La fabrication de ces pièces exceptionnelles de l'époque moderniste catalane avait été confiée par Gaudi à la célèbre manufacture Pujol I Bausis dans les années 1880. 

Le modèle dont le répertoire décoratif (guirlandes de fleurs, tige de volubis, lauriers) et la forme (panse bulbeuse) ramènent à l'Art nouveau  peut  être donc être considéré comme précurseur du mouvement.

Antoni Gaudi y a également introduit la mythologie avec la représentation du dieu Pan.  

La scènographie pour ces œuvres a été confiée à Jacques Grange.

PM      

A good example of an effectively used Mars/ Neptune is found in the chart of Spanish architect and visionary artist Antoni Gaudi (25 June 1852, 9:30 AM LMT, Reus Spain). The man who was instrumental in fashioning Barcelona's distinctive style of mosaic-laden construction of undulant, flowing lines devoted his energy almost exclusively to his work; he never married, and spent a notable period wandering the streets, begging alms for construction of his unfinished masterwork, the Familia Sagrada cathedral. Gaudi was known, as you may have guessed, for his eccentric personality, and for his outbursts--with a Virgo Ascendant and Mars rising, he was his temper! Mars opposes his 7th House Piscean Neptune, and here we can look at the ways this energy might have gone. With an opposition the two energies often start out at odds; many people bounce from one end of the opposition to the other, in this case possibly manifesting as action for action's sake alternating with dreamy reveries, with the difficulty coming in marrying the imagination to implementation in the real world. Once these two began to find a way to work together, Mars could begin to shine in its command of detail (and what's more detailed than a building covered in mosaic?) and Neptune could come to full creative bloom in its own sign.

Mars is part of an Earth Grand Trine involving Uranus in Taurus and the South Node in Capricorn; clearly, the impetus for action was focused on a material result. The GT reaches from the 1st to the 5th and the 9th, and connects personal endeavor with creativity and, in the 9th, both the exotic and religion, with Gaudi's most famous creation being a church. Mars also trines Earth, Saturn, and Pluto, and sextiles the Sun, besides opposing Neptune. These contacts suggest that the 'I will' and action urge enjoyed excellent support; the material world, the propensity to build, the ability to destroy or dig deep in order to create, and the Soul intent all worked in concert with the ego and assertive urge.

Neptune, planet of creative imagination, communion with the Cosmos, and illusion/ delusion brings in some varied influences, notably a quincunx to the 2nd House Libra Moon, suggesting that the emotions needed to adjust to the creative urge, and vice versa, an opposition to Jupiter that perhaps shows some of the difficulty he had getting his creations accepted by the public as legitimate architecture, a sesquiquadrate  to Pallas that implies he probably did best when he accepted some modifications according to guidance received, and a quincunx to Ceres that require some adjustment to the wishes of authorities. Neptune also trines the Sun, making the Soul an excellent creative conduit, and trines the North Node--this latter is involved with Neptune in a Water Grand Trine with Jupiter, and could indicate what an enormous place creative expression held for Antoni; it was likely somewhere between an emotional imperative (Water) and a religious belief (Jupiter).

Lastly we might note in Gaudi's chart Chiron in the House of deepest Self, the 4th, at 00 Capricorn, conjunct 5th House Earth and South Node, also in Cap. The 00 placement indicates a strong impetus to actualize the energy, to get to know it, and in Capricorn the wound may have involved structure, Self-discipline, or thwarted attempts to build, either literal or figurative, perhaps springing from the family of origin (4th) and incorporated into the psyche. Connection to Earth and the South Node say that both the wound, and the Cap-related gift, have been 'earned' in the past, and need to manifest in the material surroundings; that says that Gaudi's fantastical creations were more to him than just decorated constructions--they may have been quite literal representations of the workings of his creative mind.

See my book on Chiron here http://www.amazon.com/Chiron-Natal-Chart-Julie-Demboski/dp/0965836916/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218350476&sr=1-1

But have you ever wondered why more than a million Colombians on the steamy Caribbean coast live in a city called Cartagena? Because Colombia was Spanish, of course, and there is a city in Spain (Murcia) that is called Cartagena. But why is that city called Cartagena? Because it was founded by Hannibal's brother-in-law, Hasdrubal (not to be confused with his biological brother, also named Hasdrubal), who made it Carthage's regional capital. He called it Little Carthage, or Little New City, since Carthage is Punic for New City, as mentioned already.

When the great Scipio, another of my heroes and Hannibal's eventual nemesis, conquered Spain, he renamed it New Carthage (Carthago Nova), thus inadvertently calling it New New City. Oh well, nobody's perfect.

Now, how about that fantastic party town with all that great Gaudi architecture, Barcelona? Hannibal's clan or family name, you recall, was Barca. Sounds suspiciously similar, doesn't it? Barcelona probably started as the "camp of the Barcas", when Hamilcar, with his young son Hannibal in tow, showed up in Spain to conquer it. Hannibal later would have passed nearby on his way to the Alps and Italy.

