archive for the‘photo post’ category
where’s chris? [dos de mayo!]
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
in 1808, the citizens of madrid rose up against the french who occupied their city. it sparked the spanish war of independence. the above photo was taken at the plaza de dos de mayo in malesaña, the neighborhood in madrid where we stayed and explored in depth.
wikipedia says :
The 2nd May was chosen as a public holiday in the region of Madrid. The place where the artillery barracks of Monteleón was located is now a square called the Plaza 2 de mayo, and the district surrounding the square is known as Malasaña in memory of one of the heroines of the revolt, the teenager Manuela Malasaña, who was executed by French troops in the aftermath of the revolt.
Several memorials to the heroes are located over the city, including the Monumento a los Caidos por España.
more photos in and around malesaña on this national holiday of independence, and (go figure) one of the largest parties in madrid.
(more…)
Tags: cerveza, dos de mayo, independence, madrid, may, party, sean, war
Posted in city, design, gay, party, photo post, treks | No Comments »
where’s chris? [caixa forum office building]
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
the faux-rusted facade of this office building - a branch of la caixa, a catalán bank - sits on top of what appears to be a much older building. a perpendicular wall sprouts colorful vines and foliage.
it makes me think about the idea of urban vertical farming or just basic city beautification.
it seems the most successful public works projects bring nature back to urban spaces. and this, even though it is a private endeavor, makes everyone stop and look - and what’s more, inspires a sense of sustainability and diversity of life. no need to repaint a big, ugly concrete wall for a new look. just replant.
Tags: bank, city, growth, la caixa, madrid, plant wall, plants, private sector, spain, urban, urban farm
Posted in city, design, photo post, science, treks | No Comments »
where’s chris? [la calle, madrid]
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
spain is hot - and the temperature of design is warmer than in most other places. art and design on the street in madrid is bright, enticing and brilliant.
Tags: design, grafitti, hot, madrid, paintings, spain, street art
Posted in art, city, design, photo post, society, treks | No Comments »
where’s chris? [makin' it rain in spain, madrid]
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
so the other day jess and i wandered around various touristy sites in madrid and candidly snapped pics of some of the male eye candy indigenous to the region. enjoy!
makin’ it rain in spain!
Tags: madrid, makin' it rain, men, photos, sexy, sexy men, spain
Posted in gender, photo post, society, treks | No Comments »
where’s chris? [puerta del sol, madrid]
Friday, May 1st, 2009
the above combo of three pictures is of a cloudy day in (ironically named) puerta del sol - or the door of the sun - which is the times square / tourist trap / pickpocket heaven of madrid.
i came to madrid almost ten years ago with my high school spanish class and experienced the city through 17 year-old on-a-tour-bus eyes. this time, although my level of spanish comprehension is comparable, i feel like i am getting a much richer experience.
last time we stayed at sol, in a ritzy hotel that had bidets - something me and my roomate mike were fascinated with. however, we didn’t, in any way understand the extent of the diversity of the city or it’s many neighborhoods. this time, jess and i have made particular effort to explore the neighborhoods of malesaña, la latina and chueca on the suggestion of my friend natalie. this weekend is supposedly the largest party weekend in all of spain, and i happen to be spending this night in the internet room of our hostel with several other euro-destitutes glued to g-chat and facebook instead of participating in monstrous fiestas.
that didn’t stop jess and i from visiting about 6 different bars eating tapas and drinking for the last several horus.
that’s just how we do in spain.
i always heard that the spanish were severe party-ers, but i had conveniently chosen to deny it. alas, after last night’s debauchery (which i will not go into on this blog), i have learned otherwise.
so tonight i take a break and save up for tomorrow’s festivities.
el dos de mayo (the second of may) is like american independence day or french bastille day - except with more alcohol, public intoxication and many more cigarettes. boundaries between public space and pub space seem to be non existent here, but somehow everyone seems to get along and stay happy and safe.
i have many more pictures to post of various architecture and fascinating things here in madrid (as well as some photos from my escapades in la parc de la tet d’or in lyon), but i will endeavor to post those when the sun is on my side.
until then… aurevoir - adios.
