Modernism & playing with two kitty cats

Helo there, lovely readers! Happy 2015! After 3 months, I'm finally updating this blog! The reason I haven't written anything new so far it's basically because I haven't been anywhere outside of Barcelona since I came back. I feel my daily life in the city it's not as exciting for you guys anymore, haha :B Today I feel like writing so, I'm gonna tell you about my visit to Vilafranca del Penedès, a city 61km (37 miles) away from Barcelona which turned out to be a hidden jewel in the center of Catalonia!

The main reason I visited it's because of one of my best friends Marion, who is from a village next to Vilafranca. She is always the one coming over to Barcelona, so she asked me if I wanted to visit her hometown for once. I had never visited Vilafranca,  and she told me to bring my camera, because the place was worth taking pictures of. So I followed her and brought my baby Nikon! Seeing the results, I think I did well, haha.

I seriously have a thing for window balcony houses, and Marion knows that. I would totally move this far away from my hometown just to live in a beauty like this (probably at a cheaper price than back in Barcelona)!

All the details...!

The city is just full of Modernist buildings and decorations. Catalan Modernism (also known as "Modernisme" in Catalan language) is the historiographic denomination given to an art and literature movement. Its main form of expression was in architecture, but many other arts were involved (painting, sculpture, etc.), and especially the design and the decorative arts. You'll usually find aesthetic and nature motifs in Modernist buildings.

This movement was centred in the city of Barcelona, though it reached far beyond (as you can see), and is best known for its architectural expression, especially in the work of Antoni Gaudí (if you've visited Barcelona, you've probably heard of him)!

You probably can't tell from the pictures, but it was a very cloudy day and it ended up raining after a 45 minute-walk around the city. So we decided to go to Marion sister's place to wait until it stopped. Actually we both had a reason (well, two reasons) to shelter ourselves there... Two furry and utterly adorable reasons! :B

Yessss, kitties! Marion's sister has two beautiful cats: Neko and Mao. Funny story is, both names are written with the same character ( 猫) as they mean the same word (cat) in both Japanese and Chinese. 

The tabby cat is Mao. He's the coldest and most skeptical cat, but he seems to have a thing for me he doesn't have with anyone else! *blushes* He's also a professional model, as you can see!

He couldn't stop posing for me! Cmon Mao, give me your best face!

Aaaaand this one is Neko! Neko was way more difficult to photograph, as he didn't seem to like the camera as much as his tabby buddy. However, I was fast enough to take decent pictures of him!

Neko is the loving and the playful cat in the house. He doesn't mind being petted and he will never scratch you! (Unlike Mao...)

This shot was pretty difficult to take, but I am pretty proud of it! :B

Petting Mao, hehe!

Marion seemed to be better at taking photos than me at some point! Look at this photoset she took of Neko! 

These two seem to be pretty good friends :B

Hey Mao, whatchu looking at?

CL

My Thanksgiving dinner

As you guys know, Thanksgiving is an American holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Well, I had never celebrated Thanksgiving "properly"... Until this year!

My friend Mariona, who lived in the USA for 10 years, invited me to her place to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family. Even though they settled down back in Catalonia 5 years ago, Mariona's family keeps celebrating for the family gathering... And the food! :B I feel so glad I had the chance to share this experience with a friend like her! However, since Thursday wasn't a free day for us here in Spain, we had to celebrate it on Sunday. 

I arrived to Tivissa (Tarragona province, where Mariona's family lives) on Saturday afternoon. When I arrived, everyone was preparing the meal for the next day (actually they had been preparing it for days already!). The kitchen smelled like heaven! We would be 20 of us on Sunday, so there was plenty of work to do. We had dinner, we played with Mariona's pets (Papi the cat and Rita the dog) and we watched movies and series until bedtime.

The next day we woke up and we helped the family set the table. While we waited for the guests to come over, I took some pictures of Mariona's cat and dog. I have to say these two cuties stole my heart from the very first moment... :') I've always been an animal lover but my parents never let me have a pet when I was a kid (apart from hamsters and fishes, LOL). So being with a cat AND a dog was completely new to me!

