It all began when the Super and I decided it was time to downsize our lives. So, this summer – we moved. From a 3,500 sq. ft. log home on beautiful Lake Darling to a 1,500 sq. ft. condo/duplex on No Name Pond – an Uber ride 2 miles away. Said condo, however, was 28 years old and certain upgrades would be required. Beginning here with the kitchen, and built in bookcase and desk (the bathrooms we’ll do next summer) . . .
November 14
[We hired a crack construction crew from Shevlin, Minnesota, to come down and remove part of a free standing wall in the kitchen . . . ]
[But we still had to get electricity to the island, so electrical wires still had to be carried over the top. The house was built on a slab, so there was no other way . . . ]
[Before the end of the day, the demolition had been completed, the wires cut awaiting re-installation, and we lived without power to the kitchen ceiling lights (and refrigerator which we temporarily moved to another wall) for a month. You get skilled help when you can get it . . . ]
[Now we had a unobstructed view between the living room and kitchen . . . ]
December 13
[We wanted to upgrade the sink, countertops, and cabinet doors (the Super loved the original cabinets themselves). Jami and Danny came down again and disconnected the sink . . . ]
[We thought the cabinet door hardware dated and the wood too dark . . . ]
[The Super had already begun a kitchen paint job. “Baked Bean,” which seems appropriate for a kitchen, here in the refrigerator nook. This was the only place for a refrigerator in the original house design, so there’s no way to hook up water. Thus, instead of having an icemaker, we have to tough it out the old way – with ice cube trays!]
[Here our wires are hanging for ultimate reconnection to the island . . . ]
[As was . . . ]
[Arrival of the workers and their stuff. In the background you can see they have removed the old countertops . . . ]
[Our blank wall in the dining room would become wall-to-wall bookcase . . . ]
[It was a wintery looking day, though we have little snow . . . ]
[The bookcase is filling in nicely . . . ]
[The cabinet guys have one truck; the countertop guys the other . . . ]
[It’s nice to have an electrician for a son-in-law. Here you can see the design for getting electricity back to the island – a wood overpass then through a hole in the granite countertop. This brought full power back to the kitchen. The new cabinet doors and hardware visible behind Danny . . . ]
[The countertop guys could not initially fit the new sink. We had to get a plumber over immediately to re-route some pipes. Fortunately, they stayed around until it was done. Nothing happens without glitches . . . ]
[Said sinkhole (and new cabinet doors and hardware) . . . ]
[What used to be called “guy stuff” . . . ]
[A better view of the overpass – with bookcase in the background . . . ]
December 14
[Time to photograph the mostly completed work . . . ]
[The bookcase brings warmth to the house . . . ]
[Season’s Greetings!!]
[A plumber came in the morning and hooked up the new sink . . . ]
[We’re not done yet. Still more to be painted, install a backsplash and more trim, and eventually put in a new floor . . . ]
[So far we like the new look . . . ]
[And we have a much nicer view through the house to outside . . . ]
[My new desk (Ruthie’s is on the porch) at the back of the living room . . . ]
[And now the book project – long packed away in boxes in the laundry room. Likely a multi-day procedure . . . ]
It always seems impossible until it’s done. ~ Nelson Mandela
We had never experienced 2018 before. Gazing into the future, we will never experience 2018 again. It was a one and done. There are pluses and minuses. The pluses included THREE overseas trips – five if you count Colorado and Wisconsin as being “overseas.” We moved. After 17 years in the lake home we built on beautiful Lake Darling, it was time to downsize our lives and living quarters. Of course, the first ‘plus’ puts a kibosh on the downsizing of our ‘lives.’ The minuses are – well, the tugs of aging are making it more difficult to do such things. So, let’s just dive into it. . . .
As always, Christmas music from our friend Lisa Lynn . . .
January (with the usual apologies to Dave Barry)
[We began the new year completing this trip . . . ]
[And what a beginning to the New Year – sunrise in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico . . . ]
[OK, that’s a lot – but I had more!]
[Our boat . . . ]
[Our boat going through the Panama Canal (a drone shot) – the first Viking ship to do so. All passengers were endowed with a statement of recognition accordingly . . . ]
[Hi from our tender going ashore . . . ]
[January 1st is also the Super’s birthday. My thoughtful birthday presents were a dozen surfboards . . . ]
[Fun in Cabo at Senor Frog’s. I’m thinking of having “tourist” tattooed on my forehead . . . ]
[And then the sunset was the equal to the sunrise . . . ]
[Then in open water until arriving in LA, our cruise end point . . . ]
[Flaunting my disobedience . . . ]
[Before disembarking the ship for the last time . . . ]
February
[Back home, doing familiar things. A wine pickup party at Carlos Creek Winery with Josie Nelson providing the entertainment. A pattern that continues throughout the year . . . ]
[Then it was off to Colorado for Aunt Pearl’s 90th birthday. Here we are enjoying beautiful weather in Rocky Mountain National Park . . . ]
[And catching rays on the Stanley Hotel porch, Estes Park . . . ]
[The whole famn damily, with friends, at cousin John’s in Estes Park . . . ]
[Auntie with two of her larger nephews . . . ]
[Auntie with her older brother, my dad . . . ]
[And as the winter sports season was coming to an end, we made our annual pilgrimage to the Twin Cities to once again follow our girls hockey team in the state tournament (Echo Press photo) . . . ]
March
[In seasons like no other, our girls basketball team and boys hockey team also made their respective state tournaments. We should have taken out a month lease in the Cities. Here the basketball team is on the hallowed floor of Williams Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota . . . ]
[Coach Wendy Kohler broke the record for most wins by a female coach and was inducted into the state’s basketball hall of fame . . . ]
[The boys made it to the championship game after being the 4th-seed in their section (Echo Press photo) . . . ]
April
[River Songs & Tales with Mark Twain at the Alexandria Area High School’s Performing Arts Center. With the Ensemble Singers, folk fiddler Sara Pajunen and Don Shelby (longtime Minneapolis TV news anchor) as Mark Twain . . . ]
[Mr. Shelby and the Super are native Hoosiers and had much to discuss . . . ]
[In a banner year for our Cardinal sports teams, Kaye Paschka helped set the tone as a multi-sport star, here in the triple jump . . . ]
[“Weakie,” my forever walking buddy, deigned to join me for the track meet . . . ]
May
[The Run for the Roses annual fundraiser for Theatre L’Homme Dieu at the Alexandria Golf Club. The Super, as always, won . . . something . . . ]
[Then the Gopher Coaches Caravan came to town. We shared a table with men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino at the Legacy of the Lakes museum . . . ]
[Then it was off to Russia, just because it’s there . . . ]
[First day dining in Helsinki with travel partners, Pam and Tom. As I recall, the food was more than delicious . . . ]
[And whom amongst us doesn’t enjoy ice cream in Finland. It was the warmest May in recorded history there – sunny and low 70’s every day!]
