Fomr beautiful courtyards, to amazing Catherdrals, to the cutest (and most delicious) sweet shoppes you will ever visit, Barcelona really did have it all. The colors and the feel of the city are unbeatable. For as much as there is to do there, you never feel rushed, and the culture is so welcoming. I felt like I had all the time in the world to just soak up every little bit of Barcelona, which I loved.
One of the highlights (and main attractions for anyone visiting Barcelona) is the Sagrada Familia church (which, for most of the duration of my trip, I called the “Spikey Church” because I didn’t know what it was called). It was gorgeous, I mean, of course, apart from the constant construction they’re always doing on teh church. I wish I could honestly have taken a “chunk” out of the church to keep- every little bit of the church is constructed so beautifully- so detailed. It’s unlike anything else I’ve ever seen. If you ever do make it to Barcelona, this is one thing you MUST see.
Most of the other pictures are of statues and landmarks, or even little things I happened to notice just while passing by on the street. One picture is of a beautiful piece of street art, just on a wall. Taking time to notice the little things is what Barcelona is all about, and what will make a trip to Spain go from traditional to tremendous.
urbanlenses 
Madison Square Park & Statue of William Steward
New York City Parks. Madison Square Park, to be specific, is one of my favorites. It’s close to my apartment, so I frequent it. I always walk past the statue pictured and never knew what it was. After doing some research, I found it to be of William Steward; and it was the first statue of a man ever in New York City. Who would have known?
Created and sculpted by the artist Randolph Rogers, this bronze statue was dedicated in the year 1876. Steward grew up a law student, and went on to become the Mayor of New York, dabbled in the “art of being a lawyer” (focusing on law suit and patent cases), followed by a four year term in Congress, serving as a Senator. Some of his most famous cases involved arguing for freedom of the press.
Now I’ve been doing a lot of reading into Clement Greenberg’s essay on the American Avant-Garde lately; and he has some interesting insight to the aesthetics that apply specifically to sculptures and statues. He says, “…by painting and sculpture…both [mediums] could attempt to reproduce the effects of literature.”
Now I’m no expert, but I think it is quite interesting that Steward was heavily involved in law that was centrally focused on defending literature; and its freedom. More ironic than anything, that an artist like Rogers could express that through the sculpture/statue itself. Something to think about.