Roma vs. Barcelona

After returning from Rome, I compared Rome and Barcelona because every architecture student has to chose between the two.

ROMA

BARCELONA

There's one modern building in the entire city, done by Richard Meyer

Richard Meyer is your neighbor

Peter Keating would go to Rome

Howard Roark would go to Barcelona

As far as Studio, it's heated with a library and computer lab

Cold, powerless studio that gets broken into

You get to live on the Campo

Live on Plaza Universitat

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

$$$$$$$$

Be surrounded by the foundations and classics of architecture

Have a mixture of classic and modern

You can read the Menu

Catalan is Confusing

Mussolini

Franco

The 3B's

Art Nuvo

People sell you roses and knick-knacks

People sell you beer and hash

GELATERIA

PANADERIA

Spumante / Prosecco

Cava

Dirty

BC NETA (clean)

Built on Hills, with man-made aquaducts

Surrounded be mountains and rivers

The Colosseum

Bullfighting

Testaccio

Port Olympic

Capuccino

Cafe con leche

Tap water

Zumo de Naranja

Declining Italian Population

Little babies everywhere

Overall I think Barcelona wins, even though Rome is awesome too.

Okay, I'm a little biased.

Romulus and Remus

We left on Friday morning to go to Rome. We had an awesome trip and the weekend was well worth the amount of work I have to do to catch up from being gone 2 weekends in a row. I think we picked the best possible weekend to go. Quoting Irene, "It's like God wanted us to love Rome."

After landing we checked into our hostel and met up with the other architecture students in Rome and my friend Tom and some other Catholic students in Rome. We went to the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.

The coolest thing about the Trevi fountain is that it grows out of the building behind it and actually forms some of the stairs and benches in the piazza around it.

Everyone knows that the best Gelato in Rome is found near the Trevi fountain, but I feel like no one knows which one of the Gelateria's is actually the best. We got some that was supposedly "the best in Rome" and even if it wasn't, it was muy delicioso. Someone must of had a different opinion and decided to shove their cone into a door, it was stuck by the power of frozen desert.

Saturday was spent completely in the Vatican. This was my favorite part of Rome, even though it's not technically in Rome.

When we got to Piazza San Pietro we had to go through metal detectors (which apparently isn't common) because there was some sort of festival and performance with children from all over the world, but we never figured out exactly what it was for, unfortunately this meant we only got to spend a couple minutes in Saint Peter's Cathedral.

But it was all worth it because we got to stand about 10 feet from the Pope. (video coming soon)

The Pope-mobile completely surprised me, it's a G-wagon. G-Wagon= Mercedes Benz Gelandawagen, which is an off-roading little truck that you only find being driven by Gangsters in the US.
The plan of the Piazza looks like it is some beast opening its jaws to eat you (i drew in teeth) maybe I just have something against the oval in plan.

The Vatican was different than I thought it was going to be because the art was the building itself. For the most part it was not about looking at a picture in a frame, it was looking at an entire room that was frescoed by Davinci or some other genius; the building itself was the art. Like Britain, there were artifacts and artwork from everywhere that the Romans conquered, there's an entire Egyptian exhibit. It was cool to see all of the Renaissance artwork that you see copies of so often, but it is definitely coolest because those artists were the ones that actually figured out how to paint in perspective, and you can tell when they were still working out the kinks. We even saw a piece of LeCorbusier's artwork. All the rooms of the museum are impressive and you could definitely spend an infinite amount of time exploring the exhibits but their whole thing's really a teaser for the Sistine chapel; maybe this is why I found the Sistine chapel a little disappointing.
Leaving the Museum we walked down this ramping, cylindrical stair case that reminded me of the Guggenheim, so I looked up to find out when it was made and found that it was made in the 1930's which is bizarre because that's the same time that the New York Guggenheim was designed by Wright, but because Rome hates everything modern the two look nothing alike. There are actually two of these cylindrical ramps and the original one was used in cases of emergency because horses could run up and down them, so that's where the design came from.

We walked to Campo de Fiori along Tiber River and saw more of the city at night.

The other architecture students in Rome live in Campo de Fiori, which is a really lively plaza with a dark past. It used to be where executions took place during the Roman Inquisition and one of the last people to be executed in the piazza was the philosopher Giodorno Bruno, who was burnt alive in the very spot where his statue stands now. This is probably one of the creepiest statues that I've ever seen in a plaza, Tom commented that he looks like a Sith from Star Wars.

