http://blogs.chron.com/handstamp/archives/bears.JPG
I know it's dark, but I was bumbleing around on the computer today and I remembered how much I love Edward Gorey.
Also I watched some sweet Simon Schama action the otherday online. http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/powerofart/ if you want to see something really awesome check it out!
because todays the kind of day where you have to blog twice.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
maybe you should just drink a lot less coffee.
Pictures + geek out today
Renzo Piano is amazing. You might now him from his imfamous Centre Georges Pompidou. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_Georges_Pompidou ) Which is what it is, innovative but perhaps a little presumptious. However I went to his concert hall the other day and I was completely blown away. COLOR! He uses Color! No one ever uses color in their buildings! Finally someone who was not afraid to be snubbed by the neo-modernist crap that says "white is the only color you need".
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-5-69713278
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-13-69714029
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-10-69713793
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-12-69713982
Materiality here is amazing, he only uses lead, rubber, cherry wood and steel but it's perfect in the enviornment.
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-11-69713881
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-4-69713210
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-7-69713504
While we were there, a classmate Bryan and I got into a fight about what the roof was made out of. He said metal, I said rubber.
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-3-69713148
we were both right. lead for the structure, rubber for the acoustics. but still, there was more rubber than lead so I was crazy right. This picture dosent really show it but I was soooo crazy right.
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-6-69713454
There's also this sweetness where the three "beatles" rotate around a big courtyard that doubles as a fourth stage...genius.
The cool thing about all this is that it was originally organized differently, however when they discovered the remains of a ancient roman villa Piano built it into the program. Now they have a mini-museum dedicated to the villa INSIDE the concert hall, he never touched the villa and made it really easy for archeologists to excavate.
and then for fun I took pictures of leaves and busses,
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-1-69712953
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-2-69713042
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-8-69713603
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-9-69713714
you may notice that they're all the same color scheme...that was not intentional but it was delightful, delicious AND delovely.
On a sadder note,
The city of Rome is in a bit of an uproar today. It turns out that two days ago there was a fight north of Rome when two rival groups of soccer fans ran into each other at a bar. The cops came in and broke it up, but the respective fans were still fighting until both groups got back into their cars and drove off. Apparently there was an accidental shot fired and one of the fans was killed. The Roma soccer fans were so outraged at the police that they cancelled the soccer game and started vandalizing government buildings, cop cars and the former olympic buildings in the area. I thought about going to the game that night, but when it came down to it, the tickets were sold out. A lucky break I feel.
However it's a very strange occurance because Rome dosent really ever have violent crime, petty crime all the time, but when it comes to people getting killed, it's not very common. They take killing, even accidental killing very, very seriously. It makes me wonder if there would have been the same reaction back home, or would we have just continued with the game with no more than a "how unfortunate". We'll never know.
On a more cheerful note, I need ideas for a drawing series. I think i'm going to do the anagram Roma e Amore and do a series of Venus statues around Rome. The Vatican Museum , Borghese Museum, the like. Because, despite it's problems, I do love Rome.
Renzo Piano is amazing. You might now him from his imfamous Centre Georges Pompidou. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_Georges_Pompidou ) Which is what it is, innovative but perhaps a little presumptious. However I went to his concert hall the other day and I was completely blown away. COLOR! He uses Color! No one ever uses color in their buildings! Finally someone who was not afraid to be snubbed by the neo-modernist crap that says "white is the only color you need".
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-5-69713278
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-13-69714029
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-10-69713793
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-12-69713982
Materiality here is amazing, he only uses lead, rubber, cherry wood and steel but it's perfect in the enviornment.
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-11-69713881
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-4-69713210
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-7-69713504
While we were there, a classmate Bryan and I got into a fight about what the roof was made out of. He said metal, I said rubber.
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-3-69713148
we were both right. lead for the structure, rubber for the acoustics. but still, there was more rubber than lead so I was crazy right. This picture dosent really show it but I was soooo crazy right.
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-6-69713454
There's also this sweetness where the three "beatles" rotate around a big courtyard that doubles as a fourth stage...genius.