And what about that town in Missouri on the Mississippi, where Mark Twain grew up and had his Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn get into all sorts of trouble? It's called Hannibal. I must assume that it's named after my hero/antihero, but I've not actually been able to verify that. If anybody knows, please drop me a line below.

We went clubbing with all of them as well as a bunch of the people in Dre’s program. On two different occasions we went to a huge and crazy two-floored nightclub called Otto Zutz. It's a great club and we got free passes both times. We pregamed with people from Dre’s program so we never spent a cent at the club. We stayed out till 4 or 5 in the AM both times. Also, on the second Tuesday night, we went to a Jazz club/discothèque late with Anissa and the two Cali Girls called Jamboree, danced for hours and had a great time.

To make Barcelona that much cooler, during our stay, Spain was successfully making its bid for the Euro Cup Championship. We watched the final game against Germany from outside of a bar on an awesome strip called Las Ramblas. Las Ramblas is considered the tourist heart of the city, and is a cool place to see street performers (specifically the pantomimes which Dre loved…not). La Boqueria market on Las Ramblas is a really cool marketplace, voted "the world's most important marketplace" by the International Association of City Markets. One of our last days, we ate a great fresh fish lunch with two girls from Texas from Dre’s program at one of the restaurants attached to the La Boqueria marketplace and walked around all of the venders.

Now, back to the Euro cup. On the night of June 29th, after Spain beat Germany 1-0, there were huge celebrations. We were videotaped by local news partaking in the victory chants (singing olay olay).

Beer was sold on the street in Las Ramblas, fireworks went off everywhere, people were yelling "Viva Espana", singing victory chants, and draping themselves in Spanish flags. Needless to say, it was an awesome experience and I felt great pride for my very temporary nation of residence.

Also, in Barcelona, we all developed our addictions to Schwarma kebabs. We ate this middle eastern delicacy almost every day for the week and a half because they satisfied all of our dietary needs. The food is inexpensive, filling, delicious and quick. By the end of our tour of the city, we were practically regulars at a few doner kabab joints and stands (and had many a stomach ache).

Some romantic/date-worthy tourist activities that Danny and me took part in while Dre was in school include: a trip to the chocolate factory. A trip to the aquarium that was noteworthy for the viewing tunnels to the shark tanks. We rented bikes and rode along the boardwalk on the coast at Barceloneta and through Cieutadella Park, befriending the alcoholic bike rental dude. This guy, after spending a full day of drinking wine and smoking in his shop (he was doing both when we rented bikes and when we came back several hours later), basically gave us a history lesson on state vs. national tensions in Spain, which was cool even though we didn't ask for it.. We also swam out to and climbed onto a patch of rocks in the ocean and took long walks on the beach while holding hands (not exactly).

Barcelona tourist activities that we shared with Dre (the third wheel) included: a walk through Park Guell, which I think I mentioned already. We went to the Sagrada Familia, which is the most famous spot in Barcelona, a huge, ridiculously ornate cathedral designed over a forty year period by Antoni Gaudi, which he was unable to finish in his lifetime. The Cathedral is still under construction 100 years later. You can climb or take elevator to the top for spectacular city views. We also toured the National Museum of Catalan Art, watched the night time fountain show from the steps of the Museum (overlooking the entire city) with some of the students from Dre's program, and saw a modern European jazz performance (the group's name is eluding me) at a venue at one of the highest points in the city, near the Olympic Stadium.

Additionally, we went to the Picasso Museum and took a guided tour of the Palau Musica Catalana. In sum: beautiful women, delicious kebabs (and tapas once or twice), great beaches, amazing public transportation, plus cool cultural events and nightlife, made for a most excellent time.

Something I had planned to do early in the morning, was Park Güell.
Metro L3, which had become my main form of transportation, was good as empty, and within 10 minutes I was already exiting the Vallcarca station.
Raul had suggested this station to me, and not the one before it: Lesseps. Lesseps station in fact is suggested on several websites, tourist brochures and travel guides when you want to go to Park Güell, but afterwards, I was really happy Raul had made that suggestion!

Vallcarca station is close to a side-entrance of the Park. There are escalators taking you up the hill, but when I got there (around 8 AM) they weren't activated yet :(

I puffed as I did all those stairs "the normal way", but when I finally arrived at the small entrance to the Park, the route towards the monumental area goes downhill (YAY!).
The path is very curvy, and very nice! You have a great panorama over the city and the Park itself. Every now and then you can see a part of the park you see on pictures, you even pass one of the colonnades with helicoid columns!
When I finally reached the monumental entrance, I was thrilled! Besides a grey cat there wasn't a living creature in sight! I could have a seat on the bench behind the famous Gaudí Dragon, and enjoyed the silence of this usually busy area. I let my hand glide over the smooth surface of the (restored) dragon's head, and continued my way around the site.

The Hipostyle Hall (the Doric colonnade area underneath the square), has unique mosaics on it's ceiling. There's so many, and each one is different, it kept me wandering there for a while, before I took the stairs up to the actual square.
Once up on the square, the curvy bench was bathing completely in the early sunlight, with not a single person sitting on it! That soon changed as I placed myself in the centre of a curve, and chilled. It didn't take too long until some other early people were slowly arriving at the square.
I offered a young Japanese guy to take a picture of him and his dad, in order to ask to return the favour ;)

For the next hour, I explored the rest of Park Güell.

