Rotselaar Lake + 30 something degrees

Belgian summer has a reputation, and not a good one. I guess the weather gods smiled at me again cause this has been the best summer of the last few years but 30 something degrees in a country like Belgium means being outside as much as possible cause A/Cs are not common around here. People keep telling me that I must be adapted to this weather but truth is, Maracaibo is the coldest city in Venezuela (old joke..A/C everywhere). El verano belga tiene una reputación que no es precisamente buena. Me imagino que los dioses del tiempo me sonrieron otra vez porque este ha sido el mejor veranos de los últimos años,pero más de 30 grados en un país como Bélgica significa estar afuera lo más que se pueda porque los aires acondicionados no son comunes por acá. La gente me sigue diciendo que debo estar acostumbrada a este clima pero la verdad es que Maracaibo es la ciudad más fría de Venezuela (chiste viejo).

 Me and my friends from Spain decided to go to Rotselaar where there´s a lake with cold water to freshen up. The bus ride takes 15mins (aprox.) plus a 10 mins walk but it is worth it! The road was beautiful, green and there is a very beautiful old tower that looks like the ones in fairytales. I dont have a camera at the moment, so I could take a picture of it but thanks to Victor I have a few photos to share. Mis amigos de España y yo decidimos irnos a Rotselaar donde hay un lago con agua fría para refrescarnos. El bus tarda como 15 mins. más la caminata de 10 mins pero vale la pena! El camino es muy bonito, todo verde y hay una vieja torre bellisima que parece de cuentos de hadas. No tengo cámara ahora pero gracias a Victor tengo unas poquitas fotos para compartir. 

 

My friends found my sunglasses kind of funny but Maria tried them on and they suit her! They even matched her swimsuit. That´s all for now, back to studying for an upcoming test. Wish me luck... A mis amigos le parecieron mis lentes un poco graciosos pero María se los probó y le quedaban super bien. Hasta le combinaban con el traje de baño. Esto es todo por ahora, y de vuelta a los libros porque tengo un examen pronto. Deseenme suerte...

Vien-ing

I must have posted these pics a while ago. Ive been busy studying and I cannot update the blog very often. I went to Viena a couple of months ago and I discovered a small but beautiful city. Sadly, it didnt stop raining so most of my pictures were not that good. Here are a few that I selected... Debi haber posteado estas fotos hace rato. He estado ocupada estudiando y no he podido acutalizar el blog muy seguido. Fui a Viena hace un par de meses y descubrí una ciudad pequeña pero hermosa. Lo malo fue que no dejó de llover asi que la mayoria de las fotos no me quedaron muy bien. Aca algunas de las seleccionadas.

Some of the buildings were beautifully painted like these on the pic

I should´ve gone to the Opera...i know.

some of the shops looked very fancy, traditional old shops for costum-made clothes for example and jewelries.

i spent three hours in a cafe waiting for the rain to stop! at least it was pink and pretty

St Stephens Cathedral

What I´m reading

I love Belgian Summer! Happy, easy, sunny days. People behave differently, look better and smile more. People are taking holidays and going to festivals like there´s no tomorrow! I went to the Ieper Hardcore Fest and had the chance to see bands that I like, have yummy vegan food and meeting new people. The festival had a More than Music tent where the bdas were intwerviewed and there were workshops about veganism, animal liberation and other issues, a zine libray, among other things. There was also a Merch Tent. I bought this book: Sober living for the Revolution by Gabriel Kuhn./ Me encanta el verano en Bélgica! Los días son fáciles  felices y soleados. La gente se comporta diferente: se ven mejor y sonríen más. La gente esta tomando vacaciones y yendo a festival como si no hubiera mañana! Yo me fui a Ieper Hardcore Fest y tuve la oportunidad de ver bandas que me gustan, comer comida vegana que estaba buenísima y de conocer gente nueva. El festival tenia una carpa que se llama More Than Music donde entrevistaban a las bandas y habia talleres sobre veganismo, libearcion animal y otros temas, una zine library, entre otras actividades. Había también una carpa de mercancía donde compré este libro: Sober Living for the Revolution por Gabriel Kuhn.

