Saturday, December 24, 2016
Friday, December 16, 2016
travel lessons in barcelona
we started our nearly three week trip to europe this summer in barcelona, spain. our trip didn't exactly start out the way i envisioned. our first flight was delayed two and half hours, which took our connection in frankfurt from three hours to twenty minutes. and we had to clear customs. we ran through the airport and just made our flight, but of course our bags did not. everyone's bag made it on the next flight except mine. travel lesson #1: always travel with someone who is the same size as you so when the airline loses your bag you have clothes to wear the next day (thanks, jenny!). travel lesson #2: carrying an extra pair of socks and underpants in your carry-on is a pretty good idea. in addition to the travel and baggage fiascos, i got a migraine in the middle of the night. by pure happenstance, i got my bag about 24 hours after we arrived and was spared the agony of having to go clothes shopping...my version of hell.
our time in barcelona was short....we essentially had 24 hours to see the city. our time can be summed up in two words - food and gaudi. antoni gaudi was an architect and artist that defied convention. many of his most famous works, which collectively comprise a UNESCO world heritage site, are located in barcelona. his masterpiece and most famous work is the sagrada familia, an unfinished and unparalleled church. gaudi was an innovator, which was especially apparent in the architecture of sagrada familia. we also visited park guell, an outdoor museum of sorts and gaudi's home.
the church is enormous--on par with most cathedrals--but it is anything like a standard cathedral. from the outside you can see the gothic influence, but it is heavily altered by the art nouveau style. for example, you enter through the nativity facade, which is busy and ornate like many gothic cathedrals.
the passion facade on the opposite side, however, is austere and quite different.
the inside is unlike any other church i have seen. most large gothic churches and cathedrals are DARK inside. the sagrada familia is filled with light and color! the numerous stained glass windows were abstract designs rather than stories from the bible. the columns throughout the church were made of different materials, depending on where they were and their importance. the four columns that hold up the center of the church are made of porphyry and represent the disciples matthew, mark, luke, and john. the columns all branch as they approach the ceiling, providing a dispersed support system for the roof and eliminating the need for flying buttresses. the columns are also meant to look like trees--another example of gaudi bringing nature into his architecture.
our next stop was the barri gothic neighborhood, or old town. the barcelona cathedral is located in this neighborhood and hit all the marks of a conventional cathedral...ornate, dark, and full of biblical symbolism.
last but not least...food. padrone peppers where high on our list of food goals because the peppers originated in the padrone region in spain. we grow them at home and love them, but it seemed fitting to eat them in their native habitat. we found them at a tapas restaurant along with a jug of sangria, which was a great way to spend part of our afternoon.
paella was another must-have and these giant pans of completely melissa-friendly versions did not disappoint. my bag had arrived by this time and my migraine was gone, so dinner was completely enjoyable!
our time in barcelona was short....we essentially had 24 hours to see the city. our time can be summed up in two words - food and gaudi. antoni gaudi was an architect and artist that defied convention. many of his most famous works, which collectively comprise a UNESCO world heritage site, are located in barcelona. his masterpiece and most famous work is the sagrada familia, an unfinished and unparalleled church. gaudi was an innovator, which was especially apparent in the architecture of sagrada familia. we also visited park guell, an outdoor museum of sorts and gaudi's home.
why take the stairs when you can ride the outdoor escalator??
one of the many structures gaudi built while living in park guell
many of the buildings in the park were ornate like this one
(headlines such as: "was gaudi gawdy?" are pretty common)
next up was sagrada familia. gaudi sadly died before he could finish his masterpiece. he worked tirelessly on the design and construction before his untimely death. he had completed the plans for the church and others have continued his labor of love for the last 80 years without modifying gaudi's vision very much. the church is scheduled to be finished by 2026, one hundred years after gaudi's death. one of the many structures gaudi built while living in park guell
many of the buildings in the park were ornate like this one
(headlines such as: "was gaudi gawdy?" are pretty common)
the church is enormous--on par with most cathedrals--but it is anything like a standard cathedral. from the outside you can see the gothic influence, but it is heavily altered by the art nouveau style. for example, you enter through the nativity facade, which is busy and ornate like many gothic cathedrals.
nativity facade - ornate, but pretty typical
the stark passion facade is a dramatic contrast to the nativity one
lovely doors devoted to plants and bugs (bees!)