...Plus I like taking photos of animals :B

Papi is still a young and super active cat! He's never gonna get tired of playing before you do!

Rita is such an adorable, nervous and very quiet dog. I mean, you can see it in her eyes, right? ^-^ I was petting her all the time!

The table, finally set!

Mariona with Papi

Long cat is loooooooong

Typical IG shot

Part of Mariona's family, ready to gobble up!

The turkey, cut in small chunks already (they're smart!) and the stuffing

Mashed sweet potatoes baked with marshmallows ❤ A very strange but legit combination! Too bad the marshmallows were kind of burnt on top, and they tasted like ember! LOL

My Thanksgiving plate! My ration of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, cranberry sauce and gravy! Whoaaaa....

After the first dish, the pies came! I was almost full, but I couldn't resist to grab some few pieces of foodporn... *Mouthwatering* ❤

Pumpkin pie

Walnut Softcake

Mariona's awesome Pumpkin Cheesecake ❤❤❤ I just could eat two pieces of it, but I would've eaten the whole pie if I had had the chance :B 

My pie dish with the five pies of the day: Regular Cheesecake, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin Pie, Walnut Softcake and Pecan Pie ❤ I obviously overate that day so I took some leftovers home... Didn't want to leave all these beauties alone, you know!

Before I finish this post, I shall say "Thank You" to Mariona and her family who kindly welcomed and treated me like one of theirs. They were so nice and welcoming that all I can say is, "Thank you" from the bottom of my heart. Hope I have more chances to hang out with Mariona in her place in the future! She's truly a great friend, and despite we started off with the wrong foot when we first met, I'm happy we're very close friends now. Love you, girl! Can't wait to see you again! :)

CL

The 10 best pictures I've taken in Vietnam

Hello everyone, and greetings from homeland Barcelona! I finally got back from my Asia experience, yay! In other words, I’m done with my life abroad (for now!) and I’m already settled down in Spain again. However, I still remember my life in Vietnam as if it was yesterday, and I cherished every single moment in there. That’s why I want to share with you all the best 10 shots I took in this beautiful country: The ten pictures I said to myself “Whoa, you did well in here Claudia!" :) So here we go!

(In no particular order)

1. Flowers in Peter uncle’s house. I’m not a fan of flowers as decoration in a home, but I just fell in love with this shot…! This wide range of colors with the plain color of the wall looks beautiful! :)

2. Peter and Davis (one of his cousins) carrying a pyramid of red bean buns to Grandma’s 70th birthday party. At first I told them to pose for me, but Peter gave me a Bulldog face so I told him off: “Noooo, don’t give me that face!” and he answered “But Claudia, this is heavy!” and both started to laugh. Aw :)

3. A baby in her mom’s arms, near our house in District 6. This is just a simple baby photo taken on the street, but for some reason I’ve always preferred taking photos of people instead of landscapes! This little chubby thing was literally staring at me (maybe because my skin was shining with the sunlight LOL haha), so I just picked my Nikon and SNAP! ;)

4. Mariamman Hindu Temple in District 1. I have to say this is not a perfect shot, since it’s rather dark (damn HDR…) and the temple is way more colorful than it looks in the photo. But I still like the texture of the facade and the way it stands out with the grey color of the sky! :) Can you see it?

5. Po Nagar Temple in Nha Trang. This was the first Cham temple I had ever visited, I was fascinated to get to know its history and analyze its architecture from the top to the bottom (An Art History lover right here, sorry! >_<). However it started pouring rain halfway the visit, so we had to run back to the bus. And unfortunately the pictures are the only thing I have left from it!

6. Fishermen boats in Nha Trang.  I'm so glad I got the chance to take shots of this beautiful and colorful fishermen boats! Since that day was pretty cloudy... You could stop by to fish if you wanted or pick some seafood and people would cook it for you! But Peter's family thought they would trick us with the price, so we said no :( Too bad!