The cool thing about all this is that it was originally organized differently, however when they discovered the remains of a ancient roman villa Piano built it into the program. Now they have a mini-museum dedicated to the villa INSIDE the concert hall, he never touched the villa and made it really easy for archeologists to excavate.
and then for fun I took pictures of leaves and busses,
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-1-69712953
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-2-69713042
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-8-69713603
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-9-69713714
you may notice that they're all the same color scheme...that was not intentional but it was delightful, delicious AND delovely.
On a sadder note,
The city of Rome is in a bit of an uproar today. It turns out that two days ago there was a fight north of Rome when two rival groups of soccer fans ran into each other at a bar. The cops came in and broke it up, but the respective fans were still fighting until both groups got back into their cars and drove off. Apparently there was an accidental shot fired and one of the fans was killed. The Roma soccer fans were so outraged at the police that they cancelled the soccer game and started vandalizing government buildings, cop cars and the former olympic buildings in the area. I thought about going to the game that night, but when it came down to it, the tickets were sold out. A lucky break I feel.
However it's a very strange occurance because Rome dosent really ever have violent crime, petty crime all the time, but when it comes to people getting killed, it's not very common. They take killing, even accidental killing very, very seriously. It makes me wonder if there would have been the same reaction back home, or would we have just continued with the game with no more than a "how unfortunate". We'll never know.
On a more cheerful note, I need ideas for a drawing series. I think i'm going to do the anagram Roma e Amore and do a series of Venus statues around Rome. The Vatican Museum , Borghese Museum, the like. Because, despite it's problems, I do love Rome.
Friday, November 9, 2007
i'm going to pistol whip the next guy who says "shenannigans"
"Hey Farva, what's the name of that restaurant you like? You know the one with all the goofy crap on the walls?"
"Shenannigans? are you talking about shenannigans?"
Shennanigans indeed. That's what this afternoon was. An explanation you say? So be it.
So for my Mythology class there are three required field trips for the semester, the first one was to a museum near the Pyramid (yeah that's right Rome's got one of those things too). We are on the second one now, at the Roman Forum. Now I knew that the field trip was scheduled to leave from Piazza Venezia at 12 noon so I figured why not take the morning easy. When 11 rolled around I called Brian's apartment (he's in my class, I figured we would go together) only to discover from his roomate, Doug that he had left 30 min prior to my call. Intrigued, I looked down at Joanne's computer clock only to discover that it was already 11:55 am. So...i'm supposed to be 30 min away in 5. The conversation I had with Doug at that point was:
"wait what time is...ugh...I.oh..crap...jesus....noon.. crap.crapp.CRAP..."
*click*
Turns out while the rest of the world's satalite-linked electronic devices re-set their time when the hours changed my cell phone did not. awesome. So then I jumped the hell out of my apartment and started double-timing towards the Forum, with no specific plan on how to find my class but only the vague notion that they would be somewhere in the Forum.
Who should be on stike today? Transportation. All of it. There was only one tram running, going the oppostite direction I needed. So I moved up to triple time. I arrived at Piazza Venezia at 12:35 to be greeted by an entire mob of people marching down Via del Corso. All wearing the exact same burgandy and orange jumpsuits. I think that's where the transporation workers got to.
Eventually I got to the Forum and scouted out from the Tabularium where the class might be. I saw a group of 20 kids wearing backpacks and thought my troubles were over...false. After running down the cobblestones to reach what I thought was them, it turned out to be a pack of japanese teenagers. After this I started huffing all over the Forum for my class. I discovered that my professor looks like maybe...20 different German people. pfft...blondes.
As it turns out one of my classmates Josh was at the Forum that day with his parents. We talked for a few and I told them of my troubles, they told me good luck, and I pressed on. After about 30 min of trying to get up higher to see people and getting nowhere I was beginning to become disheartened. At this point I just sat next to something that looked important (which turned out to be the Temple of Vesta) and waited.
I learned more about the Temple of Vesta that day then I thought I could ever learn, that can happen when about 5 different tour groups come where you choose to sit. Most of them not in english. As a side note, I should probably start working on my conversational Cantonese.