Saturday night we explored Testaccio, one of the areas on the edge of the old city.

Sunday we walked around the Colosseum and the Forum and visited the Piazza del Campidoglio, and the San Carlo alle Quatro.
We didn't pay the money to go into the Colosseum but we did walk around and meet a few characters, including a model and her agent. The day was too beautiful to stay inside.
I sampled some of Rome's famous water that still runs through some of the aqueducts. It was surprisingly refreshing.

San Carlo alle Quatro and the four fountains are still beautiful now, but they must have felt completely different before the car. The roads had to be widened to allow traffic to flow so there is now ZERO public space around the church and the fountains, and like every other marble building the church is now black with soot and grime, just like everything around it. Rome is pretty dirty and needs to put more money into its cleaning crew.

Sunday night we went to mass in a church where all the young American priests who are studying in Rome stay. It was on one of the seven hills that Rome is built on and we had a great view of the city. It was funny though because you would see a group of young American guys walking to dinner after mass and then realize that a few of them were wearing their collars.

So the trip was perfect....

Then we got home Sunday night and found bed-bugs in our hostel. That put a damper on the night and flying home on Monday morning. But I still Love you Rome.

London Calling

I had to do the corny London photo with the phone booth, i couldn't resist. I stayed with some of my old roommates from Catholic in London for a long weekend and had a blast.

The first day I went to the sight that all three of my teachers could agree was the biggest must see for an architect in London. The Sir John Soane Museum. Soane was one of England's greatest Architects. He died in 1837 and left the house as a public Museum. There are collections of artifacts from all over the world and architectural paintings that Soane either collected or sponsored. The house itself is designed with artifacts of other building. Soane understood light and was able to light all the levels of his house including a subterranean "crypt." His dog is buried in the backyard, but apparently he would tell guests that it was an old monk's grave.

My next stop was the British Museum where I got to see pieces of the Parthenon that the British stole on one of their colonizing sprees. I also got to see the original Rosetta stone and took a rubbing of a reproduction. I sat down to try to sketch the addition which was done by the same architect who did the Portrait Gallery extension in DC, Norman Foster. But every time I would move my pencil a different English person would come up to me and start talking. One woman came up to me and asked me if I spoke English and started telling me about the old reading room but her accent was so thick I could hardly understand her, even though we spoke the same language. Another gentleman came up to me and when I spoke to him he was like "Oh, you're American, I can tell by your twaaang," I guess he found it necessary to tell me about my twang. And the last straw was a guy from Madrid who felt it necessary to tell me his life story, oh the people that museums attract (especially the free ones.)

When I got back to Christine's Flat after looking for sketch books and having a terrible experience on the tube, Jose had sent me flowers for Valentine's Day. It was really sweat of him, but only three were able to make it back to Barcelona with me.

I never realized how much the industry of London or of any city has ruined the pre-motor vehicle architecture that still exists until this trip. On my trip to Rome I saw it even more. But London was particularly effected during the Industrial Revolution and some of the buildings still haven't been washed. This one was washed but you can see how the recent air pollution has effected it.

A Modern attempt at an arcade near St. Paul's, I give it props.

Christine and I spent hours in the Tate Modern, which used to be a turbine factory and was converted into a modern art museum. It was a prime location in London, on the Thymes. I can't imagine what the area used to feel like before the old industrial building was renovated. One of the pieces is a giant crack in the floor that takes up the whole expanse of the museum. I'm not sure how I feel about it; I should research if there was already a crack in the original floor that was turned into art or if it was random, that would effect my opinion.

If London Bridge is Falling Down than City Hall must be Blowing Over
The Tower Bridge


Protected Graffiti; since it has a covering, there were some crazy colors of paint, including glittery silver.

It was fun to see all of the places that are written about in stories taking place in London. Harry Potter, Paddington Bear, Sweney Todd, Oliver Twist, etc.

My Hostesses for the weekend, Christine and Danielle and their friend from London.

London, I'll Love You Forever....

Post Carnival

Giant Puppets and Dancing

You would think that right after lent starts, Spain (a verry Catholic country) would be a solemn place. But apparently the Feast day of the Patron Saint of Barcelona, Saint Eulalia perks up their spirits. Saint Eulalie was martyred at the age of 13 (which is why there are 13 butresses on the Barcelona Cathedral). She keeps sailors and boatmen safe and was interred in Santa Maria del Mar.

