As a first experience as a traveler I have found that I have most likely seen more of Europe that most Europeans. Right now I am on a train moving towards a small coastal town to enjoy some rest and relaxation after jumping from city to city for the past month nearly. My best friend Nick has been here for two weeks and things have really picked up since then. Well, I am writing this in a word document but I think where I stopped was Nice, France. Therefore, onward from Nice it sounds a little something like this: Barcelona for a quick stop with a friend we met along the way (good times Sally ;) Bilbao for a night to remember and one of the best art shows of the trip. Madrid, where the bulls are slaughtered in front of your eyes for sport, Paris, where we met up with Nick Stewart, need I say more. Dublin, Guiness, Guiness, Guiness........ and it goes on. London, where the the chips are fries and people get angry about their crisps. Amsterdam, its kind of like Vegas, what happens there stays there, or maybe that is what people say because that is all they can remember. Now it is time to head out of the concrete jungle, away from the crowds and off to places of pure natural beauty. Originally the trip was going to head all the way up to the arctic circle but some things have changed due to Matthew Barney and an art show happening in Switzerland in a week or so. We are still going to make our way up to Sweden and maybe a little Norway, I am not sure I would have it any other way.
So, now back to the beginning. Before heading to Barcelona there was a small snag with the trains and we ended up having to spend an extra night in Nice which was not such a bad thing..... IT happened that there was several art galleries to be seen there. The contemporary gallery was small and the work was mostly pop art which I am not the hugest fan of these days. The (http://nicefrance.ca/attractions/museedartmoderne.html) was a beautiful collection of mostly French impressionist, however it was not their usual work. It was hardly recognizable as them. This is always a good time for any artist that admires someone. You start to see that every artist has a bad day or even a bad year or century. It is easy to look at this amount of work and to see that the human body and spirit is capable of things that we don't always think that can be done by us. These people that are admired are no better than any one of us. We are all capable of anything that we truly want to accomplish.
Barcelona, I don't have too much to say about Barcelona; My Spanish is better than I thought, the all talk with a lisp ( gracias is grathias in Spain, not as we learn in Spanish classes, it should maybe be called Mexican class in America) …......oh, yeah..... it rains, don't jump in the puddles or you will end up with a beautiful rash all over your legs. Also, consequently if you are going to slide down a huge metal slide/sculpture do it when it is not raining or you will walk around all day with a wet ass. Actually, fuck the rules and do it; that is how you learn and come out with a great experience. Sorry about the “F” word there parents, sometimes they just fit.
Bilboa. Let us talk about art for a min as Bilbao Guggenheim is a place every person that has a hard time understanding modern art. GO THERE. The Guggenheim there is filled with sculptures that will entice the senses of even the biggest of skeptics. The work of Anish Kapoor is a sculptor's way of painting or a painter's way of sculpting. He plays with the visual capacity of every viewer. It is hard as a viewer to not want to touch everything to see if it really exists. A painting rich in color becomes a hole in the wall transformed with every step you make. If you have ever been to Chicago, the giant “bean” made of metal, the work of Kapoor. The other sculpture is that of Richard Serra. Serra has a piece in the Albright Knox (for all of you Buffalonians) Serra's pieces are large metal rectangular almost tabletops and twists them and bends them, turning them into an almost metal rubber. He talks about his work best. Watch this clip (http://video.pbs.org/video/1230660017) This after having going out with bunch of new friends that were studying drink.. I mean Spanish, from America. Needless to say I new more Spanish that any one of them. They were a great group of kids and kept me up till the sun reappeared which I got to watch from the edge of the canal. Ill never forget it.
