Barcelona in January

As I said before, Yeji (one of my friends) and I spontaneously booked a trip to Barcelona last week. We had no resits, so we had a week off and why not celebrate this in beautiful Barcelona? Since tickets were only 50 euros and we found a hostel (which was called 'The Hipstel', awesome right?) for only 9 euros a night with breakfast included, the choice was easily made.


Last Tuesday we flew from Eindhoven (a city in the south of the Netherlands) to Girona, Barcelona. We only booked hand luggage, so it was quite a disaster to get everything we wanted to bring with us in those small suitcases. Eventually, we managed to do this and we began our short trip. We arrived at the hostel around dinner time. Fortunately, everything went well. I'm emphasizing this, since we both are awfully chaotic. We lost our key, phones and passports several times and I'm not even talking about the amount of times our sense of direction left us in the lurge.

Anyway, the first night we had planned to go out, despite the fact we didn't sleep good at all the night before our departure. I only slept 3 hours that night, which wasn't the best way to start a trip filled with shopping, wandering through Barcelona and going out. But a friend of Yeji had worked in a very exclusive club at the beach last year, and she'd arranged to put us on the guest list, so we had no choice. That night was a special R&B/Hiphop night as well, so it turned out to be pretty nice. Though the drinks had outrageous prizes, we had a good time, since the music was very good. It was funny to see all those Spanish party people, everyone was looking shiny: high heels, short dresses and lots of hair. Quite different from Amsterdam.

































The second day was dedicated entirely to shopping. One of the reasons we came to Barcelona! Topshop was very disappointing. The store was tiny, especially compared to those in London and NY and the collection wasn't special either. Thank god Zara was heaven on earth. Everything is cheaper in Spain anyhow (since Zara is spanish) and there was still sale, so the prizes were amazing. I bought a few wonderful things, all about 10 euros a piece. Mango was good as well. After a long day, we had dinner in a cosy bar, called Bar Lobo. We ate a lot of hummus, which we had also bought for breakfast and lunch, since it is de-li-ci-ous.

That night we wanted to go to some place a bit more underground. We wanted to see some cute guys and since pushy and smooth Spaniards are definitely not our type, we figured we had to look for them in a place other than exclusive clubs. So we approached some alternatively looking girls that afternoon and asked them where we had to go. They gave us the name of a club and so that's where we want that night. Unfortunately, it wasn't a big success (music was lousy and there was very few people over there) and so we asked for a place where they played techno.

Thursday we got up early again, since we didn't want to miss the free breakfast. The few hours of sleep every night began to take its toll. And my entire body was hurting but that didn't keep us from walking to the Sagrada Familia, which is still worked on but the process is a bit further than the last time I was in Barcelona. Did I already mention the sun was shining and it felt like summer that day? All days we were in Barcelona actually. You could already smell spring in the air, I love that feeling. I could wear my summer jacket the entire time, I didn't even bring my fur coat!

After a short rest in the hostel, we went to El Born, a student and vintage area. We went to Parc Ciutadella and visited Musée Picasso. I only knew him from the work he's famous for, with the absurd forms and faces. It turned out he made some very realistic and impressionistic work as well, when he was only fifteen years old! Unfortunately, they were working on the museum, so we could only see the beginning and the end of his work.


































That night was the most amazing night of all. Yeji's friend had arranged we could visit a Burlesque Dinner Show in the same club we were Tuesday night. We were eating with the owner of the club and a friend of his. I didn't know what to expect, but they turned out to be very nice and funny. The food was a-ma-zing. We had sushi first, then the best salmon I have ever tasted and some caramel dessert. The show was even better. The girls wore great outfits, not trashy at all, very sexy. They performed songs like 'Fever', 'Candy Man', etc. The lead singer sang 'And I'm telling you...' from Dreamgirls and she almost did this as good as Jennifer Hudson and that means a lot! They were pole dancing as well, including a guy. We were completely blown away, he had so much power in his body, he was almost floating through the air. We stayed a while to dance that night until our feet couldn't keep up, cause we wore our high heels ;)
 
Friday was our last day and we had a check-out at 10 o'clock, which was pretty tough. That day we didn't do that much. We went to the beach in the morning, which was fabulous. It was 24 degrees, we played music and really enjoyed this, since it was raining in our home town! We strolled through El Born the rest of the day and had a lovely meal that night. We concluded our trips with drinks at a cocktail bar and went to our hostel to wait till we could take the bus back to the airport.

 

A tradition definitely is born. For not a lot of money, a few days in sunny Barcelona, it's the best idea we had in a long time. Barcelona, we'll be back.

Casablanca

As time goes by, some movies never lose their magic. 'Casablanca' is one of them. Though not that much happens and the film is only set on a few locations, 'Casablanca' has this thing: it integrates you from beginning until end. Maybe because it not one of those old films that has a perfect ending and it's not extremely happy and cheerful, like many old films are.



