La Torre Rosa is one of the only house projects realised here, because the entire Park was originally a real estate project that flopped. Today it is the Casa-Museu Gaudí. It's only € 4 to enter it, but if you wanna know my opinion: it's not a necessary stop, bit of a "tourist trap" in fact. Inside you'll see a small recap of the life of Gaudí, with some of the original furniture that was inside the house, and a couple pictures, sketches and models of his projects. You'll have seen several before in Casa Milà, and will see others in the Sagrada Famíla.

Half an hour later, I had walked back towards the monumental area, and noticed it was time for me to say goodbye to this famed Park, as many tourists had now claimed the main entrance. I quickly purchased a nice postcard in one of the small fairytale buildings that functioned as souvenir shop, and strolled out of the main entrance gate.

Remember Raul advised me not to take the Lesseps station to go to Park Güell? Well, considering I now was leaving it, I figured I'ld found out what the difference between the 2 routes actually is.
You first walk downhill for a quite a while. When you've reached the bottom, you're on a busy main road. When you've walked down the road, crossed a square and a busy intersection, you've finally arrived at the Lesseps station of Metro L3.

So, here's a quick recap for all those planning to take the metro to go to Park Güell:

• Vallcarca station: "about" 600m to walk; short but steep hill to climb, which has escalators (when activated, I was there at 8 AM, and they were still off); arriving at side entrance to the Park; once inside it's downhill towards monumental area, passing a couple of features by Gaudí
• Lesseps station: "about" 1500m walk; constantly uphill (not steep near Lesseps station, but as you get closer to the park it becomes a pretty steep hill); arriving at main entrance to the Park; still have to go uphill in the Park itself

Both routes go uphill, and have sign posts showing direction and distance to the park.
Personally, I'm very grateful Raul had made the suggestion to get off at Vallcarca! It is a different way to "meet" the park, but I think it is a better way!

I returned to the old part of Barcelona. The McDonalds at the Rambla was a very tempting place to have lunch, since it wasn't noon yet, so not very crowded. All I can do is quote the 2 American girls that were in front of me: bad experience! I understood enough of what the different dishes had to offer, so tried to order in Spanish, and mentioned which drink I wanted with that. The girl however had to call in help to help me in English. After I finished eating, I had to go to the bathroom. Well... I was welcomed by completely wet floors there, and the cubicles are the narrowest I'ld ever laid eyes upon!

The Picasso Museum was on my "must see" list, but turned out to be closed today due to the San Juan feast. With not much else planned, I decided to tour around this part of town.
I re-visited the Santa Maria del Mar church. There was a service going on, so quietly sneaked around. I sorta felt bad when I tried to take a picture, but still managed a nice one when I left the church.

Not too far from the Santa Maria del Mar was the Gothic Santa Església Catedral Basílica de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia (aka "La Seu") of Barcelona. I had visited it before, but that was a very quick visit. This time, I wanted to take my time for it.
The front was covered for restoration. The canvas had a picture of what was behind it (EU regulation), together with a call for help to the restoration fund.

Entrance is only € 5, not much if you ask me. What surprised me is that you can visit the roof now. Last time I was here, that wasn't possible. I must say that taking a picture of the centre tower is not easy: it was just too big for my camera to capture! Solution: photograph it at an angle, that way you can pature a bit of everything.
Another difference from my last visit was the crypt: it was lit all the time (used to be coin-operated). Taking a picture of that was much easier now compared to before (the picture I had taken of it in 2002 sucked!).

The courtyard and secluded garden still were as tranquil and pretty as I remembered it, and this time I had to take a picture of a small fountain I didn't manage to photograph before. The perspective from the small horseman behind the big Gothic arches had been a sight I remembered for all those years, and now I can look at it as much as I wanna!

When I had completely finished the tour around the Cathedral, I was in the mood for something else.
Another item on my "perhaps" list, and a recommendation by Raul, was the Palau de la Música Catalana. It's about 10 minutes walking from the Cathedral, so easy to do by foot.

The first thing you hear after getting your ticket for the guided tour (€ 10 for a 50 minute tour): no photography allowed inside the building. When you hear this, you're of course a bit sad, but the reason is simple: the Orfeó Català, who ordered this building in 1905, still owns this building, and all the rights to it.

Naturally, you respect their property, cuz it's a rare occasion that a building like the Palau is still owned by those who ordered it's construction in the early 1900's, and I understood they like to protect it in all possible ways they can (I would be the same, as I'm sure would anybody be).

The Palau was built in a time many changes were happening in Barcelona. Lluís Domènech i Montaner, the architect, was hoping that when the building he designed was completed, a house block right in front of the main entrance would be demolished, and a nice public square could do justice to the very ornate facades he designed. Sadly, that never happened, and today both colourful facades are situated in narrow streets.