Madrid. There is a lot to be said about Madrid. They hold onto some customs that are hard to completely appreciate within the upbringing in the typical United States education system. I have to quote my sketchbook here “ Bullfight 5 times + the bull finally succumbs to the pain as the crimson pain erupts from its nostrils as would a fire hydrant on a hot summer day as the people rejoice under it in pleasure. “ The bullfight was a difficult thing from me to stomach . The beer they served there was not. Other than the bullfight, Madrid, is filled with many wonderful art galleries. The Prado had a great collection including Hieroymus Bosch and The Garden of Earthy Delights. This work was a pleasure for me to see as in person its presence was completely different. Bosch's painting, if you dont know is a tryptich, or 3 panel painting, It consists of 3 scenes all painted to be viewed together. From left to right the painting seems to be about creation of man, life on earth, and descending into hell. There has to be more than this here. A view into Bosch's mind is a much clearer perspective. To see his figures and creatures you know that his imagination was used to its full extent. Click on this picture as well as any others on my blog and they will get larger so that you can get a better view. At this time in the trip an I mostly tired of looking at traditional artwork and this is a welcome change to the old. Also at the Prado was a great collection of Francisco Goya's. His series of his dark or black paintings are filled with emotion unlike any others of this time. Many people at the gallery were saying that it was because he was loosing his vision and that is all that he could see. It is more that as he was losing his vision he was becoming more depressed and maybe seeing things in a different light. Anyhow, there are not many pictures of these work as galleries in Europe all hold onto the artwork from their own nation and want you to buy prints and not sell copies of their collection. I understand, I just dont have to like it.
Paris.
June 16th, Nick Arrived, Late. This is pretty typical around here and you just kind of get used to it. We have a hotel about 15 miles outside of the city near what the French call Disneyland. The French, have not a clue. Day 1 of Paris is spent walking, and I mean it when I say walking. We started at the beginning and stayed till the end. Before the day was over we discovered : Absinth is disgusting, the Eiffel Tower is not that big. However, it is the biggest thing in Paris. Notre Dame is a church that every human being should see before they die. It is maybe the most amazing church I have seen. On the interior it seems to reach the heavens. The Arch de Triumph is famous for good reason with its beautifully sculpted reliefs and last but not least, If you get back to a remote area by train nearby your hotel, make sure the cabs are still running. Day 2 ART ART ART. The name of the gallery escapes me right now( Musee de O'Rsay ) but the collection was filled with art from all walks of life. One of the best overall collections I have seen at this point. After this we had a few drinks at the hotel and called our families.... always a good time I love you all. Day 3 The Louvre. This is a place that should not exist. It is not a museum or an art gallery for that matter. It is a city. There is no possible way to see it on one day. The face that something like this was built as a palace at one point in time is completely absurd. I could have ran laps around the inside and probably only made it around a few times. The collection stema from the beginning of time up until about 1850. Why it stops there, I don't know. If you can ever make it to Paris, check out the Louvre, and bring your walking shoes.
Ont the way to catch the Ferry to Dublin we arrive in a small town called Maloix where we find out that the bus that we need to take is no longer running. This is the first town that I have been in that I consider a “European” town. Close your eyes and picture what you think the perfect quaint European town is and this was Maloix. Beauty everywhere you look. We ended up meeting some new friends at the local pub and find out that we call call a taxi to take us there. Off we go for a small fee of course. Time to spend a night in the coastal town of Roscoff, another beautiful coastal town where I start too feel a little more at home with the climate. After checking in at our hotel we take some quiet music and a few glasses of wine outside and sit under the pines and enjoy some soft, night, tree time. Next morning after waking up of course we make our way to the coast, carrying our small children on our backs. After some breakfast we have the afternoon to kill. What better way that swimming on a beautiful quiet beach. I still will always prefer lakes to the ocean. Next, we are off to get out tickets and spend a little more time enjoying the coast. We find a great spot on top of some large rocks where we search for sea urchins and just simply enjoy the day.
The boat to Dublin, where do I start? Well happy hour is probably the best spot. Very cheap cold beer and a lot of it. People love us. We are comic stars in the eyes of the Irish. I think the highlight of the night is getting caught with Nick making some foam in the water behind of the boat. You know when you finish what your doing and you turn around and there are two security guards standing directly behind you waiting for you? Well you should, its awesome. Its not something I would temp all of the time but if you can pull it off a few times in your life you definitely should. After some needed sleep we wake up in Ireland.
Ireland.
There is not that much to say about Ireland. The Guiness is out of this world. The people are some of the nicest I have ever met. Artists don't pay taxes and the scenery along with the beautiful redhead are plentiful. Here we are again staying a little off of the beaten path. Whenever we tell anyone were we are staying they say “by Bono”? Yes, by Bono. We stayed in a castle. No, Really, I'm not joking here, a fully legitimate castle. The sauna, steam room, and hot tub were used to their full extent. If you are ever traveling keep your eyes on Expedia because sometimes they really take care of you. The Irish really have a good thing going and I wish that we could have seen a little more of the coast but our time here was limited. I think Nick might have actually shed a small tear when we left.
