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Brian Bollinger Joined: August 28th 2005
Logged in: November 17th 2008
Logged in: November 17th 2008
Travel Blog Posts
Let the journey begin
I remember reading in Candide that in order to understand the world, one must travel. Now whether or not this is an absolute, I cannot say, only that, the more I travel, the more I learn about my own place of origin, if only by explaining it to others. It is quite possible that I have learnt more in books about places than I have in actually going to them, but then who would deny that regarding facts? It is almost as though we neither believe what we have read, nor are believed by others until we can claim to have actually 'been there' or 'done that'. Ernst Junger, a German soldier in WWI, noted in his journal Copse 125 that a sound opinion finds many advocates, but absolutely no martyrs, and that it is only ... read more
I and the Molino
This weekend, I and about 30 fellow classmates traveled to Toledo. My history of Spanish Art class was in the midst of studying Gothic architecture and the paintings of El Greco, both of which, conveniently, are found in great quantity in Toledo. Passing on our 6 or more hour drive through the fantastically colorless landscape of the region known as La Mancha, I now see what was so humorous about locating Miguel de Cervantes’ satiric tales of the chivalry and adventures of Don Quixote in this place. There is absolutely nothing adventurous about it. You might remember that this gentleman (Don Quixote) becomes crazy from reading too many books about the era of knights and roundtables, etc. and sets off on his old horse in rusty armor seeking “La Gloria y la Fama” (Glory & ... read more
I see the Light
The Eclipse It delayed Ramadan a few days and it was the first I’ve seen since Second Grade, so I thought it warranted its own entry. A solar eclipse went over Spain, and although we didn’t get the full eclipse that Madrid and northern Spain got, we had a really cool one. Almost the entire student population of the city was outside on the streets watching it. Some of the girls remembered how to do that whole paper hole thing that you might remember doing in second grade where it casts a shadow with the shape of the eclipse on it. I thought it was pretty funny so I had to take a few shots. One of the girls had a hand mirror to view it (apparently the UV gets filtered by the glass?) and Matt ... read more
Orange Juice or Beer on the Right
Breaking all my Fitness Rules Anyone who has known me for very long is aware of my lifelong anti-love affair with running. Many people can probably tell you that my number one fitness rule goes as follows: “Run only when chased.” It has served me well, leaving me things such as rollerblading, skiing, and paintball (see above rule) to fill in the fitness gap between lifting weights with my buddy Trent Busenitz (Trent, I miss the exercise balls). So I was reticent when my good friend Emilio invited me to run in Seville’s 17th annual Guadalquivir River Night Run. He said he could sign me up and get me my number, and I could just meet all our friends who were running in it at the bridge where it started. Willing to bend my rules in ... read more
The Motely Crew
A Little Piece of America & The Last Bullfight Although it’s more of a visual experience, I should mention that I took a little tour of the Plaza de Las Americas today and got a few more pictures of the fantastic Plaza de España while looking for a place to do a painting. The doves are glorious in the little plaza out front, appropriately named “La Gloria de Las Palomas”, while brides and grooms abounded, getting their wedding pictures taken. Both of these amazing locals were built for World’s Fair exhibitions in the early 1900s. Currently a global culture exhibition around the Plaza de Las Americas offers a spectacular sampling of real food from way more countries than I have ever seen represented at such an event: from Pakistan to real Cuban. I have a new ... read more
Welcom to Segovia
The 56 hour Tour of Madrid Anyone who tells you that you should take an overnight bus somewhere so you won’t have to find a place to stay for the night, is either a chronic insomniac anyway, or a college student. Either way, it’s highly unlikely that they have your health or well-being in mind, and you should keep that in mind when making plans with them in the future. That being said, I will now proceed to give my advice for how to see all of Madrid and Segovia in only 56 hours, starting from the Plaza de Armas bus station en Seville on a Thursday night at midnight. First, buy your tickets several days in advance because it’s a very popular bus: its departure time allows for a 7am arrival in Madrid. Otherwise, you’ll ... read more
Baila Bien
Casa de Carmen The night after we returned from Córdoba my roommate and five of our classmates of the female persuasion all went to the new flamenco show in town, La Casa de Carmen. Like the Carbonería the Casa de Carmen is a sit down show, but at a bit higher level of quality. The entry fee was 12 euros and no seat was more than 20 feet from the stage. The ambience was indeed that of a late 19th century brick house turned 1920s Spanish bar with a big wooden stage built under a vaulted, glass skylight (because everyone can identify with that ambience). Tonight the dancer was actually a man, and the singer a woman (the reverse of the Carbonería). As you can see from the pictures, he worked up quite a sweat, and ... read more
Water Wheel
Friday, September 16, 2005 After an early rise, the history of Spanish Art class, along with a bunch of students who just wanted to go, met at the base of the Torre del Oro. We loaded up into a much nicer charter bus than the one I rode from Cuetzalan, Mexico to Puebla, Mexico the summer before last (nobody had to stand up or hold their chickens under their arms), and headed for Córdoba, the Western capital of Islam in the 9th-13th centuries. We went to view the grand Mezquita (mosque) of Córdoba, among other things. This massive construction is currently a Catholic cathedral, built in the middle of a huge Mozarab mosque, on top of a Visigothic church, on top of Roman ruins. Since I got to write an oversized paper on the influence of ... read more
The Stage
If you find yourself looking for a flamenco show somewhere in Seville, Spain, I highly suggest La Carbonería. Tucked away in the escondido plaza de las Mercenarias, you won’t find La Carbonería in the local hotel guide; and you’ll be lucky to find its microscopic plaza on the street map. As the sound of footsteps echoes down the narrow brick alleys and long ivies from rooftop gardens hang like beaded curtains in front of you, you may find yourself wondering why there are no throngs of tourists or swooning honeymooners. Set in an abandoned coal factory, La Carbonería is one of the cities best-kept secrets. You will know you have found your way when you can see an old, 25 foot tall wooden door, that looks like it belongs on a fortress. One or two people ... read more
BBQ for 50 with 2 gringos on the side
Sunday, September 11, 2005 Today I went back to the same church that my host family attends. Isaias (my host family’s son) played guitar, because his big brother (a 40 something assistant pastor named Juan) was visiting a sister church that day. Needless to say our señora was quite excited about it. Not that the message wasn’t interesting, but the real excitement began right afterwards. After meeting a few more people from the church, Isaias said, “Ok let’s go.” And I followed him down the street with some of the Spanish girls and another girl from the program they had invited. After a long walk to other side of Asturias (the quarter where we live), we met up with Andre (the crazy flute player) and a few other people I didn’t know yet. We split up, ... read more
