art basel

I'm off to meet my friend Michele at Art Basel, but first a run. Laura and I made a quick trip up Crozet, and then I packed up and walked down to catch the train. A few hours off the mountain, and I joined my friend for a few days of art-seeing. Thanks Michele for sharing your benefits, and letting me tag along to the fair! We also ate some good vegan food, slept in a prison, and spent hours and hours on our feet.

zentrum paul klee

A rainy forecast sent us seeking something to do indoors at the Klee center. A great city, and less than a two hour drive, we haven't made a trip to Bern in over three years. We nearly went last weekend for my birthday, but there was too much sun not to spend the time in the mountains. Since we waited, we had company for the museum trip, a bit of wandering around the city, and sharing drinks (outside seating- happy face)!

good day for some art

Brrrrr, it's a chilly day for May, but it's free day at the museums, so we spent the morning at Musée de l'Orangerie and the evening at the Pompidou with lots of walking and wandering in between. It's also the final polling day for the French election, and it looks like there will be a new President this afternoon...the streets are surprisingly quiet for such a big event.

bilbao

This weekend I took a trip with a few friends to Bilbao and San Sebastian, Spain. A weekend full of good meals, wandering, wine, art, chit chat, and cafe breaks. We arrived just in time for a late Friday night dinner.

Saturday morning we headed for the old town, casco viejo, with the help of a friendly stranger, and a few stops a long the way.

Shoe shops with lively spring colors, and break from the rain, inside the Mercado de la Ribera, which mostly sold fish, but a few pig heads too. 

Winding our way through the seven narrow streets.

 Plaza Nueva.

It's always a good idea to refuel before starting into a great afternoon of art, so, a nice lunch on the way to the Guggenheim.

And time to see some fantastic works at the Gu. 

Wrapping up our time in Bilbao with dinner at Panko...which quickly became or restaurant of choice.

A quick trip to see the birds, stamp collectors, and card traders at the Sunday morning market at Plaza Nueva before our bus to San Sebastian.

barcelona

Barcelona was fun. Good energy, good food, color, sunshine.  We spent lots of time walking, wandering, as usual, through Barcelona's wide promenades and narrow side streets.  

Arch:

 Window shopping:

Overlooking the city from hilltop parks and the hotel roof:

 Watching construction of the Sagrada Familia cathedral:

 

We saw two fantastic photography exhibitions:

 Yea, Claude Cahun! This was a special treat to stumble upon.

Vegan eating can be a bit tricky and tiresome while traveling, but Barcelona was an exception. I feasted. Twice we spent our evenings at Sesamo, a vegetarian restaurant, and enjoyed a seven course tasting menu, with descriptions of the yummy, seasonal dishes, from the amazing chef. Our first night here may have just been the best dinner I've ever eaten, ideal all the way to the cozy atmosphere. Pumpkin , macadamia, miso soup; organic brown rice risotto with mushrooms and white truffle oil; beer-soaked mushroom tart with rosemary and pistachio cream; eggplant curry, warm pecan-stuffed figs with mushroom powder...I'm making myself hungry.
 

Gopal was our other go-to eatery, vegan burgers and bakery. I had donuts, and cake, and even a cinnamon roll! On day we grabbed our burgers and ate them on the beach.

We had a great morning walking through the Park Guell:

Enjoying lots of Gaudi:

One of my favorite parts was spending a day at the beach.

We went for a long run along the boardwalk, and after spent the day watching the waves, and warming our faces in the sun.

The sun was great after the past rainy week, and felt extra special being warm in November.

We also stopped into a few cathedrals, mandatory in European cities I think...

Our final morning we saw the magical interior of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia cathedral.

The morning light was glorious.

Details from the exterior:

We also saved enough time before our flight to (yup, grab burgers one more time) and take a walk through the Olympic park, By up the stairs to the enormous art museum-which will be on our list for our next visit- past Mies van der Rohe's reconstructed pavilion, and through beautiful gardens.

After some tight scheduled site-seeing for our last few hours, we were off to the airport, and back to Geneva.

¡hasta luego, Barcelona!