48 Hours in Barcelona part 3

42-48 Hours

Back Street

After another peaceful night sleep gran and I decided to go on the other bus route which took us to the to the west side of Barcelona. We choose to spend our last morning in Barcelona going around the back streets of the city followed by having lunch back at Attic with the afternoon set for the sightseeing tour.

Balconies

As the restaurant doesn't open until 1pm we had four hours to explore the centre of the city. After we followed one of the back streets we found ourselves outside the cathedral. On a whim we went inside and found not only was it nice to be shaded from the sun but the interior was breath taking with displays made out of gold.

Cathedral

 Seeing as it was free entry we decided to go up in the lift to the roof for a couple of euros. When we got out of the lift you could see Barcelona around you with great photo opportunities to take close ups of the spirals.

Spiral

After the cathedral we went to a little cafe to have an ice cold drink. When we were refreshed we set off some other streets that would lead us back to the Rambla in time of our lunch.

Street Sign

After lunch we headed back up the Rambla to Catalunya square were we caught the orange bus route. The tour soon took us to the harbour again however this time we were heading west where we got to see the Columbus Monument which was erected in 1888 for the world exhibition. 

Cable Cart- Port Veil

 Near the monument was one of the many sculptures on this route. This sculpture was metal arches in different positions which was said to look like waves. Another sculpture along this route that has stuck in my mind was by the Olympic stadium which was suppose to look like a olympian bending forward to collect his medal.

Waves

After the harbour we started to climb the mountain of Montjuïc. Here we got to see all of Barcelona though this time from a different perspective. When we were climbing the mountain we passed the first set of cable carts that went from the mountain to Port Veil.

Cable Cart

Down the road there is another lot of cable carts that took you to the top of the mountain. Me and gran decided to go up there to see the views. However when we got to the top we choose to come right back down again as we didn't have much time left.

View of Barcelona

Whilst waiting for the bus there was a little cafe that was shaded from the trees though you could see parts of Barcelona through the branches.

Through the trees

When we got back on the bus we agreed that, that would be our last stop. Whilst still in mountains the tour took us outside the Olympic Arena where you could see the torch for the Barcelona 1992 games were held. After this we saw the magic fountains of montjuïc, old bull ring now turned shopping centre and the Barcelona football ground. Soon after the ground we headed to Avinguda Diagonal to take us back to Catalunya square.

When we were back in the square we went back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and then headed to the airport.

Apartments

After all that we were both very tired though next time I hope to stay for week even though the 48 hours felt like a long time. I would also like to learn some local language so I didn't feel too much of a tourist. I know it is corny but I fell in love and hope to be back very soon.

48 Hours in Barcelona Part 2

18-32 Hours

Hotel Arts

After being woken up by the sun entering our room, Gran and I went to get a two day pass with the Barcelona City Tour seeing as we wanted to cover most of Barcelona in our day and half left. With the tickets we got a map and a pair of headphones each which we got to keep. After looking at the map we could see that east/green route had more to offer in a day. This bus route takes 2 hours and 15 mins however if you manage to get off the bus at certain stops you can easily make the journey last 5 hours. The bus starts and ends at Catalunya square. Gran and I were lucky as we were the first people on the bus meaning we got a pick of seats on the upper deck. This route starts by taking you along the four beaches of Barcelona. If we had more time I would have defiantly had gone on the beach with an hour for sunbathing. After viewing the beaches from the road we then saw some of the buildings that we had seen yesterday with the tour giving us information about them. The two buildings that have stuck in my mind was the Hotel Arts and Barcelona Biomedical Research Park which looked like a curved building however when you got to the middle you could see that part of it was hollowed out. Near these two buildings are two sculptures one that represents a fish that is made out of stone, steel and glass which was created by Frank O. Gehry in 1992 for the Olympics. The other sculpture is a building that has a stone ball balancing on the edge with a glass pyramid behind it.

Geometry

After we left the seafront and started to head more inland by using Avinguda Diagonal which a road that goes from the west to centre to the east of barcelona. It is one of Barcelona biggest roads that cuts the city into two. On this road there is lots of shops from high street to designer. There is also a tram service that covers most of the street. Along Avinguda Diagonal is the Torre Agbar which is 38 story skyscraper which is cigar shaped with it being lit up at night by 4,500 LED lights.

