Barcelona/Barcellona

Posted on April 21, 2012 by Una Ragazza Americana

On days like these, where I insist that everything is greener on the other side of the fence, I have to reflect about my exciting moments of this abroad experience, of being able to touch so many surrounding countries quite easily, and not such a high cost. I am missing New York; my weekly Sunday walks through Union Square and grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s. Ah, the simple things. It’s been almost eight months since I’ve been in the U.S., and sometimes I miss it dearly, and sometimes I don’t even think twice about it.

Maybe it’s because Passover just passed, and I miss Aunt Sandy’s cooking, the laughter of my little cousins, minor details that were once overlooked. Sometimes you feel like you're missing out on everything, while other times you feel like nothing has ever changed. So let me reflect on one of the best weeks, or rather five days of my life, which I can’t believe was less than two weeks ago, and was of course shared with hysterias of laughter with none other than one of my dearest friends in the world, Kathryn. I don’t even remember how it was decided upon, but we decided to visit Barcelona.

My spring break was only a brief moment of five days; hers was about two weeks, but she sacrificed a bit for her outspoken friend, thank goodness, and met me in Barcelona. If you’ve never watched the film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona by Woody Allen, that film in itself is enough of a reason to want to visit this wonderful city. The first two days it rained, by we were still all touristy and visited Las Ramblas, everything the architect Gaudi’ managed to touch and orchestrate in the city, dance, relax, eat tons and tons of deliciously food that Satan himself must have cooked, because it was all fried. We shared a hostel room with five boys from Belgian, which was interesting. Live and let live. Hope you enjoy the photos…

The inside of "La Boquerot", aka the best market everr

Just some meat hanging in the market, NBD

Entry-way of the market

Catedral de Barcelona

Arc de Triomf

Parc de la Ciutadella

Some nice looking statue..

Me in Parc Guell

Another shot in the Parc..

Muscians in the Parc

Again..

Kathryn taking a snapshot!

Basilica of the Sagrada Familia

Entrance of the Basilica

Inside of the Basilica, I was in awe

Again

Interesting way to display Jesus..

And then when we were leaving, we saw how amazing the back was..

Casa Amatller & Casa Battlo'

On the street near the Casas

Barceloneta beach

Us at the beach

Our Belgian friends

Pretty much, one of the most architecturally amazing cities I have visited thus far. If you ever have the opportunity to go, leap for it.

P.s..I hope you all had a Buona Pasqua, or Passover, you bet your ass I don’t know how to say Passover in Italian, there are maybe two Jews in this entire country, me being one of them haha.

Barcelona/Barcellona

Posted on April 21, 2012 by Una Ragazza Americana

The inside of "La Boquerot", aka the best market everr

Just some meat hanging in the market, NBD

Entry-way of the market

Catedral de Barcelona

Arc de Triomf

Parc de la Ciutadella

Some nice looking statue..

Me in Parc Guell

Another shot in the Parc..

Muscians in the Parc

Again..

Kathryn taking a snapshot!

Basilica of the Sagrada Familia

Entrance of the Basilica

Inside of the Basilica, I was in awe

Again

Interesting way to display Jesus..

And then when we were leaving, we saw how amazing the back was..

Casa Amatller & Casa Battlo'

On the street near the Casas

Barceloneta beach

Us at the beach

Our Belgian friends

Pretty much, one of the most architecturally amazing cities I have visited thus far. If you ever have the opportunity to go, leap for it.

P.s..I hope you all had a Buona Pasqua, or Passover, you bet your ass I don’t know how to say Passover in Italian, there are maybe two Jews in this entire country, me being one of them haha.

Knitting Update

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Catherine

Here is a little visual update of the knitting stitches and techniques I have been working on for the past couple of months.

Cable Knit and Ribbed swatch made on the 5 gauge Brother machine.

Tuck stitch with 2x2 rib boarder made on the 7 gauge Coppo machine.

Cable and all needle rib made on the 5 gauge Brother machine

Ottoman stitch made on the 5 gauge Brother machine.

Box pleats with stripes made on the 5 gauge Brother machine

Embossed design made with plating on the 5 gauge Brother machine.

Rib and Racking made on the 5 gauge Brother machine

Another variation of racking made on the 5 gauge Brother machine

Ottoman stitch with stripes made on the 5 gauge Brother machine

An image of the 8 gauge Dubied machine in the Politecnico knit lab

A work in progress on the Dubied machine

The result! Ottoman stitch with stripes

Close up of the ottoman stitch

My cardigan in progress- knit with a combination of the cardigan (fisherman) stitch and all needle rib on the 5 gauge Brother machine

Detail of the box sleeve - more pictures to come when it is finished!

My Polo pressed, folded, and finished (well except for the buttons!) - Plain jersey stitch with embossed detailing created on the 5 gauge Brother machine

Detail of the placket attached by the looper machine

Detail of the collar

Pasqua in Roma

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Catherine

I spent the past four days in the incredible city of Rome for holy week and let me tell you it was an experience I will never forget! Rome is the oldest and most beautiful city I have been to this far. Walking around the city felt like I literally stepped into a history book or the movie set of gladiator. I went to visit my best friend Amanda who is studying there and she showed me all of the sites and gave me the scoop on the amazing ancient city. I am planning on going back before I leave because Rome is a city that is so vast and magnificent one needs to spend more than just a couple of days there if possible. We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words, so rather than rambling on here I will let you see for yourself!

the pantheon

Drinking wine on the famous Spanish Steps.

A fort that I cannot remember the name of! opps

The stunning Tiber river

Amanda and her friends refer to this monument as "the birthday cake" because history tells that it was built and given as a birthday gift to an Emperor in Rome.

Ruins from the center of ancient Rome

Snap shot in front of the Colosseum

Amanda and I in front of the Colosseum

There are natural fresh springs all around Rome that double as wonderful drinking fountains and water bottle fill stations!

Trevi Fountain

Alyssa and I throwing a coin into the fountain to make our wish come true!

Out on the town with Amandas friends

The beautiful streets of Trasevere, one of the most beautiful and fun areas of Rome

Picnic at Parco Sempione

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Catherine

Two weeks ago the weather in Milan was absolutely stunning so we used it as an excuse to have an all day long picnic in the park! It was an amazing day of rest, food, a little bit of soccer, and an amazingly adorable chiwawa named Bella.