Travel Diary: Beautiful Barcelona

Oh Barcelona…I wish I was back there right now. After a rainy few days in Madrid [and a very dark Copenhagen winter] we were definitely ready for some sunshine, and boy did we get it. It was a gorgeous two days of exploring Gaudi’s masterpieces and hunting down even more tapas restaurants…we obviously didn’t get our fill of them in Madrid after El Tigre! Note: if you go to Barcelona you HAVE to check out Can Paixano. One of the funnest dining experiences I’ve ever had. We actually went twice!

But back to the architecture, I was really just blown away by Gaudi. The fact that this man designed all of these organic yet structurally sound forms without digital tools blows me away! It was amazing how Barcelona really celebrated his architecture. The city was also just very fun and there were a lot of cool corners to explore. I can’t wait to go back one day and dig a little deeper!

Of course our #1 must-see in the city was the Sagrada Familia by Gaudi. It was just around the corner from our AirBnB apartment so we would pass by it all the time, which was really cool. I mean, what can I even say about this church? It speaks for itself and leaves me speechless at the same time.

Another really fun Gaudi project was Park Guell. We ended up not wanting to pay to get in to the actual built work because it was pretty expensive, but I got all of these great shots just from looking in at in and walking around the park. The park was quite beautifully landscaped with a lot of cool [free] things to explore and was on of my favorite parts of the trip.

The Barcelona Pavilion by Mies van der Rohe was also a must-see. It’s pretty small so we also had some time to take some fun pictures and sketch a bit. It was so cool to experience it at dusk!

Right next to the pavilion is a big palace converted into an art museum, but the part we enjoyed about it was the killer view. It’s fun to get a great view of a city at both day and night, and we caught this one just as the sun was setting.

A few more of my favorite shots from some modern parts of the city. With such a wide range of old and new buildings, you can see why it’s a place I want to visit again one day!

Where have you explored lately? x. Paige

Florence Street Artist: Clet

So I’ve raved about Florence quite a bit on here already, but there was one part of my week that was especially fun for me. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of street art, and will usually photograph any of it that I see. When I first started walking around the city I kept spotting these funny characters on street signs. I enjoyed that they weren’t especially political or controversial, and were mostly just for laughs. It started becoming a little game for me to try and find as many pieces as I could while exploring Florence.

Then, early in the week my friend Steph was taking me up to Piazza Michelangelo to check out the view and sketch a bit. On the way there, we ended up stumbling upon the artist’s studio, who we now know as Clet. It was a such a cool space where you could not only buy stickers of the street sign art, but there were also quite a few works in progress like a big junk + wood sculpture in the middle of the room. Peeking at all of the art on the walls and browsing through his prints was really fun. Touring a lot of cities, you tend to keep coming across the same tacky art for sale on the streets, so finding something like this is always really special.

I found quite a few throughout the week! I think that contrast is something I’m drawn towards in both art and architecture, and I especially love how Clet’s work contrasts the ancient architecture of Florence.

You can check out more of Clet’s art on his Facebook page or maybe you will spot some in the next city you visit! x. Paige

Inside My Sketchbook: Florence

My time in Florence was so relaxed and reflective. I had lots of time to walk around the city and sketch, which I hadn’t done yet during my month of travels. I will be taking an architectural watercolor class at school this semester, so I thought I should start brushing up my skills [no pun intended]! I also was in need of a watercolor sketchbook, and found this beautiful one at the San Lorenzo leather market. It has a Harry Potter vibe that I’m kinda digging alot. While I need to keep practicing, I was really happy with the amount of sketching I actually did, so let’s take a peek into my book today.

First, is this baby. I honestly can’t remember the last time I sat down and did a detailed architectural drawing. The journaling class I took last semester was more focused on urban spaces, and not as much so on buildings, so this was a new little challenge. I sat on the steps of the Capella de Medici scrawling away at this for over an hour, and was pretty pleased with my patience.

Another little visit I took was to the Boboli Gardens behind Palazzo Pitti [the royal palace]. It was very rainy while I was there, but afterwards I ducked into a cool café to dry off. I pulled out my map of the gardens to make a more diagrammatic drawing of my experience there. That’s also when I realized I didn’t actually see all of the gardens…oops.

