SPAIN, PART II

After Barcelona we headed out into the Catalan countryside, to the little town of St. Julia de Llor. Lots of sun, swimming, grilling and reading.

And lots of pork. As much Jamón Ibérico as I could get my hands on.

St. Julia is near the Catalan city of Girona. Girona was first Gerunda, the main city of the pre-Roman Ausetani people. The area was conquered first by the Romans, and then the Visigoths and then the Moors, and then by Charlemagne, by the Moors again for a brief time, eventually becoming part of the countship (then duchy) of Barcelona... one of the Christian kingdoms of northern Spain. Girona was an important center of medieval Judaism until the Inquisition drove them out in 1492. The old center of town is one of the best preserved medieval Jewish ghettos of Europe, and contains some of the better examples of Spanish Gothic architecture on the continent.

All that history hasn't stopped a bit of modern architecture from popping up. Here is an interesting door to an architecture firm's offices in the center of the old part of town.

A rented 17th Century farmhouse.

We also took a day trip to the Costa Brava. Here is the town of Begur, another Roman then medieval town that is now a major tourist attraction.

One of the quiet little bays near Begur where we swam and had a picnic lunch.

We had lunch one day at Restaurant de la Riera in the little village of Saint Marti Vell. The food was slightly better than average, but the presentation was beautiful (see below) and the scenery and drive to the village was pure Spanish fantasy. I actually saw an old broke-down windmill surrounded by fields of wheat. Must go back to Spain.

The restaurant's patio.

And the meal:

Image of River Ter, Girona via skyscraper city forum

SPAIN, PART I

Just returned from a week and a half in Catalonia.  It was my first time and now all I want is go back and see more of Spain.  We spent a few days in Barcelona first, which is a fantastic city.  There are three major high tide marks of architectural accomplishment in Barcelona.  The most recent is actually current, with works by Jean Nouvel, Herzog & de Meuron, Norman Foster, huge new swaths of redeveloped neighborhoods, and a rare acceptance of the new and strange that can often be found lacking in other European cities like Paris; contemporary Barcelona is refreshing.  The first of these waves was the medieval, and the center of town is a maze of high Gothic wonder.  The middle period, was the most dramatic of all: the Modernista.  Antonio Gaudi was the arbiter, and the Sagrata Familia was his masterpiece.

This unfinished wonder is a tangle of over the top, intricate insanity, set to be completed by 2020... or 2030.  Or 40.  New architects and sculptors and builders are completing the stone wedding cake based on Gaudi's original plans.

Below the church, in the crypt, is the museum.  Here are old and new plaster models, original drawings and this incredible structural model.  It was made by Gaudi to determine the load and arch shape of the church.  In the model, gravity pulls the structure into shape.  In reality, the same shape distributes the load from the top down.  Truly innovative.

The model shop.  When I was studying architectural history, the Modernista movement, and Art Nouveau in general, seemed a little heavy handed and "decorative" and shallow.  Seeing it in reality was totally different.  This building is a real marvel.

Here are some beautiful renderings done in the early 80's based on Gaudi's plans.  They show the current state of the church (slightly darker set of towers) along with the future construction yet to come.  Note the glowing giant cross with beams of light at the top, and the huge flaming candelabra at the entrance.

Spectacular renderings.

After the church we had lunch at Bar Mut.  Above, tomato toast and Jamon Iberico.  The pigs munch on acorns beneath oak trees, and it gives the meat a rich, lean, nutty flavor.

Buffalo mozzarella with spring onions.

Octopus and sunchoke.

Steak with foie gras.

Another Gaudi creation, the Casa Mila.

And here is the Casa Batllo.

A fireplace niche in the library.

Pictures of the interior as it appeared originally.  My favorite is that light fixture.

Plaster sculpted ceiling fixtures.

The attic.

While the house was beautiful, I think Gaudi's architecture really works best for more dramatic, soaring, ecclesiastical structures.  These houses were incredible, and the craftsmanship exceptional... but something still came off as strange and dated.  It felt a little like looking at an earlier century's version of the Memphis collective.

HISTORY

I have always enjoyed history, and recently discovered a couple new blogs that deal with New York City history.  The first and best is The Bowery Boys, whose podcasts and blog really make the history of places we walk every day as New Yorkers come alive with context and humor. The second is Ephemeral New York, which has little tidbits about forgotten areas of the NY and is a great resource for vintage imagery of the city (see above). Another, which I have known about for a while and is the most obsessive and cantankerous of the bunch, is Forgotten New York. There is an entire section on this blog about lampposts! Amazing!

Another great source of historical amusement is the now out of print book New York Then and Now. You can view it online on Google Books. It's great because the "new" comparison shots are from the 70's and look even less familiar than some of the older 19th century ones.

image via Ephemeral New York

SUNNY ONE BEDROOM

I have been consumed lately trying to find a subletter for my former apartment in Williamsburg, where I still hold the lease. I spent the entire weekend painting, fixing up, and cleaning up behind the last person who subletted from me. There is a soft spot in my heart for this apartment, which was the first and only residence in New York where I lived totally on my own. I spent quite a bit of money to fix it up and make it cute, only to move out after just a year. I love where I live now for a lot of reasons, but my little bachelor pad was great, in its own tiny, 6th-floor-walk-up kind of way.

Plants!

Ah yes, Edison bulbs and chalk board paint. Welcome to 2005.

The table was a flea market find.

The bathroom had slightly lavender tinted white tiles, and I found the perfect color match with a Ralph Lauren paint called Aspen Peak. A glamorous color name for such a teeny tenement bathroom. I then added the gloss black trim in all the corners, like a gift box.

Snake plants under the sink. You saw it here first. Actually I think I may have seen it in Dwell before I did it.

My grandmother's art hung in the bedroom.

Shield yours eyes... that is a Philippe Stark chair! Part of my senior thesis project hangs on the wall above the bed.

SOUTHERN SPICE

We made a trip out to Flushing for some authentic southern Indian cuisine at Southern Spice.  An explosion of spices and flavors ensued.  It was Indian food you can only get in Queens or India.

Here is the Hyderbadi Mutton Dum Biriyani.  Mutton is not my favorite, but with the rice and yogurt sauce, that dish was tasty.

The lamb vindaloo was tasty too.

One of the highlights for me was the pepper crusted tandoori duck breast.  It was like nothing I have ever had.

The masterpiece at Southern Spice, however, is the Chicken 65, which purportedly uses 65 spices to achieve its flavor profile.  This is the dish that will keep me going out to Queens for Indian food.  Totally out of this world.

EAGLE STREET FARM

The days are long and warm now, and a friend and I spent a few hours last weekend volunteering at the Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in Greenpoint.  We prepped beds, planted seeds, painted bee hives and hauled rubble.  The farm is a 6000 square foot roof garden with a fantastic view of the city.  They have great workshops and education programs, and are on the cutting edge of organic urban farming.

The farm sells its produce to several local restaurants including Eat, where we ate breakfast before going up to the farm.  Check out New York Magazine's review here.

Here are the seedbeds.  We planted a mixed lettuce and arugula.  I can't wait to come back in May for chicken day to see how things have grown (and to learn about the use of chickens as pest control and fertilizer!)

With a newly legalized rooftop beekeeping ordinance passed, the farm is expanding their hive count.  I am fascinated by beekeeping.

Afterwards we rewarded ourselves with some tacos from El Diablo Tacos at Union Pool along with some "American" micheladas.

Some of the best tacos in Brooklyn if you ask me.