Dancin' in the Streets

In the square in front of the Catedral (Spanish spelling) every Sunday, a small musical group plays from the steps of the Catedral as people in the square join hands and form circles of dancers doing a complicated set of steps all in unison! When we were watching I counted 7 different circles among the many people gathered in the square enjoying a wonderful warm spring morning with blues skies. The step dance is a very special tradition being kept alive by these Sunday morning dancers. The picture at the top of this blog is of the square with most of the circles. (Click on this picture if you want to enlarge it.) The rest of the pictures below are of the musicians and another smaller circle found on the steps of the Catedral. Notice the larger circle with the packages in the middle. That is how the participants protect their own packages from being taken while they dance. Very clever!

Gaudeamus Igitur!

Gaudeamus Igitur: Latin for "Therefore, rejoice!" That is what kept going through my mind the whole time we explored Parc Guel not to mention seeing all the other wonderful Gaudi creations. They break with architectural traditions so joyously. The love of nature is so evident in all of his works. All of his works are so much bigger than life. The first photo is that of La pedrera. (Click on it to see it large.) The flow of this building is like mushrooms growing in abandon on a forgotten forest floor with the balconies being the connecting dry leaves fallen from the trees above. The second photo above is of the stair dragon of Park Guell just outside of Barcelona. Its vibrant color just fills me with joy! But in addition, I am amazed at the functionality of the piece. Since the dragon's fountain is the overflow from the water collection scheme of the center park above the stairs. The next two pictures below are of Casa Patllo and the final one is of Casa Vicens. We saw the buildings in our free time walk in Barcelona on our first day, the dragon at the park in our second day.

Seeing through the eyes of my students

Just returning from travel with students on spring break, brought to mind how we each see things through our own filters. My camera oftentimes helps me remove the filter and at other times increases the filter but the sights are still fascinating. Fellow travelers in the above picture all seem to have their own "view" while listening to our guide (lower left) on a path at Parc Guell. (Click on the picture for a larger view). Below each has picked a different part of the "snake" bench by Gaudi in the center "square". No spot on the bench will have the same perspective due to the curve of the "snake".