P A R i S + M A D R i D

Eiffel Tower - Paris, France

It was quick.  Two nights in each place... is by no means enough time to see these two capital cities, but we did our best.  We were blessed in some ways.  Landing in Paris on the first Sunday of the month gave us free entry into the two major Museums in the city, the Louvre, and Centre Pompidou Art Museum.  And for Madrid, we just happened to be there on a national holiday, Constitution Day.  The streets were flooded with over 100,000 people, making it lively and full of great people watching.

Plaza Mayor - Madrid, Spain

One of my favorite parts of Paris was the Modern works at Pompidou.  It was inspiring to see all the great works up close.  A tremendous collection of Matisse, Picasso, and other modern works was housed here and gave me some drive to continue my paintings.  Renzo Piano's building itself was a work of art, and walking through this piece of architecture was a pleasure as well.

Centre Pompidou

Em + Matisse Cutouts

J + Jackson Pollock

The Louvre was also quite a gem.  Getting in for free may have not been quite the blessing we thought though.  It was quite packed, and fussing through the crowds was a bit draining.  The collections of great works from around the world was definitely fascinating.  We of course saw the original Mona Lisa, other great painting by Leonardo DaVinci, Roman Sculptures, and I.M. Pei's wondeful glass pyramid in high contrast to the Louvre's classic architecture.

The Louvre

Famous Sculpture - Can't remember the name?

The Mona Lisa, with reflection of spectators

Madrid was full of energy.  Being the largest city in Spain with over 3 million inhabitants, we really felt it.  The streets were flooded with vacationers, tourists, and locals celebrating the holiday.  It was a great pleasure to find the sun again.  Having recently been in Paris and Prague where it was cold, having 60 degree weather again was refreshing.  Here is a collection of photos of our two short days roaming about...

Madrid, Spain

Beautiful Church near Prado Museum

Muchas Personas

Em's unforntunate mis-step with dog poo

Large Plaza - Madrid, Spain

Steet art

Silhouette + Building + Moon

One or two more blogs... and we will be home.  I hope you have enjoyed.  It isn't easy trying to talk of our experiences in just a few lines and pictures on a blog.  Atleast a little taste of what we are doing, right?  See you all soon!



   

Street Art - Around the Globe

Paris, France

This week I thought I would mix it up a bit.  We still have Paris and Madrid to share with you, but for now.... how about some street art from around the globe.  It always amazes me the creativity of humans, even when its against the law.  I hope you enjoy an alternative perspective on major cities on this colorful planet.

Madrid, Spain

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Barcelona, Spain

San Pedro, Guatemala

I find myself inspired each day with new artists and the freedom they find in expression.  It gives me courage... and a real taste of the nobility that artistic expression gives our world.  What would we be without these side streets?

Paris, France

Madrid, Spain

Murcia, Spain

Paris, France

Rome, Italy

Prague, Czech Republic

Some art is an attempt to entertain, others to send a message. In college I wrote a paper about the Ancient cave paintings of Lascaux arguing that some of the work wasn't about hunting, or history, but that maybe some of the cave sketches were just art for art sake; this to me is the greatest of the street art, where the motive is lost to only the desire of expression.  Some of the art we have encountered has history.  The John Lennon Wall in Prague has been a message of peace for over 40 years.  Paris was covered in grafitti like I have not seen in any other city.  It was as if every turn you would find a new style, new color, new message. 

Prague, Czech Republic

Madrid, Spain

Prague, Czech Republic



Hope you have enjoyed....!

 

The Netharlands, Holland and Amsterdam

Flying in to Amsterdam was amazing! Our first thought of the city was how well it was designed around the many canals that ran along the streets. It was so beautiful seeing many swans swimming through the water during all times of the day and night. The weather had improved for us since chilly Prague and we could leave our gloves at home.

Swans in the water

Canal at night

I visited the home in which Anne Frank lived during her family’s hiding in Amsterdam. This is where she had written her now famous diary. The home is now preserved as a museum and I was able to enter through the secret book case into the annex where her family was hiding with another in the 30’s. I remember reading Anne’s diary as a teenager and had always remembered how interesting it was to me. It was a crazy feeling to be walking on the very streets that were overtaken by the Nazis before WW2, and to see the small living quarters her family and friends lived in for almost 2 years.