After about 30 min of waiting, I had pretty much given up hope and decided to make my way back to my apartment to call my mom and frump. I was about to leave through the steps when who should walk by but my Professor , engrosed in a map and the rest of the class in his wake. Shocked and seizing an opportunity, I hid behind a collumn and jumped in the back. Andy noticed I had arrived late and I muttered my numerous mistakes. He laughed and shared his hand-out.
The first moral of the story:
It's not very educational to show up and hour and a half late to a 2 hour lecture.
The second moral:
You'd think it was "never give up" but I only found them after I had given up...so maybe...I don't know. Keep fighting? Had I given up earlier I never would have found them. yeah. I think "Keep Fighting" works.
On the side note of "keep fighting" my brother Tim is a bad-ass.
http://philau.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30816008&id=53100493
"Shenannigans? are you talking about shenannigans?"
Shennanigans indeed. That's what this afternoon was. An explanation you say? So be it.
So for my Mythology class there are three required field trips for the semester, the first one was to a museum near the Pyramid (yeah that's right Rome's got one of those things too). We are on the second one now, at the Roman Forum. Now I knew that the field trip was scheduled to leave from Piazza Venezia at 12 noon so I figured why not take the morning easy. When 11 rolled around I called Brian's apartment (he's in my class, I figured we would go together) only to discover from his roomate, Doug that he had left 30 min prior to my call. Intrigued, I looked down at Joanne's computer clock only to discover that it was already 11:55 am. So...i'm supposed to be 30 min away in 5. The conversation I had with Doug at that point was:
"wait what time is...ugh...I.oh..crap...jesus....noon.. crap.crapp.CRAP..."
*click*
Turns out while the rest of the world's satalite-linked electronic devices re-set their time when the hours changed my cell phone did not. awesome. So then I jumped the hell out of my apartment and started double-timing towards the Forum, with no specific plan on how to find my class but only the vague notion that they would be somewhere in the Forum.
Who should be on stike today? Transportation. All of it. There was only one tram running, going the oppostite direction I needed. So I moved up to triple time. I arrived at Piazza Venezia at 12:35 to be greeted by an entire mob of people marching down Via del Corso. All wearing the exact same burgandy and orange jumpsuits. I think that's where the transporation workers got to.
Eventually I got to the Forum and scouted out from the Tabularium where the class might be. I saw a group of 20 kids wearing backpacks and thought my troubles were over...false. After running down the cobblestones to reach what I thought was them, it turned out to be a pack of japanese teenagers. After this I started huffing all over the Forum for my class. I discovered that my professor looks like maybe...20 different German people. pfft...blondes.
As it turns out one of my classmates Josh was at the Forum that day with his parents. We talked for a few and I told them of my troubles, they told me good luck, and I pressed on. After about 30 min of trying to get up higher to see people and getting nowhere I was beginning to become disheartened. At this point I just sat next to something that looked important (which turned out to be the Temple of Vesta) and waited.
I learned more about the Temple of Vesta that day then I thought I could ever learn, that can happen when about 5 different tour groups come where you choose to sit. Most of them not in english. As a side note, I should probably start working on my conversational Cantonese.
After about 30 min of waiting, I had pretty much given up hope and decided to make my way back to my apartment to call my mom and frump. I was about to leave through the steps when who should walk by but my Professor , engrosed in a map and the rest of the class in his wake. Shocked and seizing an opportunity, I hid behind a collumn and jumped in the back. Andy noticed I had arrived late and I muttered my numerous mistakes. He laughed and shared his hand-out.
The first moral of the story:
It's not very educational to show up and hour and a half late to a 2 hour lecture.
The second moral:
You'd think it was "never give up" but I only found them after I had given up...so maybe...I don't know. Keep fighting? Had I given up earlier I never would have found them. yeah. I think "Keep Fighting" works.
On the side note of "keep fighting" my brother Tim is a bad-ass.
http://philau.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30816008&id=53100493
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Because I like you guys here are all my sketches from over fall break!
