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THE DIVA OF THE DANUBE
2008-01-12 17:31:00
STROLLING IN PEST - APRIL 2006After showing views from the Castle and the hills in Buda, as well as of the water of the Danube , this post pays homage to some beautiful buildings in Pest."THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, the first museum of Hungary , was founded by Count Ferenc Széchenyi in 1802. The neoclassical building was designed by Mihály Polláck, took ten years to be built and opened in 1847 as the fourth largest museum in Europe. Rafael Monti prepared the sculptures of the tympanum, including a female personification of Pannonia, enthroned holding laurel wreaths in her hands. Today, the main exhibitions of the Museum focus on the history of Hungary from the Palaeolithic era to the present times""DEAK FERENC TER - Further to some quite interesting buildings, the place hosts the Meridien Hotel and three stations on the M1, M2, and M3 lines of the Budapest Metro""SAINT STEPHEN'S BASILICA is Hungary?s largest church and the second highest in ecclesiastical ranking, after the Esztergom Basil...
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FROM BUDA TO PEST
2008-01-05 01:51:00
BUDAPEST - APRIL 2006THIS IS THE 150th POST ON BLOGTROTTER!Coming down from Gellert Hill, we got to the Gellert Baths, still in Buda . Then we crossed Independence Bridge and arrived at Fövám Tér, already in Pest !"HOTEL GELLERT - This jewel of Art Nouveau, located at the foot of Gellert Hill on the right bank of the River Danube, was erected between 1916 and 1918 and opened to the public on September 24th, 1918""GELLERT BATHS - Next to the Gellert hotel one can find the world famous Gellert Baths""INSIDE GELLERT BATHS - The Hall, the Pool and the first floor""THE INDEPENDENCE BRIDGE (333.6 m long and 20.1 m wide) was built between 1894 and 1896 for the millennium celebrations. It was then called Franz Joseph Bridge and it was the king himself who, at the inauguration ceremony, hammered the last silver nail into the bridge. The bridge was destroyed in 1945, as the Nazis left Budapest . But in 1946 it was rebuilt again in the same style with the central towers decorated with Hungary 's ...

STROLLING IN BUDA
2007-12-31 12:22:00
BUDAPEST - APRIL 2006***CASTLE HILLHaving left the Fishermen's Bastion, we started a stroll in the old streets of the Castle Hill, namely Fortuna - up to the Vienna Gate - Országház and Uri, before heading to Café Miró for a break!"MATTHIAS CHURCH - The West façade of Matthias Church is amazing: starting with the turreted Bela Tower on the left, we have a huge Gothic Rosette in the middle part to finish with the impressive Matthias Bell Tower to the south""TOWER BELL -This is a ruin of the Dominican Church of S. Nicholas and is integrated in the Hilton Hotel" "THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES of Hungary celebrated the 250th anniversary of its foundation in 2006. The majolica tile roof of the main building at Becsi kapu ter looked similar to St. Stephens Cathedral in Vienna""MARIA MAGDOLNA TOWER is the only that remains from the 13th century church of the former Buda garrison, destroyed in World War II. It was restored later (1997) and is open to the public as a lookout tower""TELEPHONE MUSEUM...
More About: Budapest

AN DER SCHÖNEN BLAUEN DONAU
2007-12-29 01:58:00
THE DANUBE WAS HIGH IN BUDAPEST - APRIL 2006There are two places in Budapest I particularly love: the Parliament Building (Országház) and the Fishermen's Bastion (Halászbástya)! Here we have some pictures of either of them, and also photos from a very high Danube! In fact, in April 2006, BBC online was writing that «Hundreds of homes in Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania have been flooded as the Danube, swollen by heavy rain and snow melt, rises to record levels. A state of emergency has been declared in some areas as the authorities try to shore up defences and move out people threatened by the rising water». In Budapest the Danube was also quite high, but the city escaped major floods...***DANUBE AND THE PARLIAMENT"THROUGH THE ARCHES - The Parliament building seen from the Fishermen's Bastion. An impressive building constructed for the millennium celebrations of 1896 but completed only in 1902""THE PARLIAMENT, with its white neo-gothic turrets, stretches for 250 metres along the Danub...
More About: Hungary , Donau

