Monday 29 November 2010

better red than dead

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I have sooo much fun thinking up locations for photoshoots, you have no idea! Some, like last posts cozy little office, are happy accidents, and some like today are the result of my fixating on an idea and not letting it go, and generally being a real pain until it happens. I don't feel bad though, because the excursion to Tibidabo was loads of fun as well as being the best backdrop ever...

Tibidabo is the name of the hill behind Barcelona (quite close, if you've ever seen a lighted church on a hill at night, that's the one). In addition to the church there's an amusement park dating back to the early 1900s, a massive telecoms tower, and a panoramic view of the city. Most of the rides are closed for much of the winter, but we did go on the carousel (I looooooovvvve carousels) and the funny little red plane.

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The cute little tram is about the only means of transport we didn't take to get here!

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eeeee! carousel!

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(best picture ever)

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Barcelona from above

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Photos by Albert

blouse: Three Feathers Vintage
jeans and belt: Zara
shoes: Liz Claiborne
sunglasses: Sanborns in Mexico

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Saturday 27 November 2010

el contraste entre la cebolla y el ajo

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One day during my trip to Barcelona, my boyfriend and I paid a visit to an apartment where the family used to live, which is still in their possession. One room in particular I thought would have made a most excellent writer's garret, or study, and even contained the requisite typewriter (I'm not that nostalgic though, give me my laptop any day). In fact, we got a bit carried away in setting up the perfect vintage, artsy office for an afternoon. The best part... you can't really see it, but beyond the rather ordinary buildings out the window is a bright blue slice of the Mediterranean!

Oh, and as for the masterpiece I'm working on... well, we found the most hilarious conclusion to an art history paper, written by somebody in the 70s. It is written in a dramatic and most solemn fashion and includes the lines, and I quote (actually I translate, but anyway): "for Dalí was born among us to show us the contrast between the onion and the garlic, between the artichoke and the cauliflower; that is why we say that Dalí is crazy, for it is impossible that we should understand him..." I'm going to see if I can work that in to one of my essays this year, and see what my tutor says!

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photos by Albert

I'm wearing my boyfriend's Granted sweater.

Can I just say one thing? People with automatic music on your blogs....You make me jump in fright, close all my tabs and NOT wish to follow you. Even when it's nice music. Is there not a click-on option?

Thursday 25 November 2010

kettle full of students

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I generally don't mention politics on this blog, although I have my share of strong opinions, because this blog's focus is elsewhere. However, after yesterday's events, I don't feel it's out of place to make a little point or two...

Some of you may have heard about the newly elected government in the UK making decisions to massively cut public services and also to, get this, TRIPLE tuition fees. Since my course is only a year this doesn't directly affect me, but I feel, like many others in the UK, that this is a very very bad precedent to set, and will contribute to an ever-growing rich-poor divide.

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There was a march by 50,000 students in London a few weeks ago, which I missed due to being in Barcelona, but yesterday was a "day of protest" across the country, including walkouts, building occupations, marches, etc. I went to the London march and had my eyes opened to the new realities of policing.

In a democratic country, the right to protest is kind of a given, and in capital cities, protests generally take place outside the government buildings. Accordingly, the marchers were headed towards the Houses of Parliament when suddenly we hit a police blockade. There was some discontented milling around while everyone waited for them to let us through. Except it started to become obvious that they wouldn't. And then it became obvious what the plan was (pardon my cynicim, but I've been to too many of these sorts of things).

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A group of anarchist types appeared out of the crowd and started jumping on the roof of a police van abandoned in the middle of the road. Why was it there? I can't help but suspect that it was left there so just this sort of thing would happen. Not being a big fan of anarchists at protest movements, I and many other people started to leave.

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Oh, hello Mr. Policemen. What do you mean we can't leave? We haven't done anything! Well, when can we leave? You don't know...

About 2,000 people were stopped in the street, (there were other groups stopped on other streets, one of which we could see) unable to go forwards or backwards, while double rows of police outfitted themselves in riot gear. "This is ridiculous," my friend fumed. "We're being kettled. They're just trying to stir up anger and make someone actually do something violent so it will appear on the news." That was pretty much my thought too. I mean, we were hardly a violent group. Most of the crowd were 15 and 16 year old school children:

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Nonetheless, we were kept behind a police cordon for six hours (many people longer, I was one of the first people finally let out). As is only predictable when you keep so many people hostage, deny them their right to protest and leave police property for them as bait, this happened:

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I'm not defending that, just saying anyone could have predicted it.