Torre Agbar

After a short journey we were at the Sagrada Familia, which is a church that is still being built and is predicted to take 30 years to finish. Work started in 1882 and was designed by Antoni Gaudi who has other buildings in the city. His style stands out from other buildings with it being said he was inspired from ordinary objects such as fruit which you can see on the outside of the Sagrada. Although I wanted to go in and see what it was like on the inside, the queue was too long with it taking up to 2 hours before we got through the doors. We felt we wanted to see the rest of the city with the time remaining.

Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia

When we got back on the bus we choose to get off at stop 13 which was Park Guell which was another work by Gaudi. This park is a photographers paradise with the different types of stone used throughout, a mosaic dragon and seats, it has a lot to offer. At the top you can see a panoramic view of Barcelona.

Park Guell

The next place of interest was Casa Mila or La Pedrera as it is commonly known was also created by Gaudi. This is the most famous house that he created. The balconies on the outside of the building we said to be inspired by seaweed and the sculptures on the roof to look like helmeted soldiers. In Casa Mila you got to go on the roof were you could see Barcelona all around you as well as this you got to see his work in miniature in the attic of the building and an apartment that was built for Roser Segimon and Pere Mila.

Helmeted Solider- Casa Mila

Seaweed Balconies- Casa Mila

When the tour finished we decided to go on the Rambla again but this time visit the Mercat De Sant Josep which sold fresh meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, smoothies, nut, spices and much more. Everything the market sold looked so appealing that you wanted to buy everything that they had to offer. It has been said that not only do housewives shop there but the city's top chefs do too.

Mercat De Sant Josep

For dinner both Gran and I agreed that we didn't want to eat on the Rambla after a disappointing meal the day before. However after walking down one side of the Rambla we both saw a restaurant called the Attic which you had the choose to eat indoors or on the terrace overlooking the Rambla. After looking at the menu we both decided to give it a try. It was one of the best restaurants I ever been to with tasteful meals and creative deserts such as red fruit foam. When we finished the meal we went back to our hotel via the metro to go on the Terrace Bar again as this would be our last night up there.

Attic

48 Hours in Barcelona Part 1

A fortnight ago I was lucky enough to be treated for my birthday to a 48 hour stay in Barcelona. Since I was 14 I have wanted to go to Barcelona partially because there was a trip to the city if I choose GCSE geography, which turned out was canceled for my year meaning I never got to go. So this was my first time visiting Barcelona with 4 years of expectations I was kind of worried it wouldn't live up to them. As well as this everyone I met had said that they fell in love with the city. It turned out that I needn't have worried cause it took me less than 24 hours to fall in love with Barcelona, I don't know when it happened but I knew that this wasn't going to be my only visit to the city. Thanks to Barcelona I am now not only inspired but motivated in my work with both design and photography.

Due to Gran and I only have 48 hours to cover such a large space of area we deiced that we needed to see it all, this meant travelling on most transports availble. Not only did we see most of the tourist attractions we also had time to walk down some quite backstreets.

Here is what we experienced in our time.

1-8 Hours

Our flight was in the morning, meaning when we landed in Barcelona we had a afternoon to start and explore the city.

View from Barcelona Airport

Though first thing on our list to do was check in to our hotel. I must admit I did checkout the hotel before I went as I was very curious where we were staying. After I looked online I thought I might have made a mistake but to my surprise I did look at the right hotel. Now with most things in life when you see something in the pictures it isn't always as good as it looks. Though this hotel managed deliver what it looked like online. After we checked in we managed to go on the metro which was near the hotel we were staying Villa Emila.

Metro stops

 There where only three stops from Rocafort to Catalunya and took less that 10 minutes. For anyone who has used the London Underground more than once the metro is quite easy to work out. Not only are the metro stations very clean but the trains have air con which is very refreshing after a day of sightseeing.

When we arrived at Catalunya square we headed straight for the Rambla which is 1 km long street with different stalls either side. These stalls seemed to be arranged in catoriogies with sourvienior, flowers, artist, food and much more. As well as guys trying to sell gizmos such as squeaky voice changers, not going to lie I was tempted to buy one but I thought I would probably choke on it. In my tourist book it said that the Rambla was a hotspot for pickpockets but there was police patrolling the street keeping it safe from thief's.

