The Map

As the removal guys moving away my boxes, I gradually tore down the Map, the map that people stared at for hours and hours and had always became the topic of conversation at some point of all my house parties. My last two days in Casa Yu, where I stayed the longest in the past 10 years. Sad, we all head towards different directions and become the dots on the map...

…Dónde empieza y dónde acabará
el destino que nos une
y que nos separará…

…Son mis amigos
en la calle pasábamos las horas
son mis amigos
por encima de todas las cosas…

Listening to the song by Amaral, found myself feeling unsettled about my next adventure, feeling sentimental about the farewell, Perhaps, somewhere deep down, instead of hopping all over the map, me, sharou, the globetrotter, actually want to belong to somewhere on the map.

Volveré!

Took a stroll this morning to the stadium to get the tickets of Espanyol’s first game of this season. It started pouring just when I walked out of the box office. Join the crowd, I followed the rest and took a shelter at MNAC (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya). ‘Why not? It's calling me. It's a sign!’, I thought. So I walked in and bought a ticket. The collections are quite extensive, dedicated to the catalan culture throughout the romanesque, gothic, renaissance, baroque, and moderniste. Was especially impressed by the technique used to transfer all the romanesque cathedral wall-paintings in Cataluyna.

Found myself browsing through the bookstore looking for a photography book of Barcelona. So odd, cuz I never buy any photography book of any city. Wondering why. Perhaps I wanted to take a piece of Barcelona with me. Yet, half an hour later, I walked away without buying anything after realizing that (not only I took better photos but also) it is part of me and will be with me always…y volveré!

Vera-Donostia-Getaria: a green weekend

(dated August 12, 2007)
So green & refreshing! Thought I had arrived in the swiss alps. Na, it’s actually the region of navarra close to donostia (san Sebastian). The under-rated scenery had a lot to offer: small cattle-farming towns, peaceful communities, old cathedrals, alpine cottages, and off-beaten hiking trails—nowhere else is better than Vera for a weekend getaway from the hustle ‘n bustle barcelona. Sipping a glass of txokali from the local winery with freshly-caught lupina from the Atlantic—so jealous of O, who will totally take advantage of weekend getaways like this by staying in BCN.

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