Te Amo Barcelona

A Holiday in Spain

Southern Spain was amazing

First we traveled to Madrid, (Plaza Mayor)

Second was Cordoba (The Mesquite)

Third: Granada (La Alhambra)

and Fourth: Sevilla (Real Alcazar de Sevilla)







MADRID was kind of rainy but the day we went to Plaza Mayor was nice, if you found a place to sketch in the sun (it ment risking sitting in bird poop though).

EJ and Christy found some sun

The Picasso exhibit in the MCARS where the Guernica is housed was closed, we still got to sketch in the museo and parts of the extension to the museum were nice, just not so much the cafe. I would like to go back to Madrid, because as of now I don’t love it , but I think it was just because of our experience and I could love it, just not as much as Barcelona.

We ate Chinese food and watched the Super Bowl in a Packed Irish Pub. The Giants won! It was ridiculous. But even the Giants winning couldn’t take the cake compared to our walk through a park in Madrid where Adrienne gave us botany lessons and Eric and Christy gave us architecture lessons of course. My favorite thing about Madrid though had to be the Metro Tickets, they were little and pink.

CORDOBA was beautiful; we went to the Mesquite a.k.a. the Cathedral of Cordoba. I never realized how many times control of Spain waffled between the Islamic Empire and the Catholics until we traveled to Cordoba and were able to see how the Cathedral had been expanded over the years. There’s a very romantic story behind the creation of the Mesquite and the vibrancy of the city which you feel while walking down every narrow street. This is probably one of the most romantic cities I’ve ever been to (if anyone’s looking for a honeymoon recommendation than check it out.)

This was the first place I’ve ever run into Gypsies before, I didn’t even think they realy existed any more until the gaggle of women came over to our taxi and tried to shove Rosemary in our hand so we’d give them money.
We got to be pampered for a night in the largest remaining and still in use Arab baths in Europe. That was my first professional massage I’ve ever received (besides from Irene) and in combination with jumping from warm to hot to cold pools, I’ve never been so relaxed.

The weather was gorgeous in Cordoba, except in the Mesquite which was icy cold due to the stone construction. The food in Cordoba was decent, I had some authentic cuisine one night, but I had Burger Kind another, that was the first time I ate fast food in Europe, it wasn’t too bad, some stuff was better than home.

GRANADA was also gorgeous and the great weather followed us from Cordoba along with the romantic aura. We got to watch the sunset over the Alhambra, which had another romantic story to go with its creation.

Hawra wrote in Arabic in my sketchbook, I think any alphabet that you cannot read is gorgeous, they use it as a decoration on the walls of the Alhambra, and other Islamic buildings. They write “There is only one God” and other excerpts from the Koran. I also find the patterns and shapes used in Islamic design intriguing and tried to figure out one of the patterns I saw. There is a huge Islamic influence over the entire city which you can see in everything from what they sell in the stores to

To me, Granada is more real than Cordoba. Cordoba is quaint and romantic an tiny, but Granada is somewhere you can actually live, it’s more of a metropolis and less of a tourist attraction, at least when you get away from the Alhambra.

At night we went to a Flamenco show, it was like some college-age, maybe a little older group of friends that had one dancer, one singer and one guitarist. It was cozy and inspiring, it made me realize that I love it when it sounds like a woman is going to cry in the middle of the song she is singing. That’s the kind of voice that you need to sing Flamenco music because it is so emotional. I never knew this, but Christy told us that in real Flamenco dancing, the singer follows the steps of the dancer and as the dancer speeds up or becomes more dramatic, the singer does the same.


SEVILLA was greate, I think I love any city that's on the water. The first day we got to explore on our own and made our way to the river walk. There was a regatta with teams from around the world and I cheared on one of the english doubles. I would love to row under all the beautiful, some Calatrava-esk bridges in Sevilla.

We explored the Royal Palace in Sevilla and the Cathedral Sevilla which had also undergone the same Cathedral-Mosque-Cathedral transformation that we saw earlier in Granada and Cordoba. Christopher Columbus is burried in the Cathedral.

We had some of the most amazing food near the hotel in Sevilla, we listened to the waiter and got what he recomended, beef with olive oil and roasted potatoes, that was probably one of the most delicious meals I've ever eaten and even writing this now, I crave them. That night we got to sit on the roof of our hotel for dinner and drink wine remeniscing about our trip with a view of the Cathedral.