“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson The following day, the 16th of November 2018, took us to the opposite side of the Danube River, the PEST side of Budapest. From our hotel we crossed the Széchenyi Chain Bridge to get to the other side….
Tag: buildings
A day in BUDApest
“Europe’s most underrated big city, Budapest can be as challenging as it is enchanting.” – Rick Steves TRAVEL DIARY: BUDAPEST 1 It was a wonderful morning in November of 2018 and this was the view from the hotel where we stayed. Budapest, Hungary’s capital, is divided into two parts by the River Danube. The 19th-century…
Sightseeing in Vienna
“Adventure is allowing the unexpected to happen to you. Exploration is experiencing what you have not experienced before.” – Richard Aldington It was the 13th of November 2018 and it was foggy, cold and raining when we went for our first breakfast in Vienna. Beautiful and calming scenery from the Hilton Vienna Danube Waterfront First…
Day 3 in Prague
“In Rome, the statues. In Paris, the paintings. And in Prague the buildings suggest that pleasure can be an education.” – Caleb Crain It was hard on my feet yesterday but I am guessing that this day will be a better one. Our activity for today is a Sightseeing guided walk plus a few hours…
Doors in Prague
‘The most unspoiled baroque city in Europe.’ – Christopher Booker Arched doorway, heavy wooden doors and walkways in Prague Castle, Petrin Hill and surrounds. These are old historic landmarks in Prague, Czech Republic. For Dan’s Thursday Doors Challenge
Windows on Buildings (on the way home)
Hubby and I went to the city yesterday and took these photos for this week’s challenge while we were on our way home. For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge and for Ludwig’s Monday Windows
Stopover in London
“When exploring London, you will come across lots of excitement by chance, so try to take everything in rather than just rushing around to all of the major tourist haunts.” – Richard Branson 2018 was the last time we left Melbourne to go overseas because plans were stopped by “you know what”. Took this Royal Brunei flight…
Edinburgh to Glasgow and back
A visit to a museum is a search for beauty, truth, and meaning in our lives. Go to museums as often as you can.” — Maira Kalman This was our last day in Scotland and we spent it mostly on walking and looking at some museums and public art and a castle. But because of…
Tulloch Castle: Is it really haunted?
“Whenever I wander, wherever I rove, the hills of the Highlands forever I love.” – Robert Burns It was nearly sunset when we reached our destination. This was the view from the parking lot. My cousins took us to the Tulloch Castle and this was where we stayed the night. Tulloch Castle is a 12th…
All aboard…
“I name this ship Britannia. I wish success to her and all who sail on her.” – HM the Queen Our 23 days of European tour was all over but our travelling still continues. Next stop was Edinburgh and this time I am sure won’t be as hectic because we were staying with my cousin,…
Musee du Louvre
“My favourite thing to do is go where I’ve never been.” – Anonymous It was a free day because we didn’t go with the optional excursion. We decided to go to Musee du Louvre for our last day in Paris. The Musee du Louvre or just plain the Louvre is one of Paris’ most iconic…
Around Paris
With an early morning wake up call, we got ready for a city tour aboard the Cosmos tourist bus Still some awesome view from inside the coach window around the main city. Next, we went down for a guided city walk On the left hand side is the Palais de Justice, a beautiful building, which…
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles is perhaps the most opulent and beautiful palace in Europe. This was once home to kings and queens of France. It is one of the most important places in France and is now recognised as a world heritage site by UNESCO. This is the golden entry gate to The Palace of…
A Day in Paris
“Paris is always a good idea.” – unknown Aside from Disneyland, Paris is the only other place that was in my bucketlist when I was a lot younger. I thought to myself that when I find a boy, Paris is the place to be, because it is the City of Love and Romance. But several…
Poitiers
“A breeze, a forgotten summer, a smile, all can fit into a storefront window.” – Dejan Stojanovic The city of Poitiers is a French city located west of France. We passed this city on our way to Paris. Here are some narrow and almost empty streets with old houses when we ventured further from the…
The doors and Seats of Château d’Amboise
