Tagged With "Barcelona-Vienna-Beijing"
Comment
Re: Laughter Set in Stone: Fun with Statues
Well, here's another I would have included in the original post—except I didn't remember I had it! Unintentionally ironic or not...it speaks up for a local guy in an unusual way!
Comment
Re: Barcelona's "Other Architect"
Fascinating piece, Pheymont! I learned a lot. The architecture is a feast for the eyes. Thanks for sharing.
Comment
Re: Barcelona's "Other Architect"
Thanks for the excellent info!Great Photos too!I havent been to Barcelona in a number of years so I guess it's time to return.
Comment
Re: Laughter Set in Stone: Fun with Statues
That's a fun piece, PHeymont! I, too, have noticed larger numbers of whimsical statues. The city this struck me in the most was Bratislava, in Slovakia. For example, here's their "Men at Work" And here's one that's a tribute to shutterbugs like you and me.
Comment
Re: Laughter Set in Stone: Fun with Statues
Thanks! those are great...we need a bit more humor in everyday life!
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Dec. 22, 2013: Fantastic Skylight in Barcelona
Thanks for the photo Pheymont. I adore ornate ceilings. Something from the past you don't get repeated today. This is in the Cunard Building in Liverpool. Built in 1914. Before it moved its HQ to New York in the 60's.
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Dec. 22, 2013: Fantastic Skylight in Barcelona
That's gorgeous! By coincidence, I was in Cunard's New York booking hall from about the same period last week...it is now a bank. I will try to find a picture.
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Dec. 22, 2013: Fantastic Skylight in Barcelona
Well, turns out to be a moment of mis-identification. The building I was in, 1 Broadway, had been the offices of United States Lines; Cunard was up the street at 25 Broadway. I haven't a picture yet for the booking hall-turned-bank, but here are two shots of Cunard's Great Hall, which is now a postal facility.
Comment
Re: Paris-Barcelona Now Linked by High-Speed Train
Great thing about Europe, especially for travelers, are the many options they have for getting around. Train is often the best option for those going from the heart of one city to the heart of another. I'm glad to her this route is now open to people.
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Feb. 21, 2015: Fitness Reminder
Was there another in Spanish (and French, Italian, German...) or are only English speakers perceived to need reminding?
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Feb. 21, 2015: Fitness Reminder
Perhaps further down the beach. Or perhaps only we were thought to be over-concerned enough about fitness to get the joke.
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, June 24, 2014: Beijing Olympic Park
DrY, I see you've taken several young members of the Canadian Olympic team to Beijing. Their athletic potential is apparent!
Comment
Re: Marveling at La Sagrada Familia
Thank you Karina. You gave me me another reason to get back to Barcelona. Great job capturing the splendor of the place!
Comment
Re: Marveling at La Sagrada Familia
I've taken a lot of pictures outside Sagrada Familia and a few inside, but none of my inside pictures capture the light, space and shapes as these do—great! I'm not Gaudi's biggest fan (I've confessed that elsewhere here), but even if he had nothing but this place to his credit, he'd have earned that title: Genius.
Comment
Re: Marveling at La Sagrada Familia
Thanks for sharing this experience, Karina! Your photos of the interior are amazing. I've yet to visit Barcelona but it's definitely moved far up my list.
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, June 24, 2014: Beijing Olympic Park
Ha Ha DrFumblefinger, Yep, we're working on it .
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, June 24, 2014: Beijing Olympic Park
Your son has the "shot put pose" down perfectly!
Comment
Re: On the Beach: A sculptural homage to La Barceloneta (Where Gumbo Was #34)
I love Barceloneta, and I do believe I emailed the correct answer. On to #35.
Comment
Re: On the Beach: A sculptural homage to La Barceloneta (Where Gumbo Was #34)
Jonathan L did indeed identify the location...the e-mail was overlooked while writing the report!
Comment
Re: Spain's booming tourism hits record numbers
Most countries would envy Spain this particular problem. Given how week other aspects of their economy are, I can't see the government putting a stop on this, despite the actions of some mayors. I'd suggest they look at diverting tourists to less traveled parts of the country. Spain is a large place and there are lots of places tourists hardly ever go.
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Aug. 30, 2015: Just don't go...
I believe what it means is the end of a traffic-free pedestrian zone.
Comment
Re: Strictly for the Birds...
While searching for some other photos, I came across these two that might have joined the birds above. One is a scene of well-mannered pigeons on a rail at the Musee Rodin in Paris, perhaps waiting their turn to annoy diners in the garden cafe; the other is yet another of those ironic meetings of statue-fied dignity with feathered pit stop...
