TO THE 'SAW MOUNTAIN' WE GO!

This was one of our last weeks in Barcelona and thanks to professor Vidal we had a nice break one of the weekends, he took us all the way up to beautiful Montserrat (I had already been there with my dad; I didn't mind at all going back... this is a place worth returning to as often as one can, it's beauty doesn't allow it to get old).
Montserrat is a very peculiar mountain in Catalunya where a Benedictine abbey was founded. It is world reknown not only for its beautiful views but also for housing "La Morenita" (the black Virgin), and the little boys choir "L'Escolania de Montserrat".
Since we have amazing connections in this city (a.k.a. prof. Vidal), we had the chance of getting shown around the cloister and hear the boy choir from the churche's choir ;)
... getting there

Basílica de Mare de Déu de Montserrat

... inside the cloister

... inside the church


... La 'More

... L'Escolania


... tourists are everywhere!

...HIKING FOR LUNCH!



... everybody conquering the saw mountain

... on our way to la Santa Cova (a pilgrimage in itself), several mysteries of the rosary

Parcs i Jardins de Barcelona

As part of our BCN experience our own professor Vidal took us on an excursion to five parks all over the city. It was nice to see places where the locals tend to go to enjoy their days (mostly when the weather is nice). Their composition within the context they were built in helped us a bit more in our understanding of the city we're living in.
Parc Güell, Antoni Gaudí


Parc de la Creueta del Coll, Martorell–Bohigas–Mackay

... my best friend when it rains :)

... our version of the Eduardo Chillida sculpture

... our little 'mascot' with his rendition of a raincoat

Parc de la Espanya Industrial, Luis Peña Ganchegui

Cementerio de Montjuïc

... the jewish WWII memorial


Parc de Diagonal Mar, Enric Miralles i Benedetta Tagliabue

... having fun on the body-sculpted benches

Project I- Phase IV

Today was definitely the most important day in the development of this overall project; after months, weeks, days of work, we presented our proposals to a representative of the city council. TOUGH! Not only did we present to this person but also to two faculty members from school: Dave Shove-Brown (from the Rome program) and Mary Johnson (from the Paris program)who flew in just for this... aside from our own professors, of course. Needless to say, THIS WAS ONLY THE MIDJURY!
Our projects hadn't changed that much from our last pin-up; however, we were to develop even further our designs creating from floorplans to façades.
Taking into account the fact that our final jury is near, I'll leave a more detailed explanation of my design for then; for now, here are a couple of pictures from today.
... just to show how nice everybody looked ;)

Group GMT


Group FMV



Group BSB

Group BRB

WORK WORK WORK!

If you ever wondered what does an architecture student look like before a really big deadline, well, you don't have to imagine it anymore!

Easter

Right in the middle of our most 'strenuous' week of work, we get another break, Easter, in which not only are we supposed to go to church and stop eating meat, but also work on our projects (something most people weren't too happy about). These couple of days I spent with none other than my papa who came over to visit for the second time (the first was to help me move in)... aside from doing work, I had a great time. We took two day trips during his stay: one to beautiful Montserrat and the second one to Gerona and Figueres, Salvador Dalí's hometown... Mama, you kind of missed out ;)
Enjoy the pics!
... for you piker ;)

Montserrat

... inside the catedral

Black Madonna of Montserrat


...procesion, Plaza San Jaume

Gerona
... la leona. Once a hostal for travelers to stay in, now it is a place of importance to the locals. The children climb up and kiss the lion's behind, the 'retired' people rub their lottery tickets on the animal's bottom (as the lady demonstrates in the pic)... what does it mean... they say it holds your definite return to the city. It was very amousing to see it!

Arab Baths

... in front of the cathedral, what was once the Via Augusta still remains as one of the main roads in the old city. You can actually see the enormous boulders from the Roman wall on the sides of that entrance.

... the christian way for entering the city...

... vs the jewish. Apparently this was a city where religion played a big role in every aspect of their lives. All religions were considered very orthodox, very conservative in their beliefs. What was the result? Innumerable disputes between all branches, specially between the catholic and the jewish people. In my opinion it is very interesting to see the resulting effect of these events in history within a city.

... oh the pujada :) aaand papi

Jewish Museum

... moi at Plaza de la Independencia

... walking around

Figueres
La Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, a.k.a Dalí Museum

... part of the crazyness inside

... that's actually a ceiling!


... just for fun ;)

... part of his jewel collection