Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Sagrada Familia





The Sagrada is a cathedral that has been under construction for over 100 years and will not be completed for another 30.  It is stunning inside and the outside is a master craftsmanship of stone work and design.  A must see.  Put it on the bucket list.  The picture from the Guell Park shows the project.  The finished height will be twice as tall.  The impact architect in charge of the design was Antoni Gaudi from 1893 till he died in 1924.  He took over the project after it was started 10 year or so earlier.
The design on one side is modernist and the opposite side contemporary.



It is hard to pick which side you like more.  Both sides are so impressive.  The intricate detail vs creative design.


The inside of the cathedral is breathtaking the first time you enter.  The natural lighting affects can not be seen in pictures.  Stained glass pulls color from everywhere.  The majestic columns are designed after huge trees.  Two spiral stairs at one end of the cathedral go up 11 twists in an open atrium.





The ceiling is a work of are unlike anything you will see elsewhere.  All the light fixtures are custom made pieces with various forms and shapes representing who knows what.  An anointment sink is a piece of art made from a huge oyster shell.



The Sagrada Familia is a world Heritage Site.


Barca with Dustin

Living in the Peace Corps, far from home, you miss friends and family.  Skype, cell phones, email all have made it much easier to keep in touch than when I was young.  But, there is nothing better than a visit from home.  Dustin flew from San Francisco to Barcelona, Spain where I met him for a holiday in Morocco.  I grinned from ear to ear when I saw him in the airport.  What a treat.  Now if I can get my Mom to come over with Ashlyn or Cindy, that would be just dandy.


I flew into Girona about and hour bus ride North of Barcalona and arrived 3 hours before Dustin.  We arranged to meet at the Naples Cafe across from the central bus station.  Until he was due to arrive I went walkabout in search of adventure and Sangria.  I found it in the Parc de La Cuidadella after walking down the plaza from the Arc de Triomf.
Back to the Naples Cafe and a cold cervesa I was lucky enough to have wireless and connect on Skype with my Mom and could share Barcelona with her for a short time.
Dustin showed up and off we went for Tapas and Vino.  The streets were narrow and quaint with artistic graffiti on many of the storefront roll down doors.  Other doors were too beautiful to paint.



Sunday was game day, after a day cruising the sites, Dali Museum, Picasso Gallery, cathedrals and the harbor.
Saw a Syrian protest march for the overthrow of Assad.






The city is filled with clean parks, fountains, statues honoring poets, artists, heroes and artwork of all kinds.  A beautiful city.






The game was between Barca and Deportivo.  Unfortunately we did not get to see Messi play as they had already won the championship and it was a meaningless game for the league.  They did parade around the field with the Champion's trophy, set off fireworks and played a great game.  Score  ho hum 0-0.  We stopped by Ryan's Pub on the way back to the hotel Serenity and met some of the local folk. 

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Rabat Craft Fair/Chella Roman Ruins

Recently I went to Rabat for a craft fair at the American Club.  The night before I left, after brushing my teeth, the faucet on the bathroom sink broke off and started spraying up like Old Faithful at Yellowstone.  This created a problem as Moroccan plumbing does not have shutoffs at each water fixture.  Needless to say things got wet till I was able to get to the main shutoff.  As it was 11:00 at night and my bus was leaving town at 7:00 I could not fix it until I returned from Rabat.  No toilet and no coffee in the AM.  Boo Hoo.
I met Hayat my coop counterpart at the bus station, loaded up our products and got on our way.  It was decided that we were going to take some different products this time than the carpets, bags and wall hangings we took in the past.  Mineral fossils.  These are really cool and come in all sizes.  We had looked at all the different types of minerals a week before and the people we were going to work with put together what we wanted.  As things go in Morocco the order did not get put together till 2:00 AM the night before we left.  Glad I did not have to stay up to put that together.  Hayat was exhausted in the AM.


The minerals we selected had two fossil types, both 100's of millions of years old.
They come in sizes from 1" to 24" wide.  Carved and polished the ammonites and autosairs are actually very unique.


The craft fair went well and there were a lot of different products.  Most of the lookers were Americans getting ready to go back home after service.  Most also bought product, so over all it was a good fair.  Somewhere along the way I got a bunch of calls from people on my cell phone call list.  Apparently I had Butt Dialed everyone on my phone with a blank text message.  Boy did I feel like a horses _ _ _.
The ambassador came by and gave certificates of participation to the artisans.  Hayat is in the center.


While the Fair was going on a couple of us went to Chella-the Roman ruin in Rabat.  It was built in 40 AD and occupied for 1000 years.  It is inhabited by hundreds of cats and storks.  It is hatching season so there are chicks in all the big nests.


The gardens throughout the site are beautiful.  There is a spring with live fish, a Roman Bath, Stones with Latin inscription, columns, and a marble statuue with the top missing.  It must have been a grand walled city in its day.


The site was well worth the visit and we all got a history lesson.
Do you think I look like a Roman Senator?  Neither do I.  lol. 




Oh yeah.  I forgot that when I got home I still needed to fix the plumbing before I could take a shower (badly needed), go to the bathroom (it was a long bus ride with a couple of cokes) or have a cup of tea (Moroccan tradition).