Christmas time in Mallorca

 

I spent another pre-Christmas week in Mallorca for work. It was a fairly relaxed in comparison to previous Mallorca work trips. I had no problems flying to the U.S., unlike last year when I got stuck in London. However, I did have the pleasure of spending 10 hours in Newark, NJ waiting for my plane to Milwaukee. Let's just say I'm looking forward to a little break from travelling. I had a nice Christmas with my parents and extended family, although it was a bit brief.

Can I get an IRON? PLEASE?

What the hell is it with continental Europe and irons and ironing boards? Is there a EU law prohibiting them in hotel rooms? You always have to ask for one (hopefully you check-in early enough to get it before the housekeeping is gone). Then, you stay in a crappy hotel in Madrid and they don't have 1) a clean iron so it ruins your shirt and 2) an ironing board (try ironing a dress shirt on a blanket and see how that works).

Scenes of Munich

I got into Germany LATE last night. I was so tired and as usual on this trip, couldn't sleep. I got up this morning and after meeting with the manager of my company's Munich store, I was able to snap some photos before my train to Frankfurt. I got some great photos, aided by the clear and sunny sky. Got into Frankfurt tonight and had dinner with Bernd, who is charge of the staff and operations in our Germany stores. Back in the hotel now and soooo ready for bed.  

Slice of London

 

European Work Tour

Well, about four weeks ago I found out that I'd be in charge of the product for our stores in UK, Germany, Ireland and Holland for a few months. In order to have a better idea of the needs of each store, I had to embark on two-week European tour. I began in Berlin last week Monday. I travelled to Madrid for a meeting, and then spent the last four days in London. I had a little bit of time for exploring, but not too much. I'm heading back to Germany to finish my visits to Munich, Frankfurt, Koln and then Amsterdam.  

curbed posting

One of my favorite blogs is called Curbed. They blog about real estate in New York City. While they often discuss uber-expensive condos, most of the entries are about new architecture in the city. They also discuss changing neighborhoods, for better or worse. (Williamsburg is in the thick of good/bad gentrification).
A couple of months ago, on my way to work, I noticed an old building beginning the condo conversion. The interesting thing about the building was that it featured amazing graffiti and artwork on its outside walls. The building was an ever-changing canvas with art in spray paint, paper, and mosaic forms. Well, when Erik and I were walking to the subway in Soho a week ago, we noticed a new add on the outside of the condo. I submitted the picture to Curbed and they posted it today!

some pre-renovation pictures of the building I took this spring:

fire island

Erik and I had a great Labor Day weekend. We had a BBQ on Friday night. It turned into a mini-Chicago ex-patriot party with four of my friends who used to live in Chicago. On Saturday we recovered from the previous night and took the Long Island Rail Road out to the Fire Island ferry. Fire Island was amazing! After a quick lunch, we met up with our friend Josh, dropped our stuff off at the room he was renting and then hit the beach. After a couple hours (and a nap) we went back to Josh's place and got ready for afternoon tea. (Tea on Fire Island = drinking) We slept in on Sunday and headed to the beach after breakfast. The beach was so beautiful. We ran into some of our friends who have had a share on Fire Island this summer. We spent Sunday night drinking (with a quick dinner break). We woke up Sunday and had breakfast with Josh and our friend Reto who showed up Sunday evening. We took the ferry back around one and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at home.

living spaces for artists

New York passed a new law giving artists money to pay for rent. I think it will be interesting to see who gets the money, but I think it is a great plan considering the vast amounts of tax breaks New York City has given to banks and corporations to keep their headquarters in the city.

http://www.amny.com/news/local/am-artists0831,0,2691542.story

hectic summer

Well, its Labor Day Weekend and a slow day at work. I am thinking of getting started with my blog again, for those one or two readers out there. It has been a very busy summer! I spent about five weeks in Europe between the end of May and the start of August. It was a bit hectic going back and forth between the U.S. and Europe every other week for three of the weeks I was overseas. I did get to relax in Rome for a week after the last week of business. I stayed with my friend Ann and her boyfriend Bill. Erik met me in Rome and we had an awesome week of sightseeing, picture taking, and drinking.
I've been very content being in New York for four weeks without major travel interruption (I did go to Chicago for a weekend). My next trip is to the west coast in a couple weeks. Until then, I've got two beach trips planned the next two weekends: this weekend Fire Island, next weekend the Jersey Shore. (above: a view of my favorite building on my walk to work from the subway)

