6.2.2003 fables of the black forest
what a fun weekend that was. as i mentioned in the last post, mark, patricia, david and i took a little trip in
a rented car, down to the schwarzwald, or black forest... yes, it's that black forest... as
in ham or cake... dropped by places like freiburg and heidelberg, but also hung out a couple days at some nearby
lakes, taking in the good weather and the really, really cold water... pictures to follow...
so what's new? not much, i guess... chris came back from toronto with 3 cases of beer, minus a can of alexander
keith's which apparently exploded in the bag... jason spent his weekend at nina's family's cottage on the belgian
coast... heidi is now doing her neurology rotation up in mönchengladbach, and claudia (who couldn't get us the
beer like she said) is now in brussels for some practicum too...
getting a little pumped about going back to toronto myself... it'll be diff, mostly cuz i haven't experienced a
summer in toronto since i left to come here. should be good, even though i won't get to play in any softball
games for the samaritans... they have a doubleheader the day i get back! doh... sucks to be me.
i'm hoping to post the rest of my barcelona trip soon, before i leave on sat... at least all the pics are cropped
and adjusted, so it shouldn't take too long...
6.6.2003 barcelona recap day 2
well, i said i was gonna post again about barcelona, and doggone it, that's what i'm gonna do. so enjoy these
pics and read on, cuz i won't be updating much (if at all) while i'm in toronto...
panorama view from la padrera (click for a larger version)
so the first thing i did was decide to tour barcelona with this double-decker hop-on-hop-off bus. it wasn't too
cheap, vs. public transit, but it gave me discounts to the places i wanted to see. plus, the subway system isn't
set up well for tourists, so you need to change a lot of times, but the tour bus will drive straight from one
sight to the next.
gaudi's la padrera
the first stop was antoni gaudi's masterpiece, la padrera... gaudi was a local architect,
around the early 1900's, who designed many of barcelona's most well-known sights. i think
la padrera is his best work... it's an apartment building, about 6-7 storeys, with high
ceilings and open courtyards, but the most striking feature (indicative of all his works) is the external design,
the sculpted facade. truly remarkable to behold. there's a museum within the building which leads out to the
roof where there are tons of seemingly ornamental structures, but nice nonetheless.
sagrada familia
next stop was the sagrada familia, an immense cathedral also designed by gaudi, which, if you
can believe, is still not finished yet. that's right, construction is still continuing, and if you think it's
big now, wait until it's finished... i think that's supposed to be in 2010, or something like that.
since you have to pay to get into the grounds, it's worth taking the time to go up and around through the
towers. the wait might seem a little long (esp. if you're like me and skip the elevator), but walking through
all the narrow, winding staircases and the nice views from up top make it a must-see...
but even if i didn't go up, there's plenty to see around the ground floor... there's a stone exhibit, which
details the type of stones and marble that was/is used for the construction... they even have samples for you to
touch and feel. coolz.
after the sagrada familia, i hopped back on the bus, and finally managed to get a seat on the
top, as it was starting to get a bit chilly and rainy. well, i didn't have much by way of a jacket or umbrella,
but a little rain wasn't gonna stop me from enjoying the views! or so i thought.
well, i didn't want to walk around in the rain, even if it was only spitting a bit, so i decided to stay on the
bus and ride around to the different sights along this route, figuring i could always catch them again later.
after driving up around near parc guell and f.c. barcelona's stadium, nou
camp, i ended up getting off near la ramblas and going back to the hostel, since the
weather wasn't really cooperating.
the pub crawl
no one at the hostel was really interested in going out for dinner (at least not with me), so i headed out on my
own, and ended up eating at this cheapo submarine sandwich place... i wanted to check out this pub crawl, but as
i walked past the bar where it was supposed to start at, it wasn't looking too promising, which kinda bummed me
out, cuz i didn't wanna bum another night away at 9:30pm.
stefan, dal, michael and me
well, lucky enough, i decided that i would after all go on this pub crawl and hope for the best. i signed up and
sorta milled about, until there were a few of us who realized we were all going on the pub crawl. at least then
we intro'd ourselves and started talking... there were petra and stefan, german students from stuttgart, and
then 4 guys from england, dal and michael, and cameron and john... then there was gareth, from australia, and
tommy, an american girl, and meg, from ottawa... and to round off the group, 5 ppl from france, whose names i
never did catch.
one of the french girls and me
well, the pub crawl was alright, though i swear we were walking around in circles at one point... but we ended up
at some club next to the kabul hostel, in placa reial, where the music wasn't too great, and
it was hot, but hey, most of us had fun. except for me, cuz after about a half-hour, i started feeling sick, and
i just stopped moving, sitting myself down on a stool in a corner. luckily, when it was closing time, meg was
still around, and she helped me get back home. yay for canadians!
