Blogtrotter Revival - The 90's

STROLLING IN ROME

2009-12-24T01:24:00.001Z

VATICAN CITY & ROME - JUNE 1997

Rome is a fantastic city and shares with the Vatican some of the most extraordinary treasures one can find on Earth...

"ST. PETER'S BASILICA - From St. Peter's Piazza. With the largest interior of any Christian church in the world, holding 60,000 people, it is the most important of the Roman Catholic churches"

"ST. PETER - From the Vatican Museum"

"VATICAN GARDENS & MUSEUMS - The Museums, founded by Julius II in the sixteenth century, are among the greatest museums in the world and include the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Rooms and the incredible Gallery of Maps!"

"TOP OF THE DOME - This was the second time we walked up there to see St. Peter's Piazza and the Via della Conciliazione"

"TOP TWO - The River Tiber and the trees in the margins"

"VIEW OF THE PANTHEON - Probably one of the most extraordinary buildings in Rome..."

"QUIRINAL PALACE - Housed Popes, then Kings, now the President of the Republic..."

"IL VITTORIANO - Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II) or Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland), also known as «The Typewriter», is a monument to honour Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy"

"BOCCA DELLA VERITÁ - Only the young lady would dare to put her hand inside the Mouth of Truth..."

"GALEASSI - Since 1907 in Trastevere; is competing with Sabatini for the best restaurant in the piazza..."

"FONTANA DI TREVI - You're supposed to throw a coin into to return to Rome. Never did; returned seventeen times. Spared a lot of coins..."

CITTÀ ETERNA!

2008-08-08T08:08:00.001+01:00

ROME - JUNE 1997

After an Easter in Prague, I was in Paris in May 1997. No pictures, however. But in June, we travelled again, the three of us. Rome was the destination!

Rome is also known as the Eternal City! Furthermore, there is Roma, Città Aperta of Rossellini and Roma of Fellini, as well as many other Roma(s). This post does not envisage to be included in the list ;). It's just a personal view made out of some disposable camera lousy pictures taken in June 1997 (times when the video camera was the queen), twenty two years after our first time there in 1975!

"VIEW - The Intercontinental De La Ville Hotel is not the Hassler, though it's located next door at Via Sistina. Anyhow, it's a nice place to stay and the view from our top floor room was quite enjoyable"

"SCALINATA - The Spanish Steps, close to the Spanish Embassy in Rome, are a must for every tourist in Rome. The result can be seen here around the Barcaccia Fountain!"

"TRINITÀ DEI MONTI - On the top of the Scalinata, we may see the Obelisco Sallustiano, the Church also known as the «Santissima Trinità al Monte Pincio» and, on the right hand side of the photo, the Hotel Hassler with the famous rooftop restaurant. The church was started in 1502, by Louis XII of France to celebrate his successful invasion of Naples. It was consecrated in 1585"

"COLOSSEUM - The Flavian Amphitheatre is an elliptical amphitheatre, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. Its construction started between 70 and 72 AD and was completed in 80 AD, when it was prepared to seat up to fifty thousand spectators. «Panem et Circenses»!"

"PALATINO - According to Wikipedia, «The Palatine Hill is the centremost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city. It stands 40 metres above the Forum Romanum, looking down upon it on one side, and upon the Circus Maximus on the other». Always loved to stroll there..."

"THE FORUM - The Roman Forum, located between the Palatine hill and the Capitoline hill, is the area around which the ancient Roman civilization developed and was the actual centre of the Empire"

"THERMAE - The Baths of Caracalla, built between 212 and 216 AD, during the reign of the Emperor Caracalla, were a huge leisure centre in Rome, including, further to the Baths, a library and a gym! Now you may attend the «Open-air summer festival by the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma», usually in July"

"VIA APPIA - The Appian Way, «THE QUEEN ROAD», was the most important ancient Roman road connecting Rome to Brindisi. On the left we may see the tomb of the fifth Caecilia Mettela, daughter-in-law of Marcus Licinius Crassus, the Roman general who suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus and entered into First Triumvirate, with Pompeius and Julius Caesar"

"CAMPIDOGLIO - The Capitoline Hill (Campidoglio in Italian) has almost all Roman ruins covered up by the Medieval palaces that surround the piazza, mostly designed by Michelangelo. Capitoline was also the origin for the English word capitol..."

"LUPA - This is the famous bronze sculpture depicting the Capitoline she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. Thought to be an Etruscan work of the 5th century BC, it seems however, according to recent radiocarbon dating, that it was manufactured in the 13th century AD. For sure is that the twins were added in the late 15th century!"

"ISOLA TIBERINA - The Tiber Island, a 270m long and 67m wide boat-shaped island, is the only island in the Tiber river. The bridge we see here is the one to be crossed to get to the nice restaurants in Trastevere..."

"GINO DA TRASTEVERE - Gino is one of the nice restaurants in Trastevere. Eating fish and looking at people...!"

EASTER IN PRAGUE - PART TWO

2008-05-25T01:55:00.000+01:00

TOURISTS IN PRAGUE - MARCH 1997

"OLD TOWN (Staré Mesto) SQUARE - The historic square is located between Wenceslas Square and the Charles Bridge and is probably the most popular meeting place in Prague. The Memorial in the centre was erected in 1915 to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Jan Hus, a religious reformer who was burned at the stake for his beliefs"

"TYN CATHEDRAL - A Church of Our Lady in front of Týn has been in the old square of Prague since the 11th century; the current late gothic church dates from the 14th century. The towers are 80 m high and topped by four small spires"

"PRAGUE ORLOJ (The Astronomical Clock) - The Orloj, mounted on the southern wall of Old Town City Hall, is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky; «The Walk of the Apostles», a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months"

"JOSEFOV - The former Jewish Ghetto is the smallest cadastral area of Prague, entirely within the old town. It seems that the first Jews arrived in Prague on the 11th century"

"OLD JEWISH CEMETERY - It is estimated that there are 12,000 graves in the cemetery, the oldest preserved tombstone (Avigdor Kara) dating back to 1439"

"NEW TOWN (Nové Mesto), founded in 1348 by Charles IV just outside the old city walls, is the youngest and largest of the five towns that today comprise the historic centre of modern Prague. In 1378, a census found that Prague had 40,000 inhabitants making it the fourth most populated city north of the Alps after Paris, Ghent and Bruges, and the third largest city in Europe in area after Rome and Constantinople"

"WENCESLAS SQUARE was the Horse Market place in the Middle Age; it is now named after the patron saint of Bohemia. Wenceslas Square is the historical landmark of the New Town and a traditional setting for demonstrations, celebrations, and other public gatherings"

"GRAND HOTEL EUROPA - Built in 1889 at the Wenceslas Square, it was rebuilt in Art Nouveau style between 1903 and 1905 to appear in many films..."

"HOTEL PARIS - Built in 1904 in the Art Nouveau style, just a couple blocks from the Old Town Square"

"U FLEKU, a large pub, restaurant and brewery, is the finest example of all the traditional Czech pubs in Prague, from the architectural point of view. Located in an ancient building dating from 1499, U Fleku has a brewery museum installed in the former malt house"

"MASARYK QUAI - Beautiful houses from the early 20th century with a beautiful view of the river and towards the castle"

"THE DANCING HOUSE (or Drunk House) was designed by Croatian-born Czech architect Vlado Milunić in co-operation with Frank Gehry. Originally named Fred and Ginger (after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) the house stands out among the Neo-Baroque, Neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau buildings of the nearby Masaryk Quai"

"CUBIST HOUSE - In the Vysehrad district, near the River Vltava"

"VYSEHRAD - The castle was built in the 10th century, on a hill over the Vltava River and within its limits is the Cathedral of Saint Paul and Peter, as well as a cemetery, containing the remains of many famous people from Czech history"

"INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL"

"TYROLEAN AIRLINES - An exciting experience for the (however learned) young traveller... "

EASTER IN PRAGUE - PART ONE

2008-03-20T00:33:00.003Z

CITY OF A HUNDRED SPIRES - MARCH 1997

Prague, whose town centre was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1992, is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Located by Vltava (Moldau) River in central Bohemia, it has been the political, cultural, and economic centre for the Czechs in the last 1100 years. In 1997, end of March, profiting from Easter holidays, we visited Prague. I've never seen so many Spanish adolescent/students together in my life...

"THE RUDOLFINUM, one of the most important neo-renaissance buildings in Prague, was constructed during the years 1876–1884 and named in honour of Rudolf of Hapsburg, Crown Prince of Austria, who presided the opening on February 8, 1885. It was originally designed as an art gallery and House of Artists and in 1946 it became the seat of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. However, from 1918 to 1938 and a short period after World War II (1945-1946), it also housed the Czechoslovak Parliament"

"CANAL CESTOVKA, quite close to the Vltava River"

"CHARLES BRIDGE - The construction of the bridge dates from the reign of the King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who, according to the legend, controlled everything up to the smallest detail. The oddest seems to be the date of its foundation: 5:31 am, 9. 07. 1357. Only odd digits and, except 9, all prime numbers!"

"UP THE HILL - View towards the Castle from the 1464 Lesser Bridge Tower"

"CHARLES BRIDGE - View from the same tower towards the Bridge"

"ROYAL ROUTE gets its name from the coronation processions of the Bohemian Kings, starting with George of Podebrady in 1458. It used to link the gates of Old Prague to the Prague Castle, a route full of houses with beautiful façades"

"TO THE CASTLE"

"ST. VITO - The Gothic cathedral, whose original name is St Vitus, St Wenceslas and St Adalbert Cathedral, is the biggest and the most important church in the Czech Republic. It's the place where the coronations of the kings of Bohemia were held until 1836 and also where saints, kings, princes and emperors of Bohemia are buried"

"BELL TOWER - View from the 14th century Bell Tower on the southern side of the Cathedral"

"GOLDEN LANE - The Street was created during the construction of the northern fortification at the end of the 15th century. In 1597 the emperor Rudolf II decided that the 24 marksmen who guarded the castle should live there. However, as space was at premium, the marksmen had to build very small houses for their families"

"PETRIN TOWER - Built in 1891 for the Jubilee Exhibition, this small version of the Eiffel Tower offers one of the best views of Prague and its surroundings. The tower, on the top of Petrin hill, is only 60m tall but you need to climb 299 steps to reach the platform for the magnificent view"

"OLD TOWN BRIDGE TOWER - Designed by Peter Parler at the end of the 14th century, it's a beautiful Gothic construction. Further to being an ornament for Charles Bridge, it was used as a watch tower and part of the defensive structure"

"VLTAVA RIVER, Charles Bridge and St. Vito Cathedral"

"OLD TOWN FAÇADE"

"WALLENSTEIN GARDEN was built in 1623–30, together with the first large secular palace of the Baroque era - the Wallenstein Palace, nowadays the seat of the Senate of the Czech Republic. Many statues that you see there, representing heroes from Greek mythology, are copies of the ones made by artist Adrian de Vries, as the original works were plundered by Swedish as war booty in 1648. The copies were brought to the garden only in 1912-1918"

UNDER THE SUN - BOCA RATON

2007-12-31T13:16:00.001Z

FLORIDA - MARCH 1977

By 1925, Addison Mizner (1872-1933), who had never had formal training in architecture but had studied design his entire life, had a dream! He joined Florida’s great land boom, and wanted to create «the world’s most architecturally beautiful playground»! The start was promising; however, by the autumn of 1925, Florida’s great land boom began to unravel and a hurricane in September 1926 destroyed most of the chances of Mizner’s dream come true. Anyhow, some parts of the dream survived in the Boca Raton Resort and Club! The Boca Raton Resort & Club consists of the Cloister, the Tower, the Boca Beach Club, the Boca Bungalows, the Boca Country Club, the Yacht Club, two 18–hole golf courses, 30 tennis courts, the Spa Palazzo, a golf clubhouse, six pools, an indoor basketball court, a 32–slip marina, and a half–mile of private beach... Enough? I deliberately omitted the conference facilities, where I spent too much time...

"SUNRISE - It must have been the time difference that made me wake up and take sunrise pictures"

"THREATENING SKIES - The same spot, another day..."

"BOCA BEACH - Late afternoon, after meetings..."

"THE BEACH CLUB - It seems to be closed for renovation until 2009! Anyhow, in 1997, it was a great place to stay!"

"SHUTTLE BOAT - Waiting to get to the Cloister"

"TRAVEL COMPANION"

"THE CLOISTER, THE TOWER and the famous BOCA PINK"

"PALM BEACH on the way, and the Breakers, set in 1896 amidst 140 acres (57 hectares) of oceanfront property"

"THE BEACON HOTEL - South Beach, Ocean Drive"

"KEY BISCANE - This one is dedicated to Isabella, who must be enjoying beach delights while most of us are inside..."

ONCE NEW YORK, ALWAYS NEW YORK

2007-12-02T17:03:00.001Z

BLUE SKY - MARCH 1997

After Paris and Bangkok (through London), I flew again via Heathrow to New York to spend some time before heading to Florida. The sky was blue and the weather, though cold, was perfect for a walk. So this is the result of one of such walks...

"THE WOOLWORTH BUILDING was the world’s tallest building between 1913 and 1930. According to Wikipedia, it is still one of the fifty tallest buildings in the United States as well as one of the twenty tallest buildings in New York City. But it must be coming down the ranking..."