Back in New York, for a bit

Well, I've been M.I.A. for a month or so. I got back from Madrid the last day of March and have been travelling all month. I was home for about six days when Erik and I went to Oregon. We attended the wedding of Erik's friends on Mt. Hood, which was amazing. After the wedding we headed to Eugene, where Erik went to school. After one night and a day of sightseeing in Eugene, we went back up to Portland and remained there for the rest of the week. I met a lot of Erik's friends and family which was great. I was very impressed with Portland. It is set up so well, has good public transportation options, is clean, and is quite picturesque with the river and the hills.

We came back to New York for one week. After that, Erik went to Amsterdam and Paris with his mother. I had my first U.S. business trip for my new job. I went to San Francisco on Tuesday of last week. I was able to see my good friend Joanna which was great because I hadn't seen her in well over a year. After two days, I headed to L.A. which was weird because the last time I was there, I was 16. It was cool to have a new perspective.

On Friday, I flew to Chicago to spend the weekend with friends. It was the first time I had been back to Chicago since I moved last June. It was great to be back and I used every moment (and soaked up all the hot, sunny weather) to have fun with family and friends. My parents made it down to Chicago on Saturday and I spent Sunday at the Chicago Botanic Gardens in the northern burbs with Mike and Sara.

I got back to New York on Tuesday. This week went so fast! I'm looking forward to spending a New York weekend.

Mom and Me on the Chicago River, in front of the new Trump building



Erik and Me on Mt. Hood



Me at the beach of Santa Monica

Marriage in America

(inspired by a comment Erik made about divorce to his conservative family members)

Destroying the institution of marriage is hard work. Between work, eating, and sleeping, there are so few hours of the day to spend on the destruction of the "most important social relationship." So in the interests of time management, I think divorced Americans should step up to the plate and join gay Americans in destroying such a sacred institution.

Oh, wait, they've already done that! Marriage is "destroyed" because of divorce, not because gay people want to marry. That's like saying church attendance will be harmed by the people who want to go to church, not by the people who have decided to stop going to church.

I propose the following solution to protect marriage(and guarantee that there will be a Democrat in the White House in 08). Right now, it appears we have about five front-runners for president. Hillary, Barack, John Edwards, John McCain, and Rudy. With the help of John Edwards out on the campaign trail, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama should propose a constitutional amendment banning divorce in America. We'll have to hire a shadowy figure, a democratic Karl Rove if you will, to get anti-divorce propositions in swing states like Ohio and Florida.

The Christian right, motivated by their morals and family values will vote to support this amendment and local anti-divorce initiatives. And, especially for the Catholics out there, as long as Giuliani or McCain is the nominee, and one of the above mentioned democrats is on the ballot, they'll have to vote for the democrat. Why? Well, Giuliani and McCain have both been divorced, while Hillary, Barack, and John Edwards, those crazy immoral liberals, are still on their first marriage. The right is motivated not by hate for gays, they are motivated by their commitment to family values. So, it makes sense that they wouldn't vote for a Republican who has contributed to the increasing divorce rate in America.

Now, maybe we should have compassion for these immoral Republicans? You know, hate the sin, not the sinner. Well, that may be all nice and good, but check out these statistics:

According the website www.divorcerate.org:
"The divorce rate in America for first marriage is 41%
The divorce rate in America for second marriage is 60%
The divorce rate in America for third marriage is 73%"

We cannot risk a NATIONAL NIGHTMARE if Giuliani (on his third wife) or McCain piss on their sacred oaths of marriage again while in office. We would certainly lose the war on terror if our president got a divorce while in office. The immorality of spawning a war which has killed thousands of innocent people is nothing compared to the destruction of marriage.

Giuliani is a Catholic. His only hope is that he has lived like "brother and sister" with his last two wives, as Pope Benedict has recently instructed Catholics they must do to continue going to mass. I certainly hope he is denied communion, as John Kerry was in 2004.