Despite that, the inside of the Palau remains very bright. Natural light can enter from many directions all around the building.
The Foyer floor has a very airy open plan design, originally divided into small offices made out of frosted glass and wood. This is partially demonstrated by the partition walls at the back, and at the bar in the centre of this room.
When the tour starts, you're taken into the Chamber Music Hall, behind the partition wall and which lies directly under the main stage. Usually used as rehearsal room (because of the same size of the stage in the concert hall) or for more intimate piano concerts, this is the place where you'll see a short movie about the history of the Palau.

The movie itself is shot in an impressionable way, it managed to briefly gave me goosebumps a couple times!
If you think the movie wasn't "all that impressive" as I think it was, wait till the guide takes you upstairs.
You first enter a nice size reception room, with a view to the mosaic tiled columns and walls on the terrace. Next, the guide will take you into the actual concert hall. Here's where you'll really have to hold your jaw to prevent it from dropping to the floor!

With every step you take, something new hits your visionary field.
The first thing you see is the back of the stage, where 18 women of different nationalities, each in their own dress and accompanied with their local musical instrument. The dresses are made out of mosaic tiles, but from the waist, the women protrude the wall, and surround the performers as muses.
Above the stage you're sure to be impressed by a well designed pipe organ.

A couple steps further into the hall and you'll notice the decorative arch "framing" the stage.
On the list is a bust of choir director Anselm Clavé, and around him the tree and some girls from Clavé's best known song: "The Flowers of May".
On the Right, the top is dominated by "The Valkyries", underneath them a double Doric column to symbolise classical art, and between those you have the bust of Beethoven, as a way to honour his classic compositions.
The choice of the classic masters on the right, and the (for that time) new and modern developed songs in music on the left, was made specifically: they are a way to show that both classic as modern music is welcomed at the Palau.
On either side of the top balcony, Pegasus is depicted, as representation of "the high-flying imagination".

And finally, when you're about halfway the hall and get out from under the 1st balcony, you'll see the skylight.
It's without question the jewel of this hall. Flanked by ladies, the centre of the skylight "drops" down, and resembles the sun.
Words can't really do it justice, you just have to see if for yourself!

As the guide demonstrated the renovated pipe-organ, all went silent and gazed around, most of all upwards to the skylight.
The decoration of the hall is of such beauty, it's hard to notice everything. Still, the high level of decoration isn't really dominating, because it's broken by large windows, allowing even more natural light to enter the hall.

I reluctantly followed the guide to the upper balcony for some more decorative aspects that could be seen better there. I really wanted to stay down, where you could see the skylight properly in all it's glory.
When we returned downstairs, and got some more information about the front facade and it's unusual ticket boots inside the columns, I assumed the tour would come to an end soon.
I was right. I didn't follow the majority outside, but went to the bathroom behind the double staircase instead.

I wanted a drink here too. It wasn't very warm inside the Palau, but I hadn't had a drink in a couple hours. The bar in the Foyer room of the Palau had already tempted me with their small snacks placed on dishes. They were € 2,50 a piece, which I thought was enough, but I still made a selection of 4, and ordered a small coffee to go with them. They were good treats! Well worth their price!
The gift shop across the new square on a modernised side of the Palau wasn't too impressing, but I did get a nice postcard there of the skylight.

Since the Picasso museum was on my "must see" list, I had to switch that with something else that was on that list and that I had planned for the next day: the Sagrada Família.
After a small detour towards a cash machine I knew would accept my card, I took the metro and got off 1 station before the Sagrada Família: Monumental.
It wasn't open, but I just wanted to see the Plaça dels Braus Monumental (the bull ring).
It's got a mix of Moorish and Byzantine design, with blue and white tiled domes on the 4 low towers. Personally, I'm not into bullfights, but often these bull rings somehow manage to interest me architecturally ;)
After trying to take a good picture of El Monumental I looked towards the towers of my next destination, just a couple blocks away.

The opening hours of the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família were on one of the many prints I had made as preparation for my trip. It was already after 5 PM, so time was starting to run out. I hasted myself back to the metro and a couple minutes later I payed the guy at the ticket booth € 8,00 to enter the site.
I had about 2,5 hours to visit everything, and read that both gift shops would close 15 minutes before closing time. Ignoring the Passion of Christ façade in front of me, keeping them for last, I just walked into the building.

As I had heard, the inside of the Sagrada Familià is in fact a very big construction site. It's still nice to see how they manage to execute every aspect Gaudí had designed.
Your eyes are drawn towards the sky, witnessing how the "forest of columns" is already starting to take shape.
The ceilings are designed in a very wierd way: holes are left open in the middle, where a ray-like pattern of reflecting tiles will guide the light inwards when the entire building is completed.
There's a small exhibit about the temple and Gaudí, but pretty quick you've reached the other side, and arrive on the terrace in front of the Nativity of Christ façade.

I looked around at the statues for a while, but kept an eye on my watch.
There's 2 elevators: one that will take you up on the Passion of Christ façade, and a 2nd that goes up on the Nativity of Christ façade. I knew using them was € 2,00 (not much at all) but I didn't know this was "for each" elevator! And I only brought € 10 in cash with me, so had to make a choice!
After asking at an information booth on the site, I decided to only use the elevator on the Nativity side.