SUNNY BUDAPEST
2007-12-24 01:01:00
OLD BUDA AND CASTLE - APRIL 2006Just before Easter 2006, we profited from the opportunity of having some friends living in Budapest and decided to visit them. The photo result is not outstanding (in many places, like the Buda Hills for example, I was still using the video camera), but anyhow here are some pictures from the trip (to see some outstanding pictures of Budapest, check the blogs from Zsolt and Isadora)! My first set was taken in Óbuda and at the Buda Castle. ***ÓBUDA (OLD BUDA)Óbuda is a treasure of well-preserved remains since the Roman period to Baroque mansions. This part of town was united with Buda and Pest in 1873 to form today's Budapest. "FÖ TER (MAIN SQUARE) in Obuda is a secluded square from the 17th-18th centuries. The town hall is a beautiful building constructed in the 18th century""MUSEUM - Óbuda is home to several museums, including The Lajos Kassak, The Óbuda and The Victor Vasarely""UMBRELLAS - At Szentlélek tér there is a group of sculptures by Imre Var...
More About: Hungary , Sunny

AMSTERDAM'S BUILDINGS
2007-12-18 01:49:00
GOODBYE AMSTERDAM - FEBRUARY 2006This is the last post from the February 2006 visit to Amsterdam , and after the Water I'll show some Buildings . This also represents that my delay in posting is now reduced to 21 months "only"..."THE ROYAL THEATRE CARRÉ got its name from the French/German Carré family of riders and circus' artists. The family Carré performed in the Netherlands for the first time in September 1863 and the patriarch - Oscar Carré - performed for the last time in his theatre on the 12th of April 1909 before going on tour and dying on June 29, 1911, in Copenhagen. After many vicissitudes, the city council bought the theatre on the 1st of January 1977 and Carré became a real theatre for Amsterdam, open nowadays 365 days a year" "TYPICAL BUILDING at Oudezijds Voorburgwaal""OUDE KERK - The old church has almost as many chapels as there have been building phases: the earliest building phase seems to have started at the turn of the 13th and 14th century; around 1380 the nor...

AMSTERDAM BY THE WATER
2007-12-09 19:10:00
AROUND THE CANALS - FEBRUARY 2006Some name Amsterdam "The Venice of the North". I think it?s a bit unjust, as Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and does have its own personality, without needing the reference to Venice to affirm its own credentials. Amsterdam?s canals, lined by beautiful mansions and old trees, divide the city into ninety small islands, linked together by more than a thousands bridges. This post is dedicated to a stroll around Amsterdam's canals!"SINGELGRACHT, near the Rijksmuseum ? The Singelgracht became the outer limit of the city of Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th Century. The glass-topped barges offer one-hour canal tours around town""SINGELGRACHT ? American Hotel and Holland Casino International""SINGELGRACHT - Hard Rock Café; of course, there is one in Amsterdam! By the water""AMSTEL - According to Wikipedia, Amsterdam took its name from the Amstel river. The city developed out of a small fishing village called «Amstel...
More About: Water , Netherlands

MUSEUMS IN AMSTERDAM
2007-12-04 12:41:00
A CULTURAL WALK - FEBRUARY 2006In February 2006, the Van Gogh Museum decided to show a comparative exhibition of paintings from Rembrandt and Caravaggio. Furthermore, the Rijksmuseum was undergoing renovation works, and thus was showing 400 of its masterpieces concentrated in a small space. So, it seemed a nice occasion to get back to Amsterdam and that's what I did! Here, we may see the pictures of a cultural stroll through town!"CONCERTGEBOUW - In 1881 plans started to be made to provide Amsterdam with a proper concert hall worthy of the name. On 11 April 1888, almost two years after the building itself was completed; the grand opening took place at this wonder of neoclassical architecture. Bernard Haitink, who leaded the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from 1961 through 1988, once described the Concertgebouw as the best instrument in the orchestra!""THE VAN GOGH MUSEUM, with its two buildings (the main designed by Gerrit Rietveld and opened in 1973, and the Exhibition Wing by Kish...
More About: Museums , Holland