Or, maybe we should spend more time and energy working on real problems in this country. I hope the 2006 elections weren't just a flash in the pan, I hope it is a sign that Americans are waking up to the fact that Bush and his right-wing friends have spent the last 6 years distracting and dividing Americans over stupid issues that Bush values because that was the only way he could win elections.

Noche de Copas

Instead of being a hermit during the week, I went out last night with some of my classmates. We started at a Belgian bar where Celine, a girl from Belgium, was excited about drinking Belgian beer in a traditional Belgian bar. However, much to her surprise, although not surprising to me, there were no Belgians working or drinking there. Several students from Enforex (my "school") joined us there. It was fun, despite its lack of authenticity. Celine forced me to speak a little French which was difficult because I've successfully overcome my initial problem of saying French words instead of Spanish words. After several beers there, we went searching for a new place. We were handed some fliers for a dance club near by, so we took advantage of the free entrance and one free drink. We danced until 1:20, ten minutes before the last Metro.

Per Sara's Request Pt. 2

My apartment:

Another Madrid Weekend

I spent the last two weekends travelling and, because of some bad weather in Bilbao, I decided to spend another weekend in Madrid. The weather was perfect in the city, and I succeeded in adding more color to my skin, so as to have an extra souvenir when I return to New York next week. On Saturday, I saw the Palacio Real for the first time during the day and decided to be a tourist and go inside the Palace. I was a bit ambivalent about taking the tour as the building isn't the most spectacular building in Madrid. However, the inside of the palace was very beautiful and quite opulent (as one would expect of a royal palace).

I spent the rest of the day walking around and then, later in the afternoon, I relaxed in a bar while reading my book about the Spanish Civil War. At night, I had dinner with Rafa in the Chueca district and then went with him for some "copas" (drinks).

On Sunday, I met Rafa and his friend Helen. We spent the day hanging out in the Rastro / La Latina district. After another friend of Rafa joined us, we headed to the same tapas restaurant I went to on my first weekend in Madrid. After dinner we headed to a very old cafe in Lavapies. The cafe is a bit run down looking, but it adds to its charm as it probably looks like it did 80 or a hundred years ago. After reading my book about the Civil War, I could imagine groups of communists, anarchists, and all the other left wing groups of the time huddled in the cafe while they discussed the right-wing rebellion. After some wine and desserts, I headed back to my apartment and performed some much needed cleaning.

3-11-04

Sunday marked the 3rd anniversary of the Madrid train bombings. There were gatherings throughout Spain to remember the event(I saw one in Sevilla). In commemoration, Madrid unveiled it's official memorial next to the Atoche train station where all the trains on that day were headed (and where I arrived late Sunday night). I had some free time today so I went to Atoche and saw the memorial. The entrance is inside the station, where you look up inside a large glass block cylinder. Clear plastic hangs inside the cylinder, printed with words left by well wishers in the days following the attack. It was very serene, a stark contrast to the bustling Atoche station.

Sevilla

I spent the weekend in Sevilla (or Seville). What an amazing little city! Sevilla is very charming and the people are very friendly and open. I spent the weekend with my friend Rafa. By chance my other friend Ruben, who works for my company, and his boyfriend, were spending the weekend in Sevilla so we ended up staying in the same hotel. We arrived late Friday night and got a bit to eat and went to bed. Saturday morning, the four of us got a quick breakfast and began a typical Sevilla Saturday. We walked to the city center and Ruben gave us a quick tour of the city. After we saw the impressive Cathedral, Real Alcazar, and Gold Tower, we headed for the first of five bars to have a beer and a couple tapas. We spent the rest of the day going from bar to bar. For about $45 dollars, we had drinks and food at five different places, quite a bargain!! It was great to spend the weekend with Spaniards as I felt more at home as I was able to have a local experience. After we were good and drunk we headed back to the hotel for a siesta on the sun roof (it was about 80 degrees in Sevilla) and then a siesta in the hotel room.