6.7.2003 barcelona recap day 3
i got to meet some new ppl in the hostel room in the morning... lauren and joe, both americans, were studying in
london, and had a couple weeks off, so they decided to travel around europe a bit... actually, there were a
whole bunch of them, all who randomly went to places and met up with whoever was in that town at that time...
with them in barcelona were kate and meredith, who were in another room...
me at placa español
i told them about the tour thing that i was doing, but they wanted to chill more than tour, so we said we'd meet
up later... i hopped on the other route for the tourbus, and got off at placa español... it
wasn't as dark as the picture seems to be... actually, it was around 1-2pm, and i remember it being cloudy but
still pretty bright... well, anyways, it's this big monument in the middle of a roundabout that you can't really
get to, cuz there's no crosswalk or anything that goes to the centre. you just have to jaywalk.
you'll also notice that i'm wearing a red football (soccer) jersey... i forgot to mention that i had picked it
up the first night i was here... there are tons of souvenir shops along la ramblas, and you
have to bargain with them... it's the official england away jersey, and i've wanted it for quite some time (i
had asked claire to look for it even before her visit), so when i found it, naturally i was excited, but i kept
a level head, and bargained the store down to 50 euros, which was definitely less than what they wanted...
pobles español
anyways, the placa español leads into an area dominated by a big fountain, which is supposed
to light up real pretty and all that, called fuente luminosa... so i decided to see what time
it was gonna be on... well, it turns out that because there was some big car show (this whole area is like part
of a convention centre complex), there wasn't gonna be any lights or fountain stuff until after the weekend!
doh!
so i decided to keep walking, to pobles español, a well-kept old spanish village setting...
it's a really nice place, with lotsa small shops and wonderfully restored buildings... as you can see, the sky
cleared up really nice when i got there... supposedly, it's a really nice place for clubs and such, but a. the
cover is quite steep, and b. it's supposedly all gay bars. yeah, ok, never mind then... heheheh...
:oP
a gazebo in pobles español
the nice thing about pobles español is that it doesn't feel too touristy... i mean, of course,
the shops there aren't for ppl who live in barcelona... i mean, who would pay money just to get into a store?
but aside from the photo shop near the entrance, all the stores seem to have a kinda homey atmosphere... maybe
they're all mom and pop shops... who knows.
and of course, they have these nice gazebo areas where you can sit underneath the shade of an umbrella or canopy
and enjoy a nice cappucino or something... i had kinda skipped lunch but now it was like, too late for that, but
too early for dinner, and besides, i was hoping to catch up with joe and lauren for some chow.
another narrow lane in pobles español
after walking around there for about an hour or so, i headed back to la ramblas, cuz i was
supposed to meet meg, the canadian girl from the pub crawl, so she could give me back 5 euros i lent her to take
a taxi home... grabbed the tour bus, which went around the olympic facilities in barcelona, before stopping at a
station for a funicular tram. i quickly got off and went down the funicular to cut my travel time by about 20
minutes, by my estimate. no dice. i was still about 10 minutes late, and there was no sign of meg. i waited
for about half an hour, though i'm not sure i really expected her to be there...
there was no sign of joe or lauren (or kate or meredith) either, at the hostel, so i dropped off the big camera
and decided to wander around a bit... i walked up east from la ramblas, and came across some
of the areas that we had been on the pub crawl... ok, so i sorta knew where i was then... well, i remembered
where meg had told me she was staying, so i went to look for it, and found it pretty easy... left a message for
her, and then figured, it was about as much as i could do to get a hold of her...
