Tuesday SOL: Traveling to Spain

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Tuesday Slice of Life (SOL) community.

Thanks to Stacey, Tara, Betsy, Dana, Beth, and Anna

for hosting this meeting place each Tuesday 

                                                      and nurturing our writing lives.

Yesterday I took a quick trip to one of my favorite spots in Spain via a picture book!  When books arrive on my holds shelf at the library, I try to remember how they end up in my hands.  Most of them arrive via recommendations from my blogger friends.  I have no idea how these friends manage to read and write so much, but I'm grateful.  They are my guides in the ever growing world of children's literature.   

Julie Paschkis had a quilt exhibit (which I wanted to attend, but missed) this past spring in a nearby town.  When I searched the library catalog for books she had illustrated, I was surprised to see a favorite book on the list:   Janet Wong's Night Garden.  Guess I should pay more attention to illustrators.  Another title illustrated by Julie caught my eye, Building On Nature:  The Life of Antoni Gaudi, so I requested it.  And yesterday's reading of this book inspired today's slice.  

Here's one of Paschkis' whimsical illustrations from the book

                           showcasing the wonder of Park Guell, a spot we visited in Barcelona:  

And here are Rodriguez's descriptive lines that accompany Paschkis' delightful illustrations:

"Park Guell is a fantasyland set on hillside.
Gatehouses warp and wave hello.
A mosaic lizard stands guard.
A long bench snakes around a playground." 

These lines sent me in search of the photos I took at Park Guell when we visited Barcelona in 2006 after Sara's study abroad in Madrid.  

The long bench snaking around the playground

Sara and Lance on mosaic bench

Close-up of bench mosaics

Sun mosaic on the ceiling

Gatehouse waving hello!

I was captivated by Park Guell:  the bright colors, the wavy lines, the mosaics.  Reading this book opened my eyes to another reason why I love Gaudi's art - "...the colors and shapes of the natural world..."  which he thought of "...as The Great Book of Nature..." inspired his art.  And from the final pages of the book, these words:

"Gaudi leaves

behind few words or plans.

His daring creations speak for him.

They tell his stories.

They are Gaudi's poem to the world.

Gaudi's buildings curve and arch.  

They sparkle and glitter
and whisper with joy."

Isn't it fabulous when an author and illustrator weave the magic that transports us to a place?  Now I'm off to see if there's a children's book that celebrates another favorite spot in Spain, the Alhambra.  If I can't find one, maybe the team of Rodriguez and Paschkis are up to the challenge!