Around 9 we headed to another cheap tapas bar for dinner (most of the dinning in Sevilla consists of tapas; according to my little book about the city, other forms of dinning are really expensive). I enjoyed most of the food but one type of ham they eat isn't for me. It tastes good, but I'd have to cut all the fatty parts off of it to eat it and I felt stupid trying to do it. After dinner, two girls who work in our store, Yolanda and Fatima, joined us for drinks. Ruben and his boyfriend went back to the hotel and the girls, Rafa, and I went dancing.

Spain's timetable is very different. When we got to the dance club at two in the morning, there was no one there. About an hour and a half later, the place was packed. We had a lot of fun and left around 5 in the morning. My eyes were in pain from the combination of smoke and my contacts (which I'm still getting used to wearing again).

Sunday was a pretty relaxed day as Rafa and I were a bit hungover and tired. We had a nice lunch of paella and then walked around the city again. We walked through the cathedral and into the tower (pictured). We got some ice cream, had some dinner later and picked up our bags from the hotel on the way to the train station. It was a great weekend!

Train Tickets and Terrorists

Last night, my friend Rafa and I went to buy tickets for our trip to Seville. We were unable to purchase them last night because people had made reservations but had not paid for them. (I don't understand this ridiculous policy, seriously!!) So, although we could buy tickets to GO to Seville, we had to wait until this morning to see if those people followed through with their purchases of return tickets. Luckily, Rafa was able to buy the tickets this morning.

We were waiting for the metro after our disappointing trip to the train station, when all of a sudden, Rafa grabbed me and yelled, "ciudado!" (be careful). I felt something push the side of my stomach and turned and saw a man with a black and white scarf (very similar to those seen in terrorist videos) covering his face. His hand was pushing my side and the second I turned, we looked in each other's eyes and he . . . realized I WAS NOT HIS FRIEND HE WAS TRYING TO SCARE!!!. He was down on his knees telling me how sorry he was (all in Spanish) and Rafa explained that I was from the US. The guy, correctly, felt like shit! Rafa and I were laughing for the next 20 minutes until we went our separate ways.

I had a much better Spanish class today. Last night, when I was with Rafa, I realized that I was using some of the things I've learned in class this week so I was a bit more calm and opened minded in class.

Well, we leave for Seville in two hours. I'm not going to bring the laptop so I'll be updating things on Monday!!

Rewind

Before I left New York, Sara visited NYC. Originally, I was supposed to be in Madrid when Sara arrived in New York so it was great that I was able to hang out Saturday and Sunday with her and our friend Hiral who also lives in New York. On Saturday, we had lunch at the Heartland Brewery in Union Square and on Sunday, we had dinner at Sea in my hood. (The following pictures are used with permission from Erik E. Larson)

Per Sara's Request

Sara asked for three things: Pictures of my hood, my apartment, and cute Spanish boys. Well, once I clean, I can post pictures of my apartment, and I'm still working on capturing (pictures) of cute Spanish boys. But, here are some pictures of my apartment building (above, to the left) and a picture of my plaza, and a view from one of my windows. The building looks a bit . . . hmm, ghetto? But the apartment is really nice.

Back to Work

I left Valencia on Sunday night. I had a great time in Valencia and would love to go back to explore some of the areas outside of the city because I've seen pictures of some beautiful nature scenes along the sea. I spent Sunday exploring the old part of the city. I began the day with a cafe con leche at a cafe along the main road and then headed toward the cathedral where I was able to climb to the top of the church and have a spectacular view of Valencia. Other than that tourist experience, I just spent the day walking around, taking pictures, getting some tapas for lunch, and relaxing outside with my book (I'm reading about the Spanish Civil War.)

I started formal classes Monday with a company that has "schools" across the Spanish speaking world. It is a very different experience than I had with my tutor. I'm a bit frustrated with the way class is conducted and I let it all out to Erik on the phone this morning. I'm a bit more relaxed and I'm going to make an effort to adapt to their method and maybe I can say something to the teacher after I'm a bit more settled.

Other than that, I'm back to my life in Madrid.

