Fred and Ginger...cool guys...

Frank Owen Gehry, CC (born Ephraim Owen Goldberg, February 28, 1929) is a Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles.
His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions. Many museums, companies, and cities seek Gehry's services as a badge of distinction, beyond the product he delivers.

The building actually looks much better in person. No lie. I was not a big fan, but it is very interesting and admirable.

Next Stop, Praga!

Prague (IPA: /ˈprɑːɡ/, Czech: Praha (IPA: [ˈpraɦa]), see also other names) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Its official name is Hlavní město Praha, meaning Prague, the Capital City.

Right after Turkey, we went to Prague. This was also amazing, especially because we meet with other students from the Rome program (Ryan, Dean, and Mat). We all had a blast. We went to the National Museum, the Progue Castle, which is the biggest castle in the world, and the Tyn Church. The Progue Castle was astonishing, the size and the unique architecture. We had a chance to see the changing of the guards in the castle. The food was especially good. In Prague we also had a chance o experience the nightlife, something we did not get to do in Turkey. The National Museum was also amazing because of the prehistoric animals. It was not just paintings. Too see Progue was another good choice.

Después de Turquía fuimos a Praga. Este viaje también fue espectacular, especialmente porque nos reunimos con otros estudiantes del programa de arquitectura de Roma (Ryan, Dean, y Mat). La pasamos de maravilla. Algunos lugares que fuimos fue el Museo Nacional, el Castillo de Praga, y la Iglesia Tyn. El Castillo de Praga fue espectacular en tamaño y en la arquitectura. Aquí tuvimos la oportunidad de ver el cambio de guardias dos veces. Una diferencia que tuvimos en Praga fue que pudimos pasar algún tiempo en la vida nocturna, algo que no hicimos en Turquía. El Museo Nacional fue tremendo gracias a que no solo eran pinturas sino que tenían animales prehistóricos. Ir a Praga fue una Buena decisión.

Welcome to Turkey!

Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace (Rumelia) in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe.

In the spring break a couple of friends (Alex, Jenna, Scott, and Metzler) and I went to Turkey to see and experience a culture closer to Asia. We certainly got an experience, that’s for sure. We got a Turkish bath that consists of you stripping down and getting a shower by a guy (if you’re a guy) or a girl (if you’re a girl). The guys had the privilege of wearing a little towel, but the girls, well, not so much. Of course it was communal showers, so you could see how your friends got showered and scrubbed down. It does not sound fun, but it was an amazing experience. We also went to see Haghia Sophia and the Blue mosque, as well as the city and the bazaar. The food was also great.

En la semana libre que tuvimos a mitad de semestre, algunos amigos (Alex, Jenna, Scott, y Metzler) y yo fuimos a Turquía para poder tener una experiencia mas cercana a Asia. Definitivamente la tuvimos, sin duda. Fuimos a los baño turcos el cual consiste en quitarse la ropa y dejar que un hombre o una señora te bañe. A los hombres los bañaba un hombre y a las mujeres, una mujer. Los hombres tenían el privilegio de usar una toalla, el cual era muy pequeña, pero no me quejo ya que las mujeres no tenían nada. Era en un baño comunal. Por supuesto, un lado para los hombres y otro par alas mujeres. No suena muy divertido pero lo era. Fue una experiencia inrequesedora. También fuimos al Ayasofya y a la Mesquita Azul, al igual que otros lugares en la ciudad como el “bazaar”. La comida también era muy buena. Fue una experiencia única.

VIP @ Sagrada Familia!

The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (official Catalan name; Spanish: Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia; "Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family"), often simply called the Sagrada Família, is a massive Roman Catholic church under construction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Construction began in 1882 and continues to this day.

Our history teacher, Cece, took us to see the great and famous Sagrada Familia. I believe it to be one of the best buildings created. Not because of the size or the time it has taken to built, but because of the theory and thinking behind Gaudi and the current architects. When the Sagrada Familia was being designed by Gaudi, he thought of it as been a tree. Gaudi was an architect that enjoyed studding nature. The interior of the church is purely based on tree forms and branches. It is breath taking. The advantage of going with our history teacher is that she found us passes to go were they are currently building. It was a real privilege to go 120 meters up and see were they are currently starting to build the middle tower (or so I think is). Also, we got a tour with one of the architects, and he knew quite a bit of the project.