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Be aggressive B-E Aggressive; Just one girly at the tourney
ok, so Tabitha warned me that showing the rest of my photography class how to scan slides would just result in a broken scanner and she was right. FORTUNATELY PhilaU has a seperate library with many, many scanners so today I bring you this:
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-1-69242816
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-2-69242901
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-3-69242986
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-4-69243072
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-5-69243136
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-6-69243326
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-7-69243409
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-8-69243495
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-9-69243629
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-10-69243696
fall break photography!
also check facebook for more pictures!
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-1-69242816
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-2-69242901
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-3-69242986
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-4-69243072
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-5-69243136
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-6-69243326
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-7-69243409
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-8-69243495
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-9-69243629
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-10-69243696
fall break photography!
also check facebook for more pictures!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
OK so after I left Paris the internet decided to cost a pound for 20 min, and I'm like...no. So this livejounal is going to be especially long.
Versailles:
wow, so I guess one noble said to the other
"Hey you know what baroque needs?"
"I don't know Louis, what?"
"More cherubs, also flowers...you know what, let's just throw money on it and see what sticks."
so to sum up: Oppulence
it was really extravagant, I can see why peasants revolted. This is not to say it wasnt beautiful, it was very, very beautiful. However unlike the gothic extravaganzas that were in Paris this style is'nt "for the people" this is just royalty being royalty. Also seeing Versailles allows me to understand Adolph Loos, ( a famous french-based german architect from the 1900s) who said that decoration was the tool of oppressors. Not that I agree, but at least now I get it.
The Palace itself had some of the most beautiful colors I have ever seen. A lot of them were very Italian colors (oranges, yellows, golds) but done in a very french style so it's like seeing the place i left behind through a different lens. But while the Palace had top-billing, the gardens stole the show. The go on for miles and can boast a hedge maze, a farm, an orangery, several canals, a restaurant, three cafes and that's right..sheep.
At the entrance to the Queen's hamlet there was a stand for Orange Juice and I was particularly thirtsy, so I indulged on what was a 3 euro dixie cup of fresh-squeezed oj. Now, I'm not an expert in orange juice, I did'nt go to agricultural school, nor have I kept up to date the fruit-related-current events but I'm going to put a bold statement out there and say that this orange juice was the best orange juice on the planet. It was amazing, I would kill for that juice, that's how good it was.
For those of you who don't know, this was not my first time at Versailles, I had been there only once before. It was many, many years ago when I was a little girl. I'm not going to tell the whole story but let's just say it involved myself, food poisoning, the anti-chamber of the queen and my father's jacket.
*spoilers*
I did'nt puke this time, so that was a huuuuuuuuuuuge plus.
When I got back from Versailles I drank with the people at the hostel, a french-canadian, a parisian (moving into a new apartment), an australian and a guy from northern california. The next morning I got up early, checked out and started the journey towards Glasgow.
Here's what's awesome at the Beauvais Airport:
Taboleh at the Cafe
Here's what's not awesome at the Beauvais Airport:
A snotty girl from Loyola who got all fussy when I asked her what the line she was in was for
pfftt...Loyola girl, you can't ruin my fall break with your crappiness.
Glasgow Prestwick is about an hour outside of the city-center, but it was really easy to take a train there, so once that was achieved, I checked into my hostel and pa-a-a-a-assed out.
The next day I took a day-trip to Edinburgh, which is my dad's favorite city and I can see why. On the trainride there a lovely scottish woman named "Norma" and I got to talking and she drew me a map of where I should go and what I should do as well as pointed me in the right direction after I got off the train. (Scottish people in general are some of the nicest people you could ever meet, plus it was nice to talk to some one who understood english for a change.) I walked up to the castle first because It was the highest hill, which I didn't want to climb later in the day.
Edinburgh Castle:
* Scottish Crown Jewels
* Beautiful
*Cannons (that they fire at noon)
*Charming Chapel
*Cafe with a delicious hot chocolate
*Awesome exhibit about POW's at the castle during the Revolutionary War. This was complete with Scottish people trying really hard to do American accents. They went from a boston to a new york, oil and water people, oil and water.