Tags: dos de mayo, drunk, europe, fance, madrid, party, pictures, spain, travels
Posted in Uncategorized, design, gay, music, photo post, politics, treks | No Comments »
where’s chris? [ça tchatche #2 closing party, lyon]
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
so right now i’m sitting in a bunk bed in a hostel in madrid, catching up on various internet correspondences and design work, and i figured i’d let you all in on the kind of cri-zazy party we had the other night at the closing of les subsistances’ ça tchatche #2 festival.
for more ridiculous pics like the above of the fabulous miss heather christian, checkout the galleries i just uploaded on facebook :
Ça Tchatche #2 PARTY - 1 of 3!
Ça Tchatche #2 PARTY - 2 of 3!
Ça Tchatche #2 PARTY - 3 of 3!
some other updates :
big dance theater got a smashing review in Le Monde, which is the biggest newspaper in france. it basically said that we were the cream of the crop so to speak at last week’s festival in Lyon. we also got the above huge color photo in the printed version of the story - apparently a huge deal for theater/dance in france!
read the full article (in french).
and here we have it. two days later. you should see the other guy.
this black eye is the result of me drinking a shit load of free champagne and then face-planting it into a really old french pebble wall. awesome.
it doesn’t hurt as much as it looks and in a few days it’ll just be super sexy.
last night, jess and i saw david byrne play in madrid and hung out afterwards. everyone said my eye made me look sexy. DB says hi, by the way.
soon i will finally leave the mod confines of my hostel and explore esta ciudad.
more to come, folks.
xoc
Tags: big dance theater, ça tchatche, champagne, dance, dancing, drunk, face-plant, les subsistances, lyon, party, theater
Posted in party, photo post, treks | No Comments »
where’s chris? [les halles de lyon]
Monday, April 20th, 2009
two days ago kourtney and i went to les halled de lyon. this is a super fancy indoor market that katie went to last year when we were here and bought some delicious cheese on a stick. the market is in the part dieu district of lyon (see this) and to get there we took metro D then B. above, i am pictured sampling a foie gras tarte with glazed apples on top.
voila :
it was purchased for three euros at this humble foie gras vendor :
foie gras is grossly overfed goose liver. but it looks pretty here :
(more…)
Tags: fish, food, fruits, les halles, les halles de lyon, lyon, market, tartes
Posted in food, photo post, treks | 3 Comments »
where’s chris? [part dieu]
Sunday, April 19th, 2009
two days ago i jogged in the morning and yesterday, to make up for it, kourtney and i went to les halles de lyon in the morning for some super fancy food-watching/eating. we had to take the metro there, and exited right underneath the big crayon that dominates lyon - the renaissance hotel (pictured above) - into a mall (pictured below).
(more…)
Tags: crayon, france, les halles, lyon, part dieu
Posted in city, photo post, treks | No Comments »
where’s chris? [la saône]
Saturday, April 18th, 2009
les subsistances at night.
i pulled out my laptop on the walk home and snapped this photo with “photo booth” because i was sans camera - but just couldn’t miss it.
Tags: france, les subs, lyon, night, photo, reflection, saone, subsistances
Posted in city, photo post, treks | 1 Comment »
where’s chris? [9e arr. a Perrache]
Thursday, April 16th, 2009
this morning i decided to take a trek out into the city center of lyon to get some information about the velo bicycles that you can rent from stations around the city, and to explore a little bit. it rained this morning and the light was superb so i brought my camera.
i took the D metro from Valmy in the 9e arrondissement to Bellecour, a big red dirt square. in the above picture, you can see Fourvière in the background (the church on the hill).
the square is home to a tourism office where i asked for a map and a gay guide, and found out that there was no way to rent the velo bikes without a european credit card.
(more…)
Tags: 9e, bellecour, construction, france, french, french design, graphic design, lyon, perrache, photos, train station, wandering
Posted in city, design, photo post, treks | 1 Comment »
