Barcelona - Day 1

Yesterday was the Vaga General, or General Strike in Barcelona. With the radical history of the city, it's no surprise that it's residents wanted to express their opposition to the government's proposed reforms (cutting social welfare programs and other right-wing crap).

With most things closed, we walked around and enjoyed the inspiring current of energy coursing through the city. Everyone was outside, and the weather was warm, bright, and just perfect.

We saw the outside of a gothic Cathedral, Barcelona Cathedral. I loved all the gargoyles and was bummed we couldn't go inside.

We laid and napped in the sun in Parc de la Ciutadella, which was filled with palm trees, people relaxing, people selling beer, a giant mammoth sculpture, and even a bunch of citrus trees. It was a dream.

At night we walked around the waterfront, saw the Arc de Triomf, the Columbus Monument (eff that guy), and just sat and enjoyed the view.

We found this awesome vegan cafe right near our hostel, where you can get all different kinds of home-made veggie burgers, salads, sandwiches, cakes, donuts, etc. It was cheap and delicious!

I wish we had more time here. It feels magical in a totally different way from Paris and I am in love with it.

Vaga General

Writeup to follow!

Au Revoir Paris!

After a lovely week in London, we headed back to Paris for a few days. We enjoyed the sunshine and real Spring weather in Tuileries Jardin, the beautiful garden with fountains, sculptures, art, etc right between the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe. We also enjoyed a picnic with our buddies Sarah and Agatha, munching on olives, paprika Pringles, hummus, strawberries, and chocolate. Yum!

Also, I made it to the epic Chanel boutique on Rue Cambon and touched all the beautiful expensive things.

At the end of our last day, after walking by some of our favoritecspots, we made a delicious dinner at home and went over to the Eiffel Tower to see it sparkle at midnight. We had some strong feelings and heartache about leaving Paris, which has been magical and where we called home for the past month.

Alas, on to new adventures!

Without Internet but now we have a little!

We are in a pretty busy area close to the water and La Rambla.... Arriving just in time for the general strike, which we had not anticipated!
Well more on that soon but a major update is that we have found a haven of vegan delicious foods all a stone's throw from our hostel!
Here is Melanie with a brutally good vegan donut.
Our number one fave is certainly Gopal so far. Incredible (and dirt cheap) home made patties out of beets and tofu and herbs and grains, they boast a healthy range of flavors and a lot of sandwich combos you can put them in.
Also great potatoes bravas though The local vegan star Cat Bar Cat may make them better with a chipotle sauce.....

Ready to fly

We have been in Paris for about a fraction of a second and now are preparing to head to Barcelona tomorrow afternoon! I've never been, neither has Melanie, and our hostel is right in the middle of a lot of vegan food, old gay bookstores, and two blocks from the water. I have no idea what it will be like but we are so excited.

Paris has been difficult to say goodbye to - we had a good number of adventures and really dealt with heaps of logistics while we have reliable Internet....
Barcelona is en route to Rome, where we will be enjoying some solid friend hangs.

Being transient is pretty new to me - a mix of fun and challenging.
I miss the furchildren though.

 

On Ile de la Cite enjoying some springtime sun.

 

Everyone has a lot of feelings.

 

We visited a massive permanent flower and plant market that is on the island.  It as so beautiful and smelled like being trapped inside a giant greenhouse.  I think I got my daily fill of oxygen within ten minutes.  

 

Oh.   Hi. 

 

Paris makes yr paws dusty. 

 

Feelings foreverrr.

 

This guy thought he could hide the innuendo of these apples in his hand from me, but he couldn't.

Back in Paris!

We had no internet on our phones but back we are! And enjoying our last few days in Paris.

 

Hangin tough with some guys we know. 

 

Almost home. 

 

We slugged it at les Jardins des Tuileries today for a long little while today. 

 

At a pretty comprehensive Artemisia Gentileschi exhibit at the Musee Maillol.

The Tower of London

We visited the Tower of London yesterday and it was well worth the £13 ea. (you can order student tickets online and they didn't even ask us for I.D.!). We pretty much spent all day there and it contained over 1,000 years of royal / political history.

It was excellently curated, the sort of situation when you are exploring some beautiful old detail somewhere and want more information and -- oh! Here is a tiny modern plaque explaining who was likely the person who etched this witchy zodiac in this tower wall 900 years ago.

A lot of questions answered. 

 

They keep ravens there, massive ones with clipped wings (no thanks, guys.) because of an old omen about their removal bringing down the tower.

Anyway, the crown jewels are there and massive solid gold punchbowls and goblets and the like, which of course you are not permitted to take photos of.

Some substantial executions happened there, you know, Anne Boleyn and other folks.

The most exciting thing there for me was the exhibit and installations throughout the entire complex that explained the history of the Royal Menagerie and how exotic animals were kept and viewed there for about 800 years.

I wanted more info than they would ever consider reasonable to post at any historic site so checked the bookstore for more info and oh! What's this here? Why a small book on the very same subject with contemporary illustrations and handbills - for £9? Oh no! Marked down to 50 p.!

It pays to like things harder than other people.

This is all exciting because I'm going to be needing as much information as I can muster for my next body of work on animals / animal trade & imperialism.

That place is the best.

Tons of other things. Other things that would pain my thumbs to text on my phone onto this blog at this current juncture.

Go there. It is exceptional.