Then I went into Thistle Church.
*Elegantly understated
*GREAT progression of arches, interesting arranged. They almost make the shadows dance.
*Really interesting wood-cuts
I spent a couple of hours in the Edinburgh National Galleries and was really impressed with their collection. Edinburgh not being particularly famous for their collection but they had one of my favorite paintings of all time:
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/4940?initial=G&artistId=3374&artistName=Paul%20Gauguin&submit=1
they also had some great pieces by scottish painters including:
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/5327?initial=R&artistId=4399&artistName=Sir%20Henry%20Raeburn&submit=1
...nice garders.
Of course then I walked down the Royal mile to Enric Miralles' Scottish Parliament building. A lot of the scots don't like this building, I like it however I'm not going to say it "fits in" with Edinburgh. The design is based off of Macintosh flowers and of course the Scottish symbol of the thistle. Which I guess gives it's architectural "rough edges", like the leaking roof. I can't believe I just wrote that.
The next day Charles R. Mackintosh and I had a date in Glasgow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rennie_Mackintosh
I know it's touristy but I got on one of those busses with the open top that goes around the city and you get on and off and can take pictures from the bus. I usually think it's a little bit on the wussy side, but after walking everyday in paris and then in Edinburgh, I was ready for a break. On a side note, I'm never knocking on those busses again, they are a great invention they take you everywhere you want to go.
I got to see the Mackintosh House, The Glasgow School of Art , The lighthouse, The willow tea rooms and still a lot more great architecture in Glasgow. I was blown away with the variety, it was strange to see so much *NEW* after Rome, which has a tendency to hate anything after Baroque and Paris which holds the constant pressure of it "being in Paris".
The architecture in Glasgow has something that few European cities have, experimentation. Maybe not everything will work, but it's new and it's unique. It dosent have to be done by someone you've heard of in "Architectural Digest" it can be someone looking to prove themselves and I like it. Glasgow was one of those cities that expanded too fast during the industrial revolution and it left a few strech-marks that leads the city to try and reinvent itself now. The town hall in Glasgow, it should be noted, was too amazing for words on the inside.
My last stop was foggy London Town, which was an fast-paced and interesting way to end the trip. It was gray most of the week and a half I was on break, but finally when I got to London it cleared up into a beautiful day. So I guess, not-so-foggy London Town. I was really late comming into the city. The airport ran a bus into Victoria Station but the driver was Italian and about an hour into the supposedly "45 min" trip I heard her pick up her cell phone and ask "Dove e la stazione della Victoria?" (Where is Victoria Station?) which was most forboding.
Eventually I met up with Richard and we went out for dinner and drinks.
London was very, very cool. There's a dance that happens between old granduer and new granduer and the Sir Norman Foster building looks like it blast off at any second. I'm pretty sure it's the secret space ship for the queen in case of nuclear fallout.
http://www.uk-photo-library.co.uk/london/images/4741.jpg
Richard was kind enough to show me around the next day, we got fish and chips, walked along london bridge, went to the Globe theatre, found a sweets and cheese market and then spent the afternoon at the Tate Modern. My favorite thing about the Tate was that for several of the exhibits there was music that accompanied it. So while you're looking at a piece of art, you're hearing the art as well. There was another great series of videos that showed the same scene from differenent points of view. A dog accidentally trips a man, which I didn't know could be any funnier, but seen from the Dog's point of view changed that thinking.
There was also an interactive section where you answer questions about artists, If you won you got to pick the next artist to ask questions about Richard and I won with our powers combined. We also licked the crack, I would'nt recommend, it tastes like oppression...and pinesol.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2007/10/08/ntate2.jpg
Finally I returned to Rome to a perfectly shining day. I was starting to get a little Rome-sick, and that was only for less than two weeks. I don't know what's going to become of me when I leave for good. All and all a great break. I'd never traveled by myself before which was an interesting expierence. It gets a little lonely at times, but you have the freedom to do whatever you want, so the give and take are pretty much in balance.
Now it's time to do the homework I should have been doing over break. Goodnight and Goodluck.