There's a waiting line for both elevators, but the one for the Nativity side was considerably shorter compared to the elevator going up the towers on the Passion side.
You had to pay the elevator operator while going up, and once you've reached the top floor, there's only a narrow staircase in front of you.
You don't have to climb it much to reach the passage towards the 2nd tower, and soon enough you'll get to the bridge behind the cypress tree with the white doves, taking you towards the 3rd and 4th tower.

The view on this bridge is awesome! The wind is very strong here, and everybody wants to take a good look at the decorations on top of all the towers, without risking leaning over too far.
As you make your way down the 3rd or 4th tower, you pass a couple balconies where you can enjoy viewing different sides and aspects of the building.
At a certain point, you reach the "helix" stairwell. Everybody has seen a picture of that I'm sure, but when you're starting to actually go down, mixed feelings rise: there's the excitement that you are actually taking these stairs, but at the same time there's caution, because these stairs aren't totally safe. There's nothing but air in the middle. If you slip and fall towards the left, you'll fall down about a meter, and after that... well the only place you'll stop falling is when you've reached the bottom.
So, caution is in order here, and there's some sort of relief coming over you when you finally arrived at the iron door on the ground level.

The crypt has been converted into a museum. It's quite big, and I stayed a pretty long time down there. The main focus lies on the construction. Sketches, prints, scale models: you name it, it's all there!
I also spotted something down here I just had to try and get a copy of: a sketch by Josep Maria Subirach, showing the knights on the Passion of Christ façade, together with the chimneys of Casa Milà which inspired him for the knight's helmets.

The private crypt where Antoni Gaudí is buried sadly was closed at the time I was there, but I really had to hurry up. It was nearing 7.30 PM, and the gift shops would soon close. I had spotted the one on the Nativity side was much smaller compared to the one on the Passion side, and figured my best chances on getting a replica of that sketch by Subirach would be in the big one.
I only just managed to enter the souvenir shop in time, as a minute later a guy went to close one of the 2 entrance doors. I felt the shop keeper's eyes on my back but managed to find what I was looking for quickly, and more!
I left with 3 posters: the sketch of the knight with the chimneys of Casa Milà, another sketch of a knight riding a horse, and a print of the completed Temple, showing the Passion façade.

Since it was a couple minutes before 8, I quickly visited the old school building for the sons of the workmen. It was not at all an ornate building, but architecturally it must have been very inspiring for those boys!

I took a rest in the park across the street after I took some pictures of the Passion façade, trying to figure out what I might still be able to do. The only thing that sprung to mind was to chill out somewhere.
There was no rush, so I tried to catch a metro heading back towards Plaça Catalunya. Once there, I strolled down the Rambla again, and explored some side streets.

After a while I ended up near the Santa Maria del Mar again, and searched a nice place to eat.
Bar Bubo (Caputxes nr° 6 and nr° 10) was a place I also had made a print of. It's not exactly a restaurant, and there's 2 of them in fact: one is a dessert shop, the other is a tapas bar. It wasn't "very expensive" compared to prices here in Belgium, and it sure tasted good! A very tasty, and very sweet finish to my day!

Not into doing anything else that evening, I slowly returned to my hotel, and went to bed, again completely spent after a great day :)

Flickr photo set of Day 4
(note: pictures of Day 5 are also included in this picture set)

Civilization, Freud would have you believe, would not exist without the sublimation of our erotic impulses into more productive realms. Had our forebears simply decided to bang like rabbits 24/7, we would still be cave-dwelling barbarians stuck in hunting-and-gathering mode. Although they celebrated sex and sexuality in a frank, voracious way, the ancient Greeks did manage to skip an orgy or two to pen The Odyssey, mount the world’s first Olympic games and erect architectural marvels like The Parthenon. Reportedly a virgin his whole life, Antoni Gaudi – whose art nouveau masterpieces are sprinkled all over Barcelona  -- would not have been able to conceive a Sagrada Familia half as extraordinary if he did so in the missionary position.

Then there’s Isaac Newton, mathematician, scientist and bona fide virgin, who had his apple – and could have eaten it, too, but knew better. Although he didn’t take a bite like Eve did, he was certainly fixated on it and came upon “a mode of proving that the earth turned round
in a most natural whirl, called ‘gravitation’; And this is the sole mortal who could grapple,
 since Adam, with a fall or with an apple.”

It is said that civilization has since advanced; apples can now either be a product of genetic engineering or a technology-savvy cult presided over by Steve Jobs. To this day, however, the human libido continues to be far more indomitable than the human spirit and is a headache to drive away. But when one happens to be at Bryant Park on a weekday noon this summer, one might just find the perfect outlet: Pétanque. It’s a type of game where the goal is, while standing with the feet together in a small circle, to throw large, heavy metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden target ball (jack). Most games are played in teams, and are staged on the gravel area near the Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street corner. I felt right at home with the pétanque players and their balls, who were evidently the Rat Pack when pitted against the Driving-Miss-Daisy-ish crowd of chess and backgammon players only thirty feet away. (Apparently, pétanque is big in France; I can imagine my Parisian man-friend playing the sport when he’s not preoccupied with his baguette.)