panorama view in pobles español (click for a larger version)
so i kept wandering around, looking for a place to eat... i walked down this street, then this street, and soon
i just didn't know where i was, only how i got there... i dunno exactly what i was looking for, but i wasn't
finding it.
here's where my story gets a little interesting. i was standing outside a restaurant, perusing their sandwich
board specials and the menu, with my back facing the patio area out front. i think i was looking at the prices
for gazpacho or something, when i hear a sudden scream behind me. i spin around quickly to see a man, getting up
from a crouch behind a chair, and start running away. i see he's clutching something like a bag, so somehow,
instinctively, reflexively, i chase the guy down.
ok, it wasn't much of a chase. i had the angle on him and i caught him from behind after about 6 strides,
wrapped him up and threw him to the ground with a tackle my old high school rugby coach would hate (hey, it's
been a while, aight?), pinning him down so he couldn't get away. all of a sudden, ppl are converging left, right
and centre, a woman takes back her bag, and it seems all is still there (well, i don't think he had much time to
stuff his pockets, you know?)...
and what did i get? jack. not even a thank-you or a gracias. well, ok, i got a smile and a
thumbs-up from one of the waiters, but that's it. sheesh.
well, i decide to follow this guy down the street (though from a fair distance away), and i swear, the guy was
out to get something, anything, cuz he just went down to the next restaurant (which was not that close, so they
didn't see or hear what had just transpired), and was already checking out another would-be victim! i notified
a waiter about the guy, who quickly went over and had a few words with him, and the guy sorta went away, but
hung around a bit... i thought i was gonna have to take him down again! but after a while, i lost track of him
(didn't wanna seem so obvious that i was following him)...
group pic of ppl from ideal hostel
well, i ended up having dinner at that restaurant i tackled the guy at... it was pretty good... i went back to
the hostel afterwards, and decided to walk around a bit around la ramblas one more time before
i hit the bed... and lo and behold, i find joe and lauren and kate and meredith! deadly... they were with these
other guys, chris and kevin, who were staying at the hostel too... these 2 guys, plus their friend nick (who
bailed on the night), were studying in oslo... neat, eh?
at the club... meredith, chris, kate and joe
well, we go to this bar that kevin knew about, tucked away in a side street... it had this crazy forest theme
going on, with vines and trees and such... chilled there for a while... and guess who i saw there?!? meg! haha,
yeah, she was there! what a coincidence... well, she gave me back my 5 euros and insisted she was at the meeting
place for 20 minutes, but i argued otherwise...
anyways, after the bar, we decide to go to a club, and while walking around, we got handed these flyers for free
entry into a club! score! well, you'd think so... we get there, and it's about 11pm by now, and i swear, the
place is dead. how dead, you ask? let's put it this way... we started playing cards. at a club.
well, it must've been a spanish thing, cuz ppl did eventually start trickling in... we stayed for a while, and i
tried talking to a really pretty barcelona girl, but she didn't speak much english, so... eh, whatever.
well, after a taxi, a train, 2 flights, and a 4-hour layover at heathrow, i'm finally back. it's really nice to
be back in toronto, particularly since it's the summer. previously, i'd only gone home for christmas, so this
is really nice for me... i even got to play softball! thanks to pastor hoang and
andrew for stalling the start of the game to let me get there in time...
anyways, i don't really have many plans this week... just mark and minh's
wedding, getting supplies for the canadian party we're throwing in aachen (i may not have talked about that yet)
and just catching up with friends who i haven't seen for a while.
if you happen to fall in that last category, i don't have a local cell number yet, so call me at home...
well, i'm back in aachen, though only for another few hours... then i'm off to london for the last long weekend
before october! heheh... yeah, it's pretty sick, eh? flying through london on british airways, and then going
back less than 2 days later? why not stay in london in the first place? well, i didn't know i was gonna be
there so soon afterwards, when i booked the flight, and that was cuz the whole wedding got postponed... you see
how it is...
speaking of the wedding, it was marvelous... mark and minh tied the knot
at about 12:30pm last Sunday... it was a small and intimate ceremony... well, small and intimate compared to the
previous ones i've been to... it seemed a little cheesy, what with the flower ceremony and the vows, during the
saturday rehearsal, but it turned out to be very nice...