[A lovely avian headdress for Havis Amanda at the Market Square in Kaartinkaupunki, Helsinki) . . . ]
[Helsinki port, as the Super and I took a one-day ferry trip to Tallinn, Estonia . . . ]
[The Super and I each found a new friend in Tallinn – I’ve forgotten their names?]
[Then it was time for the Russia part of the trip – high speed train from Helsinki to St. Petersburg. The only way to fly . . . ]
June
[On our ship, Viking Akun, for the cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Every cruise begins with safety procedures . . . ]
[TheHermitage in St. Petersburg, famed in song and story . . . ]
[Where the Super made a new friend . . . ]
[And, of course, cruises are about eating . . . ]
[And ballets (OK, first time) – the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg . . . ]
[For Swan Lake . . . ]
[On the grounds of Catherine’s Palace in Pushkin . . . ]
[Catherine’s Palace, a selfie paradise . . . ]
[Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg. A significant facility . . . ]
[Freddie Mercury? On a bench in St. Petersburg? If you haven’t yet, you must see Bohemian Rhapsody . . . ]
[The Super on the ‘water’ side of Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg . . . ]
[And the aforementioned palace . . . ]
[Just so you know . . . ]
[And this was in the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood . . . ]
[The Super wasn’t sure about this one – I liked it, a photo of mother and daughter as our St. Petersburg canal cruise went under their bridge . . . ]
[A selfie on our boat, occasion not recalled . . . ]
[As I regularly awake before 5:00 am, I was always first for breakfast to this small dining lounge just a few steps from our room. Thus, it was a hangout . . . ]
[Cruising Russia, the passageways between several large inland bodies of water . . . ]
[Pam slides in Mandrogy. I think she did pick up a splinter . . . ]
[The Super on the Moscow street where you GUM . . . ]
[And the aways popular St. Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square . . . ]
[Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, the tallest Orthodox Christian church in the world . . . ]
[Russian folk orchestra concert in Moscow . . . ]
[Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow. With the pace of tour movements, people in our age group are always looking for opportunities to sit down – as demonstrated here by the Super . . . ]
[Hamming it up in Alexander Gardens outside the Kremlin Walls . . . ]
[Could it be hamming it up with Mother Russia?]
[The Super snaps a shot of the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre. Unfortunately, we did not have interior access because of the forthcoming World Cup activities . . . ]
[Fly me to the moon . . . ]
[Where the above photo was shot, Voshod Restaurant in Zaryadye (new Moscow park) . . . ]
[The Super and Tom on the hovering bridge in Zaryadye . . . ]
[The Super met a Russian journalist there to cover the World Cup . . . ]
[A trip favorite in the Kremlin’s Cathedral Square – now that’s a selfie!]
July
[In the magic sculpture garden of Vining, Minnesota . . . ]
[It’s camp time! All our campers fine dining in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, hard by the shores of Lake Michigan . . . ]
[Viva, Sheboygan!!]
[The Biddies, famed in song and story, starring in Camp Brosius, the camp . . . ]
[There was a Western theme at camp this year – what could be more Western than a Hawaiian swim suit . . .]
August
[Camp! The annual pilgrimage to Camp Brosius, the Indiana University alumni camp, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. I don’t know what possessed me to join The Biddies in the pristine waters of Elkhart Lake . . . ]
[A camp field trip to Lake Michigan, once again featuring The Biddies . . . ]
[Presenting . . . the campers . . . ]
[All the campers in our group. To know them is to love them . . . ]
[Why yes, I was the only guy living in our 5-star hotel, Rappaport cottage. . . . ]
[A reunion of sorts at the Legacy of the Lakes Museum. We’re with Ahna, among the first to sway us to the delights of girls high school hockey, back home 12 years later for her dad’s retirement as the head honcho of the museum . . . ]
[The Theatre L’Homme Dieu fundraising soiree on the theatre’s campus . . . ]
[Rose and I were colleagues at the Department of Labor where our lunchtime activities included seeing who could complete a crossword puzzle the fastest. She was her high school valedictorian, so guess who won. She was home to Minneapolis for a reunion . . . ]
[MY BIRTHDAY PRESENT . . . ]
September
[William Kent Krueger came to town again for another book signing. We’ve come to know him so well when we see him we say, “Hi, howya doing?”]
[See the next photo . . . ]
[Some people have connections in high places (though not us) . . . ]
[Related, and happy together . . . ]
[Enjoying lovely weather at our “new” home. Yes, we moved from our 3,500-square foot house on Lake Darling to a 1,500-square foot duplex condo on an environmental pond in August. And for those who are sending cards to our old address, we did advise all of our new address back in June. We have the same mail deliverer and she probably thinks we old people didn’t tell anybody we moved! Again, 416 Voyager Drive, Alexandria, Minnesota 56308 . . . ]
[Happy Birthday, to me!]
[The “John and Natalia Obert” sign seemed appropriate since it was the only sign we had . . . ]
[Visitors from Arizona, Aunt Mary Kay and Uncle Tom; visitors from the Cities, brother Cam and cousin Beth. First, at the AGC . . . ]
[Then at the Legacy of the Lakes Museum . . . ]
[The view from the new home sweet home . . . ]
[It was previously known as No Name Lake, a friend suggested Lake H2Obert.]
[The Art Leap in Park Rapids . . . ]
[The Alex Class of ’65 has a reunion lunch every month, no RSVP required . . . ]
[A fundraiser for the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra . . . ]
October – December
We went to Spain. The results of the trip are still in the early stages of being blogged. Then there was some sort of election. Then the winter sports seasons and community education movies began, and our partners in crime in Russia arrived for an extended stay from Texas to take care of Tom’s dad. Then it was time for the annual Christmas letter . . .
Spoiler alert: A few sneak preview shots from Spain . . .
[The trip, from October 20 – November 1, began in Barcelona, then Madrid, then to Granada, then to Seville, then to Cordoba, then back to Madrid (and Toledo), then . . . home.]