"NEW YORK CITY HALL, built between 1803 through 1812, is the seat of the government of the City, housing the office of the Mayor and the chambers of the City Council. Apparently, it's the oldest City Hall in the United States that still houses its original governmental functions"

"THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE started to be constructed in 1869 and took 14 years to complete. The bridge, 1.5km long, spans the East river from Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan and has an elevated pedestrian path which gives you the chance to have a great view of either downtown Manhattan's magnificent skyline or of Brooklyn's residences and offices"

"BROOKLYN HEIGHTS - Brooklyn, founded by the Dutch in the 17th century after their native town of Breukelen, remained an independent city until 1898, when its residents voted by a slight majority to join with Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens and Richmond (later Staten Island) to form the modern City of New York. Brooklyn Heights, considered to be the first suburb in America, has some beautiful mansions. In one such mansion George Washington made his decision to retreat from Brooklyn and on August 29th, 1776, Washington's army crossed the East River, leaving Brooklyn to the British. The British Empire ended its occupation of New York on November 25, 1783, celebrated as the Evacuation Day for more than a century"

"THE PROMENADE at Brooklyn Heights, built atop the double deck Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, may take your breath away, as it displays spectacular views of the East River bridges and the skyscrapers of Manhattan. For some residents, including Wall Street workers, it's a Manhattan neighbourhood, located on the better side of the river..."

"THE US POST OFFICE is a beautiful building at Cadman Plaza East, Downtown Brooklyn"

"PIER 17 at South Street Seaport is a place I always liked; in particular, the view from the top terrace"

"PEKING, a 1911 four-mast barque, is one of the largest privately owned fleet of historic ships in the US, owned by the South Street Seaport Museum"

STROLLING AROUND BANGKOK

2007-09-25T22:18:00.001+01:00

RIVER, PALACES, TEMPLES AND HOTELS - FEBRUARY 1997

This post is the last from the February 1997 trip to Bangkok, and shows pictures taken during a long stroll in town.

"CHAO PHRAYA, the River of the Kings, runs for 372 km from north to south through the central plains to Bangkok and the Gulf of Thailand. The first picture shows an embarkation point for the ferry that runs up and down the river"

"HOTEL - From the Sheraton, a nice view of the strange form of what I thought was going to be a hotel. Couldn't confirm..."

"PORTUGAL - The entrance to the Noble House, the Portuguese Embassy in Thailand"

"THE ORIENTAL - Still the best hotel in Bangkok"

"THE VINMANMEK ROYAL MANSION, located on Ratchawithi Road, is the world's largest building made entirely of golden teak. It was removed from Ko Sichang in the Chonburi province, rebuilt in the Dusit Palace in 1900 by order of King Rama V. Most of the building is now used as museums, showing Queen Sirikit's collection of handicrafts created by rural people and art objects including King Bhumibol's photography, portraits, ancient cloth, clocks, and royal carriages. It's a wonderful building and a nice place to visit"

"PARLIAMENT BUILDING"

"WAT BENCHAMABOPHIT - Back to the temple, fourteen years later"

"WAT SAKET (THE GOLDEN MOUNT) - The towering gold chedi of Wat Saket, an artificial hill constructed under King Rama III (1824-51), was once the highest point in Bangkok. The temple complex at the bottom of the hill dates back to the Ayutthaya era"

"VIEW - There is a nice view from the top of the Golden Mount"

"HYATT AND WTC - At one of the busiest corners of Bangkok, where one can find the Hyatt Hotel and the World Trade Centre Bangkok, you may also find a small and busy shrine..."

"MERIDIEN HOTEL - I started this series of Bangkok posts with pictures from a nice Hotel that was demolished and saw it's gardens occupied by a shopping mall. Now, to end, I show a photo of the Meridien Hotel after a fire burnt some of the floors... Strange things happened to hotels in Bangkok!"

WAT PHRA KAEW AGAIN!

2007-08-15T16:26:00.002+01:00

BACK TO THE THAI GRAND PALACE - FEBRUARY 1997

The first time I was in Bangkok and in the Grand Palace was in 1983, with Guida and on holiday. This time I returned alone for a meeting, but got some time off to get back to the magnificent palace!

"THE WALL - The palace, erected by Rama I, has an area of 218,400 sq. metres and is surrounded by 1900 metres of walls built in 1782, when Bangkok was founded. Within the walls we find the Royal Chapel of the Emerald Buddha, as well as government offices and royal residences, nowadays used only for occasional ceremonial purposes. The Grand Palace adjoins Wat Phra Kaew in a common compound, but despite the proximity, there's a contrast between the Thai style of the Wat Phra Kaew and the European design of the Grand Palace (with the exception of the roof)"

"TEMPLE"

"KINAREE - Mythological creature, half bird, half woman"

"THE COMPLEX consists of over 100 brightly coloured buildings, golden spires and glittering mosaics... and thousands of tourists!"

"CHAPEL OF THE EMERALD BUDDHA - Wat Phra Kaew is Thailand's most sacred temple. It houses the little (between 60 and 75 cm) Emerald Buddha, which is located inside a glass box, high above the heads of the worshippers and tourists. The statue isn't actually made of emerald but rather of green jade"

"GIANTS -A cloister surrounds the temple, and depicted along is an extensive mural of the Ramakian, the Thai version of the famous Indian epic, the Ramayana"

"GARDENS, TREES and the Chakri Mahaprasad Hall"

BANGKOK WAT(s) REVIVAL

2007-08-04T00:29:00.001+01:00

MYSTICAL TOUR 2ND ROUND - FEBRUARY 1997

The first round of the Bangkok temples took place in 1983, and memories from such trip as well as descriptions of the temples may be seen here. So, I'll reduce words. Fourteen years later, when we compare sites and pictures, we may conclude that great improvements were made!

***

WAT PO

WAT PO - The oldest and largest temple in Bangkok"

"GOLDEN BUDDHA"

"RECLINING BUDDHA in much better shape. Surely re-gilded..."

***

WAT ARUN

"WAT ARUN - «Temple of the Dawn», probably the better known symbol of Bangkok"

IN THE KINGDOM OF SIAM

2007-07-26T00:12:00.001+01:00

BANGKOK - FEBRUARY 1997

After New Year in New York, I spent one week in Paris (in early February), and flew to Bangkok by the end of the month. It was the second time I was in Thailand, after the 1983 visit. This time I stayed at the Siam Intercontinental Hotel, a landmark that was closed on June 30, 2002, and destroyed afterwards. This post is dedicated to the late Siam Intercontinental Hotel, a remarkable hotel torn down to give rise to an incredible shopping centre named Paragon... A disaster!

"GARDENS - The Siam Intercontinental Hotel Gardens won an award for its environmental protection work in 1999. However, when the hotel's lease expired, it was torn down to make way for a shopping centre, reducing the 26-acre gardens to a few acres"

"SIAM INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL - Opened in June 1966, the design seemed to resemble a hat worn by an early King of Ratansakosin. The view of its destruction is disgusting"

"RECEPTION, with flowers"

"VIEWS from my room: gardens and pool"

"ROOM"

"PEACOCK near the jogging trail"

"RIVER CHANNEL"

NEW YEAR IN NYC - PART II

2007-07-14T16:33:00.001+01:00

STROLLING AROUND THE BIG APPLE - JANUARY 1997

"THE CLOISTERS house the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection of art and architecture from medieval Europe religious and secular art. With approximately five thousand works of art from about 800 through the fifteenth century, the Cloisters are located on Fort Tryon Park overlooking the Hudson River in northern Manhattan, showing some of the most dramatic scenery in New York. The building incorporates elements from five medieval French cloisters and from other monastic sites in southern France. The highlights, of course, are the five medieval Cloisters, and the Unicorn Tapestries, a series of 7 wool and silk tapestries depicting The Hunt of the Unicorn. In the Spanish Room the 3-paneled Altarpiece of the Annunciation, a 15th century work by Robert Campin, is shown. Three of the cloisters have gardens planted according to horticultural information found in medieval treatises and works of art, such as tapestries and stained-glass windows. The first time we were at the Cloisters was in 1979, and we fell in love with the building"

"JAZZ AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD, one of my favourite jazz clubs"

"FERRY - On the way to the Statue of Liberty"

"THE STATUE OF LIBERTY Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. Thus, it makes sense to post on her on July 14th... The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, and restored for her centennial on July 4, 1986"

"DOWNTOWN AND THE HUDSON boat tour"

"ELLIS ISLAND is a symbol of America’s immigrant heritage. From 1892 to 1954, this immigrant depot was the main entry facility for immigrants entering the United States. Nearly twelve million landed here in their search of an economic opportunity. The Ellis Island Immigrant Station was designed by architects Edward Lippincott Tilton and William Boring, who received a gold medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition for the building's design"

"WTC - Love this picture!"

"WALL STREET, Trinity Church and the Portuguese flag. The flag is no longer there, as the Bank that used to display it moved away"

"NYSE - The NYSE originated on May 17, 1792, when the Buttonwood Agreement was signed by twenty-four stockbrokers outside of 68 Wall Street in New York under a buttonwood tree. On March 8, 1817, the organization drafted a constitution and renamed itself the "New York Stock and Exchange Board". This name was shortened to its current form in 1863. The New York Stock Exchange building at 18 Broad Street opened on April 22, 1903!"

"CHELSEA PIER - Not to be confused with Chelsea F.C. of the Special One - José Mourinho! Lovely sunset"

"UNION SQUARE BIO MARKET, just in front of the Blue Water Grill, a restaurant I like."

"DRAKE SWISSOTEL - Preparing to check out!"

***

FOR THE RECORD - NOV/DEC 1996!

***

On the last post I forgot to mention that still in 1996, and after Madrid and Toledo, I flew once again to New York early November, to Paris mid-November, to Brussels and London by the end of November, to Cape Verde - Sal and Praia - in early December, and finally back to NYC. From all these trips, there is only this conference picture in Praia, Cape Verde, that I post here as a memory of a nice time...

"CAPE VERDE CONFERENCE"

NEW YEAR IN THE BIG APPLE

2007-06-15T09:58:00.001+01:00

MINUS 13º CELSIUS - DECEMBER 1996

"THE DRAKE SWISSOTEL at Park Avenue and 56th Street was for many times my home in New York. It was a quite nice European style hotel with a superb location. Last time in NYC I saw that there were works on the building, hopefully a renovation of the hotel. It would be a shame if we lose it as a lodging possibility..."

"DIM SUM AT 20 MOTT ST. - On Sunday, December 29, 1996, we headed to this Chinatown eatery, which used to be always crowded, for an excellent dim sum"

"CHINATOWN FISH MARKET, for the benefit of Ming the Merciless"

"DOM, West Broadway, where you'll find home furnishings and accessories that you just don't see anywhere else"

"CHRISTMAS TREE, Rockefeller Promenade"

"THE NUTCRACKER - George Balanchine's Nutcracker is a Christmas' must at the New York City Ballet! 2007 season is from November 23rd through December 30th"

PARK AVENUE at 54th Street, just two blocks down from the Drake..."

"42ND STREET with a view towards the Chrysler building. This picture was taken from Tudor City, where we stayed in 1979, the first time we went to New York (without the young lady, who was not born yet...). Other memories from that trip can be seen here, and here, and also here!"

"UN BUILDING seen from Tudor City"

"UN GARDENS with the Chrysler and Queensborough Bridge"

"METROPOLITAN MUSEUM"

"HAPPY NEW YEAR - On December 31st, 1996 we went to see "Cats" and then joined the crowd in Times Square/7th Av! The temperature was MINUS 13 Celsius..."

"BACK TO THE DRAKE - On the way back to the Drake, we took these two pictures at the Redeye Grill, home of the Dancing Shrimp..., and at Harley-Davidson Cafe"

POR TIERRAS DE CASTILLA LA MANCHA

2007-05-26T15:07:00.002+01:00

TOLEDO - OCTOBER 1996

Toledo, the capital of the province of Toledo and of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, is an interesting town located 70 km south of Madrid. It sits on a large hill, and is surrounded on three sides by the River Tagus. In 1986, it was included in the World Heritage Site List of the UNESCO. According to UNESCO, the reasons to include Toledo in the List were the following: «Successively a Roman municipium, the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom, a fortress of the Emirate of Cordoba, an outpost of the Christian kingdoms fighting the Moors and, in the 16th century, the temporary seat of supreme power under Charles V, Toledo is the repository of more than 2,000 years of history. Its masterpieces are the product of heterogeneous civilizations in an environment where the existence of three major religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – was a major factor». Many famous people and artists were born or lived in this city, including De La Vega, Alfonso X and El Greco.