 

7.Tom Ham Island in Nha Trang. Right after that boat ride and passing those bright boats we landed in Tom Ham, where we enjoyed this beautiful beach and the huge swimming pool they had. This shot is just perfect and it's probably the photo I'm most proud of, as you can see the reflection of the sky in the stairs :)

8. Pink dragonfruit. One of the things I did the most during my stay in Vietnam was tasting new fruit, not only because I didn't eat much back in Korea (and I was missing it badly!) but also because I always liked trying stuff I've never had before! And dragonfruit was certainly one of these things. I have to say it was rather tasteless despite its bright pink color... It seems Vietnamese just eat it for the texture and the freshness... But it wasn't too bad! 

9. Da Lat City. Looked like a modern jungle to me, a bunch of buildings, cars and motorbikes jammed altogether and connected by meters and meters of black wires... And this shot is definitely the best definition of it, haha. 

10. Forest near Da Lat City. I loved that shot really, I fell in love with this wide variety of colors that made this scenery look like a native American national park instead, haha. Isn't it hard to believe this is taken in a tropical country like Vietnam? Also I was surprised the weather looked kind of decent that day, compared to how rainy it was during our stay in Da Lat!

And this is all for now :) What is your favorite shot, and why? I still have some posts from Vietnam I need to write but it's too much work. Hope you guys understand! @_@ Give me some time please!

CL

Vietnam: Third week (Views from Saigon (Day&Night) and Bình Quới Tourist Village

This past week Peter and I spent a night on a suite in Pullman Saigon Hotel, a 5-star hotel in District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City. It was incredibly cheap compared to booking a suite in other places in the world (100€ a night! Divided by two, 50€ a night), so we said to ourselves "We definitely need a night out!" 

Our suite was in a 15th floor and it had great day&night views of the city :) I'm sharing my best shots with you guys.

La semana pasada Peter y yo pasamos una noche en una suite en el Pullman Saigon Hotel, un hotel de cinco estrellas en el Distrito 1 de Ho Chi Minh. Comparada con suites en hoteles así de otras partes del mundo nos costó super barata! (100€ la noche! Dividido entre dos, 50€ la noche), así que dijimos "Nos merecemos una noche fuera!"

Nuestra suite estaba en una planta 15a, y tenía unas vistas maravillosas de la ciudad, tanto de día como de noche :) Comparto mis mejores fotos con vosotros!

The next day in the morning, Lynn (Peter's mother) picked us up at Pullman and took us to her friend's place. Her friend is Bòn Bon, the aunt of one of Peter's Vietnamese girl friends (Kendy).

Al día siguiente, Lynn (la madre de Peter) nos vino a recoger al Pullman y nos llevó a casa de una amiga suya, Bòn Bon, la tía de una amiga vietnamita de Peter (Kendy).

Beautiful views of the neighborhood Bòn Bon lives in

Bonitas vistas del barrio donde vive Bòn Bon

I just loved this shot! :)

Me encantó como quedó ésta foto! :)

Bòn Bon, her mom and her nephew Đăng (English name: Daniel) took us to Bình Quới Tourist Village, a very beautiful and jungle/garden-like park in Bình Thạnh District of Ho Chi Minh City. We walked around the area and I got the chance to take really nice shots!

Bòn Bon, su madre y su sobrino Đăng (su nombre inglés es Daniel) nos llevaron a Bình Quới Tourist Village, una especie de jardín tipo jungla en el distrito de Bình Thạnh en Ho Chi Minh. Estuvimos paseando por la zona un rato, y tuve la oportunidad de tomar muy buenas fotos!

Hi, Mr. Gecko!

Hola, Señor Gecko!