[We moved into a 28-year old house. It needs upgrades. We brought a crack construction crew in from Shevlin, Minnesota, to de-construct before remodeling begins – likely to be finished before this missive . . . ]
[OK, we’re getting close . . . ]
[Signing off (yeah, I know, finally) so Seasons’ Greetings, Happy Holidays, dosvedanya, andmay you stay forever young!]
Aren’t we forgetting the true meaning of Christmas. You know, the birth of Santa? ~ Matt Groening
[We were on our own in the morning. We came out of the Diagonal subway stop to this amazing place to start the day, at Gaudi’s la Pedrera on Passeig de Gracia. We will be back here on a guided tour in the afternoon (in Part 2). Remember then the brochure about it is here . . . ]
[Kitty-corner from la Pedrera, Casa Batlló Passeig de Gràcia 43 designed by Antoni Gaudí . . . ]
[He really was quite unique (duh!) . . . ]
[The Flatiron Building?]
[The Picasso Museum . . . ]
[The Museu Picasso houses one of the most extensive collections of artworks by the 20th-century Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. With 4,251 works exhibited by the painter, the museum has one of the most complete permanent collections of works. The museum is housed in five adjoining medieval palaces in Barcelona’s La Ribera and is located on Montcada Street in the (Bank District) of Barcelona. It opened to the public on 9 March 1963, becoming the first museum dedicated to Picasso’s work and the only one created during the artist’s life. It has since been declared a museum of national interest by the Government of Catalonia (Wikipedia).]
[Why yes, we do love climbing stairs . . . ]
[The Super and Anne are leading the way . . . ]
[Hi! It’s me at the Picasso Museum . . . ]
[Well, why not?]
[An archeological dig into antiquity . . . ]
[In the heart of the city . . . ]
[Oh my, even photographing information is a selfie . . . ]
[Impressive building, but not found on the Google machine?]
[The gargoyles of Gotic Barri . . . ]
[Gothic Barcelona is in . . . ]
[The center of the old city. Nice shot, Bill!]
[Our friends are back out on their balconies . . . ]
[The Super can always find yummies . . . ]
[Did I already mention that Halloween is a big deal in Spain? I think I was wearing a particularly scary mask . . . ]
[Shopping along the edges of Gotic Barri . . . ]
[This was good for a few laughs . . . ]
[Please have the children leave the room . . . ]
[Again, Gothic Cathedral of Santa Eulalia in Gotic Barri . . . ]
[And its square . . . ]
[Old street sign – Baixada de Santa Clara El Barri Gotic . . . ]
[Galerias Sant Jordi souvenir shop in Gothic Quarter . . . ]
[More yummies . . . ]
[Outdoor dining, studying maps, readying for our afternoon guided tour . . . ]
[Yummies, not behind glass!]
[We’re now on our tour, though this one wasn’t ours . . . ]
[Meet your guide just outside Jaume I Metro. Exit onto Plaça de l’Àngel, in front of Café Cappuccino. Look for the guides in red SANDEMANs NEW Europe T-shirts.]
[And I amazingly remember our group walk to this place . . . ]
[Els Quatre Gats is a café that famously became a popular meeting place for famous artists throughout the modernist period in Catalonia, known as Modernisme. The café opened on June 12, 1897 in the famous Casa Martí, and served as a hostel, bar and cabaret until it eventually became a central meeting point for Barcelona’s most prominent modernist figures, such as Pablo Picasso and Ramon Casas i Carbo. The bar closed due to financial difficulties in June 1903, but was reopened and eventually restored to its original condition in 1989 (Wikipedia).]
[Now we’re heading for a walk in the big city . . . ]
[Good luck crossing here . . . ]
[We are walking north up Passeig de Gracia, a major avenue (obviously) . . . ]
[‘Passeig de Gràcia’is an elegant and majestic boulevard which was a showcase for Barcelona’s bourgeoisie at the turn of the 19th century (waymarking.com).]
[The Old Fountain on Passeig de Gracia . . . ]
[The H & M boutique flagship on Passeig de Gracia in the former Generali bank . . . ]
[Monument al Llibre by Joan Brossa . . . ]
[ “Flor de Barcelona panot,” 18 different tiles or panots cover the streets of Barcelona. Some of these pavement tiles have been designed by top names in the architecture of Barcelona. Flor de Barcelona is a design of Puig i Cadafalch. Or the Gaudí tiles that cover Passeig de Gràcia that, as you may have guessed, is made from a design of Antoni Gaudi (barcelona.blogspot.com)]
[Passeig de Gràcia lamp post . . . ]
[Pere Falqués i Urpí – 1850-1916 – designed the street lamps . . . ]
[The beginning of “The Block of Discord” . . . ]
[Among all the significant buildings however, is one block with addresses at numbers 35, 41 and 43 Passeig de Gracia, that generates considerable interest and lots of camera clicking. Between the years 1898 and 1906 three of the era’s most important modernist architects took existing buildings on the block and refurbished them in such dissimilar visions and contrasting styles that the street is often referred to as “The Block of Discord” (noparticularplacetogo.net).]
[The Illa de la Discòrdia is noted for having buildings by four of Barcelona’s most important Modernista architects, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Antoni Gaudí, Josep Puig i Cadafalch and Enric Sagnier, in close proximity. As the four architects’ styles were very different, the buildings clash with each other and the neighboring buildings. They were all built in the early years of the 20th century (Wikipedia).]
[Casa Lleó-Morera Passeig de Gràcia 35 designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner (above), and ’39’ (below) . . . ]
[Casa Mulleras Passeig de Gràcia 37 designed by Enric Sagnier . . . ]
[Casa Amatller Passeig de Gràcia 41 designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch . . . ]
[And what’s now contained therein . . . ]
[Looking back down to the beginning of the block . . . ]
[And now inside ’41’ . . . ]
[Whoa, more goodies!]
[And as I recall the Super purchased some. We will begin Part 2 next with the Gaudi house . . . ]
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~ George Carlin
Last weekend the Cards, then No. 2 in the state Class AAA rankings, travelled to the Hopkins Tip-Off Tournament and defeated then No. 1-ranked DeLaSalle, 59 – 49. This was their first game as the new No. 1 . . .