Back to Madrid

I had an excellent day today. I'll write more tomorrow night. I stopped in the hotel to pick up my bags (I'm still loving how I picked a hotel right next to the train station!!). Ciao for now ;)

A dose of Sun and a pinch of homesickness

I just woke up and need to get in the shower and enjoy my last day in Valencia. I had a great day yesterday and I can feel the results of my day in the sun. I walked around the Carmen district last night but I wasn't really feeling up to going out. I have to admit I'm a little homesick. Most of all, I miss Erik and wish I could be sharing this experience with him. I feel like I've spent so much time away from NYC since moving there (8 weeks in 9 months) that being away for so long makes me nostalgic for a city I hardly know. I'm split between enjoying my time in Europe and longing for the guy and city I love.

Valencia Day One

I arrived in Valencia around 10:30 last night. I thought I was going to be on a high speed train but when I was walking towards the train, I realized that wasn't the case. I guess there are no high speed trains to Valencia. My disappointment was that the 3 hour train I was expecting was the normal time for the trip and not some fast, shorter trip. Oh well, I got to Valencia and my hotel couldn't have been more convenient-it is across the street from the train station! I had a little trouble finding a hotel because it was difficult to judge where hotels were in relation to the "cool" areas of the city. I picked one that looked like it was the closest to the city center and booked it on Travelocity. It has free wireless, is new construction, and was reasonable. When I arrived, I was pretty tired and hungry so I dropped off my stuff and walked until I found a little area with lots of cafes and restaurants. I ate a salad and had beer at what proved to be quite a tourist cafe (it was the most --American-- English I've heard in two weeks. I've recognized more Americans (and other tourists) in Valencia than I have in Madrid. It may also be that Valencia is a laid back city on the Mediterranean Sea so I probably notice other people here as compared to the busy streets of Madrid.

I woke up today and was surprised to find the sky a bit cloudy as it was supposed to be very sunny. I took the risk and wore my shorts as I had planned. For the first couple hours out in the city I was concerned that the clouds weren't going to clear up. Today was going to be my day of walking and some beach time. I made a quick stop in my company's store to say hello and then I made way to the Ciudad de Las Artes Y Las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences). The walk to the Santiago Calatrava designed buildings is beautiful: image that your walk to the Eifel Tower was not along the Seine, but in it. The Turia river was diverted in 1960 and now there is a series of gardens that fill what used to be a river. It was refreshing to see flowers and blossoming trees (including some orange trees, although according to Wikipedia, "Valencia Oranges" is a California invention, so no connection).

Calatrava's buildings were amazing. (I'll be putting out an album this week, but below is one of my pictures). It is so interesting how a famous architect can build something and revolutionize the appearance of a city (as Calatrava's building did for Milwaukee and Gehry's Guggenheim did for Bilbao). After a lot of photos, I made my pilgrimage to the beach. It was about a 40 minute walk. When I got there, the clouds, which had dispersed for my time at the Ciudad de Las Artes y Ciencias, made another appearance. I sat and read my book on the beach and ended up with about hour and a half of full on sun which is showing now that I am back in the hotel. I think I got most of my sun while I was walking around, but it felt so great to be on the beach with my shirt off and my feet in the sand.

After a long walk back, I'm in the hotel and I think I'm going to take a shower and maybe a bit of a nap. Tonight and tomorrow I'm going to explore the Carmen district which Paola in my office said was a bit like SoHo in NYC, but on a small Spanish city scale.

Busy Week

It has been a busy week at work. All of the product managers are in Madrid for meetings. We've been doing some training as well as forecasting sales for the new season. It is has been fun but a bit overwhelming as I still need to have things translated for me because unless someone is speaking for slowly, it is difficult for me to understand their Spanish. I haven't done anything exciting this week, but I'm going to Valencia tomorrow after work (and it just hit me that I am sitting here in the office messing around on the internet and I have to go home and pack for my mini trip!!) Valencia is on the water and is supposed to be sunny and . . . 77 degrees Saturday and Sunday. I hope to get some sun from outdoor relaxing. And, of course, I'll be taking a lot of pictures.