AMSTERDAM BY NIGHT
2007-12-01 09:25:00
LEIDSEPLEIN TO REMBRANTSPLEIN - FEBRUARY 2006Sorry, no Red-light District photos?"THE AMERICAN HOTEL, in Leidseplein and at walking distance from the Rijksmuseum, the van Gogh Museum and the Vondel Park, is listed since 1977 as an Art Nouveau monument. The hotel seems to have been first designed by Steinigeweg, a Dutch architect who lived in the United States and returned to the Netherlands with plans for his hotel in the «American style». Built around 1880, was demolished in 1900, rebuilt in 1902, extended in 1927-1929 and re-extended in 1954""HOTEL ROOM""THE CAFÉ AMERICAIN has been part of the American Hotel since 1902. In 1993, it was decided to restore the Café. It re-opened on September 1st, 1993, displaying «the most beautiful reading table in the Netherlands», dating from 1929. On the walls we could see original 1930 oil paintings from Shakespeare?s play «A Midsummer Night ?s Dream». In August 2005 the Café was again renovated and completely brought back to its original Art-De...
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GOODBYE PARIS, WITH JAZZ
2007-11-27 01:02:00
FOR THE TIME BEING... - FEBRUARY 2006From Parc Monceau to Grand Cafe des Capucines - 10:30 a.m. through 2:30 a.m.!"PARC MONCEAU is one of the most attractive parks in Paris , and it became a favourite resting place for those looking to get away from the city bustle. It was started by the Duke of Chartres (later Duke of Orleans), who purchased some land in 1769 to build a garden. The Duke hired Louis Carmontelle to design the gardens in an English style. Carmontelle added sculpture of famous Frenchmen as well as a windmill, a pyramid, and some Corinthian pillars to the already existing pavilion that had been built in the centre. When the Duke was executed in 1793, the garden reverted to public ownership. It was sold to the city of Paris in 1860 and opened in 1861 by Napoleon III""CERNUSCHI MUSEUM - Few of the people who visit the Parc Monceau realize that a stylish white stone mansion at the edge of the park, built in the 1870s, houses one of the most remarkable collections of ancient...
More About: Jazz , France , Goodbye

PARIS ITINERARIES III
2007-11-20 00:40:00
FROM BERCY TO THE LOUVRE - FEBRUARY 2006AFTERNOON AND NIGHT!"RUE CREMIEUX - The Street, opened in 1865, was named Millaud Avenue until 1897. Its current name comes from Isaac Moïse Crémieux, better known as Adolphe Crémieux, a French statesman, lawyer and politician, author of the 1870 Decret Crémieux, which secured French citizenship for the Jews in French-ruled Algeria. Quite close to the Gare de Lyon, Crémieux is a pedestrian street, paved since 1993, and bordered with two floor houses with coloured façades""GARE DE LYON - The railway station was built initially in 1852 and reconstructed for the World Exposition of 1900 It shows a clock tower, similar to the one of the London Houses of Parliament, home to the Big Ben. But the best treat (further to the TGV) is the Le Train Bleu restaurant, a fabulous setting (classified historic monument) for an acceptable meal""BERCY - In 1981, François Mitterrand decided to create a new building for the Ministry of Finance and for the successor...
More About: France , Paris

PARIS ITINERARIES - II
2007-11-15 01:05:00
AROUND CANAL ST. MARTIN AND THE MARAIS - FEBRUARY 2006Hi everybody! Sorry for having been a bit out of the blogosphere these days. Too much work and a conference to prepare; this weekend in Greece. I'll be back next Sunday evening, and will get back to your blogs next week, hopefully. Meanwhile, I'll leave you in Paris , and hope that you enjoy. Thanks for your visits and comments!"THE PLACE DE LA BASTILLE, where the Bastille prison stood until July 14, 1789. The July Column, which commemorates the 1830 July Revolution stands at its centre. Carlos Ott's Bastille Opera (open 1989) is seen behind the column""SISLEY - In 1870, Alfred Sisley (1839?1899), an English Impressionist born in France , painted this «Vue du Canal St. Martin à Paris»""CANAL ST. MARTIN - Napoleon ordered in 1802 the digging of an artificial waterway to supply Paris with water. The Canal St. Martin was opened in 1825. It is 4.5km long and has nine locks for a level difference of 25m. Here we see one of the locks ...