[Yes, the Class of 65ers were back at the gym for the second night in a row (amazingly we duplicated the photo from the previous night), our Cards hosting the St. Cloud Tech Tigers . . . ]
[A reminder . . . ]
[This is a pre-game routine where the players try to toss an orange spheroid through the metal hoop attached to a glass backboard . . . ]
[The idea is to make them a high percentage of the time . . . ]
[Of course, there is an ongoing repartee concerning the finer point of academics . . . ]
[This is senior center McKenzie Duwenhoegger. How prescient of me to realize at this time that she would ultimately be selected player-of-the-game . . . ]
[The spheroid is lofted skyward by an official person to start the contest . . . ]
[McKenzie rises after it . . . ]
[And tips it back to a teammate . . . ]
[One of those rare instances when a random photo catches the athletic elegance of the game . . . ]
[Mia likely made a steal, or received an outlet pass, and streaked downcourt (or was it upcourt?) . . . ]
[When you think of the factors that currently have us ranked No. 1, one could begin with guards Kaye and Mia. They are 5’8″ and 5’7″, respectively, which is pretty good size for high school guards. Plus, both are excessively mobile . . . ]
[When you match them with three 6-footers on the front line, we have a lot of defensive wing span making things not much fun for the opposition . . . ]
[Four starters with McKenzie just off camera . . . ]
[Seen many times in her career, the back of No. 3 going in for a layup . . . ]
[Mia at the foul line. We’ve had a lot of early season rust from here so far . . . ]
[Then Jonesie . . . ]
[The ongoing nightmare for our opponents – to be double-team trapped by Ella and Kaye against the sideline and centerline. The outcome could not have been favorable for the Tigers . . . ]
[Hall of Fame coach Wendy Kohler well on the way to her 10 zillionth win . . . ]
[We must be doing good – she appears speechless. 😉 ]
[Jaya Hatlestad (13), sophomore, on line. She’s part of the “line change” unit, as is Alayna Strand (25), sophomore, when Kohler subs in 3 – 5 players at a time, not unlike hockey . . . ]
[Ella and Kaye back in and in full court press mode. The full court defense is always in mode until the game gets out of hand . . . ]
[Yup, it’s an effort just to get the ball inbounded . . . ]
[Ella on the line, with mixed “lines” on the court now . . . ]
[This may be our trickery play. Ella inbounds to Jonesie, who fakes a hand off to Ella coming around the outside, then Jonesie turns inside dribbles along the baseline for a layup. Worked perfectly . . . ]
[Cate’s another ball hawk who’s driving in after a steal . . . ]
[I remember a game last year where some young quick guards were giving us fits. Cate, then a freshman and not playing much, came in and turned the game around with her defense . . . ]
[When you’re in the 3rd row, you’re pretty much up close and personal. Ella is our usual inbounder . . . ]
[Kaye starting the offense with a pass to the right flank . . . ]
[Then cuts hard to the center – if she gets open, Ella will hit her . . . ]
[The Tigers are thinking, I don’t want the ball . . . ]
[Here Summer Gerhardt (1), junior, has joined Ella and Kaye with the pressure defense . . . ]
[Mataya Hoelscher (23) goes for the steal with Cate coming in to assist . . . ]
[No, it’s mine!]
[At the half, the Tigers finally got a few open looks late – they could make shots when they didn’t have a Cardinal in their face . . . ]
[Kaye, meditating or napping, before she goes into full energy mode again . . . ]
[I am oft asked, “So, just how fast is Kaye Paschka?” Well, last night we were sitting in the 3rd row and when she dashed by on one of her forays to the basket, the part in my hair changed sides! She is a track star and will be doing such at Augustana next year, if I remember right . . . ]
[The rare home game radio broadcast . . . ]
[We’ll close this out with McKenzie on the foul line, and Ella displaying the smile of a game in hand . . . ]
[The game went to running time with 9 minutes left, which is the rule I believe when a team has a 40+-point lead. The Cards are mostly away now until January – only one more home game until then. There’s some challenging road games ahead, so they get to test their mettle . . . ]
A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me, I’m afraid of widths. ~ Steven Wright
Last year our girls hockey and basketball teams and our boys hockey team all made state tournaments. I heard boys basketball was going to be up and coming this year. Although they lost their first two games, both on the road, they’re very young. I was looking forward to a peek . . .
[The warm-ups . . . ]
[6’10” sophomore Treyton Thompson apparently made a splash in Twin City summer leagues . . . ]
[“Home of the Cardinals,” lest you can’t read anything printed in red . . . ]
[Whadya think of that new apartment complex being built downtown?]
[Meanwhile, back at the shoot around . . . ]
[If you noticed at the center court meeting, two-year starting point guard Trey Hoepner was in civvies?]
[And the tip, controlled by Treyton . . . ]
[Though it looked painful for him . . . ]
[Since I didn’t shoot the intros, the starting lineup (as I recall and refer to the program): Cody Branson (3), junior; Carsson Jones (11), junior; Anders Hedstrom (22), senior; Colton Roderick (35), sophomore; and Treyton Thompson (42), sophomore. And I don’t think any of these guys started last year?]
[Carsson (11) in the lane. He was magic, particularly in the first half, both distributing and scoring. The regionally inspiring, The Boy Tenor, projected him as a star in the making last year . . . ]
[And here he is making a 3 . . . ]
[The 3 players in this photo, Colton, Treyton, and Carsson, the all-name team and all underclassmen, appear to form the core of the team . . . ]
[Colton walks it up . . . ]
[He was the leading scorer in the previous game; Treyton in the first . . . ]
[Here comes Carsson, who has the ability to drive through traffic . . . ]
[Cody at the foul line with Anders in a rebounding position marking an all-name starting five . . . ]
[Looks like a steal by Carsson . . . ]
[And speed up court . . . ]
[Maintaining ball control . . . ]
[Colton at the line . . . ]
[Lots of first half activity, not a lot of scoring. Holding the Spartans to 16 for a half, not bad!]
[Spoiler alert: As posted on FB – With strong support from 4 members of the Class of ’65, the Cardinal boys basketball team easily dispatched Rocori. We look pretty good . . . well, the team looks pretty good. Doctor Tom Kiehne (between Brad Anderson and Ruth Helie Anderson) was in town from Austin, Texas – this was his first appearance at a high school game in 53 years . . . ]
[A Spartan attempting a shot over Treyton, who impressed me with his defensive ability to keep his feet on the ground, not trying to block every shot . . . ]
[In so doing, he did a good job rebounding . . . ]
[More from the youth movement, freshman Kristen Hoskins (21) played much and contributed much. He had an impressive late season push as a running back on the football team . . . ]
[Treyton has all the necessary tools to be a terrific player. But as a 6’10” sophomore he needs to grow into himself, i.e., eat of pizzas and doughnuts!]
