Several years ago, I visited the Moco Museum in Amsterdam to see the Bansky exhibit, so I was excited to go to the Moco in Barcelona. It was the first place Michelle & I visited when we arrived in Barcelona.
What is the Moco?
The Moco Museum is an independent museum with a wide range of inspiring modern, contemporary, and street art – located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Barcelona, Spain.
Moco is the acronym for “Modern and Contemporary” museum.
Moco exhibits Jean-Michel Basquiat, Banksy, KAWS, Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, Yayoi Kusama, Hayden Kays, David LaChapelle, Guillermo Lorca, Takashi Murakami, Nick Thomm, Andy Warhol, Studio Irma, and so many more.
One of my favorite ways to learn about a new city or country is by their food. Barcelona has such a wide variety of fresh markets, local grocery stands, cafés & restaurants. Michelle & I had fun exploring the week we were visiting.
Would you guess that our first meal in Barcelona was quiche? And not just any ordinary quiche. The Pan’s Club was voted the World’s Best Quiche in 2022!
We tried two varieties of quiche & roasted vegetables. After our comforting meal, we ended it with delicious coffee.
I started going to the library sometime in the 1970s. My mom, sister & I would “go to town” with Nanny, my mom’s mother. Every summer, we visited the library each Monday.
One of my favorite series, Nancy Drew.
When I went there, the library was up on the second floor of town hall. The first floor housed the town tax office, the police department, and the town auditorium. It was a large brick building in the heart of downtown. I searched high and low but couldn’t find a photo of the old library; however, if you read my last post, it was across the street from the pharmacy.
Every nook and cranny was filled with books. I never had any problems finding books to read. I would sit on the floor and browse, looking for just the right books for that week. My mom never censored what I read, and she never had to encourage reading. I was a bookworm.
Today, I’m feeling nostalgic & I’m going to share a story with you of my childhood. I began this post writing about the first library I visited, but somehow ended up somewhere else entirely! I’m going to save the library story for another day.
Driving to work today, I listened to the Ted Radio Hour on NPR. It’s one of my favorite shows & I always learn so much every time I listen.
Journalist & writer Shankar Vedantam of The Hidden Brain podcast had a great segment. He spoke about how difficult it is to picture our future selves because we can’t forsee the changes that will mold us into the people we will become. It’s easy to look back and see how we’ve changed over the years, but it is impossible to predict our futures.
It’s hard to believe that another year is winding down. We always hear the expression that “Time flies,” but it’s even more true with every year that passes.
One of the highlights of 2023 for me was traveling to and working in Alaska. The drive from Taos, NM, to Alaska was the absolute best road trip of my life. The drive was over 3,500 miles and took me 3 weeks to complete. I made so many stops along the way, but I didn’t even come close to seeing everything I wanted to see.
I spent the summer working at Denali Air, driving guests to and from the airstrip for flightseeing tours of Denali National Park. I had so many wonderful experiences: white-water rafting, ziplining, hiking, riding ATVs, traveling by helicopter for a glacier walk, & wildlife sightings galore. After finishing the season in Alaska in mid-September, I drove back to Taos for a second winter season in Taos Ski Valley.
I’ve been debating where I want to go in 2024 the last few weeks. I still have some states I haven’t visited. I need to visit Oregon to complete the west & I considered spending the summer working there…
Then, I received an email inviting me to come back to Alaska. Indian novelist Anita Desai said, “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” It’s so very true. Alaska has a way of drawing you in and being wide open for exploring & discovering all that it has to offer. That is why I’m heading back in April for a second time.
Now that you’ve heard about my 2023, I have a couple of questions for you:
What positive events have taken place in your life over the past year? What will you take from 2023?
I had hoped to see the Northern Lights while I was living in Alaska, but I was only able to catch a slight glimpse the last night there. Little did I know that I would get a fantastic light show when I arrived back in New Mexico.
The Taos Ski Valley is nestled in the Sangre de Cristo mountains, where the Rocky Mountains begin. At night, when I’m driving home from work, there is very little light pollution. When the moon is out, it creates some spectacular photos.
This year, I have a new phone & artributed the photos to the improved camera. However, I discovered that the next 18 months will bring the strongest northern lights in decades.
This past April, I drove from Taos to Alaska and made a lot of stops along the way. One of the stops I made was in Salt Lake City, where I spent several days exploring.
While there, I visited the Great Salt Lake, Golden Spike National Historical Park, and the Spiral Jetty. I had never heard of the Spiral Jetty, but I am so glad I discovered it.
Fast forward to today— I was watching Antiques Roadshow this afternoon and was surprised to see a segment about the Spiral Jetty!
One of the reasons I love working is to be able to treat myself to a vacation. This year, I traveled to Spain and spent a week in Barcelona before boarding a cruise ship.
My friend Michelle joined me on this trip & we had a great time celebrating our November birthdays in style!
After purchasing their home 35 years ago, husband & wife Dick Elliott & Jane Orleman began transforming it into an art mecca. There are over 10,000 bottle caps & thousands of reflectors in the art displays.
Camping with Christi 