the 9 days in toronto went by pretty fast... met up with a lot of ppl, some friends i haven't seen since i've
moved here... still didn't get to meet up with sophie though... next time, i promise! and lesley thinks i punked
her and steph, but the truth is, she wasn't home when i tried to call her... i did get to hang out a bit with
angee after her convocation, with matt and lyds...
there's a bunch of stories to tell, from rushing to a softball game straight from the airport, to busting my left
rotator cuff, to getting interrogated by the cops, to the non-bachelor party for mark... not so many pics, but
there are a few good ones... i'll save them for later.
6.25.2003 cactus blue and indigo
first, the trip to london was excellent. london is awesome... definitely need to live there sometime, even more
than barcelona and copenhagen... had a great time with vince and claire, saw some sights... nothing i thought
about london has changed... in fact, it's only gotten stronger.
anyways, i guess i can talk about toronto a bit here, cuz i don't have many pics from my trip there... i don't
even have many pics from the wedding, cuz i was shooting b&w film on my f100. bleh, oh wellz, in due time...
well, just to touch upon some of the things i mentioned in my last post... yes, i did go straight to a softball
game from the airport... i signed up with the sams this year, thinking that there was a slight chance that i'd be
able to get into a game, since i'd be back for the wedding... as it turns out, the postponement made it
possible! my flight got in at 6pm, i cleared customs pretty easily and picked up the rental car as fast as i
could...
finally got to wigmore, and it was only the 4th inning! will subbed out for me, and i got to bat once and field
an inning in left... sweet! well, for my first time playing in 2 years, it wasn't so bad... i gotta thank
andrew and hoang for delaying the start of the game, through
various methods, until 7pm... thanks guys!
then on sunday, i went to the messengers' practice, where i busted my left shoulder during a scrimmage... i tried
to make a diving catch on a line drive, but ended up eating dirt and messing up my rotator cuff... now, i have
only a limited range of movement (that is, pain-free movement)... <sigh> what i go through for softball...
:oP
well, more stories and pics to come... no vacation for a while either, so i have time to catch up! :oD
6.26.2003 they call me "melo" yellow...
in a little under 2 hours from now, the toronto raptors will, in all
likelihood, make the fourth pick of the 2003 nba draft. rumours have the raps picking
chris bosh, a freshman four
from georgia tech... i think that's a decent pick, but being as thin as he is, i'm getting some bad
marcus "call 911" camby vibes... word
on bosh is he's got some mcgrady-like
upside... well, he better not have mcgrady-like attitude in 3 years, or i'm gonna be busting some
caps...
one thing i don't like about the whole draft process is the importance placed on the workouts... some guys seem
to come out of nowhere and get crazy hype... meanwhile, some solid guys seem to get knocked, for reasons like
size or because of poor showings at draft camps... take texas pg
tj ford... everyone's
knocking him cuz he's only 5-10, saying he can't get his shot off against bigger players, or he'll get posted up
by bigger pgs... i mean, when was the last time you saw a pg take his man down into the low post? with the
defensive rules that allow you to use everything but the kitchen sink, why is tj's size even an issue? the man
can play, period.
it's too bad glen grunwald couldn't swing that deal with
portland... we woulda lost
antonio davis and some other guys, but
to pick up rasheed wallace?!? i'd make
that deal for sure... which is probably why portland didn't. 'sheed is a beast. how sweet of an inside-out game
would we have if you had 'sheed banging down low and kicking it out to
vince on the wing? too
bad...
anyways, it's t-minus 2 days to the canadian party... for those not in the know, chris, jason and i, the 3
resident young canadians at ericsson, decided to throw a canadian theme party... the date here coincides more or
less with canada day, but since we don't get july 1 off, we had to do it on the weekend...
we've got canadian beer (150 cans brought back from toronto), canadian food (bbq, baby!), canadian music... we've
got some stuff to give away, some canadian paraphernalia... it's gonna be huge... we're expecting about 100 ppl
to squeeze into jason's place... deadly!
6.28.2003 canadian party, belated
[posted 5.6.2004] click here for a recap and pics of the canadian
party...