You can up the ante with game strategies like “pointing” when a player throws his ball to have it roll as close to the jack as possible, and “shooting” when a player aims for the ball of an opponent, hoping to move him out of a favorable spot. Now you ask in exasperation, “Why all this fuss about balls?” It’s not just about balls, my dear. When you think about it, pétanque is a metaphor for the pursuit of Mr. Right when you first encounter him in a social situation – whether a party, benefit dinner or an orgy – and he’s being preyed on by other admirers (all of whom inferior to you, of course). Let's say Mr. Right belongs to a secret society of one. Play your balls right and you might very well end up with a member -- for one night or, if it's the jackpot you hit, possibly a lifetime. 

http://www.coloredhome.com/gaudi/casa_mila_la_pedrera/casa_mila.htm

http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ags/GAUDI.htm

http://www.gaudi2002.bcn.es

Gaudí: SAGRADA FAMILIA

April 20 - May 20 Taurus
Mercury is in retrograde O Best Beloved, and it shall be so until June 19. Taureans and all signs should be aware of what this means: anything to do with communications is in jeopardy during this time. It's just a lot more possible during this period that misunderstandings can occur. Try to avoid launching new projects and avoid signing legal documents.

May 21 - June 20 Gemini
We're on the aft side of Memorial Day Weekend now, and even though the calendar won't say Summer for another few weeks, for most people it is, me included. Time to investigate the Gardenscapes of photographer Laurel Fink. Fink, a landscape photographer, created Gardenscapes Studio to produce garden and landscape images of extraordinary grace and beauty. She'll capture your garden for you or you can purchase one of her images for your wall, and you'll always be in the warm green no matter the season.

June 21 - July 22 Cancer
Download of the week is Darlin' Be Home Soon by the Lovin' Spoonful. This was a Top 20 hit in 1967. The band's lead singer at the time, John Sebastian, wrote the folk-rocky masterpiece which swells with violin and bursts into sweet orchestral flame. Remember it here. So go and beat your crazy head against the sky, Try and see beyond the houses and your eyes, It's ok to shoot the moon.

July 23 - August 22 Leo
Consider a trip to Barcelona, one of the finest cities on this planet of ours. And while there you must not miss anything designed by Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926). His eccentric, warped, neo-psychedelic Gothic style is unique and years before its time. He’s known as the leader of the Art Nouveau moment in Spain, but that doesn’t even come close to describing what his work is like. He designed a park and sculpture garden (La Parc Guell) along with several buildings, and the redoubtable La Sagrada Familia cathedral. See them all and marvel at this man’s twisted, innovative genius.

August 23 - September 22 Virgo
Seek out The House at Otowi Bridge: The Story of Edith Warner and Los Alamos by Peggy Pond Church. It's a story not well known outside of New Mexico where it is a classic, about Edith Warner who came to the state for health reasons in the 1930's. She opened a tearoom in her home, situated very close to Los Alamos at the time of the creation of the hydrogen bomb as well as the San Ildefonso Pueblo. This woman created a sanctuary in which both the highest ranking scientists of the age working on the creation of pure destruction sat side by side with the peaceful Pueblo dwellers drinking tea and eating slices of chocolate cake. The book is pure poetry, and the story will never leave you.

September 23 - October 22 Libra
One of the best-kept secrets of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band is the lovely and accomplished Miss Soozie Tyrell. Springsteen's recent music has as it's true heart center Tyrell's violin. White Lines is her only solo album thus far; it was released in 2003 but is still available and really worth tracking down. Listen to a few of the tracks here - my favorite is the stunningly beautiful Ferdouganal.

October 23 - November 21 Scorpio
In this house it's always Halloween, our favorite holiday. And it can be celebrated all year long, my dears, thanks to the folks at Pushin Daisies. Sez owner/operator Catherine, a licensed funeral director in Allenhurst, NJ: This site was created to remind us to take a look at the lighter side of the dark side of life. God, she's sick - and we love it. Skull beach bags, skull toilet paper, coffin earrings, even skull and skeleton hand potholder sets, all here!

November 22 - December 21 Sagittarius
Ever hear of dark tourism? Woot? Beanpole families? Learn about these and millions of other weird terms on Michael Quinion's web site World Wide Words, where Quinion elucidates on the English language from a British viewpoint. He was studio manager for BBC Radio, curator of the Cider Museum, author of several books that examine language (Ologies and Isms; Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds; Gallimaufry), and now provides citations and advice for the Oxford English Dictionary. Fascinating.

December 22 - January 19 Capricorn
Take your mouth on a flavor ride with a Pomegranate & Dark Chocolate bar from Haagen Dazs. OMFG, you will be amazed at this marriage of a silky smooth bittersweet dark chocolate shell encasing the soft, creamy fruit rush of pomegranate ice cream.