[Good shooter . . . ]
[And they all played defense that would make Kohler proud . . . ]
[Colton brings it up with Cody . . . ]
[An exciting future the next three years? With these two it could be fun.]
[And Treyon wraps it up from the line . . . ]
[This team will be fun to watch this year. They play up tempo and are going to get better. They may get over powered by some teams until they get heftier . . . ]
True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country. ~ Kurt Vonnegut
If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him… We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth. ~ John F. Kennedy
[Thus, seeking nourishment, the Super and I sought out fellow fans of Theatre L’Homme Dieu and found them happily ensconced at the Garden Bar on 6th. A shout out to Mahrie Ohren for venue hosting the TLHD 2019 announcement party . . . ]
[Psssst, have you heard what the first show of the season is going to be?]
[There’s been no leaking?]
[Have 6 strings, will travel . . . ]
[Eric Clapton who?]
[From Mahrie’s charcuterie board . . . ]
[From Mahrie’s wine cellar . . . ]
[I thought the Flegenheimer Bros. were a 1930’s traveling circus?]
[Sometimes the “background” is foreground . . . ]
[Under the I, 17 – that’s I 17 . . . ]
[Bingo! (Otherwise known as the CEO of the Class of 65’s lunch time and place venues . . . ]
[Was that N 32? I can’t hear the caller with that “background” music?]
[How can you get a Bingo when only two numbers have been called?]
[Yes, we did get a Bingo – we paid in advance for three squares!]
[Heads-up. He’s pointing his camera at us.]
[We’ll show him . . . ]
[We’ll give him big smiles!]
[All I am saying, is give peace a chance . . . ]
[OMG, we’re not even safe in the food line . . . ]
[No, they’re not Rocky Mountain oysters . . . ]
[Vick has been keeping us happy here for over 10 years!]
[The bar is hopping . . . ]
[And so is Nicole . . . ]
[Our fearless leader, the executive director of TLHD, does a great job bringing fun and culture to our fair community . . . ]
[The high school carolers have arrived . . . ]
[And away they sing . . . ]
[Now the place is so packed, my duties as the photographic chronicler of the event prevents me from getting back to our table in the corner . . . ]
[So, sing along with the carolers . . . ]
[Then it was time for Nicole to announce the upcoming season . . . ]
[So up on her soapbox she got . . . ]
[Play No. 1: (TBA). . . ]
[But Erik’s playing it cool . . . ]
[Play No. 2: Blue Skies Grey by Shapeshift Theatrical, July 9 – 13 . . . ]
[Ably assisted by a former TLHD staffer, (I know I’m going to screw this up) Sarah (?)]
[And yes, Erik also helped with the billboards . . . ]
[Play No. 3: Til Death: A Marriage Musical, July 16 – 20 . . . ]
[Play No. 4: Kevin Kling – Autobiographical Tales, July 23 – 27 . . . ]
[Play No. 5: Church Basement Ladies 7: You Smell Barn, August 6 – 10 . . . ]
[Concert No. 1: Matt Vee Family & Friends Celebrate Neil Diamond, July 5 . . . ]
[Concert No. 2: Jeff Dayton: A Salute to Glen Campbell, July 31 . . . ]
[Concert No. 3: Six Appeal Vocal Band, August 14 – 15 . . . ]
[You may recall . . . ]
[They wowed the assembled masses . . . ]
[At the end of last season’s fundraiser soiree . . . ]
[A good get again!]
[And there you have it, boys and girls! Tell all your friends and neighbors, and even some not so friends. We are big fans of that theatrical acronym: SRO!]
[And on the way home. I was going to go to the boys hockey game, then I thought – that was enough excitement for one night. BTW, Cards won 10 – 0 – apparently my support wasn’t needed.]
[The carolers, of course, were long gone by now. But they seem an appropriate way to end this missive . . . ]
If you want to help the American theater, don’t be an actress, be an audience. ~ Tallulah Bankhead
[Walking away from the port, I got a chance to work on my Catalan. Now that I know “obert” means “open,” and educated guess would be that the African reserve is “open all year.” Correctamundo!]
[Joan Salvat-Papasseit, Catalan poet . . . ]
[Chistopher Columbus, an Italian sailor . . . ]
[Spain’s flag, over a government building?]
[We were looking for a way to street level, but this one was blocked?]
[Bunch of cool-looking, unidentified buildings – note the giant prawn on the lower left, soon to be identified . . . ]
[The History Museum of Catalonia . . . ]
[With a park and a boat in the foreground . . . ]
[A boat named . . . Itasca?]
[And off the waterfront, beginning our walkabout . . . ]
[El Cap de Barcelona Head (Barcelona’s Head by Roy Lichtenstein) . . . ]
[Gambrinus, Javier Mariscal’s lobster/prawn statue . . . ]
[Previously shot from below along the waterfront . . . ]
[The post office . . . ]
[The Gothic Quarter . . . ]
[The Gothic Quarter is the centre of the old city of Barcelona. It stretches from La Rambla to Via Laietana, and from the Mediterranean seafront to the Ronda de Sant Pere. It is a part of Ciutat Vella district. The quarter encompasses the oldest parts of the city of Barcelona, and includes the remains of the city’s Roman wall and severalnotable medieval landmarks. Much of the present-day fabric of the quarter, however, dates to the 19th and early 20th centuries. El Call, the medieval Jewish quarter, is located within this area, along with the former Sinagoga Major. The Barri Gòtic retains a labyrinthine street plan, with many small streets opening out into squares. Most of the quarter is closed to regular traffic although open to service vehicles and taxis (Wikipedia).]
[Then a momentary brush with modernity, on the side . . . ]
[And food stuff!]
[Agreed! Indeed, a wonderful place . . . ]
[Back to the medieval, Chapel of St. Agatha Gothic Tower . . . ]
[This life size bronze equestrian statue of Ramon Berenguer III was sculpted by Frederic Marès and inaugerated in 1950. Located in Plaça Ramon Berenguer el Gran, the monument is a replica of an earlier statue which was created by Josep Llimona for the Barcelona Universal Exposition of 1888. The Count, who ruled Barcelona from 1097 to 1131, is portrayed in regal pose riding his horse Danc. The ancient Roman walls of Barcelona and the medieval Palau Reial make a perfect backdrop (barcelonalowdown.com).]
[Bubbles and kids (neither of which are Gothic)!]
[Woo-hah! Guess who?]
