super calatrava-rohe-mira exposition

So for our final day in Barcelona (pronounced "barth-eh-lonah" in castallano) we decided to make our way to the Parc de Montjuic. It was the only part of the city that remained for us to see. First up to the Fundacio' Joan Miro (a museum dedicated to his work). For those of you who are familiar with his work you can imagine why we might be excited to see the collection; However, we should have given ourselves a little more time as they close at 14:15 on sundays... something about that magic quarter hour marker I suppose???



Once at the top of the Montjuic we had a most amazing view of the city. There really are very few places where one can take in the vast density of this little catalan town.



After a lite lunch at the museum cafe (i won't mention the cranky staff) we headed past the gardens toward some of the remnants of the summer olympics which are also located in the park. It was great to see the torch designed by Santiago Calatrava, a Spanish architect who has made himself famous for structurally magnificent gestures.



Once off the top of the hill we were serendipitously surprised to be staring at the Barcelona Pavillion (currently known as the Pavello de Mies Ven De Rohe). This is one of the seminal works of modern architecture. Originally built in 1929 for the world exposition in Barcelona and reconstructed in 1986 after several attempts by the city... Let's just say we were both thrilled









So after an hour or so of sketching thumbnails of that little shack I like to call "arch-i-licious" we started back to the east end of town running into yet another of the ubiquitous "bicing" rentals... super cool, and kinda cute too.



A quick trip into the lobby of Jean Novel's contribution to the barcelona skyline and it was back to the dream to get some rest. Tomorrow we head back on the Renfe to the southern tip of Spain, across the straights and into Morocco. Bring on the mint tea!

do not touch the fruit!

Yesterday morning we took a walk to the beach, a short distance from the place we are staying. What a nice way to start the day. The waves were huge! It was exciting to see the Mediterranean Sea.





After we were dressed and ready for the day, we headed out to the Museum of Contemporary Art. The building itself was designed by Richard Meier (one of Josh’s favorite architects). We enjoyed the exhibits, but we both agreed that the building was the true work of art.







When we left I was a little hungry, we were walking by a small market and saw some clementines…yum! I grabbed a couple and headed to the register to pay for them…I then got yelled at by the store owner…time out…remember Josh’s incident the other day in Madrid when he was yelled at for smelling clementines? Weird. I put them back and ran away. (more later)

On to La Segrada Familia, hard to believe this structure has been under construction for 100 years! I guess we’re not allowed to complain about our construction schedules any longer.



We walked around, saw some shops, had dinner and headed back to “the dream” (The Barcelona Dream Hostel).

p.s. Josh loves Spanish Dumpsters.



This morning we went in search of the local Arts and Crafts Market. Accidentally we stumbled upon a food market instead. We decided to walk through and check it out…they had fruit! Yay! Everything was displayed beautifully. Josh decided to take some pictures of figs, as he went to snap the shot, the lady covered up her figs! What? What is with people and their fruit here? Apparently fruit is a matter of national security.





We went to the Picasso Museum today. I was amazed to learn that over 3500 pieces of work were left to the museum. What an amazing collection!




After we left the Picasso Museum, we went over to the Textile Museum to check its hours. When we headed down the very narrow alley to get some dinner we were intercepted by a loud parade, but not just any parade, a parade with 20’ tall characters…it appeared as though the royals from the movie Shrek had invaded Spain…scary!



Tomorrow is our last day in Barcelona.

livin' the dream

This is the train station.



This is us on the train.



This is the bus.



This is Bree... on the bus.


No, I'm not speaking of the American dream, but the Barcelona Dream, yes, that is the name of the youth hostel that we checked into today. We feel like we checked into our new dorms in college...what fun!

Our day started out with breakfast (we finally got our clementines) at our hotel in Madrid. After we ate we headed to catch the train to Barcelona. Everything went smoothly until we noticed everyone getting off the train except us...but we weren't in Barcelona. Once we inquired, we found out that the train tracks were broken and we could go no further...seriously? Yes! So they put us on buses and we made our way to dreamland safely.

Our hostel is basic, but comfortable, and very clean...which is nice. The party is just getting started here, and we are ready to turn in for the night. Busy day tomorrow..although drinking heavily with 18 year olds is tempting.

pumpkin power

Last week I posted pictures of Harry Potter themed pumpkins our firm decorated to enter into a pumpkin contest at the Shriners Hospital. Ill children were the judges, and on Monday night, they awarded our pumpkins first prize. Harry and friends made it into the Deseret Morning News! Check it out here.

oh my darlin' clementine

So, we made it out of bed this morning. I really think I could have slept all day. The colds that we both have are slowing us down a little, but not stopping our fun.

After I woke up this morning, Josh kindly offered to get me breakfast, he went in search of yogurt and fruit. Strolling through the local supermarket, he came across Clementine oranges...yum! He picked one up to smell it and he was verbally attacked...en espanol of course...ha! DO NOT EVER SMELL PRODUCE IN SPAIN! Needless to say I didn't get my clementine...oh you're lost and gone forever, oh my darlin' clementine. :(

We had tapas for dinner, it was great! Fried green tomatoes with goat cheese and potato and pork dumplings with tomato and pesto sauce.

We had a beautiful day in Madrid. Tomorrow we to take the train to Barcelona. We are very excited to get there.

More tomorrow.

most beautiful site in spain so far

This was a really amazing site to see upon arriving. We have spent most of our time here so far, and we love it! I think I'll go back tonight.

ciao!

What a way to start the week...tomorrow morning we fly to Madrid, Spain to begin our long anticipated adventure! We promise we will post as often as we can, so check back regularly.

birds of a feather

This year at work, the Interior Designers at our office decided to participate in a pumpkin decorating contest for the Shriners Hospital. Children there will be selecting their favorite pumpkins. Our theme was Harry Potter. Harry is made out of a pumpkin, and Hedwig (the Owl) is an acorn squash! The news will be there on Monday night...this could be our big 15 seconds of fame. If you can't tell, the image on top is our entry, the bottom image is a photo from the movie. You can hardly tell them apart!

easy as 1,2,3

Welcome to our blog, the little window into life at 123 house. Please drop in any time, we will try and update as often as possible.