Enjoying European travel

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January 22, 2007

Bliss Young The Rushville Republican Mon Jan 22, 2007, 08:41 PM EST

Rush County resident and Rushville Consolidated High School graduate Bliss Young currently is touring Europe as part of her post-secondary education.

She recently shared a few observations and photographs with the Rushville Republican.

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Thoughts from Barcelona, Spain — When I was a freshman in the College of Architecture at Ball State I went to see a presentation on a trip called World Tour. The students presenting showed pictures of great monuments, video of breathtaking experiences, and souvenirs from all over the world. It was that moment that I decided I was going to be part of the next tour. Four years later, I am sitting in a café in Barcelona, Spain writing this column and drinking cappuccino.

World Tour is a 103-day, 55-city, 23-country tour sponsored by the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Departments at Ball State. All 33 students who participate receive full credit for a semester’s studio and three other department-sponsored classes. Each of these classes requires several concise essays with documentation of examples covering subjects such as architectural design, analysis, or theory.

I will be writing about the different experiences that I have in the many countries that I will be traveling to. Spain is the first country on the itinerary and I landed in Madrid a little more than a week ago. While there, I enjoyed Madrid’s biggest celebration, the Arrival of the Three Kings. There was a huge parade and a stage show in front of the Central Post Office. It was quite spectacular. The next day I saw the King and Queen of Spain at the Palacio Real as they spoke in celebration of the holiday.

The next city we visited was Cordoba, the ancient Muslim city of Spain. The Great Mosque was gorgeous with its painted arches and beautiful courtyard full of orange trees and hand-laid cobble. The streets were extremely winding and narrow, designed to keep the sun off the street and the atmosphere cool. We left from Cordoba as the sun set and headed south by coach. We arrived in Sevilla, the city of gardens and cathedrals. While there we visited the Cathedral de Sevilla, which was quite beautiful and ornate in its gothic style of architecture. Afterwards, we went to La Isla de Pajaros, a gorgeously designed park near the river. We later visited the famous bridges designed by Santiago Calatrava, one of the most renowned bridge engineers in the world.

After our stay in Sevilla, we traveled to Granada, home of the city-state Alhambra. The Alhambra was once a self-sufficient walled city. Much of it has been destroyed by conquering armies and the main areas that are left are the stunning gardens. These gardens were not only sources of food, but also areas that had fountains and were welcome retreats from the heat of summer. The Sultan’s Palace and Chambers are also still standing and have been restored. Their mosaics and fountains hold a true artistic beauty not commonly found in many of today’s buildings.

Barcelona, the home of Antonio Gaudi, was our next stop. He designed Casa Battlo with its scaly, dragon-like appearance, Casa Mila and its mosaic covered interior, the strange and towering Sagrada Familia Cathedral, and Parqué Güell with its famous Lizard Fountain. I never thought that I would be able to see these pieces from my favorite architect in person and have never had such an amazing day!

We will be traveling to Avignon, France tomorrow and then to Venice, Italy. Until then, chao!

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