PARIS ITINERARIES - I
2007-11-08 01:31:00
FROM THE GRAND HOTEL TO THE EIFFEL TOWER - FEBRUARY 2006With this post, my delay in posting on Blogtrotter runs the risk of being reduced to only 21 months... Most of the pictures are similar to others taken previously in the seventies and eighties, the nineties and already in the 21st century!"THE GRAND HOTEL is a great place to stay and after the renovation works is much more comfortable. Furthermore, breakfast is taken at the Cafe de la Paix...""PLACE DE L?OPERA - Always busy, anytime of the day...""THE OPERA DE PARIS, the most important symbol of the Second Empire baroque style, was designed by Charles Garnier for Emperor Napoleon III. Its construction lasted from 1862 through 1875, partly because an underground lake was then discovered. It was the hiding place of the «Phantom of the Opera» in Paul Leroux's famous play, and still exists under the building""AU GAGNE PETIT - An old shopping, before the shopping malls!" "HOTEL DU LOUVRE - Another nice place to stay, close to the L...
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GOODBYE SALAMANCA
2007-11-03 02:38:00
SALAMANCA IN THE MORNING - JANUARY 2006Next morning, while Di was at school, I made a short stroll around town just before picking her and her Australian friends to a weekend in Lisbon!"Located alongside the Villena Tower, this is the local where according to the legend the Devil had its courses! Supposedly, the Marques de Villena, who was the sacristan of San Cyprian Church during the 14th century, was involved here in occult sciences. The legend, helped by several writers including Cervantes and Quevedo travelled to Latin America where some peoples name salamancas the dens where demons and witches perform their practices. Amazingly, the anonymous Recueil des Histoires de Troyes, published in 1464, credits Heracles with the foundation of an academy for Magic and Witchcraft. Seven years, seven students. Hogwarts School at the Cueva de Salamanca !""NEW CATHEDRAL - In the mist, from the top of the tower at the Cueva""SAN ESTEBAN Convent as seen from the Tower at the Cueva. This is a Do...
More About: Spain , Goodbye , Lama

SALAMANCA BY NIGHT
2007-10-27 20:57:00
MAGICAL MISTERY TOUR - JANUARY 2006At night, after a first stroll around the city, we had an early dinner (arrived at 9:30 p.m. at the restaurant and were the first there) and I got back to the Hotel to have some rest. The mist was already invading town!"CHURCH - Salamanca has many churches, and at night they usually have nice lights on!"CATHEDRAL PORTAL - The north façade at its best""UNIVERSITY - The King of the Plateresque. While the rest of Europe embraced Italian Renaissance, Spain has always demonstrated a flare for the decorative arts, and kept the magnificence of its Gothic and Moorish components. While the Renaissance was essentially a structural architectural movement, the Plateresque style focused on the decorative side. So, extremely stylized façades integrating sculptures, busts, and floral and organic motifs are its most common feature" "CLERECIA AND A PART OF THE CASA DE LAS CONCHAS" "ANOTHER CHURCH""BLURRED PLAZA MAYOR - These night photos are always a bit blurred, b...
More About: Night , Lama

SALAMANCA, OLÉ!
2007-10-25 01:40:00
LEARNING SPANISH - JANUARY 2006Having completed the Erasmus semester in Vallendar, Di had some free time while her colleagues in Lisbon were still passing through the January exams. So she decided to learn some Spanish, and Salamanca was an obvious choice, as in Salamanca the inhabitants - Salmantinos - speak the "purest" Castilian in Spain ! And getting there to visit her, was a nice opportunity to re-visit the city, four years later!"PATIO DE CASTELLANOS - Quite centrally located, adjacent to the Plaza del Concilio de Trento, in the heart of Salamanca's monumental and historic district, my favourite Salamanca hotel merges modern comfort with traditional splendour. The Porsche is there just to be fined...""NEW CATHEDRAL - Built between 1513 and 1733, in late Gothic and Baroque styles""ANAYA PALACE, ordered by Dom Diego de Anaya e Maldonado in 1401 and located across the New Cathedral, is one of the few Neo-Classical buildings in Salamanca. It housed the Colegio Mayor, the oldest in...
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DÜSSELDORF
2007-10-21 03:07:00
IN THE MIDST - DECEMBER 2005The last step of this German journey was Düsseldorf. The ladies went shopping, while I was strolling around in the midst..."CHURCH AND FOUNTAIN. Walking from the Railway Station towards the Königsallee, I found the 1988 fountain by Heinz Mack, with the 3, 6 and 9 meter high concrete sails, at the Place of the German Unity (Platz der Deutschen Einheit); and the church, at Martin Luther Platz""KÖNIGSALLEE - KÖ, completed in 1804, is Düsseldorf's best known trademark and Germany 's most sophisticated mile. It's considered one of the world's most luxurious boulevards""THE MINISTRY JUSTICE of the state North Rhine-Westphalia, located at Martin-Luther-Platz""IM FÜCHSCHEN is a Düsseldorfer institution. A brewery existed at the same place as early as 1640, and, although it did not bear the name "Füchschen", it was a popular meeting place. However, the bitter-fresh Füchschen Alt Bier has been brewed on Ratinger Straße since 1848 and with a fox sign adorning the...
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THE MOSEL RIVER EXPERIENCE
2007-10-18 01:02:00
COCHEM AND AROUND ? DECEMBER 2005I?ll deal first with the Mosel, and then with the tag from Sally and Isabella!On Sunday, we took the regional train to Trier, but stop in Cochem, The Pearl of the Mosel, well ahead of the end of the line. Cochem, the capital of the district Cochem-Sehl, is a very nice village with roughly 5000 inhabitants. Located in the most romantic part of the Mosel Valley, where the river curves between two hiking paradises - Eifel and Hunsrück, it is also a wonderful place to start your Mosel experience!"MOSELBRÜCKE - Cochem is first mentioned in a document of the Abbey of Prüm dated December 20, 866. On the other side of the Mosel is the village of Cond, and the vineyards" "MOSELPROMENADE - Ladies walking along the Promenade, though the other flowers were already gone""ALTSTADT - The remains of the old town wall are quite interesting, and this fortified tower looks still in good shape""REICHSBURG CASTLE - Cochem Castle, dating from 1051, represents a landmark o...
More About: Germany , Experience , River , Erie

