A Weekend Trip To: Ciudad Rodrigo

Jose and I decided to do a one-night trip to Ciudad Rodrigo, an old city in the region of Salamanca, close to the Portuguese/Spanish border. We stayed the night in a parador, an old palace or castle in Spain that has been converted into a hotel. This particular parador was previously the Castle of Henry II, built in 1372.

Below is the main plaza, where we sat for lunch. Thank god for the blue sky and strong sun that persist even through winter in many places in Spain...

Some spooky trees and a mer-child (?) fountain:

More photos from the town:

The city's cathedral, built between the 12th and 14th centuries:

Remnants to the fact that it was once a fortress city:

Overall a great weekend trip!

Portugal Pattern

My obsession with pattern continues...I love the diagonal design on the ground against the straight, rectangular lines of the windows. Why don't we have such beautiful plazas and sidewalks in the US?

Lisbon January 2011

Potes, Spain

Space Filled

Tangier - December 2011

Rachel in Toledo

Rachel loves beer; Rachel hates getting hit by cars.

La Tabacalera

La Tabacalera in Madrid - a factory converted into a community art center. They offer classes, studio space, a cafe, outdoor space to relax, book exchanges, clothing donations and lots more! Metro Embajadores.

SO. MANY. COLORS.

Read Instead

The storefront window of a bookstore in Cambridge, MA:

The Boston Public Library:

Colored Shadows

The building next to a small park in the center of Brussels had different colored lights, illuminating the park with lots of fun colors and making really cool shadows that Rachel and I obsessed over...

The Grand Place in Brussels

"Grand Place", the central plaza of Brussels, is absolutely beautiful.

Gold...

And I thought the tops of buildings in Madrid were beautiful...

Cat & Dog

Toledo, Spain

Nugget Art: Murals in the works!

I know the nugget art posts have been pretty few and far between lately, but with a long Christmas break (thank you Spain!) and some schedule changes I haven't had a lot of art classes with the kids. But we're back on track, and in the works are ecosystem murals! The fourth grade has decided on the desert, which I think is going to be a lot of fun! After explaining what a mural is and the different reasons we use them, we brainstormed ideas for the desert theme and I explained the mixed-media nature of the project. They all have instructions to bring in ANYTHING they can think of that can be used for the mural: glitter, bubble wrap (snake skin, anyone?), old gift wrapping paper, newspaper, magazine pictures, toilet paper rolls (should make good palm tree bark), etc. The only rule was to find stuff you already have at home (no buying anything new!). Combined with paints, sand (from the playground), and colored paper I think it's going to look amazing! I'm excited to see what we end up putting together :) We'll be working on it over the next couple of weeks, but once it's all finished I'll post photos. We'll also be doing a mural with the third grade, but they haven't chosen an ecosystem yet (I've got my fingers crossed for the ocean...). 

A Thanks to Rachel

One advantage of Rachel visiting me in Madrid (among many, such as an organized room...) is that I finally have photographs of me in Madrid (and Toledo). For the following photos, all props to Rachel or Kerry Perry!

Rachel and I at the lake in the Retiro Park.

Jose and I relaxing in Toledo.

Some Kerry Perry love at the Glass Palace in the Retiro Park.

She even got some of me photographing:

Photographing a cat in Toledo and some architecture in Madrid.

Manneken Pis & an Independence Memorial

hahaha, whaaaaat? This tiny little peeing boy ("Manneken Pis") is a super famous statue in Brussels. Not sure what that says about Belgians, but probably that they have a pretty good sense of humor or they like messing with tourists. Or both.


Their Independence Memorial seemed more legitimate:

Toledo: Views and Lighting

A view looking over Toledo; a view from within the streets:

Beautiful buildings and lighting to match:

El Retiro

The Glass Palace and night shots near the lake.

City Nature

Brussels.

Brussels: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Like I said before, if there´s WWII history, Rachel and I are there.

Belgian Chocolate

europalia.brasil in Brussels

Europalia is an international arts festival which takes place every two years in Europe, celebrating a particular country's cultural heritage. With Brazil as the celebrated country this time around, the center of Brussels had pops of color, pattern, and flags.

In Bruges

Great city, not so great weather...
I love the triangular rooftops; it's so different from the architecture in Spain:

Beautiful canals...

Felices Reyes!

Happy Three Kings Day (the big christmas gift-giving day in Spain)! On a related note, one of the cathedrals in Brussels included nativity scenes prepared by different cultures/countries from around the world. Here's a sample:

I love how differently distinct cultures can represent the same event :)

Happy 2012!

Rachel and I spent New Years in Brussels, drinking some belgian beer and watching the fireworks:

And we played with sparklers that some friendly Belgian people gave us:

I hope everyone has a great 2012, full of love and surprises :) My 2012 will be filled with new love for the babies that friends of mine are expecting! I'm so excited xoxo