A trip to Florence wouldn’t be complete without a drawing of the Ponte Vecchio. As an attempt to make mine less typical, I decided to stick with only one color story for the sketch. When you look out at the skyline of Florence, the most dominant color is yellow, so I figured that was a nice nod to the tradition of the city.

As mentioned before, I spent a lot of type analyzing Copenhagen’s public spaces in my urban journaling class last semester. I really enjoy it, so I don’t plan on stopping. This was my observation of Piazza della Republica at 5:19 PM, complete with little symbols and all. Yes, let’s just admit it, I’m a nerd.

One of my favorite buildings in Florence was the Instituto Degli Innocenti, part of which was designed by Brunelleschi. This is where abandoned babies were left to be cared for when it was first constructed, so it is adorned with ceramics of infants on the front facade. I had seen a [too expensive] vintage postcard earlier in the week of a picture of one of the ceramics, so I decided to paint it for myself instead.

Finally, I’ve saved the worst for last. Ha! It’s no secret that I’m not that great at drawing people. I was actually pretty hesitant to make an attempt at a statue, but my friend Steph encouraging me on this day. We hung out in the loggia of Piazza Signoria while I sketched “Rape of the Sabine Woman.” I guess it came out better than I expected, and a I threw the Palazzo Vecchio in the background for a little context. I definitely need to keep practicing though…

What have you been sketching lately? Or perhaps now you’re motivated to start? I’d love to know! Thanks for stopping by, x. Paige

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Travel Diary: Madrid!

Let’s backtrack a couple of weeks to the 4 days I spent with my friends in Madrid. Yes, it’s finally time to catch up on sharing all of my travel photos from the past few weeks. [P.S. If you missed my London or Germany diaries, check them out!] Since I don’t want to completely flood you with photos, I’ll be sure to space out my travel catch-ups with other posts this week! Now let’s go back to Spain…

The three of us stayed in an AirBnb apartment very close to the city center and some great food options. Check out our view here! We had 6 days to travel within Spain before heading to Rome, so we decided to stay for 4 in Madrid, and 2 in Barcelona. Looking back, we really wished we had more time in Barcelona, and I would recommend the same to you! Madrid is a great place, but there isn’t as much to do there in comparison to Barcelona in my opinion. However, it was a great time filled with lots of paella, sangria, and exploring!

One of our favorite spots was this glass food market, Mercado de San Miguel. It was right around the corner from our apartment, and while it was a little fancier than Madrid’s little corner restaurants, it was still really cheap and delicious. No joke, I probably ate paella for every meal of the day and this place had 2 different booths to choose from! The design of the space was also really intriguing. The glass was a modern touch, but the wood construction on the exterior was a nod to the archetypes of Madrid.

Another highlight was visiting Herzog de Meuron’s Caixa Forum Art Museum! It was the perfect outing for us on a really rainy day. We saw an exhibit called Japonisme on the tradition of Japanese art in Spain, that turned out to be very good.

Next food recommendation: mmm_US. Shoutout to Alex for discovering this place for us. We were searching for good tapas places, and this one ended up being walking distance, yet again, from our apartment. It ended up not even having tapas…but it did have the best empanadas I’ve ever had in my life! Also a plus, the decor was super interesting and filled with lots of fun objects.

One of the most culturally exciting things we did was check out this huge street market, El Rastro. We weren’t expecting to come across something this huge. It ended up being a great way to witness local culture while browsing through items.

Which reminds me of this funny story…the only thing I picked up at the market was this Iron Maiden patch, which I thought to be cool at first. The vendor had so many to choose from, that I didn’t look as hard as a should at it. Hours later I realized it’s strongly supporting the confederacy…awkward. I’ll definitely be altering this baby in some way before stitching onto a jacket, ha!

The other museum we checked out was the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. The main draw to this museum is to see Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, amongst his other work. There were also a few Richard Serra pieces, who we’ve learned about for years, but lets be honest they were underwhelming. This museum was very large, and I imagine that the plaza in front of it is a fun place on a day with nicer weather.