Justin was able to visit the Van Gogh museum during this time. He was surprised to see how small some of his famous paintings actually were in person. He came home inspired due to the many colors he blends so well into his artwork.

We loved our row house we rented a room in. Once again we had a roof top terrace off our bedroom. This place was a bit more on the expensive side, but we did get quite a large space with a gracious host and his little pup.

 Our room

 This staircase is crazy steep and has 31 steps up to our room

Steep steps up to our row home

We were very fortunate to have heard about a small little industrial village close to town where the residents are still making homemade cheese, wooden shoes, and chocolate with the power of the windmill! This was a beautiful place. Very green and surrounded by clean air and farm animals. We saw a demonstration on how they used to make the traditional Dutch wooden shoes without electric tools.  Many were intricate and beautiful. The windmills themselves were an awesome site to see!! They were so large it makes sense that they could produce the power needed to run the business inside.

 J and I as kissing dolls

 Sheep

Windmills

Amsterdam also has some of the best deserts imaginable… our favorite was this fried bread roll with cream custard and powdered sugar on top! We went back a few times throughout our stay here.

Yum!!

The bike riding is CRAZY!!! There are more bikes in this city than I have ever seen!! While crossing the street you literally have to watch out for 1) cars 2) trams 3) bikes!!! Even when you think you can cross, you must run in case you missed something:) It is amazing how the whole city relies on public transportation or bikes. If you are in a car… you are the minority for sure. Everyone young and old has there trusty bike with them.

This is where you park your bike when getting on the subway... We wondered how you would ever find your bike when you return??

The other attraction the Netherlands brings is the legal use of Marijuana, which you can purchase in the “coffee shops”. Prostitution is also legal here and so comes the famous “Red Light” district. Prostitutes stand in their own window putting themselves on display for sale. It was quite sad to see… we did a little research on the subject before hand, and even though it is legal, it is still a scene filled with addiction, human trafficking and other crime. This city is quite an interesting one…

J in front of The Bulldog "coffee shop" We heard it is Snoop Dog's favorite in the city 

Keeping the tradition alive in Holland… Justin and I purchased each others Christmas gifts… SHOES:) We took an overnight (nightmare) of a bus ride to Paris last night and arrived at 6am this morning to rain

and a little cold!!! We are hoping to make it to the Eiffel Tower this evening after some well needed rest and relaxation.

We love you all and miss you a lot!! Thanks for keeping up with us!  

A week in Prague, Czech Republic

View from our room



The first thing we noticed about the Czech was how CHEAP it was compared to other European countries. We booked a room for $20 a night on the penthouse floor of a downtown apartment complex. We had an amazing view from our terrace.

We had a kitchen so we were able to do daily shopping and cook for ourselves. Justin got back to making his awesome breakfast scramble and I made some soups and somehow pulled off a little Thanksgiving dinner for the two of us:) Prague was festive with Christmas decorations and COLD weather!! It was once 28 degrees, the coldest we have experienced so far!!

We used the subway system every day in Prague... thinking the whole time it was free, later we learned it was free to the locals only:) Oops. Some of the major sites we saw included the Charles Bridge, Gehry's dancing house, Prague Castle, and an authentic Czech pub where we had an excellent meal of goulash and hot cider.

View from Charles Bridge

Czech gothic Pub with great food

One of the more interesting sites was the 600 year old Jewish Cemetery. It was closed to the public on this certain day, but we snuck a few shots through the fence. The government in the past confined the Jewish community into certain perameters in the city, including their cemetery. As a result, they were forced to burry their dead on top of their dead with up to 12 bodies deep! The concentrated site was dramatic and sad.

We mostly enjoyed walking throughout the city stopping for warm up's of hot chocolate and coffee. We saw the famous John Lennon wall, an ever changing peace inspired artwork displayed. Justin and I walked through a gothic church with beautiful stained glass windows and gargoyles. It was our longest stay in Europe so far, so we enjoyed relaxing, reading and experiencing the culture for a while. We even visited the Prague zoo. It was amazing with so many different species of animals. We even went into a cave with bats flying freely all around our heads! It was freeky!

John Lennon wall

Church with stained glass

View from a hillside park

Praha zoo fresh water otter :)

We took a flight to Amsterdam after Prague and have been here for two nights... We will recap that soon. We miss you all. Hope you enjoy the pictures!!