'Casablanca' was produced in 1942 by Michael Curtiz. It is set during World War II and stars huge actors Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The film is about Rick, a cynicle and cold man who owns a succesful bar in Casablanca. The people who go there come from different parts of the world: America, Italy, France and Germany. A lot of Nazi officers come there as well.



















Rick isn't impressed by them at all. He isn't interested in politics, he is just the proprietor of a bar. Then one day a man, Victor Laszlo, and a lady, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) step in his bar. These two people definitely impress him. Laszlo is a Czech fugitive leader and is sought by the Nazis. They don't want him to leave Casablanca cause he's expect to begin a big revolt against the Nazis in America.
















The lady asks Rick's friend and the house pianist Sam to play 'As time goes by'. Rick runs to Sam and is furious. He had ask him never to play that song again. Then he sees Ilsa and he's blown away. There's an evident tension between them. As it turns out, they have been lovers some time ago. Rick was rebelling against the Nazis back then as well. One day the Nazis took over Paris and so Rick and Ilsa had to fly to Casablanca to be safe. On the last moment, Ilsa didn't show up. She left a letter saying that she couldn't go, but she blessed Rick and wished him the best. It turned out her man, who was in a concentration camp, wasn't dead at all. Of course, she didn't tell Rick this when she found out just a bit before they were supposed to go.



















Rick, who opened his heart, became bitter and synical in Casablanca. Until Ilsa showed up again. It was obvious they couldn't stop thinking about each other and they met several times to talk things over. I'm not going to tell the entire plot, but what it comes down to, is that Rick had to choose between love and war. Would he stay in Casablanca with Ilsa or would he help Ilsa's husband by giving them the letters Laszlo needed, so that he could continue his work conquering the Nazis?

































'Casablanca' is a pure love story, with war on the background. Though I was never a big fan of Humphrey Bogart, he turned out to be pretty fabulous in this film. The reason I didn't like him, was because he was an extreme jerk on the set of 'Sabrina'. He didn't want to work with Audrey Hepburn, because she wasn't good enough for him. But in this movie he's amazing as a cynical though humorous man. He has this thing that integrates you, just like the movie itself. Bitter as he comes off, it turns out he has a heart after all. Ingrid Bergman is very believable as well. Her accent is adorable and I never knew she was that beautiful. Grace Kelly had competition.



















Unfortunately, we don't see a lot of Casablanca (how I would love to go there one day!) besides one market, since the film mostly sets in Rick's bar. But this bar has a very cosy ambiance, so it's no big deal. 'Casablanca' has a wonderful title song, which makes you want to go back seventy years in time and sit in Rick's bar, smoking a cigarette and having a drink. The way they talked was pretty amazing as well. Most characters had an accent, since they were supposed to be Scandinavian, French or Czech. Rick, who came from New York, hadn't, but the way he called Isla, 'Kid', makes you wish someone called you that as well ;)



















'Casablanca' is magic, full of thrill because of the War and because it tells the story of a great but impossible love. The way love is supposed to be if you ask me. Not impossible, but passionate and tense. Until that happens, let's watch Casablanca. Over and over again.

Quote from my hero

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”
                                                                                                                                           - Jack Kerouac

'When you're strange': a documentary about The Doors

Johnny Depp narrating the story of The Doors and Jim Morrison in particular. That is perfection.
Enfant terrible Jim Morrison lived an outrageous life. He used all sorts of drugs, misbehaved enormously on stage and had sex with many of his groupies. But Jim Morrison was also a legendary singer and poet, with a whole new sound - an inspiration of many artist to come.
 











'When you're strange', a 2009 documentary written by Tom DiCillo, tells the story of The Doors - from the early beginning, four unexperienced guys playing music in the garage, to their peak in the late sixties. This is accompanied by many interesting fragments of concerts, studio recordings and fragments of a bearded Jim Morrison on the road. I never lost interest while watching this documentary and that means a lot for a documentary.













As mentioned before, the members of The Doors (Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore and Robby krieger) formed the group in 1965 though having little experience. They met in cinema school and, especially Jim Morrison, lived a bohemian life. Sitting on roof tops in California, using lsd, reading a lot of beatnik books and writing poetry.



















The first album of The Doors was mostly influenced by blues. It included songs as ´Love her madly´, ´Light My Fire´, ´People are Strange´ and ´Touch me´. Their best songs, if you ask me. The group  became the supporting program of Van Morrison among others. It soon became clear that Jim Morrison - who comes off rather easy-going at first sight in my opinion - did things exactly the way he wanted to do them. When The Doors were invited at the Ed Sullivan show, they agreed on singing an adapted version of ´Light My Fire´, but when they were performing, Jim Morrison sang their original version anyway.































