BBWCA: The Extra B is for BYOB /  by Franklin Adams

Current Mood: Working for the weekend

Music Currently Playing: Big Grams Big Boi + Phantogram

I took my first trip to the Boundary waters a few weeks ago with my friends Matt and Scott. Matt is a seasoned BWCA traveler, but for Scott and me, it was our first time. We packed a lot more than your typical BWCA trippers, but I didn't mind the extra weight. We did it all: Got loaded up at an outfitter, realized at the entry point that we had the wrong canoe, drove back to the outfitter, finally departed, took some heat from a BWCA "regular" about our packing methods, Portaged, got wet, got muddy, had a fire, drank beer, and slept under the stars. It was perfect. I now understand the draw of the BWCA. Nothing can replicate the isolation, freedom and beauty that you find when you are up there. I hope to return soon.

Barcelona: The Ender /  by Franklin Adams

Current Mood: That I wish I would have been more productive on Sunday, Monday feeling.

Music Currently Playing: Wildheart By Miguel

Paris left us tired. We were enjoying our trip, but I think the idea of having to find our way around another huge European city was wearing on us. Especially a city in which the language truly was foreign. We were told that Catalan is some beautiful mix of mostly Spanish with some French and Italian mixed in, but I wondered how beautiful it was going to sound when your trying to find your way to your apartment via subway after an eight hour train ride across France (super gorgeous BTW). Luckily we arrived to find that our fears were unfounded. I could live in Munich, but for a vacation destination Barcelona is going to be tough to beat.

The heat, vacation fatigue, and the threat of pickpockets caused me to make the decision to leave my camera behind for much of our our stay in Barcelona. Now that I am home I do regret it some, but at the time it was just nice to experience the city without having to worry about if what i was looking at would make a good photo. Also the beaches were topless so I wasn't about to be that guy. 

Highlights:

  • Les Rambles- This was a huge pedestrian median with bars, restaurants, and vendors running the length of it. This street was always busy and made it easy to find our way around. It ran from the center of the old part of the city all the way to the ocean and beaches. If we were hungry or wanted to grab a drink all we had to do was find La Rambla. The room we stayed in was also only a couple of blocks off of this street. Just try to avoid the dudes trying to sell you whistles.  
  • MACBA- Skate Mecca. This is a world famous skate spot that was 3 blocks away from where we were staying. It has a wonderful long granite ledge that attracts skaters from across the globe. The skaters there were super friendly and were nice enough to let me borrow a board so I could get the full experience. Once the sun goes down it turns into a hangout spot of all kinds of people. Just hit up the local convenience store and buy some cheap beer grab a spot on the steps and enjoy some people watching. 
  • KINO- A tapas place that is in the same square as the MACBA. You can sit outside and watch the skateboarding while eating some amazing ceviche with a cold Estrella(beer). 
  • The Beaches- After Traveling across Europe all I wanted to do was nothing. I wanted to go to a beach, drink beer, work on my tan, and do nothing. The beaches in Barcelona let me do just that. They even have little cafes right on the sand that you can grab lunch at. The relaxed beach attire and body positive attitudes of the beachgoers was really refreshing. The main beach Barceloneta was said to be really crowded and dirty so we went up the shore a bit and went to Nova Icaria and La Mar Bella and both were wonderful. 
  • Pasta Bar- This place served us Katie's favorite meal of the trip. It was in the Gotic neighborhood and they served fresh pasta cooked perfectly with your choice of sauce and meat option. Super simple but they did it right.   