Peter, Daniel and I crossed this super thin bamboo bridge... It was fun, but my mom would've had a heart attack if she has seen me crossing it :B

Peter, Daniel y yo cruzamos éste puente de bambú tan delgado... Fue divertido, pero a mi madre le hubiese dado un ataque al corazón si me hubiese visto cruzándolo :B

Selfie with my DLSR

Selfie con mi cámara reflex

A bamboo swing!  ❤ ❤ ❤
Un columpio de bambú! ❤ ❤ ❤

Bòn Bon on the swing

Bòn Bon en el columpio

Bòn Bon's mom crossing another of these thin bridges

La madre de Bòn Bon cruzando otro de éstos puentes delgados

A beautiful picture of Lynn, Bòn Bon and her mom :)

Una foto muy bonita de Lynn, Bòn Bon y su madre :)

It seems they were recording a music video for a kids song in the park, so I took a picture of the set. Hehe!

Parece que en el parque estaban grabando un video musical para niños, y me pareció una estampa muy tierna... Así que tomé una foto del set. Hehe!

Kitty in the kitchen of one of the restaurants in the Tourist Village. Fortunately it was closed!

Un gatito en una de las cocinas de un restaurante dentro del Tourist Village. Por suerte ése estaba cerrado!

After an hour walking around the park, we decided to stop for a while and have lunch right next to the Saigon River

Después de una hora paseando por el parque decidimos parar un rato y almorzar al lado del río Saigon

Love this shot as well!

Me quedó bien esta foto también!

Beef salad as a starter. Very good but too many herbs for me :(

Como entrante, ensalada de ternera. Muy buena pero con demasiadas hierbas para mi gusto :(

Fried crab, delicious! It was so tender you could eat the whole thing!

Cangrejo frito, buenísimo! Era tan tierno que te lo podías comer entero!

Petey about to nomnom

Peter a punto de ñamñam

Eel rice with rice crackers with black sesame

Arroz con anguila y cortezas de arroz con sésamo negro

Roasted and seasoned chicken ❤❤❤❤❤❤ One of my favorites!

Pollo sazonado al horno ❤❤❤❤❤❤ Uno de mis favoritos del día!

Some kind of balloon-shaped sweet cracker

Algún tipo de galleta dulce en forma de globo... Haha

Grilled fish, super tasty! ❤ 

Pescado al horno, muy sabroso! ❤ 

Angry fish is angry ò_ó

Pescado enfadado ò_ó

Petey being Vietnamese, haha

Peter siendo vietnamita, haha

Peter and I posing with a Vietnamese rickshaw/old taxi

Peter y yo posando con un taxi antiguo vietnamita

Daniel and Lynn playing around with these empty bottles, haha

Daniel y Lynn jugando a las tiendas con botellas vacías, haha

Beautiful red hibiscus!

Un hibisco rojo bien bonito!

My new desktop wallpaper ❤  Isn't my boyfriend handsome?!?!

Mi nuevo fondo de pantalla ❤ No es guapo mi novio?!?!

Mommy and son staring at something in the river. I'm so in love with this shot ❤ 

Mamá e hijo mirando algo en el río. Estoy enamorada de ésta foto ❤

Daniel sitting next to the river

Daniel sentado al lado del río

Later that day Bòn Bon's husband picked us up from Bình Quới and we went to have ice cream together to the riverside in District 2. 

Más tarde ése día el marido de Bòn Bon nos recogió de Bình Quới y fuimos a tomar helado al lado del río en el Distrito 2

They were a lot of families flying kites with their children!
Había un montón de familias con sus hijos jugando con cometas!

Siblings sharing some street food :)

Dos hermanos compartiendo unos snacks :)

Street food

Snacks de calle

This dad was teaching his kid how to fly his kite. Eventually the kite flew away and they lost it, haha. But fortunately the dad found it again! :)

Éste papá estaba intentando enseñar a su hijo cómo volar su cometa. Al rato el cometa se fue volando y se perdió, haha. Pero por suerte lo volvieron a encontrar! :)

First time trying Taro ice cream!

La primera vez que probé helado de Taro! (Ñame o yuca)

Beautiful views of the sunset in Saigon :)

Vistas preciosas de la puesta de sol en Saigon :)

CL