WALK ALONG THE RHINE
2007-10-14 19:25:00
FROM VALLENDAR TO KOBLENZ - DECEMBER 2005The roughly 8.5 km walk from Vallendar to Koblenz along the Rhin e River is an amazing experience, in particular in a sunny, though cold, day!"START WALKING - The riverside park in Vallendar is quite nice" "RHINE MIRROR - It looked so intensively blue...""NIDERWERTH - Facing Vallendar, just across the bridge built in 1958, are the islands of Niederwerth and Graswerth. Niederwerth is inhabited, while Graswerth is a natural reserve""NORTH AND SOUTH - The Rhine River looked so gentle this Saturday""LUNCH BREAK - Another great advantage of this walk is the existence of some pretty nice restaurants by the River, where you may stop for lunch (and a hearty one, actually...). Gretchens at Urbar is one of them""AFTER LUNCH - Keep walking and get closer to Koblenz" "DEUTSCHES ECK - Wilhelm I (dem Grossen) at the German Corner, as seen from the other side of the Rhine""SKY ROUTES""EHRENBREITSTEIN FORTRESS - On the same-named mountain, it was built by Pru...
More About: Germany , Walk

VALLENDAR, RHEINLAND
2007-10-11 01:54:00
DI IN GERMANY - DECEMBER 2005Saturday was dedicated to a visit to Vallendar and a stroll along the Rhine River. This post shows our perambulations in Vallendar, a nice village in Rhineland!"NR.8 - This is the bus that links Vallendar to Koblenz, seen here crossing the Pfaffendorfer Bridge. The photo was taken from the nearby Mercure Hotel""HOME - Di was living at the apartment of a German friend, student at WHU, who was on an Exchange Programme in Uruguay""KOROVA was students' bar, just next door""WHU - The University's door was 50m from the appartment, and every student had a key to enter the premises when the school was closed!""THE CLASSROOM(s) at WHU were pretty impressive" "WHU is most probably the best Management school in Germany . The premises are absolutely striking""PLAZA - The apartments at the WHU plaza look quite nice!"BURGSTRASSE, where Di was living, is the main pedestrian street in Vallendar""DIE TRAUBE is the best restaurant in Vallendar""CHURCHES - Vallendar has s...
More About: Rhein

KOBLENZ AM RHEIN
2007-10-07 11:54:00
GERMANY'S MOST BEAUTIFUL "CORNER" - DECEMBER 2005The 2000-year-old town of Koblenz is situated at the junction of the rivers Rhine and Mosel and is surrounded by four low mountain ranges. Koblenz owes its name to the Romans who named "castellum apud confluentes" (castle at the confluence of the rivers) the castle they constructed here around 9 B.C. Koblenz, the former residence of the Electors of Trier, was conquered by foreign armies and has received princes, kings, emperors and presidents within its walls. It is a truly European place!"TOO LATE ? At 2:00 P.M. we tried to have lunch at the Winninger Weinstuben. It seems to be a nice restaurant, facing the Rhine and located in a historic building. No chance: the kitchen was already closed!""ST. CASTOR is the oldest church of Koblenz dating back to the year 836; its present form dates from the 12th century. From outside you recognize the Romanesque architecture; the interior has gothic vaults and baroque paintings and sculptures. Th...
More About: Germany , Rhein