Nuestra maestra de historia, Cece, nos llevo a la grandiosa y famosa Sagrada Familia. Yo pienso que es uno de los mejores edificio creados en la historia de la arquitectura. No por el tamaño ni por el tiempo que ha tomado construirla, sino por el pensamiento detrás de Gaudi y los arquitectos presentes. Gaudi saco todas sus ideas de los árboles y las ramas de ellos. El era un arquitecto que le gustaba estudiar y apreciar la naturaleza. El interior de la iglesia es puramente diseñada en árboles. El trata de imitar un bosque. Una ventaja de ir con nuestra maestra de historia fue que pudimos ir al área de construcción. Fue un privilegio por ir al tope de la iglesia el cual son unos 120 metros. En estos momentos están construyendo la torre central y nosotros pudimos apreciar como pasaba. También tuvimos una pequeña introducción a lo que esta pasando actualmente en el proyecto ya que nuestro guía era uno de los arquitectos que esta trabajando en la iglesia.

Calatrava is awesome

The Alamillo Bridge in Seville, Andalusia (Spain) spans the Canal de Alfonso XIII in Seville, allowing access to La Cartuja, an island between the canal and the Guadalquivir River. The bridge was constructed as part of infrastructure improvements for Expo 92.

The Calatrava bridge in Sevilla is absolutely stunning!

Best trip of my life!!!

The Alhambra (from Arabic الْحَمْرَاء = Al-Ħamrā', literally "the red one"; the complete name was الْقَلْعَةُ ٱلْحَمْرَاءُ = al-Qal'at al-Ħamrā' = "the red fortress") is a palace and fortress complex of the Moorish rulers of Granada in southern Spain (known as Al-Andalus when the fortress was constructed during the mid 14th century), occupying a hilly terrace on the southeastern border of the city of Granada.

So I kinda missed a week because we went into what I can call THE BEST TRIP OF MY LIFE!!! We went to Madrid, Cordova, Granada, Sevilla, and Merida. This has been the best trip of my life, no doubt. We went to different Museums and parks, but the top three places that impressed me were Calatravas bridge in Sevilla, Alhambra in Granada, and the gothic church in Sevilla. These would be the best places to visit. If I had a chance, I would definitely go back to this places. In Alhambra we had a little picture feast. Enjoy.

Derive to this park

Well this week I decided to go searching for a park that I could write on. I went in the night just to see how well illuminated it was and how safe it was. The park is located between Carrer Francesc Perez-Cabrero and Carrer de Ferran Agullo. It is basically all green with small walking areas and a kids playground. During the night the playground does not look that safe. It is all dark and spooky. I went with two friends and they told me they wouldn't go alone there. The children appeared fine. They were having fun with their parents and other children as well. As you can see from the pictures, the park is relatively big, so it can be dangerous at times. I recommend going to this park during the day. The nature is also abundant.

Pues esta semana decidi ir a visitar a un parque para escribir un poco en el blog. Fue por la noche para ver cuan iluminado estaba y cuan seguro es. El parque esta localizado entre Carrer Francesc Perez-Cabrero y Carrer de Ferran Agullo. Basicamente es mucha vegetacion con areas de caminar y un lugar para que los ni~os jueguen. Por la noche el lugar no es muy seguro ya que la iluminacion no es apropiada. Es bastante oscuro. Cuando fui, fui con dos amigas y me dijeron que ellas no volverian solas por la noche. Los ni~os parecian estar bien apesar de la oscuridad. Los ni~os se sentian bien ya que sus papas estaba alli. Como pueden ver por la foto, el parque es bastante grande, pero esto lo hace peligroso porque hay muchas esquinas con poca vigilacia. Yo recomiendo ir a este parque por el dia. La naturaleza hace a este parque esencial en esta ciudad tan poblada de edificios.