January 20 - February 18 Aquarius
My advice to you is to open a can of whoop-ass and have yourself a weekend! Suddenly remember that you have a doctor's appointment this afternoon and leave early today.

February 19 - March 20 Pisces
Spare a thought this weekend for Max Ehrmann who wrote the Desideratra back in 1927. Read the whole thing here, since the 1960's are over (: and it's not plastered everywhere as it used to be 40 years ago. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

This time I made it inside.

Last year, when I came to Barcelona, Antoni Gaudi was the only architect I was interested in, and the only Catalan architect I was all that familiar with. This time my attention turned more toward Domenech i Montaner and Josep Puig i Cadafalch (more about them later) but Gaudi still took my breath away. I did wander over to the Sagrada Familia again, that astonishing structure that just doesn't photograph very well, and like with Casa Batllo, among the Moderisme architects, he remains the most surrealist, the most organic, the least restrained.

However, on visiting his Parc Guell I was horribly disappointed. As my companion described it, it was the Flintstones for grown ups. A mall like mass of people sweltered through the park on a hot day, children being encouraged to play loud games with whistles and screams, and all of it rather like bad Fellini. The one small annoyance at the Casa was that people who had picked up the portable audio guides tended to wander about like stunned cattle, standing stock still in very odd places, and more often than not, in front of the very thing you wanted to photograph. But, no matter, what a house!

One thing not obvious from these photographs is the varied and ingenious methods of sliding wood panels that served to regulate air movement through the house.

One last picture: the interior space seen from within..

Proyecto de Antoni Gaudí, 1905. Edificada en Barcelona, entre 1906 y 1910 para la familia Milà. Es uno de los edificios esenciales de Gaudí y uno de los más imaginativos de la historia de la arquitectura, ésta obra es más que un edificio, es una escultura . Colaboraron en su realización , el arquitecto Josep Maria Jujol, los forjadores Germans Badía, el fundidor Manyach, el constructor Josep Bayo y el yesero Joan Beltrán, este último muy importante porque los trabajos en yeso de la casa, constituyen una verdadera obra de arte.

This time, the apartment exhibition.  A period apartment has been recreated in part of the building; not necessarily an attempt to replicate the actual furnishings that would have been there in the early 20th Century, just to recreate the look and style of the age.  I imagine many or all of the items on display will be genuine antiques from the period.

The odd thing for me was that the inside of the apartment looked old fashioned but the outside of the building looked modern.  Even today the architecture of Casa Milà is ahead of both its time and our time.  It is only when you tour a period apartment like this that you are reminded how old the building is.

Jument Lighthouse in France from DeputyDog's Collection of Lighthouses

Casa Battio Staircase from OObject's Collection of Spiral Staircases

I'll be in Barcelona in a few days, and may in fact, ascend this wonder.

And from the sublime to the ridiculous: from EarthTimes the Japanese Boob Pudding

The package:

Opened:

From the land of intricate etiquette, cherry blossoms, budo, living treasures, sand gardens and ikebana. Of course.

You need only search for "Casa Mila" on Flickr to get a sense of how over-photographed the world's more popular tourist attractions have become, and how high the standard you need to attain if you want to stand out from the crowd. It is almost enough to drive one to despair.

Nevertheless, here are some of my humble efforts:

Note these are not random sculptures. The various structures that adorn the roof of Casa Milà are stairways for roof access, chimneys and ventilator towers. The building would have needed these anyway so Gaudí included them within his creative scope. Why let an opportunity for dazzling creativity go to waste? Traditional chimneys and ventilators wreck the aesthetics of an edifice. Doing things Gaudí 's way turns them into an artistic asset.

Our hotel, the HCC Regente on Rambla de Catalunya, was a stone's throw from one of Gaudí's most famous buildings, Casa Milà on Passeig de Gràcia. The building, completed in 1910, is also known as La Pedrera (The Quarry).

Casa Milà is now the headquarters of the Fundació Caixa Catalunya, the cultural foundation which manages the building as a heritage site.

Gaudí was either a genius or crazy, maybe both, but his buildings broke all the rules. Why should walls be straight and boring, with just a few twiddly bits for decoration, when you can have a disturbingly curvy façade? Modernisme (the Spanish name for Art Nouveau and not to be confused with Modernism) takes its cue from the undulating shapes found in nature.

The Casa Milà pictures are collected here.

States:

Crow about how Spring is here and you can be sure you'll have to wade through several inches of snow on your way out of the house.

....................................................................

Just to ensure that everyone is sick of photos from Barcelona; I thought this one was appropriate for today. This facade is at the opposite end to the Nativity facade which Gaudi himself finished. It is so different in style, it could almost belong to a different building.

For anyone who has not been, Barcelona is really all about Gaudi. Yes, there's the Mediterranean, there's the typically continental streets for making the daily passeggiata (yes I know that's Italian, not Spanish, but that's the best description), there are the buildings which came with the Olympic Games, and there are many other artists and architects whose influence can be seen, but all of these things could quite easily be transplanted to another European city. The unique vision of Gaudi could only be found in Barcelona.

