the website of Mark S Bailen. . . writer, illustrator, and lousy photographer
We flew to Portugal for the holidaze. For one week we rented bikes and toured the Algarve. For the second week we rented a car and zipped around southern Spain. So lots of time exploring old medieval streets where surprisingly, we found the feeling of nature?
A tour guide stopping to talk about the replica of the Nao Victoria, the boat that Magellan used to circumnavigate the globe. He talked about scurvy, colonial powers, mutiny, and coercing locals with weapons trade. Luckily we don’t have to worry about these problems today.
There’s no better way to greenwash than black Helvetica on a white background, as if you’re using less resources by going generic. It taps into some eco-hipster vibe. These should be drank while tooling around on a scooter on Koh Phi Phi.
I loved Seville. So many contrasts. Here’s a photo of Diana the Huntress, attempting to kill a zebra? Or was she aiming for the hippo? I probably could have cropped it better. . .
We stopped at a vegan restaurant in Granada. What is it with vegan restaurants and these huge displays of plastic plants? Pretty awesome, don’t get me wrong.
There is this palace in Granada, Spain called the Alhambra. It’s a bucket list place. Everybody is supposed to go there. It’s like the Taj Mahal or Angkor Wat or the Louvre. How could one possibly travel across Southern Spain and miss it?
We tried, I swear. But like those other mega-tourist attractions, the Alhambra has a complex process of entry with multiple websites and exclusive tickets and tour packages and language-specific guides and Disney-like fast passes, etc. Everything was sold out months in advance. We had just been biking in Portugal and had no idea that we’d reach Granada. So anyway, we ended up doing something far better (IMO), which I’ll post next.
The photo above is from the public area of the Alhambra where they send the scruffy ill-prepared foreigners like ourselves. I assume it’s a pine cone, but I didn’t have a guide to tell me.
Wow. I never expected to find an epic fake-animal exhibit in Granada, Spain (at the science museum, Parque de las Ciencias). The displays had flying boars, antelopes leaping ten feet above your head, lions attacking from below, and all of these critters hanging impossibly in the air. No glass cases. No fake plants. No stands or wires. And everything was set-off by ultra-modern black and white walls. Checkout the shadow of the tiger on the wall, giving the piece even more menace. Amazing lighting and a fantastic exhibit overall. Bravo!
Sorry, I had to post one more. This could be the coolest work of art that I’ve ever seen. It’s like a cubist was commissioned to do animal displays. The antelopes are totally exploding out of that rock.
Here’s another angle.
workshop at the Parque de las Ciencias. . . the operation was run by the monkey. . .
Marie Curie, looking a little green.
Might I suggest some protective gear before handling that flask?