The Crane & The Cathedral
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Back where there's no universal health care...
On the way home from every trip growing up, my father always asked, "what were the highlights of the vacation?" And so, as the closing entry for this blog, I figured I'd put up a top ten list that could serve future visitors to Tarragona. Just a bit of the best, in no particular order.
1. Walking down to the beach at Arrabaisada...or however you say/spell it. The bars on that beach have the best bravas in the land, and you can even play ping pong along the way.
2. Exploring the Roman walls around the city, especially the TV studio built right into them at the university communication's department (my office). Most amazing place to work ever!
3. Wine, potato chips, and olives in any given plaza. Why can't they make chips like that here?
4. Cafe amb llet at Diva, right on Calle Major. And a croissant de xocalat of course!
5. Rambling down the Rambla Nova around seven thirty on a Saturday, with people of all ages....(many more than in this photos:)
6. Early morning walk to the train station, with the sun rising over the water. And stopping midway for ice cream on the way back up!
7. Sardines and seafood in Serrallo, the fisherman's port. La Botika is my personal favorite.
8. Exploring the mountains and villages right West of the city. Siurana, the last holdout of the Moors from the Romans is spectacular.
9. A festival, any festival...any given weekend.
10. Those first successful conversations in Catalan!
11. (bonus) Getting pregnant, although this, of course, might not be for everyone!
Thanks for joining me on my Catalan ride!
On the way home from every trip growing up, my father always asked, "what were the highlights of the vacation?" And so, as the closing entry for this blog, I figured I'd put up a top ten list that could serve future visitors to Tarragona. Just a bit of the best, in no particular order.
1. Walking down to the beach at Arrabaisada...or however you say/spell it. The bars on that beach have the best bravas in the land, and you can even play ping pong along the way.
2. Exploring the Roman walls around the city, especially the TV studio built right into them at the university communication's department (my office). Most amazing place to work ever!
3. Wine, potato chips, and olives in any given plaza. Why can't they make chips like that here?
4. Cafe amb llet at Diva, right on Calle Major. And a croissant de xocalat of course!
5. Rambling down the Rambla Nova around seven thirty on a Saturday, with people of all ages....(many more than in this photos:)
6. Early morning walk to the train station, with the sun rising over the water. And stopping midway for ice cream on the way back up!
7. Sardines and seafood in Serrallo, the fisherman's port. La Botika is my personal favorite.
8. Exploring the mountains and villages right West of the city. Siurana, the last holdout of the Moors from the Romans is spectacular.9. A festival, any festival...any given weekend.
10. Those first successful conversations in Catalan!
11. (bonus) Getting pregnant, although this, of course, might not be for everyone!
Thanks for joining me on my Catalan ride!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Adéu a Vilanova
Yesterday was my last day in Vilanova, one of many lasts this week. I stopped by and visited my friends who from the Department of Health, who had participated in the first workshop I did back in November. Eva, the famous puppet lady, gave us a slew of presents, included what may be the very first handpainted baby CagaTio T-shirt. If you don't remember who Caga Tio is, check out my post from December. I feel very lucky, as will she!
I just put up the photos from last weekend in Southern France as well.
Off to run some last-minute errands....and to my last English-Catalan exchange with Llum.
Yesterday was my last day in Vilanova, one of many lasts this week. I stopped by and visited my friends who from the Department of Health, who had participated in the first workshop I did back in November. Eva, the famous puppet lady, gave us a slew of presents, included what may be the very first handpainted baby CagaTio T-shirt. If you don't remember who Caga Tio is, check out my post from December. I feel very lucky, as will she!
I just put up the photos from last weekend in Southern France as well.
Off to run some last-minute errands....and to my last English-Catalan exchange with Llum.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Wrapping up...
Less than one week, so probably this is the next to last post (depending on how much I procrastinate about packing.) I'm spending a few days in Vilanova this week, training Neus who will be taking over the digital storytelling program there. While it's a bit last minute, they got a grant to continue the project and the plan is to do three more trainings before the end of the year. I'm so glad they're going on with it, and I think it has a lot of potential as Neapolis officially opens and develops citizen programming.
We had a super time in France this past weekend, stay tuned for photos of castles on cliffs and towns in hidden valleys.
We had a super time in France this past weekend, stay tuned for photos of castles on cliffs and towns in hidden valleys.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Fireworks and BBQ's for the 4th of July? In Catalunya?
Been a busy week, thus the lapse in posts. My sister and Dan's visit coincided with the fourth, which ironically, coincided with Tarragona's annual fireworks competition. This is a weeklong event with fireworks "teams" from all over Europe competing--the winner getting to be the main firework supplier for the big Santa Tecla festival in September. We got to watch from our terrace, even from bed one night, but we came up from the beach after the biggest sandstorm imaginable crossing paths of hordes of folks armed with lawn chairs and blankets staking out a good place early on. Felt like the T in Boston on the fourth, but there was a lot more domino playing here.
The week also included a visit to the mother of all cranes and cathedrals, the Sagrada Familia. Here we are, as promised wearing La Chusma T-shirts...our friend Juan's band who is collecting photos of people all over the world wearing their garb in front of famous monuments.
