Words from Afterdark

Last weekend I went to San Francisco with some friends. It’s quite a change from Mountain View! We started the visit on the Golden Gate Bridge and then Read the rest of this entry »

Some pictures taken during a train trip to the Jungfraujoch with my mother last week. After going through a tunnel excavated into the Eiger, we reach the highest train station in Europe, at over 3300m. From the station we can access what initially was a research facility at the top of the Jungfrau, which was used as the villain’s HQ in one James Bond film. Click on the “more” link to see all the thumbnails, and click on a thumbnail to enlarge. Read the rest of this entry »

Swiss National Day, and my first tourist visit to a city out of Zürich since I arrived. Just an our away from Zürich by train, this city by a beautiful lake has a small old town with buildings with frescoed walls, medieval wooden bridges, and a solid stone wall. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m there! Finally! After much preparation and some wonderful holidays in Barcelona, I arrived at Zürich last Tuesday. Since I won’t start working until June, I have a few weeks of vacation, which I’m using to get to know the city, find a flat, and do some paperwork. I’ve finally found the time to update my blog and so let all my friends know about the beginning of my Swiss life. First things first: this is the first picture I took: A swan enjoying the good weather in Zürich lake. Read the rest of this entry »

Even after people have done their best to tame (enslave?) their environment, life manages nonetheless to pop up in the most unsuspected places. I found this poor little plant growing in a concrete underpass near Barcelona’s container port.

My first post since I got back to Barcelona. I am a true tourist now. On holiday, visiting this city for the first time in some months, and here only temporarily. I spend my mornings doing paperwork and other “non-leisure” activities, and the afternoons walking around and taking pictures. But I need to hurry and rediscover this city quickly, for I will soon leave for yet somewhere else!

This is my last post from Paris! Tomorrow I’ll pack and ship my computer, and I don’t think I’ll be going to an internet café just to update my blog. Today I went to watch “Ice Age 2″, but I arrived to late and there were no seats left. So I had a walk instead. Quartier Montorgueil, Palais Royal, Pont des Arts, Rue de la Seine, Jardin du Luxembourg. Then I realised it had taken me only one hour. I must have walked really fast! This picture is from a Japanese café Iku and I went to last weekend. Tasty mixture of matcha and hot chocolate.

Today I got rid of most of my furniture. Julia’s father took that which belonged to her daughter. The neighbour downstairs got a fridge and a bookshelf —we came across her on the stairs and cold-asked her if she wanted it. Some friends will take the remaining stuff on Monday. My living room is full of boxes, and my sleeping room is so empty it makes me sad. No picture of that, it’s too ugly. Instead, feel the moment of utter leisure that this man is enjoying.

Now that I’ve finished my PhD, I will soon be leaving Paris, the city where I’ve lived for the last four years, and go back home to Barcelona —although the journey won’t end there. These final days I will be revisiting my old favourite places, drowning in paperwork, having good-bye parties with friends, and posting some “Paris-themed” entries here. Look! The prettiest pigeon in Paris and the ugliest pigeon in Paris have fallen in love!