Versailles:
wow, so I guess one noble said to the other
"Hey you know what baroque needs?"
"I don't know Louis, what?"
"More cherubs, also flowers...you know what, let's just throw money on it and see what sticks."
so to sum up: Oppulence
it was really extravagant, I can see why peasants revolted. This is not to say it wasnt beautiful, it was very, very beautiful. However unlike the gothic extravaganzas that were in Paris this style is'nt "for the people" this is just royalty being royalty. Also seeing Versailles allows me to understand Adolph Loos, ( a famous french-based german architect from the 1900s) who said that decoration was the tool of oppressors. Not that I agree, but at least now I get it.
The Palace itself had some of the most beautiful colors I have ever seen. A lot of them were very Italian colors (oranges, yellows, golds) but done in a very french style so it's like seeing the place i left behind through a different lens. But while the Palace had top-billing, the gardens stole the show. The go on for miles and can boast a hedge maze, a farm, an orangery, several canals, a restaurant, three cafes and that's right..sheep.
At the entrance to the Queen's hamlet there was a stand for Orange Juice and I was particularly thirtsy, so I indulged on what was a 3 euro dixie cup of fresh-squeezed oj. Now, I'm not an expert in orange juice, I did'nt go to agricultural school, nor have I kept up to date the fruit-related-current events but I'm going to put a bold statement out there and say that this orange juice was the best orange juice on the planet. It was amazing, I would kill for that juice, that's how good it was.
For those of you who don't know, this was not my first time at Versailles, I had been there only once before. It was many, many years ago when I was a little girl. I'm not going to tell the whole story but let's just say it involved myself, food poisoning, the anti-chamber of the queen and my father's jacket.
*spoilers*
I did'nt puke this time, so that was a huuuuuuuuuuuge plus.
When I got back from Versailles I drank with the people at the hostel, a french-canadian, a parisian (moving into a new apartment), an australian and a guy from northern california. The next morning I got up early, checked out and started the journey towards Glasgow.
Here's what's awesome at the Beauvais Airport:
Taboleh at the Cafe
Here's what's not awesome at the Beauvais Airport:
A snotty girl from Loyola who got all fussy when I asked her what the line she was in was for
pfftt...Loyola girl, you can't ruin my fall break with your crappiness.
Glasgow Prestwick is about an hour outside of the city-center, but it was really easy to take a train there, so once that was achieved, I checked into my hostel and pa-a-a-a-assed out.
The next day I took a day-trip to Edinburgh, which is my dad's favorite city and I can see why. On the trainride there a lovely scottish woman named "Norma" and I got to talking and she drew me a map of where I should go and what I should do as well as pointed me in the right direction after I got off the train. (Scottish people in general are some of the nicest people you could ever meet, plus it was nice to talk to some one who understood english for a change.) I walked up to the castle first because It was the highest hill, which I didn't want to climb later in the day.
Edinburgh Castle:
* Scottish Crown Jewels
* Beautiful
*Cannons (that they fire at noon)
*Charming Chapel
*Cafe with a delicious hot chocolate
*Awesome exhibit about POW's at the castle during the Revolutionary War. This was complete with Scottish people trying really hard to do American accents. They went from a boston to a new york, oil and water people, oil and water.
Then I went into Thistle Church.
*Elegantly understated
*GREAT progression of arches, interesting arranged. They almost make the shadows dance.
*Really interesting wood-cuts
I spent a couple of hours in the Edinburgh National Galleries and was really impressed with their collection. Edinburgh not being particularly famous for their collection but they had one of my favorite paintings of all time:
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/4940?initial=G&artistId=3374&artistName=Paul%20Gauguin&submit=1
they also had some great pieces by scottish painters including:
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/5327?initial=R&artistId=4399&artistName=Sir%20Henry%20Raeburn&submit=1
...nice garders.
Of course then I walked down the Royal mile to Enric Miralles' Scottish Parliament building. A lot of the scots don't like this building, I like it however I'm not going to say it "fits in" with Edinburgh. The design is based off of Macintosh flowers and of course the Scottish symbol of the thistle. Which I guess gives it's architectural "rough edges", like the leaking roof. I can't believe I just wrote that.
