In construction since 1882, La Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Spain,
stands as one of Antonio Gaudí’s most influential and inspiring work.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2011-2013
Capriccio for Carolina – classical notes that rock your soul
It isn’t that my interest in the field of fashion has waned over the years since I began my blog in 2007 thereabouts, but rather, a percolation of ideas had resulted since then with regards to fashion.
In previous years, I would experiment with fashion styles, fabrics and designs, today having perhaps settled into a general theme that evokes a frame of mind in terms of style and dress, I am more intrigued by the innovative processes of design in itself. I have little qualms mixing and matching fabrics and designs according to context of situation, not in the least, accounting for the weather conditions, and am also apt to carry an extra pair of shoes with me if and when possible – an idea I was introduced to as a form of social etiquette for formal Swedish dinner affairs, when people are expected to have proper indoor shoes that haven’t touched the (what I think are charming) cobbles of the streets outside.
So what captures my attention these days in the field of design and fashion is a sense of the creative. To that extent, I’ve been following behind the scenes, the New York and London Fall RTW collections, whilst at the same time, searching for new classical notes for my playlist.
There are a few designers that inspire me, Carolina Herrera being one of them. I’ve been a fan of Herrera’s collections for several years, where in enthusiasm for my summer in Barcelona 2011, I even packed in luggage to Montjuïc El Xalet, a clean pleat, black Carolina Herrera dress for IESE IFP’s closing dinner.
Following-up on her Fall 2013 RTW, I was this time around, floored not just by the clothes (her signature balance between conservative, long elegant lines and sultry femme), but the absolute soul rocking music!
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The tranquil at W Singapore, Sentosa Cove, Singapore
At W Singapore, Sentosa Cove.
W Hotels Worldwide are known for their luxurious interiors.
Text and Photo © JE Nilsson and CM Cordeiro 2012
Having grown up in Singapore, I’ve had the opportunity to observe Sentosa transform from a relatively quiet and exotic city getaway with accessible beaches that you could drive up to, park and picnic if you so wished, to one filled with attractions today such as Universal Studios alongside Resorts World that have both locals and visitors gather by the hundreds over the weekends for some fun.
This time my curiosity was piqued about the American W Hotels Worldwide’s newly opened W Singapore hotel and residences located at Sentosa Cove. A place targeted as part of the Singapore government’s efforts at building exclusive residential areas, this one in particular being currently the only seaside marina residential area in Singapore.
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Weekday chill at Mälar Paviljongen, Stockholm
Mälar Paviljongen, the café and bar, has also its own cozy flower garden filled with various pots of herbs that lightly scent the air.
Text and Photo © CM Cordeiro 2012
Just about 20 minutes walk from Stockholm’s T-Centralen or central station, along Norr Mälarstrand is this cozy, part floating on water café, restaurant and bar that lets you enjoy the sunset in Stockholm to the sounds of cool lounge.
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Sunshine like clockwork…
In this sunshine, even nautical stripes and tartan seem a likely fit!
Photos JE Nilsson and CM Cordeiro Nilsson © 2011
Along the Swedish west coast, the weather forecast for today was cloudy in the morning and sunshine from noon onwards. And who would’ve thought… they were right. Sunshine like clockwork.
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“Una xocolata calenta si us plau”
At the Chocolate Museum, just outside the kitchen where the museum holds classes on chocolate confection.
JE Nilsson and CM Cordeiro Nilsson © 2011
Although Spain’s connection with Mexico in the 1500s means that cacao beans and chocolate would be as native to Spain as coconuts and pineapples are to Singapore, I must say that it still took some doing exploring the numerous cafés in Barcelona, before I settled for a favourite place of mine that served my cup of hot chocolate with an added shot of espresso in it!
If you’re a chocolate lover like me, then perhaps nobody can stop you from immediately hitting any café in sight as soon as you get off the plane in Barcelona for a cup of Spanish hot chocolate. At least, that’s what happened to me.
But with that done I brusquely encountered a cultural difference of what a cup of hot chocolate laced with espresso is in Spain.
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Miró, Miró on the wall …
From Castell de Montjuic silent large-calibre guns overlooks the sea and port as well as the metropolis of Barcelona itself. On the west side, stands an ornate memorial to General Francisco Franco. An unintentional but vivid commentary on the history of Spain and Barcelona as good as any history book would offer.
JE Nilsson and CM Cordeiro Nilsson © 2011
The headline pun is, of course a play on the words from the English translation by D. L. Ashliman of the definitive edition of the Grimm’s Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Berlin 1857), tale ‘Snow White’, in which the Queen asks her magical mirror “Mirror, mirror on the wall / Who in the land is fairest of all?” The tale takes a dramatic turn when the mirror tells her an unwanted truth.
In a similar manner, the period around the early 1900’s was extraordinarily volatile when it came to artists and architects communication with the public. Many of the art movements that enriched the early 1900’s in Europe were protests against those in power that for their winnings sake drew the world into war. Various kinds of repression caused new ways of commenting on society to appear.
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Marmalade from the Garden of Eden
Dulce de Membrillo is a traditional Catalan marmalade made from quince, and a perfect addition to the cheese tray. The fruit has a long history. It is divinely fragrant and because of this, the ancient Greeks are said to have offered it to the Goddess Aphrodite, as well as used it themselves in wedding ceremonies amongst mere mortals, where the bride would perfume her kiss with a nibble of quince prior to entering the bridal chamber.
Photo: JE Nilsson and CM Cordeiro Nilsson © 2011
There are more ways to discover your heritage than reading about the country, its national dress, traditions and beliefs. In my case, Quince, an ancient fruit imagined by some to be the forbidden fruit of Eden, referenced in the Song of Songs and written about by the ancient Greeks, turned out to be one of the more interesting discoveries on my visit to Barcelona.
Of course I had met with dulce de membrillo before. However, it took some doing before I recognized this certain red marmalade, being a staple on the breakfast table here and constantly meeting with it in just about every wet market or food store I visited. I eventually got curious enough to enquire after it, and thus re-discovered this long lost acquaintance.
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Dining with Picasso
Els Quatre Gats or 4Gats bar, brewery and restaurant. The beautiful façade displays stained glass, ornate lamps, painted numbers on doors, intricately carved wooden door frames and then looking upwards, balconies draped in light swinging vines, filled with potted flowers in bloom.
Photo: JE Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson © 2011
It was just about at the right time of the day that we found ourselves outside of Els Quatre Gats restaurant in the labyrinth of winding small roads in Barre Góthic, the late Roman part of Barcelona. From a balcony just above the ‘Four Cats’ restaurant entrance, a friendly dog looked down on us, just as if to confirm the many idiosyncrasies this city is so full of.
For anyone interested in Picasso, this restaurant is a must. Indeed, it is one of those living examples of what the industrialization period about the turn of the century one hundred years ago was all about.
The Modernisme had started earlier, in France as Art Noveau and in Germany and Austria as Jugend, but after the First World War, it was impossible to turn back time again to the dusty and suffocating drapes of romanticism. The time had changed and in all this, Barcelona played an important part.
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