[Always a flower child . . . ]
[Described in the following photo . . . ]
[The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, also known as Barcelona Cathedral, is the Gothic cathedral and seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona. The cathedral was constructed from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, with the principal work done in the fourteenth century. The cloister, which encloses the Well of the Geese (Font de les Oques) was completed in 1448. In the late nineteenth century, the neo-Gothic façade was constructed over the nondescript exterior that was common to Catalan churches. The roof is notable for its gargoyles, featuring a wide range of animals, both domestic and mythical (Wikipedia).]
[Double checking our location in the “shadow” of the cathedral . . . ]
[Aquaduct and gate of the Roman wall . . . ]
[Sculpture outside La Seu Cathedral on Carrer de Bisbe in Barri Gothic district . . . ]
[A glimpse of the outside (inside) world . . . ]
[So, Minneapolis wasn’t first with skyways . . . ]
[Bridge of Sighs . . . ]
[Barcelona City Hall in the Gothic Quarter on the Place de Sant Jaume (Saint James Square) . . . ]
[The “woman” on the balcony . . . ]
[Joined by a “man” on a balcony . . . ]
[The mannequins on the balconies?]
[Antoni Llena’s chicken wire tribute to Castellers. Located in Plaça de Sant Miquel behind Barcelona’s City Hall, this unusual 26.5m high stainless steel tower by Antoni Llena i Font was unveiled in 2012 during the Feast of Santa Eulalia. The statue is titled Homenatge als Castellers and is a tribute to the emblematic human towers which are a traditional feature of public events in Catalonia (barcelonalowdown).]
[The fun pedestrian streets . . . ]
[The fun vegan fast food cafes . . . ]
[The fun beautiful surprises . . . and where we ultimately had dinner . . . ]
[Well, why not?]
[And this is what we accidentally stumbled into . . . ]
[Plaça Reial is a square in the Barri Gotic. It is to La Rambla, and is a well-known tourist attraction, especially at night. On the plaza are a large number of restaurants and some of the city’s most famous nightclubs, including Sidecar, Jamboree, and Karma. The square is the site of the Hotel Roma Reial and club, and is also known for its many outdoor venues. It is a popular meeting place during the summer, during the annual La Merce festival in September when open-air concerts take place, and during other celebrations such as New Year’s Eve (Wikipedia).]
[And a video thereof . . . ]
[And where we dined therein . . . ]
[Of course, I can no longer remember the name of the specific restaurant . . . ]
[Flash; followed by no flash . . . ]
[The wine, and the fine dining, were very good . . . ]
[Melon and Spanish ham . . . . Mmmmmmmm, good.]
[Back home (i.e., our hotel lobby) – the next day would be our 3rd in Barcelona.]
If you’re too open-minded; your brains will fall out. ~ Lawrence Ferlinghetti
We momentarily interrupt Spain for the Cardinal girls’ basketball team’s seasoner opener . . .
[I arrived in time for the last few minutes of the JV game. Always nice to see what’s coming up in the pipeline . . . ]
[Then the varsity came out for warm-up drills . . . ]
[OK, who do I remember from last year?]
[Here’s senior center McKenzie Duwenhoegger – she has signed with the ‘U’ to toss around the discus and to put the shot for the track team . . . ]
[In mid-photo, junior guard Mia McGrane . . . ]
[McKenzie “putting” the basketball . . . ]
[Looks like senior guard Kaye Paschka with the flying hair . . . ]
[And the shoot around . . . ]
[Richie and Marlene Braun, famed in song and story . . . ]
[Starter introductions . . . ]
[Kaye (3) . . . ]
[Mia (5) . . . ]
[Ella Grove (11), junior forward . . . ]
[Emily Jones (55), senior forward . . . ]
[McKenzie . . . ]
[Boom Shakalaka (well, you come up with something) . . . ]
[McKenzie gets the opening tip . . . ]
[And I just noticed her dad, high school principal Chad, high in the stands in the black long sleeved shirt . . . ]
[And just below Chad, Dave Harris, the retired Voice of the Cardinals . . . ]
[McKenzie scored the first 7 points of the game . . . ]
[I was glad to see Kohler’s assessment of the game was the same as mine. First game jitters undoubtedly contributed to a rather sloppy game with poor shooting and lots of turnovers . . . ]
[But those are the kind of games in which the Cards excel. Except for a few minutes at the start of the second half, their fullcourt, all-the-time pressure defense created havoc. And havoc leads to easy baskets at the offensive end. Here’s Ella at the point of the defense with her six footedness . . . ]
[Sophomore guard Cate Bloom (21) on the ball . . . ]
[And here’s Kaye, the gnat to beat all gnats. Her quickness always a thorn in the opponent’s side . . . ]
[And here likely another steal by her . . . ]
[Well, our aggressive defense does lead to a lot of fouls . . . ]
[Here Jonesie chases down a Warrior . . . ]
[Maybe a good spot for a little live game action . . . ]
[Here’s Mia on a breakaway . . . ]
[She was fouled . . . ]
[A shoots a freebie accordingly . . . ]
[Kaye: Oh, yeah . . . ]
[Kaye and Cate as backcourters. Because of the pace of play, the Cards play a lot of players – coming in in groups of 3, 4, 5 . . . ]
[I believe this is junior center Larissa Lamb . . . ]
[At the half – the Cards spurted to the end . . . ]
[THREE!!]
[Cards inbound under their basket . . . ]
[Mia inbounds; Ella again gets caught in the camera’s wrong focus point . . . ]
[Kaye and Ella bring it up . . . ]
[The energizer . . . ]
[And shooting a freebie . . . ]
[Then Jonesie . . . ]
[We played to our strengths, three 6-footers on the front line rebounded well, and the whippet guards create turnovers. As I recall, McKenzie had 19 points with good inside position, Kaye and Mia had 12 and 11, respectively. We’ll be a tough out this year.]
[p.s. Did we ever tell you about Thanksgiving dinner in a champagne flute at the winery?]
Upon hearing this is Kohler’s 33rd year at the helm of the Cardinals, several subpoenaed her Kenyan birth certificate for verification . . .
[After the Sagrada Familia tour, we were free to wander about on our own – so we did! Here we’re getting our bearings for a walk to the Barcelona waterfront on the Balearic Sea.]
[And this appeared to be the major thoroughfare to accomplish such . . . ]
[La Rambla is a street in central Barcelona. A tree-lined pedestrian street, it stretches for 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) connecting Placa de Catalunya in the centre with the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell. La Rambla forms the boundary between the quarters of Barri Gotic, to the east, and El Raval, to the west. La Rambla can be crowded, especially during the height of the tourist season. Its popularity with tourists has affected the character of the street, with a move to pavement cafes and souvenir kiosks. The Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorce once said that La Rambla was “the only street in the world which I wish would never end” (Wikipedia).]