Columbus Monument

 At the other end of the Rambla stands a monument of Columbus which was erected in 1888, beyond that is Port Vell. After exploring the Rambla, Nan and I were feeling that we could do with a rest so we went on a hour and a half boat trip where we got to see the beaches and buildings from afar. On this trip they didn't tell you what the buildings were they just let you marvel the city from the sea. That trip was very refreshing seeing as we both weren't use to the heat!

View of the city from sea

After the boat trip we had dinner on the Rambla which was much over priced and not to our liking however after we went for a drink on the terrace bar of our hotel where we manage to unwind from the day. The bar's atmosphere was relaxing with the faint noise of the bustling city below and the soothing music from the speakers it made it a lovely last couple of hours of the day.

Terrace Bar

Card Design

Tester and Cards

Recently I have sent two Thank You cards to both my grandparents. I came up with the idea to make my own using just plain cream card with the use of watercolour for the card design. Both of these card have a similar design but have a different range in colours. I tried to incorporate there favourite colours with the card being both professional and aesthetically pleasing.

Tester for Walk in a Field

The first card is called Clevedon Sunset which features the colours red, orange and yellow. It is influenced from my stay in Clevedon where I witnessed many sunsets. It is one of the best places in the UK to take a picture of last rays of the sun. This makes the seaside town perfect for any photographer wanting to capture a stunning sunset.

Clevedon Sunset

The second card is called Walk in a Field and is influenced by some fields by my house on a nice sunny day with no clouds in the sky. I chose to have a two toned blue sky with a green field in the foreground. I chose this design as the recipient of the card is into gardening. I thought the image on the card was very relaxing unlike Clevedon Sunset which has more energy. I am pleased with both designs as they are simple yet very sophicated.

Walk in a Field

Summer Bucket List

Due to me feeling a little bit homesick and not wanting to waste my summer I have come up with 20 things for me to do during the holidays.

1. Sort out my laptop

Due to my first year at uni, I have been quite overwhelmed with the whole experience. This leading to me not filing my documents properly. At the moment finding something on my Mac is like finding a pin in a hay stack. Although I have a feeling that I will be putting this task off for as long as possible due the time it will take me to sort it all out and with it being a boring task.

2. List stuff needed for my new house

Since I am moving into my new house soon with my nearly all new housemates I feel I need to write a list of stuff that I need to buy or pack. Although before I write a list, I need to view the property due to me not remembering exactly what my room looks like!

3. Create 5 pieces either in Photoshop or Illustrator

I want to create new pieces of work so that I can put them in my portfolio. Also this gives me a great chance to learn new skills and show off the ones I learnt this year.

4. Do 10 drawings

I would like to try different things to draw as I find it quite challenging as I am a perfectionist so I easily get annoyed when a piece isn't going my way. I feel that if I can do 10 drawings that I would be proud to put in my portfolio it will be very worthwhile and I might pick up new techniques.

5. Sort out my music on iTunes

Whenever I am in the mood for certain music and put my iPhone on shuffle it always seems to pick the wrong choice of songs so to stop this, I hope to get rid of some songs and create multiple playlists for different moods.

6. Be able to run for 10 minutes without stopping

It would be my dream if I could run half marathons in the near future so I feel I need to start somewhere by training myself to run for a simple 10 minutes. Seeing as I have never run before I would feel very pleased with myself I could accomplish this goal.

7. Make a uni year book

To help with me feeling homesick of my uni lifestyle I plan to create a book with all the pictures of my first year in so I can look back any time. I hope to do this after every year.

8. Create at least 7 posts for the blog

To keep me busy I would like to write a blog every week on a Thursday. I have planned out on my calendar what the subjects the following week post is about. This will give myself a week to research and plan my blog. Wether I stick to it we shall soon see….

9. Write some resolutions for my next year at uni

To become a better student and live my life full as a student I would like to write some resolutions that keep me on track for the year. This hopeing in a end result of good grades and some memories.

