Riva San Vitale, Switzerland

Finally home!

Aug 21/22 - orientation, the realization that I live in the Alps, the realization that the church bells go off in two separate bell towers within rock-throwing-distance approximately every hour (including 6 am); practicing my sketching around town. I can't explain what it feels like to awake every day to something so beautiful out your window; nor can I explain how I can look from a sketch on my studio desk to the Alps to my right (my studio desk is by the window). I feel like I'm going to wake up from a dream really soon, yet it keeps being real.




Aug 23 - went to Lake Lugano all day. Attempted front flips off the diving board into the lake...failed miserably every time - my back is still sore. My cannon ball is pretty good, though. Swans frequent the Lake...they're mean- the locals love to torment them.



Aug 24 - hike Monte San Giorgio - gain of 2700' over 3 miles...2 1/2 hours ascending, 2 hours descending (tripping and sliding a lot on the way down); bruises the next day; probably the most physically demanding thing I've ever done, but it was one of the top 3 things I've done in my life; major realization that I just hiked in the Alps but never yodeled at the top.

Koln, Germany

stayed with Danett's family Gisella and Ulli and their three boys 15, 16, 18...

Aug 15 - took the train into Koln and went to the Dom (cathedral that survived WWII), enjoyed the street fair with venders, music, beer, watched Danett eat bratwurst and got wicked grossed out, and went through old town



Aug 16 - went into Koln with Ulli and Gisella, entered a building with a panoramic view of the city, went into a few beautiful churches, and tried great beer typical of Koln called Kolsh [very good]. It was the opening of a new modern-architecture mixed with old buildings in the port so the festival was that weekend and we ate great food, drank great beer, and listened to some live jazz music in old town and dually saw impressive new/upscale architecture in the port




Aug 17 - Ulli and Gisella took us into Dusseldorf which is about an hour away to see the new port they were renovating. We saw some sweet new buildings including three residential towers Gehry had recently designed + some awesome art shops (and obviously fantastic ice cream). Mom/Dad Severing were so hospitable and really adored showing us the beauty of Germany.




Aug 18 - We took a train a few hours to Stuttgart for the day to see the new Porsche museum designed by an awesome Austrian architecture firm [not finished], visited the housing/residential project that Mies van der Rohe, Corbusier, and Walter Gropius and many other sweet architects of the time produced to study minimalistic/modern architecture in the form of different residential dwellings. I thought this was pretty amazing.



Aug 19 - relaxing day in Koln store browsing, explored the Koln chocolate factory, buying cheap pashmina scarves for 3 euros [duh]. We also got to watch some Olympics/Olympic highlights in English (thank god).

Aug 20/21 - overnight train (people snoring, uncomfortable seats) + 2 day trains through southern Germany and Switzerland (absolutely ridiculous views)

Germany rules because : Gisella's cooking was outrageously good, Kolsh+cola is an amazing drink, progressive architecture in normal areas jives me, we had conversations in Spanish, Germany, and English daily in the household, I looked a normal height around taller people
Germany sucks because : the language is extremely difficult to learn/speak/understand

Paris, France

Aug 11 - travel - flight to Madrid, flight to Paris; explored the city at night

Aug 12/13 - Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Jean Nouvel's new museum, Arc de Triomphe, Chaunce Se Leisure, the Moulin Rouge, the Louve, the Pompidou Center to see a Dominique Perrault architecture exhibit + modern art, and lots of other sweet things.

things i like : baguettes, tall french men, drinking wine in public
things i hate: smelly armpits, waiting in line, carrying luggage to the 5th floor





Aug 14 - travel - trains to Koln, Germany

Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Aug 4/5- Overnight flights are horrific. British kids have the sweetest accents. Baggage was in customs (probably thought my x-acto was contraband).

Aug 6 - Went to the beach across the island (a little over an hour drive) to a sand beach. The water was crystal blue and almost stagnant...wading in the water like beached whales was completely necessary.

Aug 7 - Pool + beach by the house (this is a rock beach, it's a 20 minute walk downhill and a 35 minute walk uphill- with added sweatiness). The water was gorgeous. The sweating was not.



Aug 8 - Drove to a small village on the hill and had outstanding pastries for breakfast. Went into Palma and went to the Castillo (king's castle), drank a coffee at an outdoor shop, and explored Palma's port.



Aug 9 - Sketched in Palma. Explored the Cathedral. Went to a small port town and saw the King of Spain's house. Got the best helado (ice cream) ever.



Aug 10 - Off-roaded to a more private stone beach with Pepe + Gisella and the boys. Literally were going to fall off the cliff a few times. The water was awesome. Nudists everywhere - not awesome.