FCB vs Roma at Camp Nou- Walking down Les Rambles on our first day there we walked past the FC Barcelona stand and they were selling tickets to promote the upcoming friendly match (which wasn't so friendly) against ROMA. Katie and I decided that we couldn't pass it up. We met up with my friend Haan at the hostel he and his girlfriend work at and he grilled up a delicious meal for us and then we were off to the game. Camp Nou was huge. We didn't have the closest seats, we apparently missed Messi head-but one of the ROMA players after an argument, but we were close enough to see both Neymar Jr. and Messi score goals in FCB's win over ROMA. The atmosphere in that stadium was unlike anything else I have experienced

 

Paris, Je T'aime...Kinda /  by Franklin Adams

Current Mood: It's Friday and I and pumped about having absolutely nothing to do

Music: Voices By Phantogram 

Ah Paris, a beautiful city, from the second floor and up. If you are to fully enjoy Paris you need to purge your mind of all of the ideas that have been put their by tv and movies about what its like. The romance, the art, and the relaxed cafe lifestyle are all there, but you may have to peel away a few layers of grime to find it. Once you realize what Paris is, a bustling multicultural metropolis, you can start to enjoy what it has to offer. Think, New York City but everyone speaks French. My feeling are mixed when it come to Paris. I would like to go back and give it another shot because there were some circumstances that I feel had a negative impact on my first impression of the city. 

First, we went during the summer, early August to be exact. This is when most of Europe, France especially, is on holiday. This meant that half of everything was closed except for in the touristy areas. Second, we didn't have enough time. Right when we were starting to get the hang of navigating this huge city it was time for us to leave. Last, we needed a better plan of what we wanted to see and do. The let's just walk around and see what looks cool approach may have worked great it Munich and Barcelona, but in Paris it made many things more of a struggle than if we would have had a plan.

Paris, I am willing to give you a second chance. Here are my highlights.

  • La Fee Vert- This is where Katie and I went for dinner on my birthday. It was recommended by our host Francis. I had buttery garlic mashed potatoes resting on a bed of pulled roast duck accompanied by a carafe of bordeaux wine and finished with a chocolate tart. This was hands down my favorite meal of the entire trip.
  • The Summit of La Tour Eiffel- Waiting in the line for this after basically walking across Paris was a definite low point of the trip, but once we got to the top it was a total high point... 
  • Big Bus Tour- Super touristy, but when you have 3 days to try and see as much of Paris as possible its super convenient. It also beats walking.
  • Les Galeries Lafayette- Paris is one of the fashion capitals of the world, so of course we went shopping. This was a 7 story mall with different designer everything on each floor. Once a few of the tour buses left, Katie was able to shop in peace and left with some lacy french items that she had always wanted.   

München /  by Franklin Adams

Liter o' Beer

Liter o' Beer

Current Mood: Irritated, hot, sweaty (how is it still 85 degrees at 9:15pm)

Music Currently Playing: This Is Happening LCD Soundsystem

 

After flying into Frankfurt, Munich was the first city we visited. Aside from the fact that the only German I know I learned from going to college in Wisconsin, Munich was a great entry level European city for a first timer like me. It's super clean, the subway is easy to use, the people are friendly, and most of them speak some English (except for our host of course). We got off the train at the central station at about 10:30pm and pretty much crashed as soon as we got to our place. The next morning we awoke with mushy brains in desperate need of caffeine and breakfast. Enter Kaufeehaus Karameel. We pretty much randomly picked something off of the menu using Katie's little bit of German she learned in high school. All we knew was that it came with an egg and some bread. Turns out we ordered right, it was an enormous platter with a mix of cheeses, cured meats, and breads along with a hard boiled egg. One of the best breakfasts of the trip. We walked around Munich saw some palaces statues monuments and that kind of stuff. Took a trip to the old town city center where they have a nice market with a beer garden and some cool old shops. This is also where the cities big Bavarian breweries are located, particularly Hofbrauhaus.  

It's Alive... /  by Franklin Adams

Mood: jet lagged, but content

Music Currently Playing: Days are Gone, Haim

 

     Its time to bring this site back from the dead. That means more shooting, and writing my first ever blog post which happens to be about writing my first blog post. I created this site almost a year ago with high hopes but I life got busy and it got pushed aside. Also I didn't have any new photos to post that I was happy with that weren't already up. 

     I recently returned from a tour of Europe, which I will cover in my upcoming blog post, with a memory card full of photos that I'm excited to share with you all. There have also been some ideas of photographs and shoots that I want to do in the near future that I think would be worthy of posting here for public viewing. 

Check back soon.

Also, "My Song 5" by Haim is a JAM