate, we walked around the town, and down to _____ for dinner and had the best pizza I've ever had!

On Good Friday, we went to Montelepre for an Easter procession through the streets of the town. People dressed up in costumes portraying scenes from both the Old and New testaments. It was almost a live Stations of the Cross type of event. Some people said they participate as their penance--it was a cold night and many of the participants had minimal clothing! Oh, and before the procession--we had the most AMAZING pasta I've ever had in my life! Fresh pasta noodles and delicious eggplant!

On Saturday, we went to Monreale to the Cathedral. The exterior has been changed throughout time periods, similar to the mosques our class visited while in southern Spain. The interior of the Cathedral was gorgeous! Gold leaf EVERYWHERE! Although the church was beautiful; I think I was almost more amused by the plaza in front of the church. There were two staircases that lead below the plaza to bathrooms we had to pay to use!! There were skylights cut into the patio to allow light into each stall. I found it to be a nice way to add toilets to a public space without obstructing the view!

Finally, my Easter break ended in Partinico for Easter mass. Partinico is where my Great Grandfather was raised. The church we went to mass at is the church where he and my Great Grandmother were both baptized. Seeing where my family is from was an incredible experience. To make the experience even more worth while, being in Sicily with my grandparents gave me the opportunity for the first time in 22 years that I was one on one with my grandparents!! Along with that came a few experiences that I am their only grandchild who has experienced. Until this trip, I had never heard my grandfather speak in Italian/Sicilian, not even my mom has heard it! It was incredible to see where my family’s roots are and have a connection to a place outside of the U.S.!

On Sunday night, we went down the street to say goodbye to a few of my grandparents friends who own a restaurant down the street from the B&B we stayed at. The family was incredibly nice, and even though I didn’t speak Italian and they didn’t speak English, we found a way to bond, and I certainly miss them!
Monday morning, bright and early, I headed for Milan to spend the day before returning home to Barcelona!

GOING TO MOROCCO!!!

Today we were told our hotel accomodations and other miscellaneous information about our upcoming class trip to Morocco! Our hotel is amazing!! There are only 12 rooms in the building and our group is occupying 10 of them! We basically have the place to ourselves. Not only that, but there is an Arab bath, similar to what we did in Cordoba, as part of the hotel complex. For your viewing pleasure, here's the link to where we will be staying:

http://www.dar-alandalous.com/

After being told this information, the entire group got even more excited than we all already are to be going to AFRICA! We're not only conquering Europe while we're here, but going to a whole other continent! The experience there will be quite different, but in a good way! None of us are used to the Muslim culture, and in Morocco, we've been told it's pretty intense. The guys have it easy, but 90% of the girls have to do some shopping! Our tight "skinny jeans" and low cut shirts are not going to suffice on this trip! Baggy pants and loose fitting shirts have been added to the shopping list! Hawra, one of my roommates, is from Kawait and when she went there to visit her family over Spring Break, she brough vails back for all the girls! We tried them on one night in the apartment...they're hot, as Hawra would say!
In the picture from left to right is me, Kristen, Hawra (the only one who can really pull off the look!), Jessie, and Stacey. We'll see if they become necessary while in Morocco! Everyone is excited to be going, but a little unsure about what to expect as far as clothing, food, and the rest of the atmosphere in general. All in all, it will be a fascinating experience!

Palm Sunday in Barcelona!

This evening a few of us went to church for Palm Sunday at Catedral de Barcelona. We didn't really understand much of the service, but it was still a good intent of being at mass! Palm Sunday mass was a little different here in a number of ways. First, NO PALMS!!! I missed getting them when walking into the church and making the palms into crosses like when I was a kid. I guess that just made us pay more attention to trying to understand the mass that was being said in Spanish (difference number two!). Additionally, because the Cathedral is somewhat of a tourist spot, while mass was being said, there were tourists walking around other parts of the church taking pictures and other touristy things. They were quiet and respectful of the mass though.
Aside from the mass and on the topic of outdoor public spaces, I was surprised to see that the plaza in front of the church was not as full and eventful as I have seen it on other sundays. On most days, the area is full of people shopping in the area, stopping for a rest, skateboarding, etc. On sunday mornings especially, there are many different activities going on; however, on what I thought would be an eventful sunday in front of such a prominant church, the plaza was disappointingly empty. This shows how a public space can change from day to day and that even though a space seems lively on one day, the next day or week it could be as dull and boring as if the space is never used for anything more than a passageway.

Switching Gears....

So, now that it's been over a month since my last post--yikes--hopefully I can now make it into a daily routine!

As part of the classes I'm taking here in Barcelona, each student was asked to pick a topic about the city to follow and analyze. The focus of the studio we take here is urban design and a lot about how the open spaces between the buildings is designed. Therefore, the topic I chose to look in to is the way that the urban spaces are used.

In Barcelona, there are many spaces whos functions change by the time of day. In the morning, a space could be empty; in the afternoon, it may be filled with sunlight and street performers; by the evening, it could either of theses two scenarios, or even something completely different. Each urban space in the city has a mysterious function that is forever changing.
From here on out, this topic will be the main focus of my blog; although, there will still be comments about interesting daily occurences!!

Spring Break '08...did someone say GREECE?

Three days in Athens: the Acropolis; six days on the island of Santorin: the Agean Sea, and white houses with blue roves--who could ask for more?!

Our first day in Athens--out to lunch at a restaurant near our AMAZING hostel!

(Mike, Jessie, Me--on the other side of the table were Lindsey, Alwin, and Josh)

The Stoa in the Ancient Greek Agora!

THE PARTHENON!!

The 2000 Olympic Stadium...CALATRAVA!!!

Our ferry to Santorini!