Comment
Re: The newest, biggest, bestest airport: Aren't they all?
I often find that better facilities and more relaxing just mean they've added a shopping mall and an entertainment area to extract more money between gates. So I now have further to walk - and drag my carry-on to get to the gate. Maybe developers see us customers as "Lambs to the slaughter" Squeeze us - until our pockets run dry. I'd be happy if all those moving walkways worked. The cartoon Jetsons never had a problem with them in the 60s. Before they were even invented I think ! Vey...
Comment
Re: The newest, biggest, bestest airport: Aren't they all?
I confess to a preference for developing world airports - small, simple, friendly places, like the towns they get us to when we choose to fly at all. I realize that I'll likely need to go through one or 2 of these urban behemoths to get to them, and then I'm reminded I'm on the right track again when baggage claim is a few steps into the building and it's a couple of guys who just pushed a cart to an opening in the wall and I can still see the plane.
Comment
Re: The newest, biggest, bestest airport: Aren't they all?
It's a nicely researched and well-written piece, PHeymont. Thanks. I'm with PortMoresby, though. Given a choice, I'd rather travel to a smaller airport, and avoid these mega-hubs if at all possible. I know at some level you agree with this (based on some of your past comments on Heathrow for example).
Comment
Re: The newest, biggest, bestest airport: Aren't they all?
Far from Third World except In the minds of Gov. Cuomo and Joe Biden, but Laguardia is my favorite NY airport precisely because it's so much smaller.
Comment
Re: 'Uncomfortable memory' tour faces Barcelona slave history
It is good that a people face up to and learn from the past. We must learn from the lessons of history, but I do hope this will not become a "self-flagellation" exercise. At the end of the 18th century, everyone had slaves. Every people, every race, every culture, every country participated in the buying, selling and owning of other people. It was the norm. Fortunately, with a few rare exceptions, modern society has become enlightened and the rights of individuals is now a central focus of...
Comment
Re: 'Uncomfortable memory' tour faces Barcelona slave history
'Presentism' is always a danger for historians, but in this case, there's a real issue of interest based on the late-in-the-day entry into slave-owning by the later Catalan grandees; they went into it when all European countries had already abolished it, and when it had been abolished in many colonial areas. Sadly, not Cuba, Brazil, or, at the beginning of that period, the United States. One of the reasons it's important to consider these past things is because they do enter into the...
Comment
Re: 'Uncomfortable memory' tour faces Barcelona slave history
Slavery is just part of a long cruel history. Wherever there is chance to make money, people of any race or creed will gladly join in. Even the African warlords who sold the "prisoners" to the slave ships played their parts in this piece of history. Even today fortunes are made by sending young men to die in the name of "Defence". Money has no morals.
Comment
Re: Catalunya: What to Know Before You Go
Great piece! Thanks for sharing why the Catalan language is so important. I'll make sure to learn a few words before my next trip.
Comment
Re: Catalunya: What to Know Before You Go
How timely! I was just in Catalunya this past week on a trip to visit PortAventura World and Tarragona. I loved experiencing the local culture - and previous to my trip I had no idea that Spain wasn't more homogeneous.
Comment
Re: Catalunya: What to Know Before You Go
Speak about timely -- I leave for Barcelona next weekend! Thanks for the great post, Olivia.
Comment
Re: Catalunya: What to Know Before You Go
Barcelona's one of my favorite destinations...thanks not only for taking me back, but for helping me see better part of what attracts me!
Comment
Re: Catalunya: What to Know Before You Go
Hey, really beautiful pix! Love to hear more about food and all!
Comment
Re: Vienna's Naschmarkt: 500 years of food
A wonderful display of fruit and vegetables Paul. No - never too many photos. I could be there myself ! Really enjoyed that excursion into epicurean delights. Not so sure about some of those prices, but they certainly looked fresh as could be. I'm just going back for another look - I'm sure I could smell the Pataks Curry ! The Stinkefrucht "Dorien" comes from Singapore as your photo says. But if you take it on public transport there - you will be pushed off the bus !. You may see it hanging...
Comment
Re: Vienna's Naschmarkt: 500 years of food
It is a great market. I've only visited it once, and it's enormous and hard to get your head around, although there is a fair bit of repetition among the stalls. There are several excellent restaurants at the market. I've forgotten the name of the place, but there was a southeastern Asian restaurant that we ate at which provided us with one of the best meals we ate in Vienna, a city known for its great food. One of the Austrians at a table beside us began a conversation and told us he...
