Street Zitherists

When I was in Barcelona last month, I was fortunate enough to hear two women playing hammer-zithers, also known as cimbaloms. It was first time I had ever heard one being played and while the two women didn't react to applause at all or interact with the audience, I found their singularly focused attention on their instruments peaceful and meditative. It was definitely a very cool experience and one that I will remember for quite a while. 

Geneva, Switzerland

On Friday, April 29, I visited Geneva, Switzerland as a requirement for two of my classes this semester: International Political Economy and International and Supranational Governance of the 21st Century. Despite having to get up early (5:00am), I was able to get some sleep on the train to Geneva. When we arrived, we immediately made our way to WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), where we listened to a presentation followed by a question and answer session. After the WIPO, we ate our packed lunches as we walked to the WTO. At the WTO we listened to another presentation and interestingly enough, we were there the day that the chairman of the general council addressed the members of the WTO on the status of the Doha round of negotiation, so we got to see a lot of diplomats and interesting things going on. 

After our meetings we had some free time to explore the city. Some of my friends and I got some caffeinated beverages and snacks and then went exploring around Lake Geneva, where we saw the famous Jet D'Eau, also know as the Geneva Water Jet. Afterward, we meet up with the group again to walk around the Old City, which was gorgeous. By the time we finished with that, it was time to buy sandwiches for dinner and wait for our train back to Paris. Overall, despite only having a day in Geneva, it was really cool to see everything, and now I can say I have been to Switzerland!

Check out this tourist video I found about Geneva. Despite being cliché, I feel like it adequately summarizes what I saw. Enjoy!

Rodin

A couple weeks ago I visited the Rodin Museum in Paris during my lunch break. I have never really understood Rodin or his artistic philosophy, but after seeing the progression of his style and learning about his inspirations, I am now officially a fan. Instead of providing you with bibliographic details, which you can find for yourself via Google, I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes by Rodin as well as some photos of my visit to the museum.

“If the artist only reproduces superficial features as photography does, if he copies the lineaments of a face exactly, without reference to character, he deserves no admiration. The resemblance which he ought to obtain is that of the soul.”

“There is nothing ugly in art except that which is without character, that is to say, that which offers no outer or inner truth.”

“Art is contemplation. It is the pleasure of the mind which searches into nature and which there divines the spirit of which Nature herself is animated.”

 “There are unknown forces in nature; when we give ourselves wholly to her, without reserve, she lends them to us; she shows us these forms, which our watching eyes do not see, which our intelligence does not understand or suspect.”

 “I invent nothing, I rediscover.”

Alhambra

The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex constructed during the mid 14th century by the Moorish rulers of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus, occupying the top of the hill of the Assabica on the southeastern border of the city of Granada in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia. The Alhambra's Moorish palaces were built for the last Muslim Emirs in Spain and its court, of the Nasrid dynasty. After the Reconquest by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492 the Christian rulers used some portions of the palace complex. In addition, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, built a Renaissance style palace with the Nasrid fortification in 1527.

After being allowed to fall into disrepair for centuries, the Alhambra was "discovered" in the 19th century by European scholars and travelers, and restorations commenced shortly after. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions, exhibiting the country's most significant and well-known Islamic architecture, together with 16th-century and later Christian building and garden interventions. The Alhambra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the inspiration for artists and authors, the most famous of which is Washington Irving’s Tales of the Alhambra, which is now on my summer reading list, and also the artist and mathematician M. C. Escher whose famous tessellations were inspired by the Moorish use of symmetry in the tiles at the Alhambra (There is currently an exhibition of Escher’s work in the Palace of Charles V).

I have wanted to visit the Alhambra since I first learned about it a couple years ago, when I studied Asian and Medieval Architecture. Despite some minor difficulties with logistics planning, I am happy to say that the visit was one of my favorite experiences during my study abroad this semester. Once we arrived, my friends and I deciding to leisurely explore starting in the Generalife Gardens, followed by the Nasrid fortifications known as the Alcazaba, the Palace of Charles V, and finally the most famous Nasrid palace. I hope the photos I captured do justice to the beautiful gardens and arabesque architecture. Enjoy!

Alcaiceria

Upon arrival to Granada, while wandering through the streets surrounding Granada's cathedral, my friends and I came upon a little market, or alcaiceria, in the the old moorish quarter known as the Albaicin. The color and variation of all of the bins and baskets of spices, herbs, dried fruits, and teas were breathtakingly beautiful and the aromas were intoxicating sweet. 

The name of this market, the alcaiceria, literally means the "house of Caesar" in recognition of the fact that Emperor Justinian granted the Moors permission to sell silk. In fact, the Alpujarra mountain range near Granada, is famous as the location where silkworms feasted on the leaves of the Mulberry trees and from where the raw material was then transported by mules, to Granada and then woven and sold at the bazaar alongside ceramics, porcelains, and a whole host of other things imported from the Middle East.  

Today, while there remain a handful of authentic spice merchants, the rest of the market is now dominated by interesting, but cliché, souvenir shops that don’t actually sell many authentic local crafts. For example, most of the products were made in India including everything from Kaftans to jeweled slippers, skin drums to silver teapots, and colored tea glasses to leather bags. Despite this minor disappoinment, it was interesting to wander around the area where the old bazaar once stood before it was destroyed by a fire in 1843.