Finally, the best food spot we checked out was the tapas restaurant, El Tigre. It was recommended by a friend who had stayed there before [thanks Antonia!] and was just, like, the most awesome place ever. We walked in to this crowded stand-at-counter place not knowing how to order. But no worries. The waiter seeks you out, asks what drink you’ll each be having, and he takes it from there. They basically just provide you with enough food for everyone in your party. Actually…it’s more than that, we couldn’t finish it all! The drinks are huge glasses of beers and sangria, and the whole shabang only cost us 6 Euro each! Such a steal!

One last favorite place was this urban renewal public space we spotted while walking to the street market, which you may have seen on Instagram while I was traveling. It was such an intriguing spot that I’ll actually get a whole new post up about it once I do a little research!

These are the last few nice shots from the trip! Lots of exploring, of course, but also quite a bit of time escaping the rain with coffee and playing cards. I think it’s always a good thing to find some down time when traveling.

One last thing, I’ve linked all of these spots on my Pinterest board City Guide: Madrid which I have been creating for each city I visit, so you can easily locate everything if you find yourself in Madrid sometime soon! The new mapping option that Pinterest offers makes it so easy for me to create these guides for you guys super easily! Enjoy!

x. Paige

Credits // Madrid map in cover photo created by Walk With Me

P.S. Firenze, I love you

Yet another short + sweet blog post, but I can’t help but check in with you guys! As much as I love blogging, it has been so nice to take a break this week. The past 7 days that I’ve spent in Florence have been one of the most amazing weeks I’ve ever had. Wandering around the city, actually having time to sketch, and catching up with old friends is so wonderful. This was a fantastic time and a great last hurrah before school starts again next week!

Here are a few photos from my time here so far, and thank you for sticking with me during my vacation time! x, Paige

// Today’s view while eating lunch

// Beautiful view of il Duomo. Cherishing the blue skies here that I won’t find back in Copenhagen.

// Good times with good friends. I can’t get over how fun it is to hang out with my friends from school in all these amazing cities.

// Prison-turned-café my friends took me to. I loved this wall shelving made from metal containers

// Mini Celine knock-off I picked up at the San Lorenzo leather market with my Christmas money. I’m obsessed!

Stay tuned for more of my travel photos and stories on the blog soon!

Current Location: Firenze!

Hey babes! I’ve been a bit MIA for the past couple days both here and on social media. Just wanted to check in and let you where I’m at! After Madrid + Barcelona, my two friends and I flew out to Rome yesterday and toured around for the day before taking a train into Florence (Firenze)! About 25 people from our home university in California study here, so we’ll spend about a week just enjoying seeing them all and taking day trips around Italy! My use of wi-fi might be limited (Europe probs) but I’ll keep you updated as much as possibly. Until then, here are a few photos from Rome, and I’ll see you when I can! x.Paige

LONDON CALLING | Photo Diary

As promised, my [better quality] London photo diary! Visiting London has always been a dream of mine. Like I said in my last London post, I started watching British fashion gurus on Youtube which turned me on to starting a fashion blog myself! I was so inspired by their unique pieces and bold sense of style. Ever since then, I’ve always wanted to go! 4 days was definitely not long enough to spend in this rad, amazing, incredible [I could go on] city, but hopefully I’ll go back one day!

The London Eye // Camden Lock Market on the waterfront // Favorite street I stumbled across in Soho // Perfect skyline

Skatepark on Southbank // Another picturesque scene on Southbank. I’m a sucker for old merry-go-rounds // Frolicking with Steph in Hyde Park // Spotted more Invader street art! Super exciting because I had just found one the week before in Köln, Germany

Another area in Camden Lock Market // Always have to check out every UO I find in new cities // New favorite Urban Renewal project, located in Southbank. Need to look into this one more! // And of course, Big Ben!

“There’s nowhere else like London. Nothing at all, anywhere.” -Vivienne Westwood

London, so far…

If you follow me on Instagram [@punkrockparti] you’d know I just spent 4 days in London! I covered lots of miles on foot + with The Underground, and wanted to share my first set of adventures. These are all on iPhone but I hope to share some more in a sequel post later in the week. The first 3 days were solid rainy days, so I was a bit afraid to pull out my DSLR on days like that. But on Wednesday I met up with my friend Steph who studies abroad in Florence, and we got lucky with a bit of sunshine for our day of adventures! I was more snap-happy and got an outfit post in that I’ll share tomorrow. Enjoy!