10. Start to fill my design inspiration book

Yesterday I brought a plain book so that I could fill it in with inspiration of designers and their work. I hope by the time september comes it has some content in there. I feel this will help whenever I feel unmotivated or am stuck with ideas on a project.

Book of Inspiration

11. Fill my recipe book

Seeing as I am just starting to fill in my Recipe book that I got from Christmas I have decided to look for some simple and cheap recipes that i can cook when I am back at uni.

12. Have a face mask once a week

Due to me not having any me time lately to myself I feel that I need to get back into the routine of having an hour where I can relax and have a face mask.

13. Do at least 4 posts on my blog about design

Seeing as I am going to go type up my notes that I made in the first year I feel that I might adapt to them and make some more posts about design. This will give me a perfect excuse to do some more research on the topics covered in semester 1 and 2. As well as this it means that I can delete them off my computer but still have a copy.

14. Complete a  charity race

This year i am doing a 5k Race for Life with my best friend. We are both doing it in memory of my Mum who passed away two years ago after a short battle. http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/kathys-angels0 Please read our story and spread the word about raising money for cancer research.

15. See the Olympic Torch

As the Olympic torch is being ran past my hometown I feel that I should go and see it as it is a once in a lifetime experience. I hope to post some photos of the torch on here, just hope someone tall doesn't stand in front of me.

16.  Go out for a day trip with the Grandparents

Due to a couple of health scares with my granddad I hope to have a couple of day trips with them so I can make the most of them whilst they are still here.

17. See all my family

Seeing as I don't see my family for months on end I hope to have a gathering which will probably be at a pub. Though when I say family I only mean my dads side as I am not close to my mum side who I rarely see.

18. Sort out my 2nd wardrobe

Due to me having enough time off and having more than enough clothes that I don't wear I feel that I might sell them so I have extra money to buy things for the new house and some friends birthday presents.

19. Go to the beach at least once

As it is called a summer break I hope to visit the beach at least once where I can dip my toes in the sea even if it is in the rain.

20. Read some designs books

So I am ready for my second year at uni I want to swot up on design books so I can use some of there techniques in my pieces.

Nation Pride

As most people soon realise is that I love one thing. This is that I love the Union Jack. I can even spot a Union Jack either the flag or a product from afar. I fell in love with it a couple of years back. I don't have a clue what I like about it, it could be the colours or that I am a little bit proud of my nationality.

The other day I was looking at some random You Tube tutorials on Photoshop when I came across a video that showed you how to put a pattern on a object. I suddenly came up with an idea to put the Union Jack on someones face which ended up being my dad's. After this thought I came up with another idea of having people from different nationalities with there home flags placed on their face. However a problem soon came up when I didn't know enough people from different backgrounds. Although the one photo I did, I feel looks like the flag is painted on.

Nation Pride

Summer Project

A couple of week ago I finished my first year at uni. Since then I have been having a break so I could continue designing through the summer. Whilst on the little break I decided to write what I would like to accomplish by september. The main project is to build a website that could showcase my design work and also be able to host my blog, so from July I am taking on my project as if it was live so I can get into the habit of what needs to be done for the client. Though before I can build a website showing my work I feel that I need to produce more designs and photography therefore I have set myself a challenge a week to design a piece of work.

This week I deiced to draw an eye from scratch on Photoshop. I choose the eye as I believe this is the only part showing on a body that expresses true emotion. I am very pleased on how it turned out as they effect it has is very different to other peoples work. I created my work by uploading an image of an eye on the internet into Photoshop. Then I added a new layer and selected the paintbrush tool. I made sure the image was closeup so I could add the detail of the eye. I colour picked the colour of the photo and painted it on top. I made sure the skin had a bigger brush size than the eye so it would capture more detail. This took me 2 hour to complete.

The Eye

Mothering Sunday

As everyone knows that in Britain today is Mothering Sunday, a day where we show ours mum what they mean to us. For me it is a day where I reflect on all the memories of my mum and wish that I could talk to her just one more time. Soon to be two years ago my mum passed away after a short battle of cancer, this is when I saw my mum in her finest hour. She faced such a scary thing yet she did not think of all the negative things, instead she planned her own funeral and made sure we had one last trip to London to see The Phantom of the Opera.  Here is just 5 of my best memories;

My beautiful mum

1. Chapel Porth

One time when we were on holiday in Cornwall, my dad, mum and I were playing with a football on the beach. Suddenly my mum tried to chase after the ball however she managed to trip over the ball and fall face first in the sand. What made it even funnier is that she left hand marks in the sand where she slipped over.

Me and Mum in Cornwall

2. After pub parties

Me and my family used to go to this pub every Sunday to have nice meal out. However when it shut my mum always wanted more of a talk with my family so she would insist they came back to our where we had more drink. Halfway through the drinking at our house she would bring out party food for people. This always amazed my family that she was so organised. She was always a true hostess.

3.Crazy golf

Another time on holiday in Greece I persuaded my family to play crazy golf. Halfway around the course my mum suddenly tripped over a brick that was used on the sides, now my first instinct was to start crying which I did but then I saw the funny side. If that wasn't bad enough is at the last hole where I went for a big swing though the problem was that my mum was standing close behind me so I managed to hit her on the head. After that game we always called crazy golf an extreme sport. 

4.Mum's alcohol advice

When my mum drank which was at any occasion she used to give off great advice to my family. This used to humour my dad and I greatly. Although now when I drink I seem to carry the same habit!

Mum and her dream bottle

5.Garden evenings

When the summer was here me and my mum used to sit in the gardens with candles on the table and a glass of wine. This used to be so nice as it made you feel really relaxed after a hard day at school/work. One time she drank so much baileys that she got the talcum powder and was waving it in the air trying to catch it.

Instagram

For a while now I have heard a lot about Instagram either with friends or on celebrities tweets. Until this week I have never had been really bothered to what it was until I saw a friends photo which had a nice effect. I had seen this effect before when using a Kodak Instamatic camera. Sadly my camera no longer works which is a great shame as I have always loved the effect it gave on my photo's. So when I saw the effect I immediately became interested on what it was. To my luck it was an application that I could download on my phone for free and use the digital filters it provides on my phone camera. Though that was only half of the application the other half is where you share your photo's to the community of other users which also gave you an option to publish them on a social networking site such as Facebook and Twitter. Since I downloaded the app I have searched on the internet on how to achieve these effects on Photoshop where I can add them on after I taken the photos on my digital camera. The results were great and was very easy to do. However I am going to try not use this effect to much as I feel all my work will look the same. Here are some snaps of a sunset walk through my hometown using Instagram.

Here is my view from my halls of residence kitchen

Here is my local cathedral

This is a street just off the high street

Sunday evening in the high street

Catherdral in teh afternoon sun

Spring

Daffodil

Five things I love about spring;

1. Sunshine = Warmer weather

After months of drab weather there is nothing better than being outdoors soaking up the sunshine that is at the perfect temperature. This also means that I can go for picnics or sit outside the pub with a nice cold coke catching up on all the gossip with my best friends. The last couple of days I have had all the windows open in the house, with the radio on, and the sun shining through.

      2.  New life

With new animals being born this time of year, I also feel like I have a new lease of life. It is standard for me every winter to go in a hibernation mode where I just live my life with actual living it. When spring comes around I always feel more inspired to create card designs, take photos in the sun or just do some drawings. 

Contrast

     3.  Fashion

When wearing a coat with loads of layers and don't forget scarves, gloves and hats it is nice not having too wrap up. As well as being able to move more freely it is nice to show off my clothes, which I have brought for people to see. I also love the fashion colours this time of year as they are normally fresh and clean like this year bright pastels are in. I always remember that when I was little the colours yellow, green and brown where in fashion so when any says spring these colours always come to mind. 

     4.  Days are longer

With the nights slowly getting lighter this means that I have more energy at night to do stuff that I haven't felt like doing such as reading a book, bake cakes or take photos of sunrise/sunsets. Though this generally means that I am not going to bed so early so I am make most of the day. 

     5.  Flowers

New fresh flowers are now in bloom either with the tulips or daffodils that brighten up my student kitchen and makes it smells nice during the day.

 Here is some pictures that proves that spring is just around the corner. When taking these images I used an artist eraser to hold the daffodil vertical so I could take pictures at different angles. I felt that the yellow colour stands out from my blue desk making it look stunning yet simple. 

'Spring Awakening'