The next day Charles R. Mackintosh and I had a date in Glasgow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rennie_Mackintosh
I know it's touristy but I got on one of those busses with the open top that goes around the city and you get on and off and can take pictures from the bus. I usually think it's a little bit on the wussy side, but after walking everyday in paris and then in Edinburgh, I was ready for a break. On a side note, I'm never knocking on those busses again, they are a great invention they take you everywhere you want to go.
I got to see the Mackintosh House, The Glasgow School of Art , The lighthouse, The willow tea rooms and still a lot more great architecture in Glasgow. I was blown away with the variety, it was strange to see so much *NEW* after Rome, which has a tendency to hate anything after Baroque and Paris which holds the constant pressure of it "being in Paris".
The architecture in Glasgow has something that few European cities have, experimentation. Maybe not everything will work, but it's new and it's unique. It dosent have to be done by someone you've heard of in "Architectural Digest" it can be someone looking to prove themselves and I like it. Glasgow was one of those cities that expanded too fast during the industrial revolution and it left a few strech-marks that leads the city to try and reinvent itself now. The town hall in Glasgow, it should be noted, was too amazing for words on the inside.
My last stop was foggy London Town, which was an fast-paced and interesting way to end the trip. It was gray most of the week and a half I was on break, but finally when I got to London it cleared up into a beautiful day. So I guess, not-so-foggy London Town. I was really late comming into the city. The airport ran a bus into Victoria Station but the driver was Italian and about an hour into the supposedly "45 min" trip I heard her pick up her cell phone and ask "Dove e la stazione della Victoria?" (Where is Victoria Station?) which was most forboding.
Eventually I met up with Richard and we went out for dinner and drinks.
London was very, very cool. There's a dance that happens between old granduer and new granduer and the Sir Norman Foster building looks like it blast off at any second. I'm pretty sure it's the secret space ship for the queen in case of nuclear fallout.
http://www.uk-photo-library.co.uk/london/images/4741.jpg
Richard was kind enough to show me around the next day, we got fish and chips, walked along london bridge, went to the Globe theatre, found a sweets and cheese market and then spent the afternoon at the Tate Modern. My favorite thing about the Tate was that for several of the exhibits there was music that accompanied it. So while you're looking at a piece of art, you're hearing the art as well. There was another great series of videos that showed the same scene from differenent points of view. A dog accidentally trips a man, which I didn't know could be any funnier, but seen from the Dog's point of view changed that thinking.
There was also an interactive section where you answer questions about artists, If you won you got to pick the next artist to ask questions about Richard and I won with our powers combined. We also licked the crack, I would'nt recommend, it tastes like oppression...and pinesol.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2007/10/08/ntate2.jpg
Finally I returned to Rome to a perfectly shining day. I was starting to get a little Rome-sick, and that was only for less than two weeks. I don't know what's going to become of me when I leave for good. All and all a great break. I'd never traveled by myself before which was an interesting expierence. It gets a little lonely at times, but you have the freedom to do whatever you want, so the give and take are pretty much in balance.
Now it's time to do the homework I should have been doing over break. Goodnight and Goodluck.
Sketchbook Fun
Sketchbook Fun #1:
The scanner I used is kinda crappy so sometimes there are colors when there should not be.
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/National-Museum-68992640
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Tiber-Island-68992529
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Trees-by-the-Colloseum-68992402
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/full-self-portrait-68992304
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/selfportrait-close-up-68992202
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/SABINES-68992062
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Villa-Borghese-68991840
Stay Tuned for Fall Break Update tonight!
The scanner I used is kinda crappy so sometimes there are colors when there should not be.
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/National-Museum-68992640
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Tiber-Island-68992529
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Trees-by-the-Colloseum-68992402
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/full-self-portrait-68992304
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/selfportrait-close-up-68992202
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/SABINES-68992062
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Villa-Borghese-68991840
Stay Tuned for Fall Break Update tonight!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)