Barcelona Street Performer

I ran into this gem of a street performance while walking along the boardwalk / seafront. It seems that this amazing gal belongs in Cirque du Soleil!

P1150309 from shirah-eden on Vimeo.

Barcelona in February

I spent the first week of this month in Barcelona, where we kicked off a course comprised of joint collaboration between my university (Aalto) and ESADE, called Innovation in Action.  I didn't have an exorbitant amount of time to explore the city, but I definitely made the most of the time I did have!  After a long, dark winter in Finland, my #1 goal was to maximize sunlight absorption!

Tip: click any photo to enlarge! 

Walking thru the neighborhood of Gracia, I looked up to see this magnificent dwelling on the hill.

A design by famed Spanish Catalan architect
Antoni Gaudi.  He's known as the face of
Catalonian Modernist architecture, and his
buildings are spread out all over the city.

First meal: Fresh Spanish Quesadillas. Ham & Mushroom for
me, oozing some kind of delicious Spanish cheese. Yum.

This is the coolest sundial I've seen in a while. Definitely a
piece I could enjoy having in my garden.

a tribute to my collection of doorways from around the world

Here's part of our group in front of another Gaudi masterpiece - La Sagrada Familia.
This church has been under construction for 40 years, using only donations from the public.
Still a ways to go, but already staggeringly beautiful.

Façade detail on one side of La Sagrada Familia

The inside of the church supposedly looks like a forest. It's a
25 euro entrance fee, so I didn't want to invest while I only
had time to run through it. Hoping for a long visit when I go
back in May!

Old meets new

I've just fallen in love with these balconies!

The Catalan flag is proudly displayed in many homes and
balconies.  Tensions between the Catalan people and Spanish
government aren't especially high at the moment, but they tend
to fluctuate. I was able to learn a lot about the unique culture
and language of Catalunya from some local students.

They say that if you drink from this fountain, you are sure to
come back to Barcelona. I must have slurped a few litres, such
was my enthusiasm for the sun, beauty, and charm of this place.

Fresh baked bread

local graffiti

An incredible street performer. Video to come.

Views from my window in Muntaner

In La Boqueria - an open air market

red hot chili peppers

authentic oven-baked nachos

home grown garden graffiti

afternoon espresso in Plaça de Catalunya

watching the sun rise with these men & women of old

If In Doubt, Innovate

Proud to see my university (and some programs I'm involved with) featured in The Economist this week!  We're at the forefront of innovation in the Nordic countries.

Ironically, as a perfect example of why we're getting a lot of press:
In 3 days I'll be flying out to Barcelona for a week, where about 10 other Aalto students and I will be working with with students at ESADE during a four-month internationally collaborative Innovation in Action course.  There are incredible opportunities for passionate, motivated, and innovative students in this part of the world!

Read the full article here   

 .... Hasta la vista!

If I were a Princess, Aljaferia would be my Palace of Choice

This may have been the most relaxing visit to a new country I've ever experienced. I succomb far too often to the pressures of seeing and doing everything possible while traveling, and I just can't do it anymore. It becomes exhausting and unenjoyable, and it causes me to lose sight of how blessed I am to be able to make the journey in the first place!

En route to Zaragoza

Against all odds, I arrived safely and on time in Zaragoza. My heart sunk this morning as I was on the first leg of the journey – a bus trip – and realized that I left ALL the tickets I had printed (airport shuttle, flight, and hostel) on my bed at home. It was too late to go back; I would have missed my flight and all the connecting means of transportation before it. So I just prayed and prayed, and hoped, and prayed that in this age of computers I would be permitted access to everything without my tickets. Fortunately the shuttle driver took pity on me and offered to use his cell phone to call the main bureau and check my inscription. Access permitted sans extra fees. Then I got to the Ryanair desk and was told that I'd have to pay 40 euro to have my boarding passes printed at the check-in counter. I explained my situation and the fact that I had already checked in online, as requested. Can you imagine? $60 USD for 1/3 sheet of paper that takes two seconds to print? For once I didn't try to hide my surprise and the fact that I thought a policy such as this completely absurd. But I complied and headed towards the queue for the “Passengers Without Print-outs” window. No sooner had I stepped into line but a young lady came up to me and said, “Mademoiselle, the lady at the register said to come back. She said that if you have your passport she can give you your boarding pass, no problem.” Perhaps my reluctant but polite compliance softened her heart. She was very kind and smiled warmly as she handed me the boarding pass. Once again, access permitted. Two hurdles successfully cleared.

Upon arriving in Spain I had the most wonderful realization. I understand and speak more Spanish than I would have ever guessed!