Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Venezia

The "Ponte Chiodo" (Nail Bridge) in Cannaregio is unique as it is the only bridge in Venice that has no parapet.



















Piazza San Marco, Venice. It is one of the few great urban spaces in Europe where human voices prevail over the sounds of motorized traffic.



Cruising on Canal Grande, Venice

Buon Natale da Venezia! Ponte di Rialto is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal. It is the oldest bridge across the canal, and was the dividing line for the districts of San Marco and San Polo.


















Craftsmanship At Its Best: Gondolas are handmade using 8 different types of wood (fir, oak, cherry, walnut, elm, mahogany, larch and lime) and composed of 280 pieces.


















United Colors of Burano. Two stories are attributed to how the city obtained its name: One is that it was initially founded by the Buriana family, and another is that the first settlers of Burano came from the small island of Buranello.

















The Master of Murano needs only 4 minutes...



















...to make a perfect glass horse.





















Christmas spirit in a Venetian cloister. Hotel Abbazia has transformed the ancient refectory of the Discalced Carmelite Brothers into a cozy lounge area.

















Smoggy Sunday on Canal Grande. It's 3,800 m long, 30–90 m wide, with an average depth of five meters.



Thursday, December 20, 2012

Firenze

Holy night, silent night at the Uffizi Gallery. The Uffizi was designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de'Medici to house the Granducal Magistratures of Tuscany.
(A few more words about Giorgio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Vasari)

Rudolf is on strike.






An optical illusion at Piazza del Duomo, Florence. Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral is the fourth church of Europe by size, its length is 153 m and its height is 116 m.


The Laurentian Library (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana) by Michelangelo is accessed from the side of the church in the cloisters.

Ponte Vecchio by night. Butchers initially occupied the shops of the bridge; the present tenants are jewellers, art dealers and souvenir sellers.

Officina di Santa Maria Novella.

Last minute Christmas shopping.


Legend has it that good luck will come to those who place a coin on the muzzle of Florence's wild-boar "Porcellino" and let it fall into the underlying grate.




Something red, hot and Italian for Xmas:
Bruschetta http://bit.ly/MCKzbD


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Barcelona

"Barcelona es mucho más!" True, so true. Viva la Catalunya!

Architecturally Antoni Gaudí's Casa Milà (or La Pedrera) is an innovative work for its steel structure and curtain walls – the façade is self-supporting. Other innovative elements were the construction of underground car parking and separate lifts and stairs for the owners and their servants.


On the rooftop there are six skylights/staircase exits (four of which were covered with broken pottery and some that ended in a double cross typical of Gaudí) and twenty-eight chimneys in several groupings, twisted so that the smoke came out better.



The Basilica of the Sagrada Família was the inspiration of a Catalan bookseller, Josep Maria Bocabella. After a visit to the Vatican in 1872, Bocabella returned from Italy with the intention of building a church inspired by the one at Loreto. Antoni Gaudí began work on the project in 1883.





Lunch at Placa de Santa Maria.


The European Museum of Modern Art, MEAM, exhibits the finest Contemporary Figurative Art. The purpose of MEAM  is to promote and diffuse Figurative Art of the 20th and 21st Centuries.




Loewe is known around the world as being one of the very best when it comes to luxury leather goods. In 1872 Enrique Roessberg Loewe, a German craftsman specialized in leather working, arrived in Spain and decided to join forces with the leather workshop owners and establish the brand.



Freixenet headquarters in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia.



"Fine, delicate aromas, combining tones of green apple and pear, with light resonances of Mediterranean fruits – peach, melon and pineapple, over a base of citrus, all beautifully balanced by light toasty aromas from bottle maturation." Sip with your pinkie pointing up :)


Tablao Flamenco Cordobes was founded in 1970 and it still keeps entertaining night people at Rambla.


Restaurant Montserrat, a perfect place for a panorama lunch. Try Aromes de Montserrat for digestive - it's a cure for everything.


Besides the magnificient views Montserrat is also the home of Black Virgin.

Foodie heaven on earth: Tickets Barcelona.

La vida tapa. Una forma de entender la vida.



Vive una experiencia gastronómica y visual: 41 snacks y fingerfoods, cocteles y bebidas.

The famous Explosive OliveS at Tickets Bar in Barcelona.

Queso Manchego air bags designed by the top chefs Albert and Ferran Adria.