[The can be crowded part was certainly in effect on this day . . . ]
[Well, let’s escape the crowds of La Rambla on a side street. Oooops!]
[Actually, we were looking for a place to have lunch. And this is what we found . . . ]
[Overlooking a rather supersized food market . . . ]
[The Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, often simply referred to as La Boqueria, is a large public market in the Ciudad Vieja district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, and one of the city’s foremost tourist landmarks, with an entrance from La Rambla, not far from the Liceo, Barcelona’s opera house (Wikipedia).]
[But lunch . . . ]
[Bill ordered paella – we all nibbled around the edges . . . ]
[And then down to the market . . . ]
[The Super discovered something!]
[Spain is ham; ham is Spain . . . ]
[OK, let’s see if we can find our way out of here . . . ]
[Obviously our adventures in Barcelona were not universally appreciated . . . ]
[The Gran Teatre del Liceu, or simply Liceu in Catalan, is an opera house on La Rambla in Barcelona, Catalonia. The Liceu opened on 4 April 1847. The adjacent Liceu metro station is named for the theatre (Wikipedia).]
[Back on still crowded La Rambla . . . ]
[There’s that Gaudi name again . . . ]
[The Palau Güell is a mansion designed by the architect Antoni Gaudi for the industrial tycoon Eusebi Guell and built between 1886 and 1888. It is situated on the Carrer Nou de la Rambla in the El Raval neighborhood. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Works of Antoni Gaudí” (Wikipedia).]
[A building . . . ]
[The Teatre Principal (in Catalan, or in Spanish Teatro Principal) is the oldest theatre in Barcelona, founded in 1579, built between 1597 and 1603 and rebuilt several times, mainly in 1788 and again in 1848. The theatre was originally named the Teatro de la Santa Cruz in Spanish (or Teatre de la Santa Creu in Catalan). It is located on the famous avenue of La Rambla (Wikipedia).]
[Continuing on, we began running into sidewalk cafes for which we were looking before lunch . . . ]
[Though not a Mickey Dee’s . . . ]
[The Super and Anne looking over a variety of small beverages . . . ]
[Frederic Soler, a Catalan playwright . . . ]
[Sidewalk art . . . ]
[Still Frederic . . . ]
[Whoa, waterfront ahead – the Jaume I Tower at Port Vell . . . ]
[And the living “statues” of La Rambla – this Gaileo guy is an internet viral photo . . . ]
[Here helping a young man view the heavens . . . ]
[A photobombing guy . . . ]
[The Columbus Monument is a 60 m (197 ft) tall monument to Christopher Columbus at the lower end of La Rambla. It was constructed for the Exposicion Universal de Barcelona (1888) in honor of Columbus’ first voyage to the Americas. The monument serves as a reminder that Christopher Columbus reported to Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand V in Barcelona after his first trip to the new continent (Wikipedia).]
[Meanwhile, back at the living statues . . . ]
[The Military Government of Barcelona (Gobierno Militar) building . . . ]
[Aduana de Barcelona, old customs building, across from the traffic circle with the Columbus monument . . . ]
[On the circle . . . ]
[Bill shooting the circle – well, the items therein . . . ]
[The Super at the base of the Columbus monument . . . ]
[And here’s the top. A monument to the guy who discovered America 130 years after the Vikings?]
[Barcelona Sunset Port Vell Traffic Circle Metal Sculpture, very important in the life and times of this cub reporter. Several years ago the Super and I took a Mediterranean cruise. It ended in Barcelona. We got off the ship, immediately took some mode of transportation to the airport, and flew home. This sculpture is my only memory of Barcelona from that trip . . . ]
[Port of Barcelona – it says so on the building . . . ]
[Christopher himself is a 24-foot tall bronze statue atop a 131-foot tall Corinthian column . . . ]
[Stuff is going on at the Port . . . ]
[A boat. An old boat. With two masts . . . ]
[Looking across the harbor . . . ]
[A cruise ship, the tower, and a sightseeing boat . . . ]
[Columbus from the docks . . . ]
[Barcelona sailing club?]
[The waterfront walkway from the pier . . . ]
[The Port Vell area . . . ]
[Strolling the pier . . . ]
[Cable cars approaching the tower . . . ]
[Oy, collision ahead?]
[Anne and the Super grab a seat, scour the map, and eyeball a local avian . . . ]
[My Barcelonan attachment . . . ]
[Buenos dias, senor (senora?) pajaro!]
[Further conversation was not possible because of the language barrier . . . ]
[But it was a beautiful day for a photo of happy tourists . . . ]
[And we’ll finish up Day 2 with Part 3 next . . . ]
Every country gets the circus it deserves. Spain gets bullfights. Italy gets the Catholic Church. America gets Hollywood. ~ Erica Jong
The next morning, the start of a big day. We walked to Sagrada Familia, which was as I recall a litte less than a mile straight east of our hotel. A beautiful morning for a walk – so we did. After our tour of the cathedral, we spent the afternoon strolling to the waterfront. Accordingly, I took well over 200 photos on the day that will likely require three separate postings . . .
[First job was to cross our busy street. It was morning rush hour – an amazing number of people, men and women, commute by motorcycle or scooter . . . ]
[Then it was lovely on the roads less traveled . . . ]
[The second building from the left is a Gaudi (much more on Antoni Gaudi as we go along). The distinctive design of his structures are a, if not the, major attraction in Barcelona. We’re heading for one now in the Sagrada . . . ]
[Some wag on the Google-machine posted this: . . . stands in the middle one of the many “glorietas” (traffic circles) which stud the boulevard(s). And I can’t identify or find this one . . . ]
[Or this one . . . ]
[Bill and I wondered about the flag. It is, as Bill suspected, the Catalan flag. It is also, as he suspected, very similar to the Puerto Rican flag . . . ]
[And we’ve arrived at Sagrada Familia (“Sacred Family”) . . . ]
[The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família is a large unfinished Roman Catholic church, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi (1852–1926). Gaudí’s work on the building is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 Pope Benedict XVI consecrated and proclaimed it a minor basilica, as distinct from a cathedral, which must be the seat of a bishop. In 1883, Gaudí took over as chief architect, transforming the project with his architectural and engineering style, combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms. Gaudí devoted the remainder of his life to the project, and he is buried in the crypt. At the time of his death at age 73 in 1926, when he was run down by a streetcar, less than a quarter of the project was complete . . . (Wikipedia).]
