Tag: Europe

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Birthdays in Holland: Before Facebook, the Dutch Showed the Love on Real Walls, and Other Notes on the Netherlands

Birthday Love!

I celebrated my birthday three weeks ago. Hooray, 34! Dozens of friends and family members sent me their congratulations, greetings and all around good vibes on my Facebook profile. A friend recently said, “I love Facebook birthdays. You really feel the love.” I very much agree. (That’s the Leo in me talking.)

Not everyone agrees with us, and I see their points, though I myself disagree. Sam Biddle of Gizmodo’s User Guide said, “On Facebook, your birthday is automated and empty because nobody has to devote a single shred of mental energy to remembering or celebrating it.” And JD Rucker at Soshable commented, “We used to get cards. We used to get calls. We used to get visitors. Today, we get wall posts.”  Continue reading “Birthdays in Holland: Before Facebook, the Dutch Showed the Love on Real Walls, and Other Notes on the Netherlands”

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Salvador Dalí Day Trippin’ to Figueres. Barcelona Part 4.

If you want to see a bit more of Spain, head out to Figueres, Salvador Dalí’s hometown and locale for his self-curated museum paying homage to his own art. There’s so much to see and do in Barcelona that I would recommend staying in the city if you have less than four days there. Consider a day trip, though, if you have more time. It’s a pleasant – though surreal – change of pace.  Continue reading “Salvador Dalí Day Trippin’ to Figueres. Barcelona Part 4.”

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Roja! Xinesa! Barcelona! Part 1: Antoni Gaudí

Barcelonians aren’t afraid to speak their minds, to help you, or frankly, to get you out of their way (for efficiency’s sake, of course). They’ll poke fun at you if you’re flushed with wine. They’ll call you Chinese out in the street, when you’re actually Filipino-American. That happened more than a few times. Which is strange on many levels, one of them being that Spain colonized the Philippines for over three centuries and named the islands for their King. Eyebrow raise.

This is Barcelona. Continue reading “Roja! Xinesa! Barcelona! Part 1: Antoni Gaudí”