"CALLE SANTA ISABEL - The old city retains its medieval road plan, with an irregular terrain and twisting streets. Here we are on our way to visit one of the must-sees in Toledo - the painting by Domenikos Theotokopoulos (El Greco) known as «El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz» (The Burial of Count Orgaz), a masterpiece of painting! It's the biggest painting of the Spanish 16th century (4.8 x 3.6 meters). It represents an old legend: when in 1312 don Gonzalo Ruiz, count of Orgaz died, both Saint Stephen and Saint Augustine helped to bury the body inside this church owned by the count. The composition has two scenes: one terrestrial (the lower side of the painting) with the representations of contemporaries of El Greco (including his self-portrait and his son's portrait); and another celestial, on the upper half of the composition"

"CATHEDRAL - The Cathedral of Toledo, one of the three 13th century High Gothic cathedrals in Spain, is considered to be the masterpiece of the Gothic style in Spain. It was built on top of a Muslim mosque, and before that it had been a church in the sixth century during the reign of the Visigoth King Recaredo. Its construction started in 1226 during the reign of Fernando III and was concluded in 1493, when the vaults of the central nave were finished, during the times of the Fernando and Isabel"

"AYUNTAMIENTO - The City Hall, located next to the Cathedral, was built in 1575 when Baroque-style was taking over from the Renaissance-style. It resembles El Escorial as its builders were the same - Juan de Herrera, Nicolas de Vergara el Mozo, Juan Bautista Monegro and Jorge Manuel Theotokopoulos. It has two floors with impressive towers on each side with impressive spires"

"PLAZA and HOUSES - Toledo has several imposing plazas, as well as interesting houses"

"MONASTERIO DE SAN JUAN DE LOS REYES - An architectural jewel of the Spanish Gothic style whose outstanding features are the cloisters and the arched galleries. The ground floor houses numerous sculptures along with some fine carved stone reliefs depicting images of animals and vegetation. The upper storey has a richly decorated mudjar-style ceiling"

"MURALLAS - There were Walls to protect Toledo since the Romans and the Visigoth times, but the Muslims were those who, after capturing the city in 711, reinforced the old city walls to adapt them to their new military function as the frontier capital of the newly created Islamic State. The old Moorish wall still stands. It's still possible to see some remains of the Visigothic wall near the Puerta de Bisagra"

"BRIDGE - San Martin Bridge was built in 1203 to replace a previous bridge made out of wooden boats that was destroyed by floods. It too was partially demolished in the fourteenth century when the city was under siege during civil war in the Kingdom of Castilla but was restored shortly afterwards. San Martin Bridge has five arches and is flanked by two solid defensive towers with decorative facades"

"RIVER TAGUS, 1,038 km in length, is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. Its source is the Fuente de Garcia, in the Albarracin Mountains. After that, it runs through Aranjuez, Toledo, Talavera de la Reina and Alcantara in Spain, as well as Constancia and Santarem in Portugal to come to the Atlantic Ocean by Lisbon, where it has a magnificent estuary"

QUE VIVA ESPAÑA!

2007-04-28T01:42:00.001+01:00

MADRID - OCTOBER 1996

Madrid is a magnificent city, with splendid avenues, superb buildings, incredible museums and terrific tapas bars. The only missing is water: actually, the Manzanares, the river that crosses Madrid, is far from being remarkable… Some say the weather is awful (nine months invierno (winter), three months infierno (Hell)), but the fantastic cultural life, as well as the glorious night life used to compensate everything. It started in the late 70s of last century, when Enrique Tierno Galvan became mayor ("la Movida"), and there have been several movidas after him. I don’t know how are things today (we are so close that we don’t go there that often, but I’ve to re-visit it one of these days), but meanwhile you can enjoy the different aspects of Madrid at the wonderful Dsole’s blog. It has beautiful pictures, much better than the somehow lousy photos you can find herein below...

"COLON - On the Paseo de la Castellana side of the Plaza de Colón, originally called St. James Square, there is a monument built in 1885 with a statue honouring Christopher Columbus, at the top of a tall column"

"CIBELES - The Plaza de Cibeles is a beautiful square with a wonderful fountain in the Paseo de Recoletos. It shows Cybele, the Phrygian goddess of fertility, sitting on a chariot and being pulled by two lions. On one of the corners of the Plaza there is the «wedding cake», a stunning building housing the headquarters of Correos y Telegrafos, the Spanish Post"

"REINA SOFIA - On the right hand side of the photo, we can see part of the façade of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid's 20th century art museum: the third location where I saw Picasso's Guernica. At the distance, there is the Atocha railway station where bombing attacks took place on March 11, 2004"

"ATOCHA - The old building of the railway station was taken out of service in 1992 and converted into a concourse with shops, cafés, a nightclub, and a 4,000 square meter covered tropical garden"

"PARQUE DEL BUEN RETIRO is a 1.4 square kilometre park in the city centre, not far from the Prado Museum. Originally the site of a royal palace built in 1632 that was destroyed during the Napoleonic Wars, it opened to the public as a park in 1868"

"ALFONSO XII - Within the Retiro Park there is a large artificial lake, next to which one can find the Mausoleum of Alfonso XII, featuring a semicircular colonnade and a statue of Alfonso on horseback on a tall pedestal"

"BOTERO - A nice sculpture from Fernando Botero, with the now renamed Gran Melia Fenix Hotel in the background"

"DON QUIXOTE - The most popular sight at the Plaza de España is the monument to Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, writer of «El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de La Mancha». Visitors get their pictures taken in front of the bronze statues of Don Quixote on his horse and Sancho Panza on his mule. Behind them there is a statue of Cervantes himself. At night one can hardly see anything; furthermore with such a lousy camera..."

"VELASQUEZ - In front of the Prado Museum there is a statue of Velasquez, anticipating Las Meninas"

"PLAZA MAYOR - I prefer the Plaza Mayor at Salamanca, but this one is also a beautiful squre!"

"AYUNTAMIENTO - Some VIP was supposed to be inside, as there were almost as much security people as normal pedestrians..."

"CASA DE CAMPO is the largest park in Madrid (1,722 hectares to compare with the 142 hectares of Retiro Park and Central Park's 340 hectares. It used to be the hunting grounds for the Spanish Monarchy until May 1st, 1931, when it was donated to the public, under the Second Republic"

"PLAZA DE ORIENTE - View towards the Royal Palace"

"ROYAL PALACE - The Palacio de Oriente is the official residence of the King of Spain, used for state ceremonies only. Actually the royal family lives at the Palace of Zarzuela, on the outskirts of Madrid"

"ALMUDENA CATHEDRAL"

"PRECIADOS - The Street had the same name as the shopping mall that occupied most of its space. Later, it became Corte Ingles, but La Oficina still had nice tapas. I wonder whether it still exists..."

"INTERCONTINENTAL - Lounge at the Intercontinental Hotel, Paseo de La Castellana"

TABLE MOUNTAIN VIEWS

2007-04-06T09:03:00.001+01:00

SOUTH AFRICAN ATTRACTION - SEPTEMBER 1996

The flat-topped mountain named Table Mountain, in Cape Town, sculpted from sandstone, is South Africa's first tourist attraction. At 1086 m altitude on its highest point - Maclears Beacon, above the bay - it provides visitors with stunning views towards the city and the sea.

"ON THE WAY UP - The main feature of Table Mountain is its flat summit, which measures nearly 3km from end to end. It's limited on the west side by Lion's Head and on the east side by Devil's Peak. Devil's Peak gets its name from a legend related to Van Hunks, a pirate in the 18th century, who retired from his life at sea to live on the ramp of the Mountain. It's said that he spent his days smoking pipe, until the day a stranger approached him, and started a smoking contest, which would last for some days. Then, the smoke built some clouds and the wind blew them towards Cape Town. At the end, Van Hunks won the contest, the stranger revealed himself to be the Devil, and the two disappeared in a cloud of smoke. This cloud of smoke they left behind became Table Mountain's famous tablecloth..."

"ON THE TOP - Breathtaking views from the top of the cable station. The easiest way to get up is with the cable car. The Cableway was opened in 1929 and takes almost 600,000 people to the summit annually, on a trip which lasts approximately six minutes to the top"

"EMULATING ANTONIO DE SALDANHA, another Portuguese, author of the first recorded climb to the top in 1503"

"BEACH - Looks great, but it seems that the water is a bit cold on this beach..."

"ROBBEN ISLAND at the distance - 12 kilometres from Cape Town, the Island was for a long time a place of exile and imprisonment. It became mostly known for having been the home of Mr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela during most of his 27 years in prison"

"TABLE BAY AND CAPE TOWN - Cape Town is a beautiful city, and one can enjoy it through the eyes of Kerry-Anne and Paul at Cape Town Daily Photo"

"ON THE WAY DOWN - Just enjoy..."

CAPE TOWN SUBURBS!

2007-03-29T23:05:00.001+01:00

ON THE WAY TO CAPE POINT - SEPTEMBER 1996

"FALSE BAY - Sixty kilometres south-west of Cape Town, the rocks and cliffs cut deep into the ocean to split False Bay from the colder waters of the western seaboard. It seems that this coast was Cape Town's first fashionable bathing area, particularly as it is said the water is five degrees warmer that on freezing Atlantic Coast"

"BOULDERS BEACH - A sanctuary for the African Penguin. Almost 3000 jackass penguins, so called because their call resembles the bray of a donkey, live around False Bay"

"BABOONS - Kings of the roads"

"CAPE OF GOOD HOPE (Portuguese: Cabo da Boa Esperança), the best-known of the southern African capes, is the most south-westerly point on the African continent but not its southernmost point; this is 150 kilometres south-east at Cape Agulhas, where the two oceans, the Indian and the Atlantic «meet». However, the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 by Bartholomew Dias was the an important milestone in the Portuguese attempts to establish a sea route to the Far East (which was concluded by Vasco da Gama in 1498)"

"CAPE POINT - A trip to Cape Point is a must for any Cape Town visitor!"

"CAPE HANGKLIP"

"WINDY CAPE POINT"

"PORTUGUESE PADRÃO"

STROLLING IN CAPE TOWN

2007-03-13T00:00:00.003Z

WALKING AROUND TOWN - SEPTEMBER 1996

"THE COMPANY'S GARDENS at the top of Adderley Street as laid out on order of the Dutch-East India Trading Company by Jan van Riebeeck to assure vegetables for Cape Town inhabitants. Today it is a large public park and botanical garden"

"MUSEUM - The South African Museum, the oldest museum in South Africa, was founded in 1825, and in 1897 moved to its present building at the top of the Company's Gardens. Here you may see the remarkable fossilized human footprint - about 117 000 years old - and the «Lynton Panel», one of the most extraordinary stone-artworks of the San people. The South African Museum shows hundreds of different species, and the view towards the Table Mountain on its back is fantastic. In particular when the table is set with a white towel..."

"PARLIAMENT - Houses of Parliament: Plans were initially designed by Charles Freeman but later - when it was found that the foundations were inadequate - were amended by Henry Greaves. The building incorporated a high central dome, Corinthian porticos and pavilions at the four corners. The foundation stone was laid in 1875 and in 1884 the Houses of Parliament were completed"

"DOWNTOWN - Back to Long Street, I believe..."

"GREENMARKET SQUARE, with the original cobblestones still in place, hosts a flea market with closely packed stalls. The Square is flanked by restaurants and on one of its sides by the Old Town House, which started out as the Burgher Watch House and is now an art gallery"

"THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT WATERFRONT is situated between Robben Island and Table Mountain in the heart of Cape Town's working harbour. Set against a backdrop of magnificent sea and mountain views, one can park, shop, meet, work, holiday, play, berth and even live at the Victoria & Albert Waterfront..."

"HARBOUR CRUISE"

"PORTUGUESE PARTY - Cape Town has an important Portuguese community, mainly from Madeira Island. The community holds some parties and every month there is a dinner of the Portuguese Association «ACADEMIA DO BACALHAU» («Cod Fish Academy», the second oldest in the World, I think), where the traditional dried cod fish is eaten"

"PORT"

"SUNSET, with Table Mountain"

VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA - CAPE TOWN

2007-02-26T00:02:00.002Z

DOWNTOWN - SEPTEMBER 1996

With the apartheid ended and Mr. Mandela already as President, I visited South Africa for the first time, though I had already been there once, at the Johannesburg Airport on the way to Maputo and back to Lisbon in 1992. This time I flew Lisbon-London-Cape Town-Johannesburg-London-Lisbon, but the stop was only in Cape Town. It actually made sense. In fact, already in 1487, the Portuguese sailor Bartholomew Dias set out to find a sea route to the Far East. Sailing along the west coast of Africa, his ships encountered a ferocious storm, which drove them out to sea and away from the coast. Once the storm had passed they resumed their journey in an easterly direction. After a number of days sailing without any sign of land, they changed direction and headed north, landing at the mouth of the Gouritz River on the east coast of Africa on 3 February 1488. Dias and his crew were the first Europeans on record to round the Cape, and another Portuguese - Antonio de Saldanha - was the first European to land in Table Bay. He climbed the mighty mountain in 1503 and named it «Table Mountain». The great cross that the Portuguese navigator carved in the rock of Lion's Head is still traceable.

Mother City of Africa, Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and the oldest city in South Africa, with a cultural heritage spanning more than 300 years. It also has several of the top national attractions in South Africa. Finally, it's also in Cape Town that the Rainbow Nation justifies its name: Indonesian, French, Dutch, British and German settlers, the local Bushman and Hottentot tribes as well as the Bantu tribes from the north, all live in City.

"INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL - I stayed many times at Intercontinental hotels, and as a Gold member of their Six Continents Club they used to upgrade me. The Hotel in Cape Town was a good one, and I was given a nice suite"

"THE VIEWS from my Hotel room: from the Table Mountain down to the Sea"

"CASTLE OF GOOD HOPE - The origin of the "Fort de Goede Hoop", built as a result of the constant threat of war between Britain and Holland, dates back to the Dutch merchant Jan van Riebeeck, who landed in Table Bay in 1652. Van Riebeeck immediately started to erect a fort, initially of wood, and from 1666 of stone brought in from Holland. It took about 30 years to complete. Today the Castle of Good Hope is the oldest building in South Africa. It has the shape of a pentagon with five corner bulwarks and an almost 10 metre high wall from massive boulders"

"CATHEDRAL - On 21 December 1834 St George's Church opened for divine service. It had no rector, and chaplains conducted the services until Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town, arrived in his newly-created diocese in 1848. Few cathedrals are completed in a lifetime. There are exceptions such as Coventry Cathedral in England, built within a decade, but others take longer. The Cathedral Church of St George the Martyr in Cape Town is still incomplete: three wars, depressions and recessions have delayed the completion of the vision of its first Bishop to have a cathedral worthy of the Mother City"

"THE OLD TOWN HOUSE was built in 1755 as Cape Town's first public building. It was given a prominent spot on the city's central square and served as Burgher Watch House, Senate and City Hall of Cape Town. In 1914 it became the city's first art museum and it now houses the Michaelis Collection of early Netherlands' art"

"VIEW from the veranda of the Old Town House, on a Saturday morning"

"BO KAAP, situated on the slopes of Signal Hill, belongs to the culturally and historically most interesting parts of Cape Town as the traditional residential area of Cape Town's Muslim community. There one can find cobbled streets, brightly coloured houses from the nineteenth century, Muslim shrines ("kramats") and mosques. Most of the residents descend from slaves brought here by the Dutch in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries from Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and elsewhere in Asia. They are known as "Cape Malays", even though this term is incorrect, as most of them do not descend from Malaysians. The Cape Malays and their religious leaders played an important role in the development of the language and culture of the Cape colony. The Afrikaans language evolved as a language of its own through a simplification of Dutch in order for the slaves to be able to communicate with the Dutch and amongst each others, since they all came from different countries and cultures. Educated Muslims were the first to write texts in Afrikaans"

"BO KAAP MUSEUM - One of the oldest of the seventy one houses in Wale Street is the «Bo-Kaap Museum». It is furnished as a Muslim house of the 19th century and documents the history of the so-called Cape Malays. Each year on the 2nd of January the Bo Kaap celebrates a big street party, the «Coon Carnival». It was originally introduced by the Muslim slaves who celebrated their only day off work in the whole year..."

"LONGSTREET - Long Street is one of the oldest streets in Cape Town with a length of 3.8 kilometres. In the older days, it was actually the longest street in the town centre, reaching from the harbour up to Tamboerskloof. Remarkable are the numerous Victorian buildings with cast-iron balcony railings, which have been well restored over the last years. Particularly beautiful is the upper part up to St. Martini Church of the German parish"

SAN FRANCISCO AND BAY AREA

2007-02-05T23:06:00.001Z

STROLLING AROUND - AUGUST 1996

We profited the opportunity of being again in San Francisco to explore a little bit more of the Bay Area. This time, further to the city itself, we went to the Napa Valley, but took no photos, to Muir Woods, and once more to Sausalito. Then we returned home via New York. Time for Di to have a new pair of in-line skates from Bauer, and to try them in Central Park!

***

MUIR WOODS

"THE FOREST at Muir Woods National Monument is simply superb. The Monument, declared by President Theodore Roosevelt on January 9, 1908, is what remains from the coastal redwood virgin forest that once covered a much larger area"

"THE SEQUOIA is an impressive giant tree. It belongs to the cypress family and can reach astounding proportions. It is usually considered the tallest tree in the world, reaching more than one hundred meters in height, and its diameter can reach seven meters in the base. It's also one of the longest living bodies on earth, as it can attain two thousand years..."

***

SAUSALITO

"(SITTIN'ON) THE DOCK OF THE BAY - I learned from John that Otis Redding started writing the song at a houseboat in Sausalito. It seems that it happened after his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, and the Dock of the Bay was recorded on 6 and 7 December, 1967 in Memphis, Tennessee. Three days later, the airplane that was carrying him crashed into Lake Monona, near Madison, Wisconsin..."

"CRAZY SHIRT was an important supplier of T-Shirts for the whole family, mainly for the young girl. I still remember one smelling chocolate that actually kept the smell even many times after being washed..."

"SCOMA'S - I think the photo was taken at Scoma's Sausalito"

"THE FOG on the Bay was starting to vanish, as we can see from the hills before the Golden Gate Bridge. Anyhow, not enough to be able to see the Bridge. That's why we did not get the same pictures as the ones taken in 1993..."

***

SAN FRANCISCO

"LEGION OF HONOR was the gift of Alma Spreckels to the city of San Francisco, and is now part of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. The building is a three-quarter-scale replica of the Palais de la Légion d’Honneur in Paris, and is dedicated to the California men who lost their lives in France during World War I"

"THE JAPANESE TEA GARDEN, located in the Golden Gate Park, is one of my favourite places in San Francisco"

"BUDDHA - This Buddha is already in one photo of the 1982 trip, as well as some of the other photos that follow..."

"THE PAGODE at the garden provides great viewpoints for the shots"

"TRANSAMERICA - The Transamerica Pyramid is the tallest skyscraper in San Francisco, and was designed (and built between 1969 and 1972) by William Pereira and Associates (I just mention this because Pereira is a typical Portuguese name, actually also the name of the pear tree). The building can be seen from many streets in the city"

"COIT TOWER - Finally the fog over the bridge dissipated a little bit and the Golden Gate Bridge could be seen from the Coit Tower"

"LOMBARD STREET is a must see for any tourist in San Francisco"

***

NEW YORK

"IN-LINE SKATES AND TESTING"

THE CITY BY THE BAY

2007-01-27T23:13:00.001Z

SAN FRANCISCO - AUGUST 1996

FISHERMEN'S WHARF AREA

I like San Francisco!

It's a city with a human dimension and it looks a bit like Lisbon, the city where I live. Of course, San Francisco was not conquered from the Moors on October 25, 1147, after 428 years of Arabian occupation, and cannot claim over 20 centuries of History. And you cannot hear Fado music there.

But it has several hills, trams and the San Francisco Sound, with Jefferson Airplane, Santana and others!

To make it more alike, we even copied the Golden Gate to build the first Lisbon Bridge over the Tagus River, inaugurated on August 6, 1966. With a main span of 1,013 m (Golden Gate 1280m) and measuring 2,278 m from the south to the north anchorage (Golden Gate has 1,966 m of suspension span including main span and side spans), the Lisbon bridge was the longest in Europe and included the world's longest continuous truss. The caisson foundation at the south tower, embedded in rock 79 m below water, is the world's deepest bridge foundation.

It seems that San Francisco also likes me. The first time we were there in 1982, the temperature reached record highs, just to contradict the joke credited to Mark Twain, but not confirmed: «the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco». When we got back in 1993, the weather was also perfect. And finally - it’s incredible, more than ten years passed since the last time I was there – in 1996 I can’t complain, though the fog was present on the Bay, for the first time during my visits. The only annoyance was that sometimes we could not see the Golden Gate Bridge from our room at the upper floors of the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel, Number One, Nob (from the Hindustani word naváb, plural of nayab - viceroy - or nawwab that also generated the Portuguese word nababo) Hill...

"BAY, FOG, SEAGULLS in a sunny blue sky: San Francisco at its best..."

"GHIRARDELLI SQUARE - Come in! The site was home, over a century ago, to the Ghirardelli Family's chocolate factory. It seems that everything started with Domenico Ghirardelli, who was born in Rapallo, Italy, in 1817, and started learning about chocolate at the age of 20. By 1893 his sons purchased a property by the Bay and started to construct the buildings: Chocolate in 1899, Cocoa in 1900, Clock Tower in 1911 and Power House in 1915. Ghirardelli Square was born!"

"RESTAURANTS, SHOPS - Today you still can eat, drink and buy chocolate at Ghirarderlli Square, but there is much more to do..."

"VIEWS - When you're tired of shopping and eating, you can always enjoy the views"

"THE ROCK, a small island located in the middle of the Bay, saw a lighthouse to function there from the summer of 1853 until it was torn down in 1909. It also saw a military fortification since 1850. But it only became world famous when the United States Department of Justice acquired the barracks in 1933, and transformed it in a federal prison in August 1934 - ALCATRAZ! It was used until 1963 and hosted some notable criminals as Al Capone, the same of the «best American sound film», so it was named by Jean-Luc Godard in Cahiers du Cinéma: «Scarface» directed by Howard Hawks in 1932! «Don't call me Scarface; I'm Capone, C, A, P, O, N, E, Capone...» I don't remember whether this is a quote from Hawks' film, but I perfectly memorized the scene, seen probably some thirty years ago..."

"SHIP at the San Francisco Maritime National Park, I think. Today is a maybe day..."

"SKYLINE - San Francisco skyline is unmistakable: the Transamerica building on the left and the Nob Hill skyscrapers in the middle cannot be missed; but the Roy Lichtenstein swatch that goes pretty well with Guida's pull also deserves to be mentioned..."

"PARK - Maybe Fort Mason Gardens..."

"CABLE CAR - The best way to go uphill"

"THE CANNERY, the former site of a Del Monte's Plant, was once the world's largest place in the world where peach was canned; today, is another marketplace, modeled after old European piazzas, featuring shops and restaurants, and even a jazz club"

"FISHERMAN'S WHARF - Said to be San Francisco most popular destination. I remember a seafood meal at Alioto's: crab, shrimps, seafood risotto were perfectly acceptable, though the risotto was not so good as mine «shrimp and aspargus»!"

"WAX MUSEUM -Madame Tussaud in the West Coast..."

"BUS disguised as cable car"

"PIER 39 - More than 110 stores, 13 Bay view restaurants, sea lions, street performers, there is always something for everyone, so says the publicity..."

"SEA LIONS - There are hundreds of sea lions basking in the sun. They rest at the marina near Pier 39 and are a big tourist attraction"

BEST PACIFIC ISLAND - MAUI

2007-01-20T11:56:00.001Z

HALEAKALA AND WAILEA - AUGUST 1996

The CONDE NAST TRAVELER magazine organizes an annual Readers’ Choice Awards Poll. 2006 was the nineteenth year of the contest and Maui, for the sixteenth straight year, was voted «Best Pacific Island». With a score of 90.2, Maui captured the «Top Pacific Rim Island» category scoring higher than runner-up Kauai (88.4) and third place Moorea (84.7), two other fantastic spots. The title of «Best Island in the World» went to the Maldives this year (have to go there to check why), and it was the first time that Maui has not captured that title since the awards began.
Anyhow, there were many good reasons to love Maui when we went there, and it seems that many of them still remain...

***

HALEAKALA

"HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK - One possibility is to wake up in the middle of the night and drive uphill to see the sun rising. However, that would require a bit too much stamina, so we decided to get there a bit later..."

"THE PEAK of Haleakala volcano, at 3055 m above sea level, is the highest point on Maui, the third-highest point in the state of Hawaii"

"VOLCANO - The easily-accessible summit of the Haleakala volcano is a terrific experience. The landscape is deeply sculpted and richly coloured, and there are lots of alternative programmes to enjoy: from a few minutes looking for native birds in the bush land to hours hiking in the ashes desert, always surrounded by native Hawaiian plants and animals""

"NATIONAL PARK HEADQUARTER stop, on the way down..."

"TEDESCHI VINEYARDS at Ulupalakua Ranch: Fine wines grown in the tropics, so they say..."

***

WAILEA

"WAILEA BEACH, located on Maui’s sunny South Shore, is a large and wide golden sand beach. The relatively flat beach is great for sunbathing and, being protected on both ends, the calm waters are ideal for swimming. It's the finest beach and has the driest and sunniest weather in Maui. It seems to provide an exceptional whale watching vantage point from December through April, though I've never been there during the season! Anyhow, it does not match the best Algarve's beaches..."

"THE FOUR SEASONS - Wailea is full of resorts, maybe a bit too much crowded. The Four Seasons, however, is a superb spot. They say they have «the Island’s most spacious guest rooms» and the most «gracious service» and it's probably true. As far as the «luxuriant gardens», that can be easily confirmed. And Wailea’s crescent of Pacific blue is just nearby: «fresh water? cool towel? Evian spritz? Miss»"

"PASHA STYLE at the poolside cabanas"

"SUNSET"

TROPICAL PARADISE - MAUI

2007-01-06T13:37:00.000Z

THE ROAD TO HANA - AUGUST 1996

The Road to Hana is a classic of Maui's visit. It is said to be a trip back in time to the old style Hawaii and the way to see the most spectacular scenery found anywhere in the Hawaiian islands, as well as some of the most beautiful tropical rainforests available on Earth. However, it is not a piece of cake to get there, as one has to face a long and winding 53 miles road from Kahului Airport, with over 600 bumpy twisting turns and 50 one-lane bridges... So, be prepared to take your time, as it usually takes about three hours to make the drive, depending on how often you stop. There are also some tips for drivers: leave as early as you can, with a full tank of gas; bring some food and plenty of film; plan a whole day trip, and there you are; unless the reconstruction, which seems to have started in 1999, just ended with the thrill...