And last but not least, our week of the fourth ended with a wonderful bbq at Bernat's place, the chair of my department. Bernat bought a house in Senan a few years ago, a beautiful village, and I do mean village, 60-70 residents, about an hour north west of here. The mayor, a bit hippie (aka perroyflautas) has installed a shade area in the main plaza with solar cells with provide energy for the town's streetlamps. One day, it would be nice to be Bernat's neighbors....After a leisurely lunch and siesta where we all retired for an hour to different rooms, (perfect:) we went to see the Vallbona de les Monges, a twelfth century convent on the Cistern Route. We had seen the other two back in the fall. Altogether a glorious day, only here can a lunch date literally last ten hours!
We're off for our last mini-getaway this weekend, then one last "train the trainer" workshop in Vilanova next week before heading back to the states on the 24th. See more photos of all these and stay tuned for the few last blog postings!
Been a busy week, thus the lapse in posts. My sister and Dan's visit coincided with the fourth, which ironically, coincided with Tarragona's annual fireworks competition. This is a weeklong event with fireworks "teams" from all over Europe competing--the winner getting to be the main firework supplier for the big Santa Tecla festival in September. We got to watch from our terrace, even from bed one night, but we came up from the beach after the biggest sandstorm imaginable crossing paths of hordes of folks armed with lawn chairs and blankets staking out a good place early on. Felt like the T in Boston on the fourth, but there was a lot more domino playing here.
The week also included a visit to the mother of all cranes and cathedrals, the Sagrada Familia. Here we are, as promised wearing La Chusma T-shirts...our friend Juan's band who is collecting photos of people all over the world wearing their garb in front of famous monuments.
And last but not least, our week of the fourth ended with a wonderful bbq at Bernat's place, the chair of my department. Bernat bought a house in Senan a few years ago, a beautiful village, and I do mean village, 60-70 residents, about an hour north west of here. The mayor, a bit hippie (aka perroyflautas) has installed a shade area in the main plaza with solar cells with provide energy for the town's streetlamps. One day, it would be nice to be Bernat's neighbors....After a leisurely lunch and siesta where we all retired for an hour to different rooms, (perfect:) we went to see the Vallbona de les Monges, a twelfth century convent on the Cistern Route. We had seen the other two back in the fall. Altogether a glorious day, only here can a lunch date literally last ten hours!
We're off for our last mini-getaway this weekend, then one last "train the trainer" workshop in Vilanova next week before heading back to the states on the 24th. See more photos of all these and stay tuned for the few last blog postings!
Friday, June 29, 2007
Some cranes, some cathedrals...
Here's a start on the photos, more to come.
Cross
View from my office
From the front
Cross
View from my office
From the front
Friday, June 22, 2007
Student Websites
A selection of the multimedia reports from the class I taught in digital journalism this semester are now online. I think they did a super job, especially since half of them had never done a website before! A few might not work well in your browser, they're geared toward IE on a PC, but hopefully they'll show OK for you. The majority are in Catalan, a few in Spanish. Check them out!
Anita Rondó
Tarragona and Dixieland
Els problemes de la part alta
Historias de Movilidad
Tarragona de Cine
Els Via Crucis de Enviar Dinero a Casa
Tens foc?
A selection of the multimedia reports from the class I taught in digital journalism this semester are now online. I think they did a super job, especially since half of them had never done a website before! A few might not work well in your browser, they're geared toward IE on a PC, but hopefully they'll show OK for you. The majority are in Catalan, a few in Spanish. Check them out!
Anita Rondó
Tarragona and Dixieland
Els problemes de la part alta
Historias de Movilidad
Tarragona de Cine
Els Via Crucis de Enviar Dinero a Casa
Tens foc?
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
facades
I am not sure if I ever explained why "The Crane and the Cathedral"...it just referred to the construction they were doing on the cathedral when we first got here. And, in retrospect, I should have been taking photos of all the cranes and Cathedrals I've seen this year. From the Sagrada Familia to the smallest village, there is an amazing amount of development in this part of the world. Maybe in all parts. This weekend we were in Salou, just south of here, where the English have come en masse for the beach. There are dozens of cranes along the landscape, looks like Berlin when the wall came down. While this photo isn't of construction, it's something you see often here, a facade of a building where you can still see each individual room, bathroom, etc. It's right on the corner where I turn to go to the library, and at the beginning I was afraid to remember the street by this, since I figured it would be gone soon. But 9 months later, it's still there.
At any rate, there are new cranes galore right outside my office, and I am writing this to commit myself to doing my crane and cathedral photo-essay in the next month. So there.
I am not sure if I ever explained why "The Crane and the Cathedral"...it just referred to the construction they were doing on the cathedral when we first got here. And, in retrospect, I should have been taking photos of all the cranes and Cathedrals I've seen this year. From the Sagrada Familia to the smallest village, there is an amazing amount of development in this part of the world. Maybe in all parts. This weekend we were in Salou, just south of here, where the English have come en masse for the beach. There are dozens of cranes along the landscape, looks like Berlin when the wall came down. While this photo isn't of construction, it's something you see often here, a facade of a building where you can still see each individual room, bathroom, etc. It's right on the corner where I turn to go to the library, and at the beginning I was afraid to remember the street by this, since I figured it would be gone soon. But 9 months later, it's still there.
At any rate, there are new cranes galore right outside my office, and I am writing this to commit myself to doing my crane and cathedral photo-essay in the next month. So there.