´´I´m interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos, especially activity that appears to have no meaning. It seems to me to be the road toward freedom´´, Jim Morrison once said. And this was exactly how he behaved during a lot of their concerts. He went totally crazy, even showed his dick to the audience one time. This led to an arrest and a breakdown for Jim Morrison and the band - since a lot of cities declined to welcome their during their tour.
















Jim Morrison´s personal life was disorderous as well. He had a long relationship with Pam Courson, but cheated on her on regular basis (though they had some sort of open relationship, complicated story yes), with Nico and Janis Joplin among others. He hardly had any contact with his family, for his father disapproved of his career, telling him in a letter, to: ´´give up any idea of singing or any connection with a music group because of what I consider to be a complete lack of talent in this direction´´.



















 After a few depressions Jim Morrison said he was going to leave the band and move to Paris with Pam. He did. The band was nothing without Jim Morrison anymore. He made them one of the most inspiring groups for the protest generation. But Jim Morrison chose to go to Paris. At first,  life was good for him here, but on a particular day in 1971, Jim was found dead in a bathtub. It´s still not sure how he died exactly - most probably it was a heroin overdose.



















Jim Morrison joined the 27 club, which already had members as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. It always fascinates me, how such talented and mad (right?) persons aren´t given a long existence. Of course, it´s their own fault, but it´s such a shame for the world that there´s so little work made. Jim Morrison could have - and would have - made so much more amazing songs (credits to the other members of the Doors too of course) and poems. But let´s cherish what there is - and that´s emphasized in the documentary very good. So I´d say: have a look.

INSPIRATION

Barcelona is always a good idea

Yesterday decided, today booked: a trip to Barcelona.

A few days filled with shopping, strolling around Las Ramblas, eating tapas, drinking sangria and going wherever we want to go. Spontaneous trips are the best trips, right? :)

''Elegance is the only beauty that never fades''

One of the most eccentric actresses Hollywood has known. One of the most iconic women fashion world has ever known. And one of my biggest inspirations. Audrey Hepburn. Today it's been 20 years since she died.

Unlike many of my heroes, Audrey Hepburn hasn't died at a very young age. Though she wasn't very old either: 63 years. And unlike many of my heroes, she was pretty close to perfect as well. What I mean, is that she was always very positive, caring and wanted the best for everyone: her co-workers, her lovers and the world. We all know the photos of Audrey carrying children, while she's working for Unicef. Many of my other inspirations (Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Kate Moss) are quite the opposite. Definitely not horrible people, but rather pessimistic and making the most of life - in a different way than Audrey, who did the same I think - by drinking, using drugs and living the fast life.

Anyway, before my story totally loses it way, Audrey Hepburn was an inspiring woman. The way she handeled everything, the fact that she had her own and unique way of acting. No one could be as charming and quirky at the same time as her. She made Holly Golightly a legend. She made Tiffany's world famous. And she made Givenchy one of the most elegant fashion houses ever.

The thing I like about all of this, is that she had no intention to do so. She was just living and taking her passions seriously, without setting her goals on fame and money. Despite the fact that her youth wasn't easy. She was young in the war, lived in several countries, including The Netherlands, Belgium, Britain and eventually America and she suffered from malnutrition and oedema. Her parents were Dutch aristocrats from origin, Audrey was born in Belgium, but she had British citizenship through her father. Because of her multinational background, she spoke fluent Dutch, English, Spanish, Italian and French at a young age.

After the ending of the war, the family moved to Amsterdam, where Audrey took ballet lessons and eventually got a part in an educational travel film as a Dutch stewardess. This was the beginning of a big career. Movies as 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', 'Roman Holiday', 'Sabrina' and 'Funny Face' would follow.
'Roman Holiday' would provide her a Academy Award for Best Actress and 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' would provide her world fame. Holly Golightly was the 'most jazziest character' she ever played and a real challenge, taking into consideration that Audrey was introvert and Holly Golightly definitely extrovert.

She kept acting until her death, combined with humanitarian work for Unicef. On January 20th, Audrey died of appendiceal cance. After her death, Gregory Peck (with whom she played in 'Roman Holiday') went on camera and tearfully recited her favourite poem, "Unending Love''. Her grave is in Switzerland, at the Tolochenaz Cemetery. Definitely on my 'to go list', since Audrey Hepburn was such a powerful woman. She made amazing films, she was pure and she wasn't too heavy-hearted. ''Nothing is impossible. Even the world itself says I'm possible''. Might sound a bit cheesy, but it's true. Something we should keep in mind every day, while living our lives lightly and the way we want to live it ;)

Congratulations Janis Joplin, most genius singer the world has ever known