Hip Young Things

In Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia is one of the most amazing buildings in the city.  It’s full name is the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia, or, in English, the Temple of the Holy Family.  Most people just refer to it as the Sagrada Familia.  But after arranging for a place to sleep for the night in one of the barcelona boutique hotels, you will find that this architectural marvel has to be one of the very first stops.

You might have wondered what it was like, in Medieval times, to begin building one of the massive European cathedrals, knowing that the process will take a few hundred years.  The Sagrada Familia is the story of a man who did just that: Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi, who lived from 1852 to 1926.

Gaudi began work on this Roman Catholic church in 1882.  Today, no one expects it to be completed until at least 2026, which will mark the 100th anniversary of the architect’s death.  Right now, you can only see the outside of the church, but a portion of the interior should be open both for worship and for tours in 2010, somewhere in September.  The church’s immense size and strange designs make it popular with tourists.

Enormous changes in the last century and a half have made it possible for the current builders to speed up the process, using CAD, or Computer Aided Design. Using Gaudi’s methods people felt the building would take several centuries to be completed.  Today, the stones can be cut by machine rather by hand.  Still, the newer technological approach has caused some controversy.  Some architects want the construction to stop, with the idea of using Gaudi’s original tech as a matter of respect for the architect.  The patrons disagree with this approach.  Originally, private patrons funded the building of the church; today, it’s tourists who purchase tickets, as well as through private donations.

It’s an awesome thing to consider and one imbued with a great deal of commitment and conviction: starting a work that can’t be finished within your own life time.  It’s an amazing statemen

We headed to the Lost Sea first. The Lost Sea is the 2nd biggest cave lake in the world. The tour of the cave is excellent and the cave itself has 50 percent of the entire worlds collection of cave flowers. The tour works its way down to the lake and we got to take a boat ride on the lake itself. We saw tons of rainbow trout. I had no idea they could live in a cave lake, but then we were told that the fishing department actually put the trout in the lake to find out if they can find their way out. They couldn’t, so they’ve never been removed. They actually restock the lake periodically to keep the tourist happy. The Lost Sea is a private cave, which I could see the big difference compared to the states national park caves. Plus, the tours there aren’t as good and they weren’t eco-friendly.

After the tour, we headed about an 4 hours and a half south to Atlanta. Atlanta has a loop road just like the M25. As we approached we got caught in a huge traffic jam. We worked our way through the jam and managed to find one of the luxury Atlanta hotels and booked a room for the night. After we took a quick nap, we headed into the city center. We stopped at the CNN building for a quided tour, at that tour was good too. They told us all about the news-gathering process and showed us the green screen technology, plus they actually let us see an actual news cast in the main studio! Then after the news cast, which was a half-an-hour, we were told about all the sections of CNN’s newscasts, like CNN International, CNN Espanol and Headline News. We even learned about the history of the building itself. It was originally an indoor theme park.

After CNN, we headed out to see the Cyclorama. It’s a turn of the century circus that went bankrupt and the state had to take it over. First the state turned it into a city zoo and then they built on the Cyclorama, it houses a huge panoramic oil painting. We sat down and the auditorium begins to rotate within the building showing some amazing Civil War paintings. Then they build a diorama at the base, which only adds to the whole experience. This whole tour tired us out, so we grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Cyclorama and headed back to our hotel for the evening.

A journey to the northwest coast of Malaysia conjures up an immense array of adventure tales and images from films about exotic intrigues, and romantic escapades.  It’s the stuff of novels, but the real Penang has something even more significant to offer.  There are many old temples and old colonial architecture, making it a delight for the eye, with amazing curiosities at every turn.  And the population is fairly diverse, with ethnic Chinese making up the majority, by just a stretch, followed by the Malay culture, and then  ethnic Indian.  There is also a Jewish community living here, as well as many others.  It’s an unusual mix of many things, and has a fascinating past that’s visible in the city’s architecture.

With a strong colonial presence here for a couple of centuries, there has been a need to accommodate guests, and the lodging industry is rather well-developed here.  For hotels, Penang has something for every taste, to suit most every pocketbook.  There is also an enormous variety of attractions in Penang to suit most every taste.  If you’re here at the end of the year, and you like seeing cultural collaborations as well as interesting clashes of culture, or international jazz, then you’ll certainly love the Penang Island Jazz Festival.

It’s now in its 6th year, and began as a two-day event.  Now it’s four days, and the acts playing this year come from all over the world.  There are artists this year from Taiwan, South Korea, Norway, and Lithuania, among other countries.  There are also local Thai artists playing new fusions of jazz with local traditions to make new forms in this amazingly inventive musical style.  There is also a performance by the Michelle Nicolle Quartet, whose namesake is the award-winning singer from Australia who has been remaking the tradition and placing her own marks on its continuing evolution.  Inventions of artistic forms are always exciting, and this form, which is based in invention and improvisation, is particularly exciting when it’s being absorbed and refashioned, even when its roots are still visible in the world.

The area now known as Jackson, MS was once referred to a Parkerville. Originally settled by Louis LeFleur, a French Canadian trader along the historic Natchez Trace trade route. He is said to have established the first European settlement in the area. By November 1821 the area was renamed Jackson and made the permanent capitol of Mississippi. The choice was natural after he survey party reported on the lush and bountiful surrounding area, good and plentiful water, abundance of timber and the proximity to the Natchez Trace trade route along with a navigable water way.

Jackson grew and flourished during the antebellum period with many rich and large plantations in the area. During the Civil War Jackson became an important manufacturing center for the support of the Confederacy. This all ended with the battle at Vicksburg as the Union Army made their way from there through Mississippi.

