KOLN

I have some prints -etchings actually, done by a local (not well known) North Dakota artist. I bought them years and years and years ago before I moved to Portland. One of these pieces of art is an etching of Koln's cathedral. So, when a March trip gave me the chance to take a day-trip from Brussels to Koln... well, race fans, I jumped on the train and said, "Ich bin ein Koln-er-type-er-don't-speak-much-German-er..." Here are the snaps.

The trip to Belgium is below this post and the trip to AIA San Francisco -actually the most current post is below that.

Thanks for playing.

-G

March on Brussels

How do, Race Fans?

These are from my March trip to Brussels. Totally forgot to enter them into the mix. The past week to San Fran (post below) is much more current. Sorry. Busy G, these days.

Possible text to come, but for now...

Trip to Spa -outside of Belgium.

Then a night or two in Belgium -one at the beautiful Hilton Conrad... near the orange bunnies. (Lots of public art in Brussels.)

Then a day trip to Koln, which will actually be entered above this post.

Thanks for playing... talk to you soon.

-G

PS: The QuickBurger franchise is the Belgium Burger King, Mc D's, etc. Quick and cheap. Note that it was across the street from the Versace store.

AIA around the Bay

What follows is an early morning rhapsodic rambling of a man that could really use sleep. Please read with caution...

There are certain cities that have such a richly woven texture that they become famous. In their continuum of being built, redefined, built and rebuilt some more, they almost automatically rise to the top of the "must see" list. San Francisco is one such city.

Forget all the jokes that may or may not fly in this current world of diversity, this town is worth seeing and every time I come back to San Francisco I count myself as one of the lucky ones that are able to travel throughout this country and see places such as this.

Most of this trip was working the floor at the convention. Meals and conversations with people I enjoy, respect and work with was the norm, and yet, of course, the person sitting at the table or standing at the booth was not really me at all but rather a facsimile of myself. A social representation -not always good -of who I am. The smile was real at times. The interest was feigned only partly, but the individual standing in my shoes and saying things I would never say, was not me. The real me was thinking of a current design project. The real me was wondering about loved ones both old, new, present and departed.

As I walked the floor of the convention on breaks, I found moments where my real personality came out. Suddenly I was seven years old again and I wanted to (needed to) know how something worked, how it was made or just awed by the look and/or feel of a product. In the AIA bookstore in the West Hall of the Moscone Center, I found a steep discount on the 2007 version of Ramsey and Sleeper's Architectural Graphic Standards. Impulse shopping kicked into overdrive. On a walk to the convention yesterday -Saturday -I detoured with a coworker and looked at Daniel Liebeskind's Jewish Museum. This building is a force to behold. And, shortly thereafter, we stopped in a pocket park above the Moscone to catch a snapshot or two of the park waterfall and Botta's Museum of Modern Art in the background. Say what you want about Mario; the man can play -hard!

Phone calls may have gone unanswered at times, emails piled up and any thoughts of racing all over this city to, oh I don't know, say, visit the De Young again, or check out Renzo's new contribution were held in check. However, this is a good thing. Gifts should sometimes -not always -be opened slowly. At the end of it all, the fake me now hidden in the recesses and lurking around dark corners in case I meet someone I know or someone who knows me, I reiterate: "I count myself one of the lucky ones... (to) see places such as this."

This is one city that lives up to the hype and is highly recommended, race fans.

-G