[Relying solely on private donations, Sagrada Familia’s construction progressed slowly and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, only to resume intermittent progress in the 1950s. Since commencing construction in 1882, advancements in technologies such as computer aided design and computerised numerical control (CNC) have enabled faster progress and construction passed the midpoint in 2010. However, some of the project’s greatest challenges remain, including the construction of ten more spires, each symbolising an important Biblical figure in the New Testament. It is anticipated that the building can be completed by 2026—the centenary of Gaudí’s death. Describing Sagrada Família, art critic Rainer Zerbst said “it is probably impossible to find a church building anything like it in the entire history of art”, and Paul Goldberger describes it as “the most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic architecture since the Middle Ages” (Wikipedia).]
[Next to the “minor basilica’?]
[We were not yet on our planned trip tour, so Bill had arranged this Sagrada tour ahead of time. We met a guide with a red umbrella on the street between the basilica and its same named park. We were comfortably early . . . ]
[So, go into the park and take lots of photos . . . ]
[The start of several vantages . . . ]
[Beautiful blue sky backdrop . . . ]
[As previously noted, the basilica is scheduled for completion in 2026. The existing four spires will be the shortest of the 10 more to come. Here are four examples of the completed project on loan from the internet.]
[Back in current time, Bill’s still snapping photos . . . ]
[While the Super and Anne take advantage of a seldom-found bench . . . ]
[As I worked my way around, I found photo op crowds at every opening . . . ]
[I squeezed through to get a shot over the park pond . . . ]
[To the other side of the pond . . . ]
[I guess other tourists had heard about this place too?]
[We have joined the tour and are in the waiting area for tour groups . . . ]
[There was a discussion of this piece of art. I can’t remember what it was nor can I find anything on it. I think it’s new . . . ]
[The detail of the sculptures in the building . . . ]
[Our guide is rounding us up for the final assault . . . ]
[But first, a model of the completed structure . . . ]
[I can’t believe I can’t find anything on this?]
[Bill’s getting the poop, the whole poop, and nothing but the poop . . . ]
[And then we both photo the model . . . ]
[The detail is amazing . . . ]
[And here you have Asian faces because they were done by a Japanese sculptor . . . ]
[The Nativity façade’s Charity portico is closed by two pairs of extraordinarily detailed doors designed by the Japanese sculptor Etsuro Sotoo. Each pair of these bronze doors is 7 metres tall and 3 metres wide (rob-tomlinson.com).
[Welcome to the inside . . . ]
[I was an immediate fan – crisp interior, clean, and not overly busy as most such places often are . . . ]
[Shooting straight up . . . ]
[Seems like a good spot to stick in the video . . . ]
[It looks crowded but it didn’t feel that way . . . ]
[The most obvious transformation that Gaudí managed was to fuse the forms of nature onto the man-made. Columns were no longer symmetrical architectural forms that merely carried weight, but were stone trees arranged as if in a forest, bathed in ever-changing light, reaching upwards in pursuit of the loftiness of medieval cathedrals. His plan was to have the basilica form a link between the earthly and the heavenly and at 172.5 metres to be Barcelona’s highest building, just 50 centimetres less than Barcelona’s nearby Montjuïc mountain. When finished, this will become the tallest church on the planet (rob-tomlinson.com).]
[And we’re out – the Super grabs a seat (aways, when you can) . . . ]
[The west-facing Passion façade . . . Gaudí wanted this façade to frighten and this explains its starkness and restraint. There is the Last Supper, Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denial and, in all, the Twelve Stations of the Cross. There is the dove descending and the risen Christ. There are pillars like bones. The four bell towers of this façade contain tubular bells which are surrounded by sloping vents to help carry their sound to the streets below (rob-tomlinson.com).]
[The Magic Square – if you add the number grid horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, the answer is always 33, the age Jesus is traditionally believed to have been at execution . . . ]
[The Super is checking it out from below . . . ]
[Now we’re trying to figure out where we are and where we’re going . . . ]
[The Sagrada Família Schools building was constructed in 1909 by the modern Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi near the site of the Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Sagrada Familia. It was a small school building for the children of the workers building the Sagrada Familia although other children of the neighborhood attended, especially from the underprivileged classes . . . (Wikipedia, and photo) ].
[The building has a rectangular footprint of 10 m (33 ft) by 20 m (66 ft), and contains three classrooms, a hall, and a chapel, with lavatories in an addition to the building. The construction was done with a brick facade, in three overlapping layers, following the Catalan technical tradition. Both the walls and the roof have a wavy form, that gives the structure a sensation of lightness but, at the same time, great strength. On the exterior three areas intended as open-air classrooms were covered with iron pergolas. The building has been seen as an example of constructive genius and has served asa source of inspiration for many architects for its simplicity, stamina, original volume, functionality, and geometrical purity (Wikipedia).]
[And we’re in the classroom now . . . ]
[The Super’s apparently bored with the subject matter . . . ]
[OMG, another selfie?]
[Because he is (and will be) featured so much in Barcelona: Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Spanish architect who is the best known practitioner of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí’s works have a highly individualized, and one-of-a-kind style. Most are located in Barcelona, including his main work, the church of the Sagrada Familia. Gaudí’s work was influenced by his passions in life:architecture, nature, and religion. He considered every detail of his creations and integrated into his architecture such crafts as ceramics, stained glass, wrought iron forging, and carpentry. He also introduced new techniques in the treatment of materials, such as ‘trencadis’ which used waste ceramic pieces. Under the influence of neo-Gothic art and Oriental techniques, Gaudí became part of the ‘Modernista’ movement which was reaching its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His work transcended mainstream ‘Modernisme’, culminating in an organic style inspired by natural forms. Gaudí rarely drew detailed plans of his works, instead preferring to create them as three-dimensional scale models and moulding the details as he conceived them. Gaudí’s work enjoys global popularity and continuing admiration and study by architects. His masterpiece, the still-incomplete Sagrada Família, is the most-visited monument in Spain. Between 1984 and 2005, seven of his works were declared World Heritage sites by UNESCO. Gaudí’s Romn Catholic faith intensified during his life and religious images appear in many of his works. This earned him the nickname “God’s Architect” and led to calls for his beatification (Wikipedia).]
[Wrapping it up in the school . . . ]
[In the future . . . ]
I would sooner be a foreigner in Spain than in most countries. How easy it is to make friends in Spain! ~ George Orwell
[The warm-ups . . . ]
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