The Red Skirt

Parc Guell is a huge park in the northern area of Barcelona designed by Gaudi, (who I mentioned in my earlier post here). We went to Parc Guell on the last day of my recent trip to Barcelona; we spent about an hour wandering the grounds and exploring the various terraces, staircases and passageways. The bright mosaic tiling around the main terrace and covering the houses didn’t look at all out of place with the sandy brickwork and dull green palm trees; normally I find sculptures and bright artwork to look a bit incongruous in gardens and outside areas so it was interesting to note the cohesive design of the park as a whole.

I’ve named this blog in tribute to my favourite film and also because I had so many comments on this red skirt during the holiday. It’s a fantastic skirt; it fits me perfectly and it has pockets! An old lady in Camden died quite recently and her son gave all her clothes to the charity shop so I’ve inherited at least half of her amazing wardrobe. I didn’t know her but I think of her every time I wear one of her items; they’re all brightly coloured and costume-like and you just know she must have lived a pretty fun and glamourous life with a clothes collection like that (she’s also how I came to own the amazing orange eighties suit I shared on Facebook the other week).

I’ve included some pictures of my beautiful friend Christina – when we were about 17 we worked in the same shop and people used to get us mixed up or think we were related. We’ve got similar mannerisms and speech patterns but also used to dress quite similarly; we’d often swap clothes at parties just to confuse people as well. Now we’ve basically gone in totally separate directions and look completely different, this holiday is probably the most opposite we’ve ever looked and it was a running joke between us. What do you think, can you see any similarities?

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La Pedrera & Antoni Gaudi

It’s all systems go here at the moment but I wanted to show you a bit more of beautiful Barcelona. On our first day we went to La Pedrera, one of the many notable buildings designed by Antoni Gaudi. As well as being a great example of Modernist design it’s a hugely innovative building in that it is self-supporting (mostly due to an innovative arch design rather than using load-bearing walls).

Most of these photos were taken on the roof which is decorated with these amazing statues and sculptures. To me they look like deformed heads or statues from some strange mutated army of warriors, and what with all the sun and peachy, sand coloured walls it did feel a bit like we had been transported into a sci-fi desert. It was just a really unusual and evocative environment. When the building was first completed it was used as luxury flats. Can you imagine living somewhere so fantastic?

We spent about an hour wandering the top of the roof; Christina sat sketching and I was furiously scribbling words as they sprang into my head. Afterwards, we went down into the museum. The cabinets housed various natural and manmade forms that inspired Gaudi’s designs and architecture; types of plant, animal skulls, driftwood, metal filings, glass bottles, geometric drawings. I left with my mind buzzing and whirring with ideas, and a strong sense of reverence. I’ve always thought that good architecture is like the grandest extension of art; unlike most of the art I deal with it’s so permanent, inherently useful and with such a clear reason. Gaudi was an artist, designer and an architect and had the kind of genre-changing career most people can only dream of. He devoted himself entirely to his work, eventually giving up socialising, relationships and everything but his religion and his work. Maybe that’s just what it takes?

Barcelona

Hola from Barcelona! I spent most of last week in Barcelona, one of my favourite European cities. I went with 3 other girls and we had such a fun week: living like locals, running around museums, exploring backroads and side streets and meeting lots of amazing people.

I think travel is so important. I’ve spoken about this before and every time I go away it’s something that crystallises even more in my mind. I’m in the unique position that I’d racked up 3 different continents before I was 2 years old as my immediate family is spread across the globe. I think my whole life I’ve grown up with the sense that the rest of the world is just around the corner, rather than imagining “travel” to be some huge insurmountable obstacle I’ll tackle when I’m older.

It’s often considered lucky to be able to travel but really if you’ve got a little bit of money and a bit of time where you’re not directly needed there’s not much else you need to go away (maybe a cheerful attitude and an open mind). Like most people in the UK I spent a lot of university going on European excursions with my friends – every time our student loans came we would pick a new destination for reading week and live on beans the rest of the term (RIP £5 Ryanair flights). I’m already planning my next 3 trips this year and I’m so excited to see the rest of the world! Where would you like to go?