Gaudi's Barcelona

It is difficult to describe the appearance and effect of Gaudi's buildings. The first picture is part of the roofline of Casa Batllo and the second is the vaulted ceiling of La Sagrada Familia, a cathedral in progress. His buildings seem to be one part Craftsman style (indoors and outdoors are connected), one part nature (note the similarity of the columns to tree trunks), two parts religion (if that roofline looks like a dragon to you, you are probably right...it is thought to represent St. George slaying the dragon), and one part drip sand castle! Gaudi is a fascinating figure who worked in an amazing city during a creative time. Thank you, Dave and Melanie, for your patient architectural tours! No thank you to that guy who sneezed on my sandwich in London and gave me the flu. You know who you are. (More pictures from our trip in the 'Barcelona' album to the right)

They'll never stop Christmas from coming!

Although the Christmas weather Grinch did manage to steal Meg and Russ from us over the holidays, nothing could keep Ben and Kara from the Great British Empire! Click on the 'Christmas 2008' slideshow to the right to see more pictures from Cambridge, Buddy's first Christmas celebration, Warwick Castle, London, and Portsmouth. I hope I speak for all of us when I say that we had a fantastic time! We even got to see Romeo and Juliet performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace. It was mind-blowing (if you like that sort of thing), but did it top the thrill of the Marmite ricecakes that Santa put in our stockings? I'll keep you posted.