Live the Language

EF - Live The Language - Paris from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

Have you seen these incredible and gorgeous little videos from Gustav Johansson, Niklas Johansson, and Albin Holmqvist?

They warm my heart and make me squeal with delight. These are the simple pleasures of travel... seeing, learning, and doing - and so beautifully presented. Really spectacular!!

So far cities include: Beijing, Barcelona, London and Paris.

Each video brings me back to my time in each of these cities.

I can't wait for the German version. They remind me of my own language school experiences.

Don't they make you want to jump into language school as soon as possible?

elBulli

Here's to hoping you are one of the lucky few to get reservations this year - or next...

elBulli is going to close for 2012 + 2013!

We've submitted for any opening they have this year, so we are crossing our fingers / holding our thumbs (the German equivalent). I could certainly handle another trip to Spain and some amazing food at the #1 restaurant in the world! (Only 8,000 of the 1 million requests are granted reservations).

We also visited Gordon Ramsey's Maze in London whose head chef previously worked at elBulli... another outstanding meal.

I'll try to write soon about yet another molecular restaurant we visited during our travels. I have plenty to write about that!

To read more about molecular cooking check out the course we took here in Munich.

Railway city maps

Be still my little heart.

I cannot look at these maps without drooling. They are from 0 / 0 (Zero per Zero), and now I think I need them all - framed in a little corner of our apartment. They were designed by two Korean university students.

The illustrated maps and subway networks are just striking. The difficult part is that the fronts and backs and both gorgeous... how do you choose which side to display?

I'm sure they are also very useful for travel purposes.

Available cities include:
Barcelona
Hokkaido
Tokyo
Osaka
Seoul
New York City

Book making

Ever since I was small, I loved books. I also loved giving gifts, so naturally I would 'bind' my own books by folding paper, along with a construction paper cover - decorated by yours truly with a delightful illustration. Who could ask for a better gift? - even if the paper's weren't even folded symmetrical and were bound with staples. My books sure beat Stefan's paper spice rack, which he gave his mom one year for Christmas, but that's another story.

In college I learned how to really bind my own books, which were a little bit of a glorified version of the aforementioned. They were hard back and the pages were no longer held together with staples, but sewed with wax coated thread. Sure there was craftsmanship involved, but filling them was always the issue.

Look no further... I have progressed. My new books are really bound and resemble a book you would purchase at a store. Sure they are sent away for someone else to make, but the contents are mine. I really make them for my own entertainment.

However, I was delighted when I made my mother in law a calendar, and she and my father in law swooned over how it could be sold in stores and how beautiful it is. I made it in a similar style to my first book (layout pictured below), featuring travel photos that I digitally edit to make, you guessed it, more colorful versions of the originals.



And here is more detail, featuring photos of Munich and Barcelona from the world travels book.





I have since completed that book and I'm currently working on a beautiful children's book about languages. I need to do a little bit more research (aka traveling) before that will be completed. I will save the surprise and images until then, but let me tell you - it's exciting!

Munich is second to New York City for publishing, from what I hear. So who knows... you might just see some of my fine works of art at a book store near you sometime in the future!

Barcelona

We had such an amazing time visiting Barcelona and I think it easily has become one of my favorite cities with so much charm and character.

When we arrived I think they had a baggage issue, because we waited for over an hour for our luggage to come through. Stefan heard it once again from me that he needs to have a smaller bag that we can carry on. We finally got our bags and hopped on the bus into the city and then to Plaça Catalunya. We promptly went to the tourist information office and picked up tickets for the next day's bus tours. I would rather roam about, but a city like Barcelona is so huge that doing some kind of tour is almost a necessity during the first visit.

Our hotel was modern and simplistic - just the way we like them. It also had a beautiful courtyard with a few cats roaming about. After getting settled, we hit the town and went down to the shore and into Christopher Columbus, one of the great views that I had read about. While there was virtually no space to move I was able to get some panorama images, which I always love.



After a long day of roaming around the harbor and Port Vell area, we wandered back down Las Ramblas and through the beautiful Barrí Gótic neighborhood. I was struck by all of the 'store fronts' that were spray painted garage door coverings. The winding alley ways reminded me of Venice. There was a definite bohemian spirit through the city.

We stumbled upon a little tapas restaurant and were not sure how much food to order, however we walked away quite content with our sangria and tiny plates as we prepared for a day of sight seeing.

The next day we were awe struck by the Gaudi architecture. All of it was simply amazing and creative. We decided to bypass the other tourists and go directly to Sagrada Familia one of the most inspiring and complex structures I have ever seen. I really appreciated that the people shared Gaudi's visions and were still making his plan happen nearly 100 years later. The dripping façade was striking and had so many stories involved in it (the turtle on the side facing land was a land turtle, whlie the otherside towards the ocean was a sea turtle). Being able to enter it during the construction is also amazing.

The interior was completely organic and very much drawn from nature. Looking up you felt as though you were standing under trees and the sun was gorgeous as it shined through the windows and over head. I was very happy that we decided to go before the mass humanity came. That enabled us to go up into the steeples and get a beautiful view of the city. It was an awe inspiring moment that I will never forget. Barcelona quickly rose in ranking to be one of my favorite cities.

We also stopped at the MNAC, a beautiful art museum and the near by site of the 1992 Olympics. The olympic's site was less than amazing, but I am happy that we were able to see it. We started to talk about the Dream Team. Funny memories.

Our next destination was to Park Güell, a whimsical and colorful park built off Gaudi's imaginative designs. We walked up the hill past a beautiful violet house that I had seen a photo of online and I was delighted that I didn't have to search for it. Upon arriving to the gates of the park we were greeted with a woman dressed as the Gaudi dragon that is made of tiles. We opted to get our photo taken for a small donation. Surely she would be baking under all of that costume. We felt like we were constantly buying water.



The park was also awe inspiring. There simply aren't words to explain what a stunning and spectacular mind Gaudi had. The tourists were surely awake by this time, because we had tons and tons of people around. We walked down through the area and finished two loops of the bus tour around the city. We still had two for the next days.

I wish that we had more time to spend at the Boqueria market that we near our hotel. Unfortunately it was a Saturday and would be closed Sunday. Seeing all of the foods and commotion is neat.

We made our way to Plaça Espana and Font Majica, the colorful classical music themed fountain near the MNAC at night. The light show was beautiful and I was happy that we went. If I were to go back to Barcelona I would undoubtedly stay at the 'B Hotel' located close by. I am happy however, that we stayed right off Las Ramblas for our first visit. The Barrí Gótic quarter was definitely my favorite neighborhood (where our hotel was located).