abstract stained glass windows
branching, tree-like columns supporting the roof
porphyry column in the foreground; sandstone,
marble, and granite columns in the background
marble, and granite columns in the background
three of the four central porphyry columns representing
the disciples matthew, mark, luke, and john
the disciples matthew, mark, luke, and john
we got to go up one of the finished towers to get a closer look at the upper parts of the church. there is still a lot of construction going on, but it was really neat to see the towers and some of the exterior details up close.
getting up close and personal with the towers
color! not traditional for the exterior. this design on this
tower is the wheat and host central to most christian faiths.
therewere others with a chalice and grapes.
therewere others with a chalice and grapes.
stained glass rose window from the outside
our next stop was the barri gothic neighborhood, or old town. the barcelona cathedral is located in this neighborhood and hit all the marks of a conventional cathedral...ornate, dark, and full of biblical symbolism.
barcelona cathedral
ornate chairs in the choir
altar area
beautiful ceiling stonework
spires from the choir rising to the ceiling
i love old doors...
last but not least...food. padrone peppers where high on our list of food goals because the peppers originated in the padrone region in spain. we grow them at home and love them, but it seemed fitting to eat them in their native habitat. we found them at a tapas restaurant along with a jug of sangria, which was a great way to spend part of our afternoon.
paella was another must-have and these giant pans of completely melissa-friendly versions did not disappoint. my bag had arrived by this time and my migraine was gone, so dinner was completely enjoyable!
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
the pacific flyway
a couple of weeks ago i drove to seattle to do some lab work with a colleague of mine. i don't usually drive, but i didn't think the airlines would appreciate a centrifuge, dry ice, and acetone in my carry-on bag.
i've driven that stretch of i-5 numerous times while living on the west coast and i can honestly say that i really enjoy it. well, except for the part from santa cruz to redding. i can usually do without that stretch of traffic and flat land. but this year the bay area was my only nemesis because the pacific flyway was cranking!
the pacific flyway is one of the four major north-south migration corridors that pass through the united states. it actually runs from alaska all the way to patagonia in south america. birds typically migrate along some part of this flyway in the spring and fall to move between feeding and breeding areas. the pacific flyway runs right down the central valley in california. lots of birds use this route (see more of them in a blog post from 2012), but the geese win awards for their numbers and noise.
when i was driving home from seattle, the skies were filled with snow geese and a variant of snow called blue geese. there were also a few fields next to i-5 covered in them, and as luck would have it, the fields were also close to an exit. i couldn't resist...i had to get closer so i could hear the cacophony and see the chaos of hundreds of birds moving around.
i'm no stranger to this sight, and it made me nostalgic about my childhood. i spent many hours of my youth sitting in hunting blinds in northern minnesota with my dad, brother, and one of our trusty black labs waiting for the geese to fly over our heads within shotgun range. truth be told, we spent a lot more time whittling sticks than shooting geese, but the sound of thousands of geese just on the other side of the trees was something magical.... something special enough to warrant getting out of my warm sleeping bag at 5:30 in the morning rain, snow, or shine. or maybe it was the thermos of hot chocolate...
i've driven that stretch of i-5 numerous times while living on the west coast and i can honestly say that i really enjoy it. well, except for the part from santa cruz to redding. i can usually do without that stretch of traffic and flat land. but this year the bay area was my only nemesis because the pacific flyway was cranking!
the pacific flyway is one of the four major north-south migration corridors that pass through the united states. it actually runs from alaska all the way to patagonia in south america. birds typically migrate along some part of this flyway in the spring and fall to move between feeding and breeding areas. the pacific flyway runs right down the central valley in california. lots of birds use this route (see more of them in a blog post from 2012), but the geese win awards for their numbers and noise.
when i was driving home from seattle, the skies were filled with snow geese and a variant of snow called blue geese. there were also a few fields next to i-5 covered in them, and as luck would have it, the fields were also close to an exit. i couldn't resist...i had to get closer so i could hear the cacophony and see the chaos of hundreds of birds moving around.
blue geese
snow geese
i'm no stranger to this sight, and it made me nostalgic about my childhood. i spent many hours of my youth sitting in hunting blinds in northern minnesota with my dad, brother, and one of our trusty black labs waiting for the geese to fly over our heads within shotgun range. truth be told, we spent a lot more time whittling sticks than shooting geese, but the sound of thousands of geese just on the other side of the trees was something magical.... something special enough to warrant getting out of my warm sleeping bag at 5:30 in the morning rain, snow, or shine. or maybe it was the thermos of hot chocolate...
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