I am getting a little burned out on cities. London is small in comparison to Paris. I am not sure that this is completely true. It seem as though there are twice as many people. London has the market cornered when it comes to beautiful old architecture thus far. As for art I have gained an entirely new appreciation for an old favorite. Turner. His work has somehow influenced mine up to this point. I feel a connection with the way that he worked. The Tate Britain was an easy one to stay in for a while and get a little lost. There collection is not completely vast but their curator is doing a wonderful job. The Tate Modern was a nice relief back to the modern. Nothing but modern art, where as you turn a corner you instantly jump from excitement to disgust to a sometimes pure disbelief of the fact of what we sometimes consider as art. We also visited the National Gallery while in London which holds some of the most famous works of art. Their collection is vast but, there are few rooms that kept my interest. I think that my opinion here stands with my friends. Fish and chips are better in Ireland, sorry London but yours just don't do it.
Amsterdam
What can we say about Amsterdam? A few days there is sure to have an influence on anybody. Amsterdam is surrounded by a canal system which makes for a beautiful layout to an old city with that holds on tight to its heritage. Everything is spotless and the canals look to be cleaner than most that I have ever seen. As we all know there are some “sinful” things to see and do in Amsterdam. One of these things is the Red Light District. This is a place that makes some of the things that we read and hear come to life. There are women in windows as if you were shopping for a new pair of shoes. It is very strange. I have seen plenty of hookers in my life in American cities but this is a completely different experience. In addition to this there are also live sex shows and all sorts of museums dedicated to the body. We walked the canal a few times and decided that we would stick to the art and food as usual. Speaking of art, Vincent Van Gogh was without any doubt one of the greatest painters of all time. His use of color and his ability to depict images with unsurpassed clarity is astonishing. I learned that he also studied the work of Millet which, now that I know this, is very evident. Millet is one of my new favorite artists along with Turner. I have been able to see a lot of work of both of theirs which I have never had the opportunity to in the past.
Well, It has taken me a few days to update so there are a few more days to talk about. After spending a few weeks in the city we decided to pick a random place on the map and head for the coast. This turned out to be a great idea. We started in a small town called Kalundborg in Denmark where we stayed in a very nice hostel called “place for walkers” this is the literal translation. The day was spent grilling on the beach and sitting in the shade doing some drawing. After one day of relaxation we decided to take a chance and take the bus out to the end of the peninsula and see if we could find a secluded little spot to sleep out under the stars. Well that is exactly what we found. We spent the night swimming in the ocean, watching jellyfish swim by, cooking out on the beach, and just soaking up some pure relaxation. It is exactly what I needed.
Well I am In Berlin now where I spent the day walking around and catching up on some sleep. Not at the same time of course. We are going to try to find some fireworks to celebrate America;s Birthday. As of today I have been here for 2 full and just one more to go. I am honestly a little tired of traveling but in no way ready to come back home yet. After a few more stops it will be nothing but mountains and trees from there on out. I am overly excited about this :) Cities can wear on you after a while especially when you never get a complete nights rest. Anyway, I am off to go and celebrate. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA.
Some wild architecture in Barcelona
the rain in spain while on the train
Bilboa art gallery....
Richard Serra at the Guggenheim
Elephant in Madrid
Bullfighter ..... he was sparkly
Dragging off the dead bull :(
Notre Dame in Paris
Eiffel Tower
Nick and Sonja near the entrance to the Louvre
Beach in Roscoff, small coastal town where we caught the ferry to Ireland from France....
more Roscoff beach pics
More Roscoff..... it was a beautiful place
The castle we stayed in..... yup spoiled rotten and Bono and Van Morrison lived just around the corner
Parliament building in London
beautiful sunset in London
Amsterdam had a beautiful port... reminded me of Buffalo actually
Yes Nick is fondling the bushes, don't ask, he's
Nick
drawings by Nick, Sonja and I. Can you guess whose is whose?
The Beautiful coast where we spent the night under the stars in Denmark
Better than any hotel in the World....