So, everyone milled around for hours, without water, toilets or shelter:

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(You can sort of see Westminster Cathedral in the background)

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(improvised methods to keep warm. many people started doing their homework a bit later).

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Parliament at sunset. By this time it was about 2 degrees celsius (about 35 fahrenheit) in the streets, and when I finally got home my face was raw from exposure.

Night falls
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Whatever you think of tuition fees, politics, or any other points of raised here, I hope most of you agree that keeping children hostage on the streets for hours in the middle of winter, when they were marching peacefully to express their opinion, is not something we should support in our society.

Wednesday 24 November 2010

dream city

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I hadn't been back to Barcelona for two years before my little trip a couple of weeks ago. As often when I revisit a place, I was struck not by what had changed but at how familiar everything was. I lived there for a year and a half, and I lived there intensively: constantly biking through old and new streets, taking the metro to far flung corners, walking everywhere. Bicycles are the best way to see a city; you don't worry about getting a bit lost because you can backtrack quickly, and they're a great way to zip through dodgy neighbourhoods at night! Also for chasing down people who try to steal your bag. Anyway, it was lovely but strange being back. I walked across the whole city one night alone and never doubted my way once, anticipating the buildings before they appeared, and thinking at almost every café I passed "Oh, I had a coffee/beer/clara/lunch there! ; )

And it was a little bittersweet too, knowing that in one week I could never do even a quarter of the things that made Barcelona my own special city, that it wasn't quite mine any more, that I would soon be gone again.

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Waiting by Café Zurich, the meeting place of all Barcelona. And everyone is always late.
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Outfit:
dress: Vero Moda
top and jacket: Smart Set
tights: Dorothy Perkins
shoes: ebay
shawl: second hand

Sunday 21 November 2010

hits of the autumn, part 1

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from Milk Teeths The ultimate style+travel photo, and I liked that blouse so much I bought it from her store!

I generally aim for a high degree of original content on this blog, but I really enjoyed rounding up my favourite summer outfits from some of my favourite bloggers in September, and couldn't resist doing an autumn roundup too. However, I've gone a bit overboard, so I'm splitting this post in two. This week you get the vibrant colours and sunny days outfits that most inspired me, next week a few more from the more wintry side of autumn. Since I featured my winter coat last post, and am basically wearing it all the time now, I guess autumn is truly over, in London at least...

I Want Your Dress:
I want your dress
from Yeye! Style Blog and Resplendent Tranquility

This was the year the Alexa Chung collection for Madewell had us all pining for black velvet dresses with little collars. Seeing Izzie's vintage example, I was inspired to spend hours of my life trawling Etsy for weeks, instead of spending too much money, and I'm very happy with the result. I also love her styling of it.

You can't see it well in the picture, but Emily from Resplendent Tranquility's dress has a pattern of chickadees! How perfect for autumn. I skulked around in H&M for quite a while in search of this, but fortunately for my budget they didn't have my size. And I could never have mustered up such a perfect location for it anyway!

Coloured Denim:
coloured denim
from Orchid Grey and My Little Fashion Diary

After I bought my red Zara jeans I was pleased to see other bloggers following me on the coloured denim idea! ; ) Joking aside, red and yellow are probably the best autumn colours around, and I love the difference in the way they've been styled: sort of grunge-folk on Julie and classic all the way on Emilie. And both with truly great shoes...

Caitlin in Yellow
caitlin in yellow
from Waking Life

I honestly think Caitlin from Waking Life is one of the most stylish girls in blogland, and she made me doubly despairing of my own dressing abilities all fall by consistently wearing my favourite colour so perfectly. If you don't know her blog already, you should: head over for one perfectly put together look after another, and most of them taken before she goes to work, which just boggles my mind!

I Just LIke These Ones:
i just like these ones
from Waking Life and Birds Closet

More perfect looks with oatmeal and red, and also demonstrating that sometimes hair is the best accessory. Well, hair and a swallow-shaped brooch, if you can swing it.

Keeping Cozy:
keeping cozy
from Wish Wish Wish and Hannah and Landon

Carrie's yellow coat set me back ages in my own coat shopping. I couldn't come to grips with the fact that I wasn't going to find the very one and make it mine.
Hannah's sweater looks warm too, but what really keeps me cozy is the picture itself. Taken during Canadian Thanksgiving, it reminded me in all the best possible ways of my favouritest of favourite holidays.

Any favourites among these? Or what were your favourite colours/looks this fall?