"PUOHOKAMOA FALLS - One compulsory stop is for the Puohokamoa (what a name) Falls. The visit to the botanical Garden of Eden is a matter of choice..."

"BEACH - I love this photo!"

"HANA HIGHWAY - Further to the blue sea and the lovely girls, one can see the curves of the Hana Highway on the other side of the sea..."

"FIELS - Farming is still important for many people on Maui, so we'll find on our way the pineapple fields of Haiku, and the taro (or kalo as it is called in Hawaiian) fields of Keanae. Taro is a starchy root vegetable, and is used to make poi which one usually gets at a luau"

"NEAR WAILUA - Lush tropical rain forests with an astounding variety of exotic flora meets you on the way"

"POOL - We have seen many beautiful waterfalls, and fresh water pools, so we took a swim in, and it was delicious..."

"SEVEN SACRED POOLS - Some 45 minutes from Hana down the road one reaches Oheo Gulch, better known as the "Seven Sacred Pools". It's definitely worth going there. The pools are located in Haleakala National Park, which means that we are almost on the other side, close to Makena and Wailea. The point is that the connection, if any, was not an easy one, so the return had to be made the same way. Anyhow, it was a great swim..."

"OHEO BRIDGE - Upstream, over the ravine"

"WAIANAPANAPA - Just after Hana town, on the way back, is the Wainapanapa State Park with its wonderful black sand beach and some small caves. Swimming here, however, is not recommended for the average swimmers, as the currents are very strong"

"RETURN at sunset"

HAWAII, FIRST TIME!

2006-12-31T11:02:00.000Z

BEAUTIFUL ISLANDS - AUGUST 1996

***

OAHU

Two months later, I was back to New York, this time with Guida and Di. We stayed one night at the Marriot, Newark Airport, and early next morning we're flying to Honolulu, via Los Angeles. The first stop was at Waikiki, and we stayed at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider, a very nice hotel that is said to have introduced the world to Hawaiian hospitality in 1901. We practically have no photos, since we were using the video camera to capture the beach, the Dole plantations, Iolani Palace and the rest... The only survival was this one taken to greet us at the arrival...

"ALOHA"

***

BIG ISLAND

Then, we flew to the Big Island. As the video camera was operating, no photos were taken. Unfortunately, after the visit to the Kilauea Volcano the camera broke down until today, and everything was lost... Well, there is one exception:

"KING KAMEHAMEHA'S HOTEL at Kona Beach is on one of the most historic sites in all of Hawaii, as King Kamehameha the Great had his royal residence adjacent to the current site of the hotel. When we arrived the Hotel was extremely busy with the Big Fish Contest, but anyhow we managed to survive... and saw everything that was to be seen: Kailua-Kona, Kohala Coast Resorts, Waimea, Hilo, Lava Tree State Park, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (one video camera out of order for ever...), and back to Kailua-Kona!"

***

MAUI

The third Island to be visited was Maui, and for us it was the best of all three. Furthermore, the Four Seasons at Wailea is superb!

"IAO VALLEY is a beautiful site. Furthermore, it is also the place where occurred in 1790 one of the most famous battles that changed Hawaii history forever. By then, King Kamehameha the First destroyed the Maui army in an effort to unite the Hawaiian Islands. It's better to bring mosquito repellent...

"IAO NEEDLE is a natural rock pinnacle presiding over the Iao stream and surrounded by the walls of the Pu'u Kukui Crater"

"WAIHEE-HONOKAHUA. The road from Waihee to Lahaina via Honokahua and Kaanapali was impressive. You should pray not to get a car coming in the opposite direction, at least in some of the sections of the road. Some years ago there were recommendations not to bring rented cars to this road, but the views by the sea were superb..."

"LAHAINA - After the thrilling experience of the Honokahua road, we got to Lahaina, the so called «jewel in the crown of Maui». Lahaina town seems to be the second most visited spot on Maui after the beaches, and has an excellent restaurant: David Paul's Lahaina Grill. We managed to get three seats at the bar - tables were completely full - and had a superb meal cooked by David Paul Johnson. It was a remarkable experience"

"SHOPPING - After dinner we went shopping, which is one of the top sports in Lahaina. Crazy Shirt T-shirts and Aloha shirts were some of the buys. We also saved the Planet with Di's Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt, and then we returned home, to sleep at the Four Seasons in Wailea"

AGAIN IN WASHINGTON DC

2006-12-23T12:32:00.000Z

HOT SUMMER - JUNE 1996

In May, I went back to New York for a trust meeting and profited to revisit old friends and see some new places. This time I did not stay, as I usually did, at the Drake, but quite close anyhow at the Four Seasons - 57 on 57 Street - which I had actually seen getting up from my room at the Drake.
The Pei designed hotel is fantastic and the room - on the 49th floor I believe - with a fabulous view west and northwest to Central Park, a jacuzzi and windows all over the place was unbeatable. Maybe the view from the suite on the top floor of the former Regent, now Intercontinental Hotel in Hong-Kong could match!
Unfortunately, there are neither photos nor videos, which is a shame...

***

In June, once again I went to New York on my way to a meeting in DC. From this trip, with the return via London, there is a one-hundred minute video. However, the photos are very scarce... I leave some of them here for the memory

"GROUP PHOTO - All these guys and galls attended the meeting at the historic Ballroom of the Mayflower Hotel - «Washington's second best address»..."

"ALEXANDRIA - Some of us went to Alexandria for dinner. Here one can see part of the Portuguese and Spanish delegations"

"GREEK RESTAURANT - Dinner was at a Greek restaurant, with lots of yelling - OPA - and broken dishes..."

"THE MALL - Early evening short walk..."

DISNEY WORLD!

2006-12-15T23:45:00.000Z

COLD EASTER - APRIL 1996

January 1996 brought a trip to Frankfurt and February one to Paris. In March, I stayed at home and in early April, the whole family went to New York, and then to Orlando... In New York we caught some melting snow; in Orlando it was one of the coldest Easters ever recorded!

***

NEW YORK

"CHINATOWN"

"SOHO GALLERY"

"WEST BROADWAY"

"FAO SCHWARTZ"

"MOMA"

***

DISNEY

"SEVEN SEAS LAGOON RESORT, now the GRAND FLORIDIAN"

"POLYNESIAN RESORT"

"EPCOT - MARRAKESH RESTAURANT"

"EPCOT - NIGHT PARADE"

"MAGIK KINGDOM"

"MAGIC KINGDOM - ENTRANCE"

"MGM - NEW STAR"

"MGM - CHINESE THEATRE"

"MARKET PLACE"

"PLEASURE ISLAND"

GREENWICH - LONGITUDE ZERO AGAIN!

2006-12-09T11:59:00.000Z

BACK IN LONDON - DECEMBER 1995

After Brazil, I flew to Geneva and Brussels; then to New York and, finally, to Paris (no pictures, no videos). In December, the family went back to London. I was there for a conference, and they were shopping! Anyhow, we managed to have some time together, and visited Greenwich.

"FOOT TUNNEL - A nice (and different) way to get to Greenwich is through the foot tunnel under the Thames. You take the Underground Jubilee Line to Canary Wharf station, a work from Sir Norman Foster. Then move to the Docklands Light Rail and get to Island Gardens station, on the Isle of Dogs. There you walk the 371 meters of the 15 meter below water foot tunnel - entrance on the photo - to get to the Cutty Sark..."

"CUTTY SARK, FERREIRA, MARIA DO AMPARO AGAIN - This time with the young lady"

"AT THE WHEEL - Sailors in command"

"GREENWICH: 51° 28' 38" NORTH 0º 0' 0" E/W"

"NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM and Canary Wharf at the distance"

"SNOW in the park"

"TOWER BRIDGE"

"TOWER OF LONDON"

"MR.ROOSEVELT, MR. CHURCHILL, WATCHES OF SWITZERLAND and THE YOUNG LADY"

"NINEVEH at the British Museum"

BRASIL - NUM PAÍS TROPICAL...

2006-12-02T19:10:00.000Z

AMAZONIA AND NORDESTE - NOVEMBER 1995

One day I'll YouTube the videos. For the time being, enjoy the photos - not a great achievement...

***

AMAZONIA

After a long Lisbon-São Paulo flight, we changed planes and flew to Manaus. Manaus is an interesting city to visit, a duty-free port and a curious fish market near the river. After some time in Manaus (no pictures) we sailed to the Amazon Village.

"ON THE WAY - The world-known explorer in a new expedition..."

"DRY SEASON - the water level was so low that we had to use this kind of boats to get to our destination. At a certain point it was even needed a pushing for the boat to move forward. In Manaus, where we stayed at the Tropical Hotel, the river was fourteen meters below the usual highest point of the wet season..."

"ARARA - Low waters are not a problem for the coloured birds..."

"DRY AMAZONAS - We would be sub water standing at this place during the wet season"

"AMAZON VILLAGE - A Swiss investment in Amazonia!"

***

FORTALEZA

The Varig flight from Manaus to Fortaleza was delayed and the itinerary was amazing: Manaus - Santarém; Santarém - Belém; Belém - São Luís; São - Luís - Fortaleza. UGH!

"TATU - Zoological lesson at the Praia das Areias Coloridas (Coloured Sands Beach)"

"AREIAS COLORIDAS"

"SWIMING POOLS - The Sea was far from being inviting"

"HOTEL DA FALÉSIA"

"A VER O MAR Restaurant"

"BUGGY at the marginal from Fortaleza"

"MARGINAL BOULEVARD, FORTALEZA"

"PORTUGAL SQUARE"

"ALENCAR THEATRE"

***

SALVADOR DA BAHIA

From Fortaleza, the Manaus flight from Varig carried on: Fortaleza - Recife; Recife - Maceió; Maceió - Salvador...

"HOTEL TROPICAL Seen from the Souto's house"

"IEMANJÁ - The best moqueca de camarão of the world!!!"

GERMAN SEMINAR

2006-11-26T15:48:00.000Z

DEUTSCHE BUNDESBANK FACHHOCHSCHULE - OCTOBER 1995

After the vacations in Madeira and Porto Santo, in September 1995 I went once to Frankfurt and once to Paris. Then, in early October, I went to Amsterdam and Brussels, and again to New York. On October 20th, 1995, I had a meeting at the European Monetary Institute. I flew home that night, just to return to Frankfurt on the 22nd, this time to go to the Deutsche Bundesbank Fachhochschule, for a seminar on the Law Governing Central Banks. There are a few photos from the event. The seminar was held in German and took place at the Hachenburg Schloss.

The Hachenburg Castle was first mentioned in 1222. Between 1717 and 1746, Georg Friedrich Graf zu Sayn decided to rebuild the old castle and it became then a baroque residence. In the nineteenth century, the castle belonged to the Dukedom of Nassau and later to the Kingdom of Prussia. From the beginning of the twentieth century there had been a forestry school in the Upper Castle, though the lack of money led to its gradual deterioration. In 1946 the castle became the property of the Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was sold in 1971 to the "Castle Hachenburg GmbH" to be converted into a hotel and owner-occupied apartments but in 1974 the company went bankrupt. The castle was put up for compulsory auction and was purchased by the Deutsche Bundesbank. The castle was rebuilt and entered use as a centre for basic and advanced vocational training centre.

"THE HISTORICAL STAIRCASE"

"THE GARDEN GATE - the group does not allow seeing the gilt metalwork which shows the initials of Georg Friedrich Burggraf von Kirchberg and of Sophie Amalie Burggräfin von Kirchberg Gräfin von Nassau-Saarbrücken..."

"THE TEN O'CLOCK GATE - Group at the gatehouse that used to be closed at 10:00 p.m.; thus the denomination"

"FOUNTAIN at the Castle's upper courtyard. This is what you see when you enter the ten o'clock gate"

THE PEARL OF THE ATLANTIC

2006-11-19T17:21:00.000Z

MADEIRA AND PORTO SANTO ISLANDS - AUGUST 1995

After Eurodisney in April (Easter time), I went to New York once again, by the end of April, to Brussels one more time in May, and in June 1995 I had this schedule:
Lisbon to Amsterdam on June 5th; Amsterdam to Lisbon on June 9th;
Lisbon to London on June 18th; London to Lisbon on June 20th;
Lisbon to Brussels on June 21st;
Brussels to Paris on June 23rd;
Paris to Lisbon on June 24th;
Lisbon to Brussels on June 26th;
Brussels to Amsterdam on June 28th and
Amsterdam to Lisbon on the same day.
No wonder that by that time I always had a bag ready to fly...

Finally, in August, I took some time off and returned to the place where I was born - Madeira -, 41 years after I've left it... That's when we had a much enjoyable vacation in Porto Santo!

***

MADEIRA

"LIDO - The explorers arrive to Lido beach, where I took my first steps in water at the age of three..."

"MAGNOLIA - Already with the cousins, relaxing at the Quinta Magnolia"

"PONTINHA - The port"

"CURRAL DAS FREIRAS (NUNS' VALLEY) - Refuge for the nuns from the Santa Clara Monastery fleeing pirates in 1566!"

"QUINTA DAS CRUZES - It's said that João Gonçalves Zarco, who discovered Madeira and seems to be the ancestor to many Gonçalves families, was the owner of this property, now belonging to the regional government"

"FAMILY PHOTOS - Under the statue of Tristão Vaz Teixeira, companion to Zarco on the discovery of these Islands, and in Santa Cruz, home to the Gonçalves..."

"FUNCHAL GARDEN"

***

PORTO SANTO

"TIA MARIA - A nice restaurant at the fabulous 9 km golden sand beach"

"THE BEACH at Porto Santo"

"NORTH SIDE of the Porto Santo Island"

EURODISNEY, PARIS, FRANCE...

2006-11-04T01:02:00.000Z

AMAZING FRANCE - APRIL 1995

EURODISNEY

Disneyland in France is a contradiction in terms. Most probably is also the reason why it takes some time to be a success...

"MAIN STREET USA"

"BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN"

"LION KING"

"PIRAYES OF THE CARIBBEAN"

"DISCOVERY LAND"

***

LA DEFENSE

"COWBOYS in Paris?"

"L'ARCHE"

***

CENTRAL PARIS

"AUX CHAMPS ELYSÉES"

"EIFFEL TOWER"

"PALAIS TOKYO"

FOR THE RECORD...

2006-10-15T18:15:00.000+01:00

FROM APRIL 1990 THROUGH APRIL 1995

The last post ended the travelling period up to December 1994. The next will deal with Eurodisney in April 1995. Meanwhile there were a lot of trips that left no photo tracing, though some of them have been recorded in video. As they could not generate posts, the purpose of this post is to register them pro memoria futura.

In 1990, the air flight trips that left no trace at all - photo or video - include:
Brussels in July, September and October;
Geneva in July and October;
New York in August and December;
Faro twice in August;
Zurich in August;
Basle in October, and
Paris in November and December!

Meanwhile I found a black and white photo of a reception in Washington D.C., in April 1990,

"IMF STAFF and white wine"

and some lousy photos from Brussels, in June 1990, including the only one with the Manneken Pis. See:

"GRAND PLACE - La Chaloupe d'or, where many filet americain sandwiches were eaten and many Kwak drunken; anyhow, the fatness effect came only much later..."

"MANNEKEN PIS"

"THEATRE - Some operas and concerts seen, but not many..."

The year 1991 was a curious one. I could not find a single photo of the trips made during this year. There are, however, some video recordings from New York, in April, May and August, as well as from Switzerland in November.
Anyhow, I flew 36 times, accounting to 70172 miles, during that year...
Here is the register of the photo-traceless trips:
Brussels in January, September, twice in October and three times in November: In December 1991, the European Council approved the Maastricht Treaty, which was signed in February 1992!
Paris in February, March, April and September;
New York in March (the first time I flew the Concorde, and the only with Air France - flight AF001), twice in April, May, August, October and November!
Amsterdam in April, and
Zurich, twice in November.

The year 1992 started again with Brussels in January (final details), and the city was repeated in April and November.
In late January, I attended the oddest Conference I've ever been too. I flew through Munich and Salzburg and was driven from there to Waidring. It was supposed to be some kind of a Law Conference on «Corporate Insolvency», organized by Dennis Campbell and the Center for International Legal Studies. It started on a Sunday, and as soon as I arrived to the Salzburg airport the first question from the lady who was taking care of the transfer was: where are your skis? The funny thing was that the Conference sessions started at 7:00 a. m. till 9:15; then, there was a break until 4:30 p.m., when the Conference resumed till 6:00 p.m.! In the meantime, Conference participants went skiing.
I profited the opportunity to visit the area, including Zell-am-See, Kitzbühel (to where the Waidring conferences were moved some years later, with much profit for tourists), and even revisit Innsbruck. There is a short 21' video of this trip, but no photos whatsoever...
The return trip was made through Zurich and Paris, but there are no photos of any of these stops!
Some more photo-traceless trips include:
New York in February, March, first time in April, May, June and December. From the second April trip, I found these photos:

"JAPANESE RESTAURANT - Between February 1990 and April 1992 I had many meals in most of the New York best Japanese restaurants. This was the only photo taken on one of such occasions"

"RECEPTION hosted by Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy at the top floor of One Chase Manhattan Plaza!"

Traceless are also:
Paris in February, March, May and November - Neither photos nor videos;
London in April - Nothing left;
Strasbourg in September - Not even memories, may be some Riesling...

In 1993, further to the trips covered by the posts, there were also these:
Brussels (as always): twice in January, once in February, March, April, May, June, July, first time in September, twice in October, twice in November and three times in December. Ugh...
Paris in January, March, May, June, and November. From the September trip there are some photos, taken from the top of the Triumph Arch. I think it was the first time that I went up there, after 24 years visiting Paris...

"TRIUMPH ARCH Commissioned in 1806 by Napoleon, shortly after his victory at Austerlitz"

"LA DEFENSE - View towards the modern Arch and the skyscrapers of the Defense quarter"

"CHAMPS ELYSÉES"

"SACRÉ COEUR at the distance"

"EIFFEL TOWER"

No photos, no videos from:
Rome in February;
New York in August and September;
London in October;
Geneva in October and December; and
Basle in December.

However, I found some amazing pictures from the Golden Gate Bridge, taken in September. Here are some of them:

"GOLDEN GATE"

Anyhow, 1993 generated many video tapes: in fact, there are, at least, four hours of video recordings of the trip through Brazil - Salvador, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Congonhas, Ouro Preto, Iguaçu Falls and Rio de Janeiro -, as well as seven hours from the trip to the Canadian Rockies and the US in August/September 1993, and more than one hour of the Chamonix/Mont Blanc/Lausanne/Villars and Geneva trip in October.

The year 1994 has also lots of photo-traceless trips. They started - guess - with:
Brussels twice in January, and then once in February, and March;
and then
Paris in January, June and September;
Ponta Delgada (Azores) in March and twice in December;
London in April;
New York also in April;
Buenos Aires in September; and
Brazil in October/November: Recife, Olinda, Natal, Genipabu, Pitangui, and Salvador!

At least there are video recordings from London in April, Brazil in Fall, Buenos Aires in September, Paris in December - further to the photos, some of which were included in the post Paris, Always Paris -, and, of course, from the trip to Kenya and the Seychelles!

Finally, 1n 1995, before the next post dedicated to Eurodisney in April 1995, there were these photo-traceless trips:
Paris in January and March;
Barcelona in February - more than two hours of video recordings;
Azores - Ponta Delgada twice, Terceira and Pico - in March; and
Brussels in April!

No wonder that by those times I had an average of more than 150 nights a year slept abroad...

PARIS, ALWAYS PARIS...

2006-10-07T20:46:00.000+01:00

REVISITING PARIS, WITH PARENTS - DECEMBER 1994

"LA CONCIERGERIE, a palace whose name derives from «concierge» (the royal governor who was in charge of the building), was built on the site of the former Palais des Capetiens. La Conciergerie was the oldest prison in France and was where Robespierre, Charlotte Corday and Marie Antoinette were imprisoned during the Revolution"

"PALAIS DE JUSTICE - Located on the Île de la Cité, the Law Courts occupy more than 4 hectares of land and the building contains around 24 km of hallways, 7,000 doors and more than 3,150 windows"

"NOTRE DAME was one of the first Gothic cathedrals, and is widely considered one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in Europe. For many many years there were works around ..."

"SEINE RIVER - The Banks of the Seine in Paris were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1991. After locks were installed to artificially raise the level in the 1800s, the average depth of the Seine today at Paris is about eight metres"

"BRIDGES - Paris has 36 bridges, which can be seen at the LPCP site!"

"PLACE VENDOME is the work of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, and was begun in 1698. It is an example of city-planning with residences for the wealthy along the sides and two openings, which form the main axis"

"THE TUILERIES GARDEN - designed in 1664 by Le Notre, the gardener of the king of France Louis the 14th and the Versailles park designer - is the most central park in Paris, along the Seine river from the Louvre museum to the Concorde square"

"PLACE DU TERTRE - MONTMARTRE"

"STRAVINSKI FOUNTAIN (also called La Fontaine des Automates), features works by Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint-Phalle"

SEYCHELLES' SUNSETS!

2006-10-05T12:40:00.000+01:00

PRASLIN - AUGUST 1994

I was always impressed by sunset colours. And today, eight years after the experience, I still remember the most fantastic sunset I've ever seen and from which, unfortunately, there is no record at all - an August 1998 sunset at the island of Viti Levu in the Fiji Islands!
Here are some shots from Praslin's sunsets during our stay in 1994...

***

***

"COLOURS"

L'ARCHIPEL HOTEL, PRASLIN

2006-09-29T00:26:00.000+01:00

A NICE HOTEL IN A BEAUTIFUL ISLAND - AUGUST 1994

"GETTING IN - The road to the Hotel"

"MAIN BUILDING: Reception, main restaurant..."

"THE VILLAS - Superb lodging, ten meters from the beach..."

"PALM TREES down to the sea..."

"THE BEACH was perfect, and almost desert!"

LA DIGUE - NO PLANES, NO STRESS!

2006-08-23T11:19:00.000+01:00

SEEING THE ROCKS - AUGUST 1994

LA DIGUE is the third most populated island of the Seychelles. It's reachable by boat from Praslin, and that is exactly what we've done to get there. No airfield, no stress, nothing...

"ROCKS - Probably the main reason why one comes to La Digue is to see the famous pink granite boulders of Anse Source d'Argent!"

"ARRIVAL - La Digue lies only six km from Praslin, and the boat trip was perfectly ok. There were very few cars on the island, so we headed for an «ox-taxi» for sightseeing..."

"OX-TAXI - The first was not ready for use. The one we took was comfortable enough for the famous La Digue roads..."

"QUALITY OF LIFE - The local Bank opens Monday to Saturday a few hours per day. The Barclays, however, is much more in line with the traditional pace of the Islands: three days a week, three and a half hours a day..."

"MAIN STREET, as busy as usual!"

"WORSHIP TIME - With so much to do the residents can hardly find time to go to the church. That's probably the reason why they created these altars on the side of the roads..."

"YELLOW HOUSE - Considered to be one of the most attractive in the Seychelles"

"L'UNION ESTATE is a National Heritage Site, and there one can see a traditional copra mill, giant Aldabra tortoises and immense granite boulders. The original settlers of La Digue are also buried here..."

"THE PLANTATION HOUSE is the focal point of the L'Union Estate, and is one of the few plantation houses left in the Seychelles. However, most of its fame derives not from the true architectural quality of the building but from the fact that it housed the adventures of Ms. Sylvia Krystel - as Emmanuelle - with her architect husband. Actually, the Plantation House was the scene for «Goodbye Emmanuelle» in 1977. The film is said to be as boring as it could be, but as all of the other films of the Emmanuelle series was a cause of scandal in the years when hardcore was not just around the corner..."

"BEACH ON THE ROCKS - Fantastic Anse Union, Source d' Argent, etc..."

"HARD TO LEAVE - It's not easy to get away from such a beautiful spot. That's why the ox-taxi driver is urging us to get to the car..."

"GOODBYE LA DIGUE..."

GARDEN OF EDEN

2006-08-15T15:12:00.000+01:00

PRASLIN - AUGUST 1984

***

UNDERWATER

"FISH - It's not comparable with the Great Barrier Reef but it's nice anyhow!"

***

VALLÉE DE MAI

"A NATURAL RESERVE was created in the heart of Praslin, where the Coco de-Mer grows, named Vallée de Mai. The reserve is an absolute must, as Vallée de Mai is actually a wonder of nature"

"COCO DE MER - It seems that many centuries ago, on the beaches of Africa, a strange coconut - several times larger than the largest known coconut and looking as if it were two coconuts joined together - was washed ashore. Its shape resembled the genitals of a female, which immediately contributed to make it into an object of mystical sexual powers. The Coco de Mer grows only on Praslin, and nowhere else"

"ADAM AND EVE - According to the legend, Vallée de Mai is the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve lived, and where Eve gave Adam the forbidden fruit of the tree. When they left the Garden there were probably not that many mosquitoes..."

COUSIN & CURIEUSE

2006-08-12T18:00:00.000+01:00

BIRDS AND TURTLES - AUGUST 1994

***

COUSIN

"ON THE WAY - Boat trip"

"COUSIN is located just off the southwest coast of Praslin, just next to its island neighbour Cousine. Cousin is a special nature reserve home to some of Seychelles’ rarest birds"

"BIRDS - Cousin has been a nature reserve since 1968 when it was purchased by the Royal Society for Nature Conservation. In 1975 it was declared a special reserve and is now managed by the local environment group Nature Seychelles. Cousin sees every year 250,000 birds nest"

***

CURIEUSE

Curieuse is located just off the north-western coast of Praslin and is now a reserve managed by the Seychelles Centre for Marine Technology - Marine Parks Authority.

"CURIEUSE was once home to a leper colony situated at Anse St. Joseph. The resident doctor's house dating back to the 1870's has recently been converted into an eco-museum and visitors centre"

"TURTLES - Curieuse is home to a giant land tortoise rearing project. The island is also an important nesting site for hawksbill turtles"

PRASLIN - PARADISE ON EARTH

2006-08-05T12:19:00.000+01:00

SEYCHELLES - AUGUST 1994

It seems that after God had finished creating the world, there were still some diamonds left. So it is said that he came to the Indian Ocean and decided to create something marvellous: dropped the diamonds in the sea, and the Seychelles were born!

"CAREFULL - We are preparing for landing..."

"ARRIVAL - Getting in from Mahe with only one pilot in the cockpit was interesting. Fortunately, the plane flight was only a short 15 minute one! Also, only 10Kgs of luggage per capita were allowed: actually there was no need for more..."

"WELCOME DRINK - Fresh coconut water supply!"

"TIME TO REST - The wake up call in Nairobi was early; the departure from Nairobi was around 6 a.m. No wonder one would be sleepy..."

"JEEP - Driving on the left on the Praslin's roads (?) was an exciting experience! It was difficult to match the speed of the turtles..."

"BAIE STE. ANNE - One of the villages in Praslin"

"SHOP at Grande Anse, the other village, in Praslin. Actually there are only five thousand inhabitants in the whole island..."

"ISLAND TOUR - Nice views towards the sea"

"BEACHES - That's what one comes here for..."

"ROCKS - These look like La Digue!"

"ANSE LAZIO - The best beach in Praslin, and probably in the Seychelles. It was very hard to get there, but fortunately it had a restaurant, so that there was no need to go out for lunch and come back..."

GOOD BYE MASAI MARA!

2006-07-29T11:53:00.000+01:00

THE END OF A SAFARI - AUGUST 1994

"DEPARTURE - From the Sopa Lodge, back to Nairobi"

"VAN TRIP - Safari equipped lady and young lady"

"MASAI MARA - Animals, colours, views..."

"UNPLEASANT INCIDENT, no accident..."

"SAND RIVER"

"THE GREAT RIFT VALLEY - runs north to south for some 5,000 km, from northern Syria to central Mozambique. Its width varies from thirty to one hundred kilometres, and its depth from a few hundred to several thousand metres"

"CLOUDS"

"RAINBOW!"

MASAI VILLAGE

2006-07-22T15:28:00.000+01:00

QUITE AN EXPERIENCE - AUGUST 1994

The Masai are an indigenous African tribe of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania, in the vast open spaces of the Great Rift Valley.

"MASAI MEN - Very tall and in red!"

"HOUSES - Low doors, small places... Rounded and oblong in shape, the homes are built in a large circle that serves to protect an inner kraal, where the cattle bed down for the night. The entire perimeter of the village is fenced with sharp, thorny branches that protect both the Masai and their cattle from hyenas, leopards, and lions"

"HOUSE BUILDING - Masai homes are traditionally built by the women. They are constructed of natural fibre together with grass and then covered with cow dung - the Masai believe that all the cattle on the earth belong to them. It stank!"

"MASAI WOMEN - Running the village"

"KIDS - All different, All equal!"

FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL!

2006-07-20T09:07:00.000+01:00

MASAI MARA - AUGUST 1994

"LIONS AND GNUS"

"VULTURES"

SOME MORE ANIMALS...

2006-07-13T00:16:00.000+01:00

ALWAYS IN MASAI MARA - AUGUST 1994

"ANTELOPES - Hoofed animals with hollow horns!"

"ZEBRAS - It seems they don't get ulcers..."

"GNUS - Lion's supermarket!"

"CAPE BUFALOS - One of the Big Five, together with lions, elephants, leopards and black rhinoceros"

"OSTRICHES - The largest living species of bird and the only living species of the Struthionidae family, they can run at about 65 km/h.

"BIRDS"

"RTHINOS - They have acute hearing, good sense of smell, but poor eyesight. The use of their horns in traditional Asian medicine is responsible for their decline"

"MONKEYS - There are 264 known species still in existence!"

"BABOON TREE - Baboons are some of the largest non-hominid members of the primate order; only the Mandrill and the Drill are larger"

"GIRAFFES - Always beautiful..."

ELEPHANTS & CATS...

2006-07-06T22:18:00.000+01:00

WILD ANIMALS, NOT SO WILD... - AUGUST 1994

ELEPHANTS

"LONELY HEART - Careful!"

"HIDDEN - Playing games"

"FAMILY LIFE - Protecting from the rain"

"ON THE WAY - Inspection visit"

***

CATS

"CHEETAH - Looking around for a meal..."

"FEMALE LIONS"

"YOUNG LION"

"KING LION"

ROAD TO MASAI MARA - SOPA LODGE

2006-06-24T10:03:00.000+01:00

ITALIAN TECHNOLOGY IN KENYA - AUGUST 1994

The road from Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara was partially built by the Italians after WWII. After so many years of use and poor maintenance, it was an adventure to drive on it. The van had to use the shoulder rather than the main road, as this was only a succession of huge potholes. A true adventure, anyhow...

"ON THE WAY - People, animals, vehicles..."

"LADIES AND GENTS!"

"TECHNICAL STOP: Souvenirs and services..."

"BACK - Going the other way around"

"SOPA LODGE - Arriving at Masai Mara, after the Italian road safari..."

"LUNCH, to start"

"SWIMMING POOL - Don't think we used it more than once or twice during the stay"

"VISITOR"

"SOPA LODGE CABINS"

"MASAI DANCES - After dinner entertainment!"

"HIENAS - Entertainment continued"

LAKE NAKURU SAFARI

2006-06-16T11:35:00.000+01:00

ENJOYING THE HOLIDAYS - AUGUST 1994

Kenya is known as the safari supermarket. In 1994, however, though it was already crowded, it seemed still enjoyable. Twelve years later, as far as we can imagine from the huge amount of safari offers at sale on travel agencies, things might be much worse.

"FRESH AIR from the top of the van"

"LEOPARD - It's hard to see, but there was a leopard on the tree..."

"THOMSON GAZELLE - named after explorer Joseph Thomson - is one of the most well known gazelles living in Africa, particularly in the Masai Mara region of Kenya and the Serengeti region of Tanzania"

"LUNCH BREAK with a view, at the open air restaurant of the Hotel"

"AFTERNOON SAFARI, before the rain. There are always some flamingos around"

"ZEBRAS - There are several species of zebras; these seem to be members of one of the «plains» species"

"RHINO - There are also some white and black rhinos in the park, which was declared a sanctuary for the protection of these endangered animals in 1987, when there were only two resident black rhinos"

***

GIRAFFES' BALLET

"AMAZING! The video recording of the giraffes wandering in the fields is superb. The photos, anyhow, do capture much of the elegance of the movement..."

***

LAKE NAKURU LODGE

"BACK HOME for the night, to see the Southern Cross - Crux, they call it..."

FLAMINGO MAGIC!

2006-06-13T00:28:00.000+01:00

ON THE WAY TO LAKE NAKURU - AUGUST 1994

"JUNGLE - Leaving the Ark, one is completely surrounded by green..."

"EQUATOR - Photo opportunity! There is always an official photographer to take the photos and to get paid for the job..."

"HOTEL - Don't think is worth trying..."

"WATERFALLS - Not Lake Victoria, but anyhow worth seeing!"

"NATIVE CHIEFS -Another photo opportunity; this time is self-service, but you pay, anyhow..."

"OUR VAN, OUR CASTLE..."

"NAKURU TOWN - Getting closer"

"DOMESTIC CREATURES"

"WART HOGS"

"LAKE NAKURU - a small, shallow, alkaline-saline lake located in the Eastern Rift Valley, at 1,759 m above sea level - shows one of the world's most spectacular wildlife sights: hundreds of thousands of pink flamingos as far as the eye can see"

"TRIO - And we saw the birds..."

"NOT SO MANY - We're told that this time there were not so many flamingos as usual. Can you believe?"

"FLAMINGO SUNSET- It's even more impressive by twilight!"

THE ARK - FIRST SAFARI STOP!

2006-06-04T10:18:00.000+01:00

KENYAN SAFARI - AUGUST 1994

After one day in Nairobi, and a night sleep at the Norfolk, we met our driver and guide for the Kenyan Safari. We left the bulk of our luggage at the Hotel deposit, most of the valuables at their safe - though the excitement was so much that I forgot to wait for the receipt that were going to hand to me -, and took the road. Actually, an amazing experience taking into account the famous expertise of Kenyan drivers, namely of the crowded bus and truck drivers...

"ON THE ROAD - Water and technical stop, with the compulsory souvenirs"

"ABERDARE COUNTRY CLUB - Lunch stop with some bananas"

"SYDNEY POLLACK'S FOLLOWER - Enjoying the views, including Mount Kenya"

"ABERDARE COUNTRY CLUB - The main building, originally called «Steep», was built in the 1930's as the private residence of a wealthy English family, and had 6 bedrooms. The views are incredible and the charm unbeatable"

"THE ARK, a tree-lodge shaped to resemble the Ark, was opened in November 1969, and overlooks the Yasabara waterhole, the largest salt-lick in the Aberdare Mountains. It has several decks as well as a ground-level bunker, which provide good views of the animals visiting the waterhole, and excellent photo opportunities, in particular by night when the waterhole is lit up"

"THE ARK LOUNGE - Afternoon tea with a view..."

"THE ARK ROOM - Nice and comfortable, with an alert system that allowed us to see a leopard during the night. It is worth to remember that many people come to Kenya and Tanzania to see the Big Five - Elephant, Rhino, Lion, Buffalo and Leopard - and keep coming, as they do not manage to catch the leopard..."

"BIRDS - Start with the smaller..."

"BUFFALOS - Muddy waters..."

"ELEPHANT"

"SUNRISE"

"WAITING FOR BREAKFAST - It was cold outside..."

"BREAKFAST"

OUT OF AFRICA

2006-05-31T00:52:00.000+01:00

KENYA - AUGUST 1994

Almost all of these photos were taken by Ana or José, and digitalized 12 years later. With the many hours of video recordings, they are the memories of one of the most fabulous holidays we ever had...

"NORFOLK HOTEL - When The Norfolk Hotel first opened in Nairobi on Christmas Day 1904, Nairobi was only 5 years old, the same age of the Savoy Hotel in London - the London Ritz was still a year away. Nairobi actually originated in 1899 as a supply station for the expansion of the railroad as it moved into the interior of Kenya, and it can be said that it developed itself around the railway station and the Norfolk Hotel. Afterwards, a lot of important visitors came to the Hotel, including, of course, the Baron and Baroness von Blixen"

"BRITISH CLUB - Typical!"

"NAIROBI - Not particularly interesting, but relatively safe at that time..."

EUROPEAN ESCAPADE

2006-05-30T10:23:00.000+01:00

AWAY FROM THE MEETINGS - SEPTEMBER 1993

***

BELGIUM

"ATOMIUM - The «Eiffel Tower» of Brussels was built for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo '58). It is 103 meter tall and represents a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Nine steel spheres of 18 meters in diameter are connected via tubes with escalators as long as 35 m. It was supposed to last only six months, but it has survived to become a popular tourist attraction rivalling Manneken Pis, as a national Belgian icon"

"VIEW FROM THE TOP - Windows in the top sphere provide panoramic views. Here we can see the Heysel Stadium - where Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht used to win some matches (recently it has been loosing its European matches in the new King Baudouin Stadium) and Brussels at the distance"

"GARDEN AND PARK - The Atomium lies near the mini-Europe Park, and has a very nice garden around it"

***

SWITZERLAND

"SWISS VILLAGE with an Abbey"

"SIGHTSEEING in the Neuchatel Lake area"

"BEST CITY IN THE AMERICAS"

2006-05-28T01:23:00.000+01:00

VANCOUVER - AUGUST 1993

A beautiful town! It seems that it has been voted the "Best City in the Americas" for 2004 and 2005 by Condé Nast Traveler magazine, based on the categories of ambience, friendliness, culture and sites, restaurants, lodging, and shopping. Even if one suspects of these kind of votes, the fact is that the honour is well deserved!

It all started around 1592, when the Spaniards were exploring Canada's west coast. Spain claimed the west coast of North America by virtue of the Treaty of Tordesilhas, concluded in 1494 with the Portuguese, and which divided Earth in two hemispheres: one for Portugal, the other for Spain; everything blessed by the Pope!...

In 1792, British Captain George Vancouver arrived. He discovered the Spanish had already claimed the place, and met with Spanish captains Valdez and Galiano at Spanish Banks, one of Vancouver's best beaches. Later, Vancouver was created to become one of Canada's most beautiful places.

TOTEMS - On Stanley Park there are eight totem poles. Each one has a story to tell"

"MOUNTAINS - Seen from Stanley Park, Vancouver's first park and an oasis of 400 hectares just by Vancouver's downtown"

"EXPO 1986 - The site of the Expo, whose theme was «World in Motion - World in Touch». On May 2nd, 2006 Vancouverites celebrated the 20th anniversary of the opening of Expo 86"

"SCIENCE WORLD - The first photo was digitalized from the 1993 paper photo; the second from the photo negative: amazing differences...