If a tourist sticks to the central Las Ramblas and the Gothic Old District, whilst they would have plenty to see, they would miss out on the most unique sights of Barcelona. Houses given his special treatment, parks designed with his particular vision and the infamous cathedral to which he was was dedicated, are almost impossible to describe.

Gaudi's designs are natural in inspiration, yet there is something more surreal about the ultimate effect.

I mean, have you ever seen anything like this in nature? The good gentleman was obviously either a genius or utterly unhinged. I'm afraid the jury is still out.

Who would devote years of their life to building a cathedral with no funding whatsoever? Indeed, Gaudi was know to go knocking doors to solicit private donations for his spectacular idea. The church of the Holy Family is still incomplete, Gaudi, when he was commissioned in 1883, knew that he would not be alive to see the completion of his ambitious design, however, with the current rate of donations, a finish is not in sight until 2010.

Others, more qualified than me, are able to discuss how work has proceeded since Gaudi's death in 1926. I would just like to point out that the next picture was taken with a 300m lens, at full zoom. The detail on this building is unbelievable. Bit like the change in weather, really.

the walk across the avigunda diagonal (the major east/west thoroughfare across the city) led me through what would seem to be on of barcelona's wealthiest neighbourhood's (or at least shopping districts).
all the big designers are here, along with some very impressive architecture.

and....the piece de resistance....the shop itself.
small, very modern, but everything was perfect.

now it's time for belgium and belcolade.
a week of intense chocolate learning.
i'm feeling excited, and anxious, among a slew of other emotions.
i just want to get started.

Czy kamienica może być cudem świata? Oczywiście, że tak. Zwłaszcza wtedy, gdy bierze się za nią arcygenialny architekt taki jak Katalończyk Antoni Gaudí. Dom Casa Batlló w Barcelonie stał się cudem w latach 1904-1906, gdy na prośbę właściciela Gaudí "trochę" go przerobił. U góry widać fragment fasady, zaś na dole dowód na to, że Gaudí wszystko przekształcał w cuda - nawet kominy i otwory wentylacyjne.

Zdjęcia na licencji Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5. Autor: Tato Grasso.

By w pełni docenić piękno Casa Batlló musicie odwiedzić tę galerię.

After a bus to Stansted Airport outside of London, we got on a Ryan Air flight to Girona, Spain (a province North of Catalunya Barcelona area). After an hour bus ride to the city bus terminal, we headed to the hostel which was the Saint Jordi on Calle de Roger. After a long check-in, we walked around the streets and especially down Gran Cortes and Placa de Gracia where we passed the famous Gaudi houses. Antoni Gaudiwas born outside of Barcelona and fell in love with the city in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s as he created some of the world’s most interesting architectural landmarks and where the phrase ‘gawdy’ comes from for its unique and out of place style. We walked to the famous street called LAS RAMBLAS where stores, bars, and markets line the street and at the top of Las Ramblas (right) there is a high number of pick pocketers (fortunately this time around I was not robbed like I was in Leicester Square). We fed pigeons at the square which was interesting and then bought Sangria to bring down to the port and beach. The weather was around 60 degrees and the clouds had dispersed which was good news. The sun was still out around 5 and we relaxed at the port and then walked to the beach to watch the sun coming down onto the Mediterranean Sea. The Sangria had hit me very hard and I was feeling pretty good at that point. After getting back to the hotel to rest up and head out, we went to a Tapas restaurant where I ordered 6 tapas of various seafood, meat, and vegetables that were amazing and were washed down by an Estrella Spanish beer. After the Tapas place, we went to El Gato Negro which was a bar that served over 500 different shots and it was one of the most unique bars I had ever been to. The next day we went to Gaudi’s most famous work, The Sagrada Familia (left), a cathedral which means the Sacred Family. It was started over 100 years ago and will still not be fully completed until 2025. The view from the top was amazing as I have never seen architecture outside and inside a cathedral like that. The detail was immense. I guess you can call it hideously beautiful. He must have been under the influence of something or very disoriented because a few days of his architecture made me dizzy. It was art on steroids. Afterwards, we headed to a Paella place called Happy Bar Hour where I enjoyed nice seafood and meat mix paella which was the best I had ever had. We then met up with another group at the Burger King Lounge. After a short rest there, we walked to the Black Sheep off of Las Ramblas which I was told had table races with mini kegs attached. I was wrong and instead we had pitchers of Sangria and San Miguel and enjoyed some laughs with some Barcelona residents.

The next morning we decided to do some more sightseeing. Barcelona has the best Metro system I have ever been on. After getting breakfast, we headed to Vallcarca to see Gaudi’s famous park called the Parque Gual. At the top of the mountain we had a hazy and cloudy view of the whole city but I thinking about people I held close to me and how lucky I was to be alive in that part of the world in that moment in time. Everything was very calm up there. After stopping at a restaurant that served herbal tea and moussaka, we headed back to the hostel to pick up our bags and disembark from Barcelona and head back to London town. Overall, Barcelona is maybe the top city I have visited for its laid back style, good weather, good food, late night life, and warm people.

Fuente:

http://www.gaudiallgaudi.com