Comment
Re: The Forbidden City - Beijing China
Interesting your comparison to Versailles, on size (which omits the gardens, of course). The comparison that came to my mind was Topkapi, in Istanbul, where a series of courtyards encloses a huge space, with increasingly restricted access to each. In the first courtyard there were troops, palace services and more; the second was restricted to government officials and prominent visitors, in the third only the highest officials of the Sultan and in the last, only the family and its servants.
Comment
Re: The Forbidden City - Beijing China
That's a fascinating visit, Jonathan, thanks for sharing it. I can easily see where you'd have wanted a full day to explore the amazing architecture of the place -- and everything else!
Reply
Re: Is a stopover in Iceland worthwhile
A lot of questions! Let me try a few answers... Absolutely I'd say stop in Iceland. Every place in the world is unique, but Iceland is more so, geographically, in climate, and in history. Half a week (or even a week) won't do more than scratch the surface, but you'll be able to visit incredible waterfalls, climb on glaciers, see evidence of recent volcanic activity, and realize that under it all is a huge pool of thermally heated water that provides over 70% of the nation's energy. If that...
Reply
Re: Is a stopover in Iceland worthwhile
Well, I said so much about Iceland, I decided to leave the rest for another post. Getting from Barcelona (or Madrid) to Lisbon: the only practical way is to fly. Train takes too long for this one, and costs more! From Barcelona to Lisbon, flights on Vueling, Iberia, TAP, etc. run from $35 one-way to about $80 before you hit the high-priced ones. I just looked in May; Vueling and Iberia have $68 in the morning and $35 at 7:30 pm. Madrid-Lisbon, there's a $40 mid-day flight, but most other...
Reply
Re: Is a stopover in Iceland worthwhile
PHeymont has given you some excellent advice, Travel Luver. By all means, spend some time in Iceland. If you can fit it into your trip, 4 days would be my minimum stay here. As Paul pointed out so well, Iceland is unique. It is also very sparsely populated, with only 300,000 people on the island and two thirds of those living in Reykjavik. And it is a newly form volcanic land with tons of glaciers, waterfalls, and geothermal events. So by all means, see it. When you land at Keflavik airport...
Reply
Re: Is a stopover in Iceland worthwhile
Hey, I don't know if anyone mentioned it, but no matter how cold it is, they keep the outdoor pools open in Iceland with underground hot water. We went to the Blue Lagoon in February, and it was funny...usually people get OUT of a pool because they are getting cold, but there we stayed IN to keep warm!
Reply
Re: Is a stopover in Iceland worthwhile
Hot springs are to die for. You always see pictures of the Blue Lagoon. Are there other places to go for a warm swim in Iceland ?
Reply
Re: Is a stopover in Iceland worthwhile
Originally Posted by voyager: Hot springs are to die for. You always see pictures of the Blue Lagoon. Are there other places to go for a warm swim in Iceland ? There are lots of places to go for geothermal swims in Iceland, Voyager. Almost every small city and town has a public geothermal pool. The most famous is the Blue Lagoon, but it's also quite pricy, especially if you go for a family. This website gives you some idea of all the pools you can access in Iceland. Here's that link.
Reply
Re: Is a stopover in Iceland worthwhile
I never knew that there are public geothermal pools all over Iceland. No one has mentioned this before. This is terrific to know. thanks
Reply
Re: Is a stopover in Iceland worthwhile
Well, thanks everyone. You've been great and this has all been very helpful. So yes, I will go to Iceland for 4 days. I will base myself at a hostel in Reykjavik (all I can afford), and I'll do 2 day trip tours, still researching which ones but those recommended look great. And I love hot springs, so I plan to soak the evenings away after enjoying the "youth scene" over there. I need to check out a good Icelandic beer. Any recommendations. And I will visit Iceland at the of my trip, rather...
Reply
Re: Is a stopover in Iceland worthwhile
You're most welcome, Travel Luver! Give the VIKING beer a try -- it's pretty good. And made with that great Icelandic water that has a unique taste (and pleasant at that). Also be sure to try their Coca Cola, made with Icelandic water and sugar (not corn syrup as in North America) -- definitely a better product.
Reply
Re: Is a stopover in Iceland worthwhile
Speaking of good things to eat, stop in a local store for some skyr--that's Icelandic yogurt made from skimmed milk. Slightly tart and wholly delicious.