Christmas time is here...

...and the best thing about it are the songs. Here's a video of Mariah doing possibly one of my favorite Christmas songs of all time. Be warned, the video is equal parts nauseating and cute. There are dancing gingerbread men at one point! Also, I think my neighbors have opened up a dance studio in their apartment. Why are my walls and ceiling rumbling??!

Old school Barcelona and fishes

More walking around and taking pictures today. I ate in the Barri Gotic quarter last night and thought it was worth coming back during the day for some pictures. Not only are the buildings unbelievably beautiful, the alleys are equally awesome. The only thing is that the alleys are hard as hell to navigate. I had to consult my guide book after every turn. I think I heard school children laughing at me (every school in Barcelona decided to take a field trip to the Barri Gotic today).





After a couple hours I got tired of getting lost and decided to head over to the aquarium. I love, love, love geeky science excursions, so it was kind of perfect. I met an octopus that kept staring at me and followed me back and forth. Creepy! I also picked up Raymundo, my only friend in Barcelona. Raymundo, I love you.







Finally, I took the metro to see Gaudí's unfinished La Sagrada Familia. Thought I had enough yesterday? Think again. It was monstrously huge. The outside looked it like was melting stone with blockhead statues attached. The statues all looked extrememly sad, which added creepiness and awe to the whole experience. I only stayed at ground level and went to the museum. The line for the elevator to go up to the upper level was way too long.

It's been a Gaudí kinda day

Today was my first full day in Barcelona and I did a lot of sightseeing. When you travel by yourself, you get things done pretty damned quickly. I ate breakfast, took the Metro to the end of La Rambla and visited the waterfront. I walked La Rambla up towards L'Exiample, where I did the recommended neighborhood walk. After that, I went to Parc Güell where Gaudí's old home is located.

After walking around for what seemed like forever (and taking pictures), I visited the museum, which also used to be Gaudí's home. I really could have done without it and saved myself four euros. I was pretty exhausted, but when I checked the time, it was barely 2:30. After much deliberation, I decided to suck it up and keep sightseeing. The only thing in my book that interested me enough to pull me out of my slump was Casa Batlló...designed by Gaudí. From the outside, the windows look like Tim Burtonesque skulls. It's pretty amazing to see it first hand. I had no intention of going inside, but it was still too early to quit. The hefty seventeen euro entry fee didn't help, but it was worth it. I think it's even more awesome inside than out. (Photos to come!) After that I started to walk around again, but my feet hurt and the Metro station beckoned.


Beautiful mosaics scattered throughout the overhang.


Balconies constructed from stones.


Gaudí home and museum.


The truly awesome Casa Batlló.


There were lots of arches inside the house.


Looks much more impressive in person.


Huge, low hanging chandelier in the drawing room.

Zach Braff rules my world

Using Zach Braff's image as leverage to annoy co-workers is my new favorite pasttime.

UPDATE: Jocelyn has written her own account of the day in The Braff Wars.


Me and Zach on the beach, courtesy of Jocelyn.


Zach on a print ad.


Analog Braff in a digital world.


Jocelyn's husband body snatched by Zach Braff.


Braff v. Braff

Brian isn't that good at making words

Lately I've been semi-addicted to Scrabulous, a Scrabble application for Facebook. It's an intense scramble to make words like "riel" and "jins" and "coilers." Extra points if the tiles land on one of the designated colored squares. Even though there's a dictionary that the game compares the played words to, my opponents (read: losing opponents) still dispute their validity.

One of the said disputers is fellow Outdoorsy Adventure Clubber Brian. In a losing rage, Brian has made accusatory statements such as:

"what the hell? Bads and seemings are words? I call bullshit."

"alright, I let "riel" slide and "doer", but reify is just complete and total bullshit."

"Ay think y'all make up words"

"shit"

See the games in which these colorful words were spoken below.

(click for larger shot)