A place of residence for French kings from the 15th to the 19th centuries and is linked to the history of France. These are some of the outdoor benches and doors that can be found in the Chateau d’Amboise in France. Inside the castle you can find countless doors, hallways, staircases all leading up to rooms…
Amboise
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci Amboise is a town in central France’s Loire Valley. It’s known for the Château d’Amboise, the grand 15th-century residence of King Charles VIII featuring Leonardo da Vinci’s tomb, as well as royal chambers, gardens and underground passageways, old towns, villages and views of the river. Here…
Bordeaux
From Bilbao we were off to Bordeaux. Bordeaux is a small port city in southwest France. It is not the cheapest city but it is still worth to visit, as it is said to be France’s most elegant city. This was the view when our coach was just approaching this glamorous city in France. For…
Bilbao and its Public Art
“The ‘EARTH’ without ‘ART’ is just ‘EH’ – unknown Aside from this beautiful building, the centre of Bilbao is full of amazing public art. And this is what I want to feature this week for Photographing Public Art Challenge – PPAC. Here are the many architecture, sculptures, statues and murals of Bilbao, Spain. Bilbao is…
Public Art in toledo
“I do not insist,” answered Don Quixote, “that this is a full adventure, but it is the beginning of one, for this is the way adventures begin.” – Miguel de Cervantes This is the third and last of my series about Toledo. That shows how much you can see and do in this old and…
Toledo in Spain
“Live life with no excuses, travel with no regret”– Oscar Wilde Toledo is one of the oldest and most unique cities in Spain and is the former Spanish capital before Madrid. It stands beautifully high up on a hill above the Tagus River and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. From the Mirador del Valle, you…
Madrid
“Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.” – unknown The city of Madrid is a captivating city. Passing through the countryside and even before reaching the main country, we already had a glimpse of how artistic this country was gonna be by seeing all…
Windows of Madrid
Madrid is an exquisite city and can be seen in its grand buildings and of course in its windows, which is the topic of this challenge. The Palacio de Cibeles, formerly the Palacio de Comunicaciones until 2011, is a palace located on the Plaza de Cibeles. What an amazing architecture. El Palacio Real or Madrid’s…
Barcelona’s Public Art
“Barcelona is Gaudí’s” –Kamand Kojouri Our second day in Barcelona started with a city tour. The local tour guide took us to the different iconic architecture which were mostly the Catalan Gothic style and the Modernisme. This second one was a cultural movement at the end of the 19th century protagonized by Antoni Gaudi. One…
Art in Barcelona
We crossed spacious streets, with building resembling palaces, in La Rambla promenade ; the shops were well illuminated and there was movement and life… I did not decide to go to sleep, even though I wished to, so I could rise early and contemplate, in daylight, this city, unknown to me: Barcelona, capital of Catalonia….
Partly closed Shutters
Like a window had been thrown open inside my head and my heart, where there had been closed shutters before. — Malorie Blackman This is the fourth and last of my series about Carcassonne. This is also for Ludwig’s Monday Windows Challenge. Here we saw quite a number of old houses…some with widely opened windows and…
Main Boulevard – Public Art in Carcassonne
On the La Bastide Saint-Louis or the lower town of Carcassonne, we immediately noticed some artistic treasures. Here are some sculptures scattered around the main boulevard, a testament of modern influence to the city. This Square is known as the Place Gambetta. For Photographing Public Art Challenge Sculpture Saturday and 6WS The Place Gambetta is…
La Cite de Carcassonne
La Cité in Carcassonne, located in southern France, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the whole country. Millions of visitors come every year to this huge fortified city on a hilltop. From afar, this medieval fort looks like something out of a children’s story book. This castle was decided to be preserved…
Through the Doors of Avignon!
“He who is outside his door has the hardest part of his journey behind him.” – Dutch proverb ____________________ I am sharing this as part of Dan’s Thursday Doors Challenge ____________________ The Palais des Papes or the Palace of the Popes is the most important building built during the Gothic period. I am featuring the…