Madrid Weekend

Well, I spent another lazy weekend in Madrid. I woke up early on Saturday, ate breakfast, and then took a two hour nap. The day was really cloudy and I didn't feel like sightseeing. I had heard there was free wireless internet at Starbucks so I headed over to the Starbucks at Callao, near work. I should have realized that Starbucks would never offer free internet as it cost about $10 for two hours. Although I felt a bit lame hanging out in Starbucks all afternoon, I figured I should use all of my two hours (I actually began writing this same post when the two hours were up yesterday). After my time at Starbucks I headed home, dropped off my computer and went out to dinner. I went for a few drinks, which turned into many as I met two guys who SPEAK ENGLISH!!! One is Irish/Greek who is studying in an international MBA program and the other is a Spanish Architect. It was very calming to have a night of conversation in English. I feel a bit more recharged now to face a week of speaking Spanish with my friends and co-workers.

I had a very late night as we went to a dance club until 4:30am. I have to pontificate for a second and say how much I LOVE NO SMOKING LAWS. Seriously, the Spanish smoke like fiends. My eyes, fresh off of problems with my contacts, are getting quite the workout not only when I go out, but in most places where I've gone to eat as well as in the OFFICE! Anyway, I got up a bit late, discovered that the movies in the apartment had an English option and I watched Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. I didn't feel guilty about hanging around the apartment because it was raining. But once the rain cleared I made my way up to the northern part of Madrid to see the Puerta de Europe. The "Gate of Europe" consists of two leaning office towers. They are quite impressive, especially because there is little modern architecture in Madrid. From some angels, they seem to have a lot of the same lines as the John Hancock Tower in Chicago.

Weekday Sightseeing Pt. 2

After the museums I saw on Thursday, I made my way to two interesting sights in Madrid. The first was the Plaza de Espana and the second was The Temple of Debod. The Plaza de Espana is in the heart of Madrid, off of Gran Via. In the center is a monument to Miguel de Cervantes. I was able to go to the Plaza right at sunset. My pictures, I think, are pretty cool. They are very rich because I didn't realize I left my camera's blue filter option on so my pictures are VERY blue. However, I think they have a cool effect.



The Temple of Debod is an ancient Egyptian temple which was rebuilt in Madrid in 1968, it was a gift from Egypt. The Spanish helped save some ancient temples in Egypt after the construction of a dam threatened several historical sites in Egypt. The temple was rebuilt in a park with amazing views of Madrid. The sunset on the park was amazing. My pictures can't do the scene justice. Also, as I mentioned, I had my blue filter on which took away a bit of the detail from the buildings in view.

Weekday Sightseeing

My boss was in Mallorca on Thursday so I had a free day after my Spanish lesson. I used the weekday off to see the Prado and the Reina Sofia art museums. I figured it was best to see them during the week and avoid the weekend crowds. I was a bit disappointed by the Prado, although I should admit that I'm not a big fan of "old timey" art. I appreciate these works; I think they are breathtaking, but I can only stand so many pictures of Jesus, saints, and allegorical situations. I was also disappointed by the false advertising on the map of the museum. I believed that one room was devoted to Carvaggio, one of my favorite old timey artists. When I got to the room, they had one, ONE! Oh well. I did enjoy the paintings by Goya and Velazquez and I guess it was good to enjoy two Spanish artists in Spain. One painting in particular was amazing to see in person, Velazquez's The Family of Philip IV or "Las Meninas". I have seen this picture before in a book or in a class, as well as a piece of the picture in a bookmark from the Prado from my friend Mike. I love the reflection of the king and queen in the mirror in the back of the room.

The Reina Sofia was a great museum with art more to my liking: Picasso, Miro, Dali, as well as contemporary art. The most famous piece in the museum is, of course, Picasso's Guernica:


No picture could ever do this painting justice. It is the exact opposite of Leonardo's Mona Lisa at the Louvre. You go to the Louvre, to see this famous work of art, and it is about the size of my laptop monitor and you think, this is it? When you enter the room that houses Guernica at Reina Sofia, the painting dominates the room. It is amazing. Also, the museum has a collection of sketches and paintings by Picasso of the individual elements within the painting.

The other interesting aspect of the Reina Sofia is the architecture. It is a rather simple building with a modern plaza and two glass elevator shafts that provide an amazing view of Madrid. I took lots of pictures which will appear in my next Kodak Gallery, but here are a few with me: