empalo: Travel

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for the love of Jean Paul Gaultier

8/14/11 2:56 PM

To be perfectly honest, it wasn't until I visited The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts this summer to view The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk exhibit that I truly appreciated and understood the mastery that is JP Gaultier. It was always the Galliano and McQueen shows that stole my easily distracted attention, gripping onto it until anti-Semitism, depression and/or addiction leading to suicide, got in the way of eternal genius (RIP McQueen).

Having seen the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty exhibit at the MET in NYC post viewing The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier at the MMFA in Montreal - I would say they were comparable in excellence. Both provided imaginative interactivity for the viewer to engage and become a part of the fashion/art (interchangeable) collection. Not only as a viewer was I able to experience and praise the dedication of craftmanship and pure genius behind each collection, but also identity with be enthralled by the passionate emotion behind the complexity of obstacles and struggle of beauty that goes hand-in-hand with being a prodigy (more so directed to the Savage Beauty exhibit, obviously... which I saw more recently = more fresh in my mind).

Please excuse the camera-phone images that don't nearly justify the beauty on the other side of the lens, but regardless, the exhibit was a sensation.

The mannequins had projected images of realistic human facial features and expressions, as they blinked, winked, starred, laughed and spoke, lip-syncing to voice recorders playing in the background - which I'd estimate for every ten clips of French, maybe one of English would play - my one and only grievance.

The infamous cone bra created for Madonna's 1990 Blonde Ambition Tour.

The following themes were the focus of the exhibition:

The Boudoir.

Skin deep.

Punk CanCan.

Urban Jungle.

Metropolis.

“I think the way people dress today is a form of artistic expression. Saint Laurent, for instance, has made great art. Art lies in the way the whole outfit is put together. Take Jean Paul Gaultier. What he does is really art,” said Andy Warhol (Mondo Uomo, 1984).

Part dos: I went to Barça and came back a foodie

11/11/10 9:39 PM

Well, not exactly. However, I did go to Barça and eat incredibly exquisite, lush dinners, lunches and gelato! My love for food and fine dining still holds as always, but I'm not about to call myself a foodie - I'm really nowhere near pretentious enough for that self-proclaimed title and hopefully never will be. Although to befriend a foodie is never something I would deny. This is my biggest obstacle: I love food and I adore trying new cuisine, but I'm always so conflicted at the menu stage - what to order, alongside what appetizer and what drink to best compliment the main course ingredients. I love people who just know... and can take the pain out of my indecisiveness and order for me! In Spain, luckily the decisions were never too difficult. The menus were often printed with English translation or an entire English menu available for the ignorant tourists who "forgot" their English-to-Spanish pocket translation guide back at the hotel, or were just too hungry to bother - dinner was around 10 pm each night, can you really blame us!

Our first meal of the trip was a lovely lunch @ Next To rest-bar - a delicious ham and cheese baguette with juice (we found to be often more expensive than an alcoholic beverage). It wasn't always the case that wait staff was friendly but at this particular cafe, our waiter was incredibly friendly and took time to talk directions, traveling advice specific to the area and tipping tips (we always left tips, but he noted it's not expected the same way it is back home, you leave what you can or what you think the wait staff truly deserved). Really made a huge difference.

A Greek salad from a Irish-inspired pub (BCN is in no shortage of this style of pub).

Paella, the specialty of Spain. We took a short break from tanning on the beach and swimming in the ocean to enjoy a Catalonian platter, a pitcher of sangria and seafood paella at a beachside resto. Absolutely delightful.

The dinner at this restaurant *name TK, was an incredibly lucious delight, however the atmosphere was a little off, staff not too friendly.

Buffet @ Flaminco show.

My absolute favourite dinner was at a gallery-style restaurant of pure class and taste *Name TK, forgive me.

To die for.

Limoncello, so refreshing @ Happy Bar and Grill - although wouldn't recommend eating here, too over-Americanized.

We sampled a number of different tapas and fell in love @ Tapa Tapa! Great staff and delicious food. Recommend!

Delicious croquettes @ Tapa Tapa.

When it came to beer - we loved Estrella and Bitburger.

And lest we not forget (the soldiers, it is Rembrance Day afterall) but also le cheesebuger.

It's just one of those things that has to be done while traveling.

Thankfully we did our fair share of walking during the trip and despite what this post may convey, did not come back 300 lbs heavier.

Buen Apetito!

Part Uno: Soundtrack esta Barcelona

11/10/10 10:57 PM

Sadly, it is not Spanish guitar I will be reporting on as the romantic soundtrack of my time spent in Barcelona. Perhaps it may have been more readily available if I was in fact looking for a romantic soundtrack, but I was visiting with one of my oldest and bestest of friends and so our Dutch MTV soundtrack suited us just fine for the time being.

I always find it interesting how predominant the role of music plays in my everyday life, relating to memories of specific days or people or really anything and everything. Even if I haven't thought of a person in years, the second a song comes on that reminds me of him/her I am taken right back to that time or place I heard it and those memories as to who, what, where, when, why and how resurface, whether it be good or bad. Point in case, anytime I hear any of the songs I am about to list, it is Spain I am brought back to for a brief moment, and that makes me happy.

Although pretty much none of these songs fall under a typical genre of music I list among my favourites, these songs were drilled into my head like you would not understand. Dutch MTV really doesn't believe in variety, at all. Although, I do believe Yolanda Be Cool's video for No Speak Americano is awesome. I love the 20s talkie influence.

I can't even count how many times they played this song, and we dreaded it every time. It now holds a special place in my heart (haha) purely related to missing Barcelona.

Here's one that I will actually vouch for as an awesome song, and not just because I was in Spain and it was familiar. I'm actually on the new Robyn bandwagon.

Among others that were being (over) played at the time, Bershka (one of my new favourite shops, which I will discuss later) puts together monthly playlists, and the September has it all.

Besides the horribly overplayed MTV playlist which we sang while strolling the streets of BCN, we did get to hear some Spanish guitar passing in the streets mostly surrounding tourist magnets like Park Güell:

Outside of Park Güell, by Antoni Gaudí, Barcelona.

Or more notably at our evening of Flaminco. The one downfall to my amazing Nikon D3000 is it doesn't shoot video. Even still, you really need to go see one of these shows for yourself to appreciate the art of the dance, guitar and singing. Absolutely amazing.

Our first night out dancing we went to a Brazilian club called The Roxy Blue which was amazing. There was a Brazilian band playing for the first half of the evening and then the DJ came on and played everything from Jay-Z to three Drake songs! - we were pretty excited to have some Toronto talent displayed overseas. =) Would recommend partying here if you're in the area.

We also ducked into a jazz club briefly one evening at around 1:00 am while waiting for the actual club we were going to, City Hall, to get busy. Even when we did finally go in at 2:00 am we were the first people dancing to light up the dance floor. The jazz bar was called Bel-Luna and housed more than a few MJ fanatics who all joined together to dance Thriller, as we paid our tab. Great stopover.

Also story to note: @ City Hall it was an 80s & 90s themed occassion and so it was fitting for Megan and I to request a little Semi Charmed Life and Carlos the awesome DJ played it happily and bought us a shot to boost because he was so thrilled we requested it. So much fun, these DJs were by far the best, so friendly and interesting to chat with.

Apollo was another club we checked out while in BCN. Despite the fact that we were way over dressed and were offered to bypass the huge line before even getting to the end of it, this club impressed us least of all. The crowd seemed especially young, even for Europe. They did play some sweet bands including Vampire Weekend, Rage against the Machine, Dexys Midnight Runners, Miike Snow, MJ and Artic Monkeys to name a few - definitely an interesting mix.

We couldn't help but notice and laugh at the abundance of really bad 90s soft rock playing in the cafes and our hotel throughout the day. For example, Roxette's, It must have been love and Jimmy Ray Are you Jimmy Ray? ...Just... why?

And I leave with you a song I listened to while packing for my trip by a band called I'm from Barcelona, who are actually from Jönköping, Sweden.

I ♥ BCN

8:53 PM

My ultimate dream job has been discovered, officially. It no longer falls under the categories of rock star, Broadway performer, film script writer, set/costume designer, magazine editor or Queen of the world – although I assure you these career choices would most certainly not be passed up given the opportunity. I have decided, TRAVEL WRITER EXTRAORDINAIRE to be my true calling – or at least a job I believe to be potentially the ultimate that one can acquire. What’s not to love? The ability to travel the world, experience exotic cultures, indulge in lush foreign cuisine, meet countless interesting individuals from every nationality, all the while documenting your personal accounts of it all and maybe even discovering some meaning and life purpose along the way. One word: ideal.

My dream to travel the world is nothing new, or out of the ordinary for that matter. I find it more unusual to hear of someone who doesn’t want to do this, content to stay completely caged in their familiar surroundings. And so this past August, I finally did it. I didn’t book an all-inclusive to the blissfully divine white sands of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic like last time. That would have been heavenly, but far too easy. This time I wanted an adventure – a European adventure. Just reread that, horribly cheesy and actually somewhat misleading. It sounds like I embarked on an insanely wild adventure, traveling on trains to unknown territory while constantly being interrupted by a strange Italian man, “Mi Scusi.” Or at the very least braving a potentially bedbug infested hostel, just to say "I did it." No, no... I took baby steps. Baby steps all the way to my four-star, luxious hotel, 987 Barcelona, in Barcelona, Spain, where I slept peacefully and fully enjoyed, for nine incredible days, all that this breathtakingly gorgeous city has to offer.

Photo I captured outside of Casa Batlló, by Antoni Gaudí, Barcelona.

Even before the spontaneous decision and following week to plan and pack, it began with a iconic film - doesn't it always. If you haven't seen Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, watch it, and prepare yourself for the sudden urge to go there, immediately. And if you can... do it. It's everything the film builds it up to be, with less gun shots and more nudist street sightings.

As any freakishly organized sometimes-blogger would do, I mapped out my travels into categories I wanted to discuss specifically in relation to my Spanish adventure, on a napkin @ lunch one day. Said categories being: Music, Cuisine, Art, Style & Shopping and a miscellaneous for all that does not fit, yet is still worth sharing. With the aid of my photography, relating video and links, and words that I can only hope will portray half the imagination and beauty of this indescribable place - you can see Spain how I saw it this summer through dreamy, star struck eyes... or a big blue telescope @ Port Vell, either way I marvel.