Giverny

I will eventually post blog entries on Granada, the Alhambra, and the Rodin Museum in Paris, however in honor of Easter Sunday, I decided to jump ahead and post these photos of my visit to Monet's Giverny. Enjoy!

Sevilla

After Barcelona, some of my friends and I continued on to Seville for a more relaxed vacation. We arrived on Sunday afternoon and after checking into the hotel we decided to go walk along the river. During our walk we saw the Golden Tower, riverboat cruise ships, gorgeous flowers, orange trees, the bull fighting arena, and colorful architecture. After a while, we became thirsty, so we stopped at a market nearby and got gelato, which we enjoyed on the banks of the river, coincidentally a very good place to people watch. It was interesting to note that the cultural mannerisms in Southern Spain were very much different than those in Barcelona and reminded me an awful lot of the culture in Central and South America.

After this break, we walked further and scoped out the location of the bus station, which we would need the next day to go to Granada. After this we found a good place for dinner, which surprisingly consisted on bruschetta, sandwich wraps with avocado, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, and sour cream, and a pitcher of Sex on a Beach cocktail. After that we headed back to the hotel to prepare for our early morning departure for our day trip to Granada (more on that later). 

On Monday, we returned in the late evening. Finally, on Tuesday, we really explored Seville, including the Cathedral, the Alcazaba, gelato snacks, and Tex Mex for dinner. My favorite parts of the day were the Treasury at the Cathedral and the Gardens at the Alcazaba. Overall, Seville had a much more relaxed environment and it was a joy to explore.

The Magic Fountain of Montjuic

On my second night in Barcelona, I visited the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc with a friend and her sister. All the variations of colors and waterworks were breathtaking. I had never seen anything like it before. The Magic Fountain of Montjuïc is a fountain located in the Montjuïc neighborhood of Barcelona, below the Palau Nacional on the Montjuïc hill and near the Plaça d'Espanya. The fountain designed by Carles Buigas was constructed for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. The construction project utilized over 3,000 workers. The first show took place on May 19, 1929, the day before the start of the Exposition. The fountain was badly damaged in the Spanish Civil War and did not operate until 1955, after Buigas oversaw needed repairs. In the 1980s, music was incorporated with the light show and the fountain was completely restored prior to the 1992 Summer Olympics at Montjuïc.

 

Music: "Barcelona" by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé

Gaudi

Antoni Gaudi was a Catalan architect and the best-known representative of Catalan Modernism, similar to the French Art-Nouveau style of architecture. Gaudi’s inspiration beyond his style can be found in a variety of different art and architecture including oriental arts from India, Persia, and Japan and the French neo-gothic movement, with which he incorporated his own elements including naturalistic forms based on places he had visited in Spain. All these influences are reflected in Gaudi’s work including the use of geometrical forms such as the hyperbolic paraboloid, the hyperboloid, the helicoid and the cone, as well as his signature catenary curve. In addition to stone forms, stain glass, iron, and carpentry, Gaudi is also well know for his incorporation of ceramic tiles, which adorn many of his buildings, adding an often forgotten dimension to his buildings - the use of color. The combination of all these elements in Gaudi's work give the viewer a truly breathtaking visual experience. 

During my trip to Barcelona, I visited two of Gaudi’s masterpieces—Sagrada Família and Park Güell —and saw a couple others in passing. On my first full day in Barcelona, we visited the Gothic Quarter and the Picasso Museum, got lunch, and then made our way to the Sagrada Família . This magnificent structure has been under construction since 1882 and it's not expected to be completed for another 30 to 80 years, although the current estimated date of completion is 2026, the hundredth anniversary of Gaudi’s Death. Visiting Sagrada Família I truly didn’t know what to expect. I had seen pictures, but I had never been able to really conceptualize what exactly it looked like. When I stepped out of the metro and turned around to see the structure for the first time, however, I admit, I was blown away. I had never seen anything like it in my life. The form, the color, the detail, everything was so different. Walking inside made me feel like I was entering another world reminiscent of the castle in The Little Mermaid.

 

Western Nativity Facade

Eastern Glory Facade

Helicoid Columns Facing North

Hyperboloid vault

Hyperbolic Paraboloid  Windows

Ceiling Above the High Altar

Vignette above the Nativity Façade Main Portal

After Sagrada Familia, we visited Park Güell , which was also designed by Gaudi. I had seen photographs of the park as well as all the souvenir mosaic figurines in the tourist shops, but like Sagrada Familia I was once again surprised by what I discovered. After hiking up a giant hill, we arrived at the top of the park with views of the entire city, including the Sagrada Familia. From there we descended down towards the part that Gaudi designed. When we got there the size and detail of mosaic bench, the longest in the world, was astounding. After taking a break on the bench we decided to descend a little more and discovered a very cool colonnade of columns that when inside resembled being inside a capsizing wave. Next we descended some more underneath the bench overhang and discovered more mosaics that lead us to the entrance to the park and the famous dragon statue. Overall, I loved the combination of innovative structural forms at the park and incorporation of detailed color mosaics.

The Longest Bench in the World

Pavilion 1

Pavilion 2 With 4-Armed Cross

Colonnaded Pathway

The Dragon

Park Entrance

Finally, on our last day in Barcelona, after navigating through road construction and a marathon (I can now halfheartedly say I have run in a marathon), we made it to the airport shuttle and were just settling in when we unexpectedly drove by the Casa Batlló. While I don’t know much about this building, I found it aesthetically beautiful and a perfect end to my visit to Barcelona.

Casa Batlló