// Stumbled across this awesome waterfront view walking around my first night in the city.

// London’s Underground is super efficient and easy to use. I love how colorful and artsy underground transport systems can be compared to Copenhagen, which has very stark walls + design. Also, the system was so similar to Paris’! Almost totally identical in my opinion.

// Of course I also had to get some shopping in while I was in London. It was especially exciting for me because one of the ways I got interested in fashion blogging was from watching British Youtube gurus talk about all of the street style there. There were so many stores I hadn’t been to before like Primark + River Island!

Since my suitcase is currently packed to the brim, I only picked up 2 pieces. This amazing asymmetrical vinyl midi skirt and a cute necklace from Forever 21 [which I haven’t been to since I was in the states ahh!]

// The Tower Bridge

// I loved the design of the Tate Modern art museum. I think that this building along with the Pompidou have been 2 of my favorite architectural visits so far this year.

// Cool public skatepark near the London Eye ferris wheel, in Southbank.

// Finally, I really enjoyed London at night because it was still lively on the streets and most of the Christmas lights were still up until the new year!

That’s all for today guys! Like I said, I’ll be back tomorrow with a London outfit post. Crazy I know, but I’m actually blogging from Madrid right now! More on that soon as well. x, Paige.

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Christmas in Germany

One of the best parts of living abroad so far was that I was able to visit all of the family I have in Germany for Christmas this past week. I hadn’t seen many of them in seven years and we had a wonderful time. Another exciting part of the trip, was that since I had visited these German cities in the past, I was able to perceive them from a new perspective now that I have studied architecture for three and a half years. I especially loved Köln (Cologne) and all of the history there. I am hoping to go back in a few months to Köln to celebrate Karnival as well! Fingers crossed!

// Christmas market in Köln

// The Dom Cathedral in Köln. Something I did not learn the last time I visited, was that the city of Köln is built on ancient Roman ruins! There were large scale Roman sarcophagi and sewer pieces scattered all over the city, and really interesting pieces in a museum next to the Dome.

// The first time I went to Europe at 13, my “thing” was to photograph all of the interesting door handles I saw. When I got home, I made a framed collage of them all and hung it above my bed. This winged handle on The Dom has always been my favorite of the set, and it was really fun to see it again in person.

// Another favorite from The Dom, a new favorite, was this art piece by Gerard Richter. Look closely because this isn’t the average church stained glass window. After the original glass art was destroyed during the war and the replacement piece never seemed to do the cathedral justice, Richter was commissioned to make something new. I love this piece because it is beautiful and isn’t trying to be something old; it is completely new and exciting.

// More Christmas market cuteness in Köln. There were little gnomes peeking out everywhere. I die.

// A lot of my family lives in Kessten, Germany along the Mosel River. The area is popular for vineyards and wine making because of the good climate and soil, but is also just totally pretty.

// A few more charming shots from Köln

// I loved this public play space along the water in Köln. It reminds me of some of the successful children’s parks in Copenhagen. Good city planning at work!

// Finally, I was really excited to spot this pixelated tile art by the street artist Invader! I love spying works like this when I’m traveling.

How was your holiday? Did you go anywhere new? I hope it was great! x. Paige

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KBH in iPhone Photos!

Although I’m an avid instagrammer, there a quite a few photos on my phone that never make it into my uploads. These are some of my recent favorites, that I think depict Copenhagen at Christmas time quite nicely. Dark yet full of lights, cozy, and fun.

// View out of my studio window during an all nighter

// Enjoying holiday lights while waiting for the bus

// Lanterns inside an amazing Danish Christmas store

// Christmas tree lighted with a firework by Santa in Radhusplasen

// Cozy pizza restaurant in the meat packing district in Vesterbro

// Christmas in the Tivoli amusement park, which was the inspiration for Disney

// Sunset from the roof terrace of my apartment building that feels a bit like an Arizona sunset at home

// Our last night with my friend Sheila at one of our favorite hangouts, Mikkeler & Friends bar

// Pizza at mother in Vesterbro

// And another sunset, this one is the view from my window with Bjarke Ingels’ Figure 8 to the left