Today Jackson, Mississippi is a diverse city centrally located in the state. With close proximity to three national forests, Delta National Forest, Homochitto National Forrest and Bienville National Forest there are plenty of opportunities for hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, horseback riding or simply strolling in the forest. Every visit to the area includes a visit to one or two of the forests. I would have to say our favorite of the forests is Delta. The dramatic scenery formed by the jewel green trees surrounded by the lazy river and the seasonal flooded forest is all very dramatic. But when we are in the mood for hiking or backpacking we head to the Homochitto Forest. Set in the rolling hills of southwest Mississippi there are about 190,000 acres of forestland and miles and miles of hiking trails to explore.

We come back time and again staying at Jackson hotels every time. Between the history and antebellum architecture and museums, national forest land filled with wildlife we cannot resist returning for another visit.

Tony had finally waited long enough. About a year ago he had contacted his local hot tub dealer to inquire about the possibility of adding one to his back yard. He had a difficult time getting information and prices and let the project go for some time. He recently became engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Lila, and the two of them decided that they would live in Tony’s house after the wedding. This gave him pause to reconsider the extent of improvement needs his backyard required. After giving it some thought, Tony decided he would completely redesign the backyard landscape and install a hot tub into the yard as surprise wedding gift to Lila.

However, when Tony started investigating potential hot tub models he did not return to his local dealer, but instead looked into an online company choosehottubsdirect.com. He was immediately impressed with the quality of the web page and greatly interested a lot of the products. When he made contact with the company he was relieved at the efficiency and friendliness of the communication. He appreciated all the information he received and after a short time felt he was ready to make his decision.

Tony wanted the backyard to be complete before Lila moved in, but he also wanted to keep the hot tub a secret until the wedding. He decided he would have to insist that Lila not come over to the house during the week before the wedding. He invented some family tradition to support this and carefully arranged to have the deck built and the hot tub installed during that time and while they were on their honeymoon. Thanks to the care and professionalism of choose hot tubs direct, the plan went off smoothly and Lila was absolutely shocked and amazed when she saw her new tub in the newly designed backyard. She started to cry and needless to say the honeymoon continued on through the following year.

Painter Marlene Tseng Yu is a leader in a new movement in the art world, a movement that has been happening in other worlds such as architecture, car design, and general ways of life, and that is the Green Movement.  Through her work Yu illustrates the effects on the environment, the way in which is is changing because of global warming, and illustrates the necessity for conservation.   For just a few more weeks, until November 14th, her new show, The Forces of Nature is hanging.  It also includes recent works as well as a series she painted in the 1970′s, The Glacier Melting series will be on display at the Chelsea Art Museum in New York City.

This is the sixtieth solo show for Yu, and it exemplifies her abstract techniques which are combined with values of realism, influence both by Western cultures of the world, and the cultures of China.  She works in acrylic paint and this exhibit also highlights her style, her brushwork and the experimental nature of her paintings.  Some of her pieces are quite large, reaching twelve feet in height, and thirty-five feet in length.  Such monumental sizes make an impact on the view and leave a lasting impression.  The works represent everything from avalanches to underwater scenes to forests of trees, all phenomena of the natural world.

5 star New York hotels in the area have remained booked as people are traveling to the city to experience Yu and her paintings, which capture the forces of our natural world.  She was born in Taiwan, and went to school at the National Taiwan Normal University.  She then studied at China’s National Art Gallery, and moved to the United States to continue in Boulder at the University of Colorado.  She has shown in major museums around the world since the 1960′s, throughout Europe and Asia and the US.  She has also been extensively reviewed in over one hundred and forty magazines and publications, translated into nine languages.  This is one show not to miss, and I suggest for the next three weeks, anyone in the city or traveling through, make every effort to get to Chelsea and check out the incredible work of Marlene Tseng Yu.

Ibiza offers many exceptional things for the savvy world traveler.  There is truly something for everyone here, with fantastic beaches to keep guests of all ages happy during the day, and the night is really something else.  There is, of course, a magnificent club culture here, that is always on the move, and always evolving to new dj’s bringing new beats to Ibiza.  Restaurants are also quite spectacular, and offer very unique contributions to the island.  Many of them also turn into discos later in the evening, perhaps on a much smaller scale than the full-out dance clubs, but are nonetheless a splendid way to spend an evening.  There is a wide variety of foods, too, from many different culinary traditions.  If you’re looking for the latest and the greatest in contemporary Spanish cooking, then surely there are many mouth-watering dishes to try.

The chefs here are, like the rest of the professionals on the island, spectacular, and used to creating amazing delicacies that live up to international standards of fine cuisine.  You can find something familiar for the younger guests who might have particular tastes, and you can also find amazing exotic treasures that just might change the way you think about food.  If you get a chance to sample the local flao, which some describe as a kind of cheesecake, but the differences are a bit more complex, you’ll start to get a sense of why the people who live here seem so happy.

There’s no question that there is a higher value placed on the moment to moment kinds of happiness, which some cultures would describe as fleeting.  Here, however, it all adds up to a good life which is not fleeting but deeply felt. Jump in. Flao is an exceptional dessert that is marked by the taste of anise, mint, and soft cheese.  Quark certainly works.  There is also a lot of olive oil in everything here, and this also goes for the desserts.  Fresh olive oil is one of the most fantastic things human beings have ever invented, and here it’s even better, because it is so very fresh.  This should lead you toward the good life, or at least put you in touch with some people who know the way.