I´ve been busy studying and working but I started reading guess who is the first interviewee? Ian McKaye! (Minor Threat/Fugazi). I´ll tell you how it went later on but I´m very interested in the role women played in the Hardcore scene and that´s one topic that will be covered by the book.Stay tuned! / He estado ocupada estudiando y trabajando pero ya empecé a leerlo y adivinen quien es el primer entrevistado? Ian MacKaye! (Minor Threat/Fugazi). Ya les diré como me fue pero estoy especialmente interesada en el papel que las mujeres han tenido en la escena Hardcore y ese es uno de los tópicos que cubre el libro. Quédense ahí!

Tune in! BOMB GIRLS

 Bomb Girls is a Canadian television drama set in the 1940s. It was originally a six-part drama, but was turned into a full series/ Bomb Girls is una serie dramática de la televisión canadiense. Originalmente estaban planeados seis capítulos pero se convirtió en una serie.

Bomb Girls tells the remarkable stories of the women who risked their lives in a munitions factory in Toronto building bombs for the Allied forces fighting on the European front. I really enjoy period books and movies, so I enjoyed it a lot and I can´t wait to see what´s happening in season 2. The show potraits the turbulent 40s, a difficult time with World War II raging in Europe and over the Pacific and in Asia and a time in which women weren’t exactly treated as equals. The music and the wardrobe are good enough, although I think they could´ve done a better job with the hairstyling and the hems very a bit too short at times. Putting that aside, the show is entertaining and you get to learn a little bt about the life in the factories. I highly recommend it/ Bomb Girls cuenta la historia de las mujeres que arriesgaron sus vidas en las fábricas de municiones en Toronto  manufacturando bombas para las fuerzas aliadas que luchaban en la guerra en en el frente europeo.  A mi me encantan los libros y las películas de  la época así que   la disfruté mucho y quiero que ya empiece  la se segunda temporada para ver que pasa.  El show  retrata los turbulentos años 40, una época difícil  con la  violenta Segunda Guerra Mundial en  Europa y  sobre el Pacífico y Asia, y una época en la cual  las mujeres no eran tratadas  exactamente como  iguales.   La música y el vestuario son los suficientemente buenos, aunque a veces pienso de pudieron haber hecho un mejor trabajo con los peinados y los ruedos de las faldas a veces son muy  cortos para la época.  Poniendo eso a un lado, el show entretiene y se puede aprender un poquito acerca de la vida en las fábricas. La recomiendo.

promotional shoot by Matt Barnes

 

From the Toronto Star

Trailer

PS: Antonio Cupo (Marco Moretti) is hot! 

Más de Bratislava

i wandered around the city with a map and enjoyed the sights.

the laughing gnome. hard to spot in the center of bratislava there´s a gnome with a big penis. The story tells that two men were competing for the love of a woman and they built one house each. The woman chose in the end and the winner put the statue as a reminder to other man that he won. Davin Castle Storage rooms in the outskirts of the city. Its pretty cool that they use them as rehearsal rooms and even for gigs! This is one of the many in the city. The Building of Slovak radio is a building in Bratislava.It is shaped like an inverted pyramid. Architects of this project were Štefan Svetko, Štefan Ďurkovič and Barnabáš Kissling and it was completed in 1983. The building is 80 metres high and has a concert hall with a large concert organ. The first test broadcast was made in 1984 and regular broadcasting began on 27 March 1985(wikipedia) The Church of St. Elisabeth (Slovak: Kostol svätej Alžbety, Hungarian: Szent Erzsébet templom), commonly known as Blue Church (Modrý kostolík, Kék templom), is a Hungarian Secessionist (Jugendstil) Catholic church located in the eastern part of the Old Town in Bratislava, Slovakia. It is consecrated to Elisabeth of Hungary, daughter of Andrew II, who grew up in the Pressburg Castle (pozsonyi vár). It is called "Blue Church" because of the colour of its façade, mosaics, majolicas and blue-glazed roof (wikipedia). It´s very pretty and to me it looks like a giant cake with fondant. when walking around the city center i met David who has a really cool blog. if you want to check it out. he took pics of my outfit!