"PLAZA OF NATIONS - The heart of Expo 86. Located on the False Creek waterfront, the Plaza of Nations consists of a giant covered public plaza, the glass-framed BC Enterprise Hall, a mini-forest, a marina, and shops and restaurants"

"MONORAIL - Built to link the site of the Expo to Canada's Pavilion, the Sky Train seems to have been working well up to now"

"CANADA PLACE - Situated on the Burrard Inlet waterfront, it was originally built as Canada's pavilion for the Expo 86. It houses now the Vancouver Convention Centre, the Pan Pacific Hotel, and the first in the world IMAX 3D theatre. It is also the main cruise ship terminal, where most of Vancouver's famous cruises to Alaska depart or arrive. We disembarked there, from Ms Volendam, in August 2002. The white sails of the building are a reference for Vancouver, and allow comparisons with the Sydney Opera House"

"PAN PACIFIC HOTEL - Luxury at the Harbour"

"HYATT REGENCY - Nice hotel, and nice views"

VICTORIA ESCAPADE

2006-05-24T08:39:00.000+01:00

BRITISH COLUMBIA - AUGUST 1993

Vancouver Island, named after the British officer George Vancouver, who explored the Pacific northwest coast between 1791 and 1794, is the largest island on the western side of the Americas - 460 km long and up to 80 km wide. Located off Canada's Pacific coast, it is the world's 42nd largest island. Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia.

"BUTCHARDT GARDENS - Robert Butchart began manufacturing Portland cement in 1888. Having been highly successful in the industry, he was attracted to Canada's West Coast's rich limestone deposits. He built a factory on Vancouver Island, and moved there with his family in 1904.
When the limestone near their house was exhausted, his wife conceived a plan to refurbish the resulted bleak pit. She got tons of soil from nearby farmland, had it brought to the estate, used it to line the floor of the abandoned quarry, and started creating a marvelous garden. That's how the spectacular Sunken Garden bloomed"

"INNER HARBOUR - Sail straight to you Hotel room"

"THE EMPRESS - In the heart of downtown is the Empress - a château-style hotel that was built between 1904 and 1908 for Canadian Pacific, to serve as a terminus hotel for the company's steamship line whose terminal was just meters away. When Canadian Pacific ceased its passenger services to the city, the hotel was changed into a beautiful tourist resort"

BEAUTIFUL CANADIAN ROCKIES

2006-05-18T08:51:00.000+01:00

FROM BANFF TO JASPER, A FABULOUS JOURNEY - AUGUST 1993

It includes the Icefields Parkway, one of the world's most scenic highways, runs for 230km from Lake Louise to Jasper.

"CHATEAU LAKE LOUISE, A huge hotel building started in 1928, set in fantastic surroundings - snow covered peaks, wonderful lake, majestic glacier!"

"VICTORIA GLACIER - A spectacular ice river reflected in the emerald waters of Lake Louise"

"VALLEY OF THE TEN PEAKS - Ten magnificent peaks and Moraine Lake"

"EMERALD LAKE - Beautiful turquoise waters at the base of the President Range"

"LAKES, AND MOUNTAINS..."

"PEYTO LAKE - Fantastic!"

"JASPER NATIONAL PARK"

"MALIGNE LAKE - Maligne Lake, located 48km southeast of Jasper, is home to a Canadian Rockies landmark: Spirit Island"

RIO!

2006-05-12T20:35:00.000+01:00

O RIO DE JANEIRO CONTINUA LINDO... - JULY 1993

Rio de Janeiro is much more beautiful than it looks here. Anyhow, these are the only memories from a visit when there was a strange feeling of insecurity walking down the streets...

"ARRIVAL - GALEÃO - Airport, waiting for the connection to Salvador"

"BARRA DA TIJUCA - Brazil at its best..."

"ON THE WAY TO CORCOVADO - View over town (don't see much)..."

"SEPETIBA - We discovered the beauties of Sepetiba Bay in one day tour, departing from and returning to Itacuruçá Village (95 Km south Rio de Janeiro). We saw many islands - Jardim, Sororoca, Furtada, Bicho Grande, Jaguanum, Papagaio, Saracura, Bernardo, Laje Branca, Vigia... -, and jumped into water at several beaches, including Bonita Beach..."

"DEPARTURE - Two weeks later, back at Galeão Airport, now the «Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport»"

WATER!

2006-05-05T00:35:00.000+01:00

IGUAÇU WATERFALLS

BRAZIL - JULY 1993

"HOTEL TROPICAL DAS CATARATAS - The Tropical Iguaçu Falls Hotel, the only one located within the Iguaçu Falls National Park area, is a very nice and convenient hotel to visit the Falls. Installed in a colonial style building with beautiful gardens, the view from some of the rooms to the waterfalls is spectacular. Anyhow, attention to the weather; though it is Brazil, it can be really cold in July and August"

"IGUAÇU FALLS, BRAZILIAN SIDE - Most of the Falls are on the Argentinean side, so the best view is from the Brazilian side. Depending of the time of the year, one can see as many as 275 separate waterfalls cascading along the edges of 2,700 meters of cliffs - the number of Falls always depending on the actual volume of water. The biggest attraction is "Devil's Throat" (last photo), where the largest volume of water passes making a strong and impressive roar"

"IGUAZU FALLS - ARGENTINEAN SIDE - UPPER CIRCUIT - From the Upper Circuit the visitor can see the top of the Argentinean Falls, San Martin Island and part of the Brazilian side of the Falls"

"IGUAZU FALLS - ARGENTINEAN SIDE - LOWER CIRCUIT - The Lower Circuit is a 1,300 meter long loop trail that allows the visitor to see the various smaller Argentinean waterfalls"

"THE THREE BORDERS - Approximately 23 kilometers from Iguassu Falls, the waters that flow through the largest series of waterfalls on Earth flow into the Parana River, and serve as borders between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay!"

MISSING!

2006-04-30T00:28:00.000+01:00

BRASILIA, BELO HORIZONTE, CONGONHAS, OURO PRETO

BRAZIL - JULY 1993

"BRASÍLIA"

From the tour of the cities mentioned above there are basically no photos at all. The only one taken (the fault is due to the always blamed video recordings) was this one, where the daughter of a friend (a lawyer from the Central Bank of Brazil), who with her brother guided us in Brasilia, appears near one of the ponds of the city.

However, Brasília, the capital city of Brazil, famous for its urban planning, and daring architecture, is worth visiting. Not that you have to spend much time, but the city itself - the concept - deserves a look. The decision to build the new capital city - an article in all republican constitutions demanded the relocation from Rio - was taken by President Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira. The main urban planner was Lucio Costa, most of the public buildings were designed by Oscar Niemeyer, and Roberto Burle Marx was the landscape designer. The ideas of Le Corbusier strongly influenced the city plan, which, according to Costa, was supposed to be shaped as a butterfly, though everybody says looks like an airplane.

The main axis (Eixo Monumental) of the airplane has the TV Tower, with spectacular views of the city and the lake, the Kubitschek Memorial, the National Thetre, a futuristic Cathedral designed by Niemeyer, the Esplanade of the Ministries, and the Place of the Three Powers - The Palace of the President, the Congress and the Supreme Federal Court. The wings of the airplane, named North Wing and South Wing, are each roughly 7 km in length, and the avenues between the lake and the wings, have churches, schools and hospitals. All sectors are perfectly designed - the banking sector, the hotel sector, the residential areas, etc. The residential areas are made up of blocks of three or six-storey buildings, named Quadras and Super Quadras. Each block has eleven buildings, with schools, churches and commercial streets placed in between them. Green space and trees complement the location.

Two major criticisms arose, however: one is that Brasília was not designed on a pedestrian scale. Pedestrians had to walk miles to see the monuments and even to cross the roads. The other
is that poor residents were dispplaced to far away satellite towns.

Anyhow, Brasília, which was primarily built in 41 months, from 1956 to April 21, 1960, was also included in UNESCO's World Heritage List.

***

BELO HORIZONTE

Belo Horizonte (meaning Beautiful Horizon in Portuguese), the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, is the fourth largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Salvador. Belo Horizonte is an interesting city, with several important buildings - the Capela de São Francisco de Assis designed by Niemeyer, the Boa Viagem Cathedral, the Lourdes Basilica, the Museum of Arts and Workmanship, in an old train station, the Nossa Senhora de Fátima church, the old Governor's house (Liberty Palace), and the soccer Stadiun Mineirão, where Cruzeiro, Atlético Mineiro and América Mineiro play their games.

Minas Gerais is also part of the industrial Brazil, and is also known for its cuisine. Should you wish to try the cuisine «mineira» in Belo Horizonte, there is always the chance to eat at the restaurant of Dona Lucinha"

***

CONGONHAS

Congonhas is one of the three historical cities in the state of Minas Gerais, 90km south from Belo Horizonte. The only interesting feature is the remarkable basilica - the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos - and the sculptures in «pedra sabão» - soapstone - made by Antônio Francisco Lisboa, the Aleijadinho ("Little Cripple)", one of the best artists in the baroque style in the world. The sculptures of the Twelve Prophets at the Sanctuary, as well as the Passion Figures in the six Pavillions at the bottom of the stairs are considered amongst his finest work, his crowning achievement. In 1985 Congonhas was granted the title of Cultural Memorial for Mankind by UNESCO.

***

OURO PRETO

Ouro Preto, the former Vila Rica (Rich Village), was the capital of Minas Gerais from 1822 until 1897, and is one of the most remarkable baroque cities I've seen; locals, known for not being modest, say it is «the largest baroque center in the WORLD".

Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto (meaning Black Gold) was the focal point of Brazil's gold rush and keeps several well preserved examples of colonial architecture, including many extremely rich (gold leafed) churches. Some of the Aleijadinho's masterpieces - The Church of Sao Francisco de Assis and the façade of the Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo - can be found in Ouro Preto. Its museums are also very rich and with beautiful pieces.

Ouro Preto was used in 1994 for the signing of the treaty amending the Treaty of Asunción (1991), which founded the Mercosul (Southern Common Market) - a free trading zone between Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. It definitely deserves a visit!

SAMBA!

2006-04-26T08:22:00.000+01:00

FIRST TIME IN BRAZIL - JULY 1993

In 1993 we initiated a series of trips to Brazil, which unfortunately have been interrupted in the more recent years. During this first visit, we flew to Rio, Salvador, Brasília, Belo Horizonte (Congonhas and Ouro Preto), Iguaçu, and back to Rio, from where we returned home! The photos once again are very poor, and this time cannot even be considered a complement to the video recordings!

SALVADOR

The city of Sao Salvador da Baía de Todos os Santos, a beautiful and warm - both for the clima and for the people - place to go to, was founded in 1549, and became the first capital of Brazil until 1763, when the colonial administration was moved to Rio de Janeiro. It is a must-see in Brazil!

"PELOURINHO - The Historical Center, especially the Pelourinho neighborhood, with its constructions from the XVIII and XIX centuries, whose renovation had started in those times, is the heart of Sao Salvador da Baía. Bring some books from Jorge Amado, and the stay will be perfect. For our guidance in the area, we found Aloísio, a guy with the same name of the central back of F.C.Porto by that time: a perfect passport for a nice welcome"

"SAO FRANCISCO - St. Francis - is probably one of the most magnificent churches (it is said that there are 365, one for each day of the year in Salvador) in Brazil, and elsewhere. One of the greatest expressions of baroque, the retables covered with gold leaves (talha dourada) and the azulejos are wonderful!"

"ACARAJE - The cuisine is one of the reasons why you should pay a visit (or many) to Salvador, as it is an example of the preservation of the African cultural roots in Bahia. Acarajé (a cake of cooked beans fried in dendê-palm oil, with shrimps and pimenta - hot chili sauce) can be bought in the streets from the "baianas", and is worth trying, provided you have a stomach prepared for the experience. Other specialities include bobó de camarão (shrimp stew), vatapá (seasoned cassava meal mixed with fish or meat), and sarapatel (pig’s or sheep’s viscera and blood), but the «piece de resistance» is the Moqueca (fish or shrimp stew with spicy seasonings) the driving force of the local cuisine. And the best Moqueca de camarão of the world (I tell you) can be found at the Iemanjá restaurant, after the Rio Vermelho, on the way to Itapoã and the airport. Don't miss!"

"BAY OF ALL SAINTS. The Bay is immense, but the picture does not honour the view"

"CAPOEIRA - At the top of Elevador Lacerda, we were presented with an amateur capoeira demonstration. Beware of pickpockets..."

"OTHON PALACE HOTEL - Waiting for an excursion to Frades and Itaparica Islands"

FIRST RTW TRIP - RETURN HOME

2006-04-15T18:37:00.000+01:00

TAHITI - DISNEYLAND - SEPTEMBER 1992

After Sydney, we were supposed to fly to Fiji Islands. However, when we arrived to the airport, we learned that the travel agency had issued our air tickets without even bothering to inform that there was a need of a visa to get to Fiji. As Hawaii had just been smashed by the terrible hurricane Enid (Iniki, in Hawaiian), and there was no need of a visa to fly to Tahiti, we changed our plans and went to Papeete, before heading to LA and Disneyland. Fortunately, we managed to cancel hotel and cruise reservations without charges, but the distress was high! The remaining photos of this journey are far from interesting. They are here, however, only to testify the remaining stops of the first round the world trip (from Zurich, there are none)!

***

TAHITI

"INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL - We were at a nice "fare" with a fabulous view towards Moorea. But the wind, the sea - too rough for a lagoon -, and the rain moved us to the main building"

***

DISNEYLAND

"BREAKFAST at the Disneyland Hotel, with Disney characters"

"ENTERING DISNEYLAND - What an excitement"

"THREE DAYS, FOUR NIGHTS strolling around. Much of a surprise, even for returning adults"