FRANKFURT AM MAIN
2007-09-30 19:36:00
ON THE WAY TO KOBLENZ - DECEMBER 2005I was in Frankfurt many times, mostly to attend meetings at the European Monetary Institute or at its successor, the European Central Bank (to see how unsure was the building of such a body, at least from an American perspective, just read Allan Greenspan's preface to his book «The Age of Turbulence»).This time, the reason to go was much more sympathetic: Our daughter, while we were in Bali, moved to Germany to spend one semester at the WHU (Wissenschaftliche Hochschule für Unternehmensführung ) - Otto-Beisheim School of Management. The move, by the end of August 2005, was due to the Erasmus Programme, a programme to encourage and support academic mobility of higher education students within the European Union. The WHU has its basis in Vallendar, a small village by the Rhine, quite near to Koblenz, and Di?s stay gave rise to her blog ? Bloguendar! (Amazingly enough, the WHU has an Executive MBA Programme together with the Kellogg School of Manag...
More About: Main , Intercontinental Hotel

HOMAGE TO SINGAPORE
2007-09-28 09:59:00
HOT AND HUMID, BUT TRULY EXCITING! ? SEPTEMBER 2005Singapore is one of my favourite stopover destinations. Whenever travelling to or from Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, I would always try to spend some time in Singapore. The only negative aspect for me is the climate: so hot and humid, that it makes a simple short walk a painful experience... Hence, strolls are only possible at night, and still...The first version of this post was published on October 2, 2005; and it emerged as an answer to Clarence, who made the suggestion to put some text next to the pictures. It was the starting point of Blogtrotter as it is today... "BOAT QUAY, situated upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River on its southern bank, is a historical quay and was the busiest part of the old Port of Singapore. Actually, it was the starting point of Singapore?s success as a business hub.Today, Boat Quay is a pedestrian mall with restaurants, pubs, cafes and clubs. The Parliament House, the Empress Place ...
More About: Homa

GOODBYE BALI
2007-09-23 12:37:00
NUSA DUA, SOUTHERN BALI - SEPTEMBER 2005After some days touring Bali , we settle down in Southern Bali and spent more than a week in Nusa Dua, home to some of the most luxurious hotels in the world. Clear water and stretches of white sandy beach (anyhow not comparable to Algarve; actually the beach deals very badly with the low tide...) makes Nusa Dua a fantastic place for a pleasant holiday!"ROOM 4035 at the Club Med was our basis. Just behind the Samuh Temple, quite close to the beach, was quite comfortable. The yellow Moleskine from the Van Gogh Museum looks great on this picture...""NUSA DUA BEACH HOTEL - The palace, which has welcomed Kings and Queens, Presidents and Prime Ministers, and other tourists on package holidays, has more than 93 thousand square metres of gardens providing guests and visitors with an oasis of space and tranquillity""MELIA BALI is nestled amidst a luxurious garden with a large lagoon style swimming pool. But the top at the resort are the Garden Villas, ...
More About: Indonesia , Intercontinental Hotel , Goodbye

BALI - CLOSING THE CIRCLE
2007-09-21 01:02:00
CANDIDASA, KLUNGKUNG, RICE FIELDS AND UBUD - SEPTEMBER 2005"CANDI BEACH COTTAGE is a nice, quiet and relaxing hotel located amidst palm trees directly on the beach of Candi Dasa at Mendira Bay on the East Coast of Bali with great views of neighbouring islands""KUSAMBA - The coastal village of Kusamba, whose inhabitants live mainly by fishing and salt production, is one of the embarkation points to the islands of Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nusa Ceningan. The beach is amazingly covered with the rests of the funerary ceremonies. Don't mention the smell in the nearby fish market...""KLUNGKUNG - The Klungkung Palace was built by the Dewa Agung dynasty in 1710. Most of Bali?s royal families came from the old Klungkung dynasty, which ruled Bali from the 17th century through 1908, when a royal mass suicide (puputan) occurred against Dutch invaders. Most of the original palace and grounds were destroyed by those Dutch attacks. The existing palace, called Semara Pura, contains a large ...
More About: Indonesia , Circle , The Circle

BALI - FROM NORTH TO EAST
2007-09-16 11:55:00
WATER AND TEMPLES - SEPTEMBER 2005"BANANA PLANT - According to Wikipedia, «because of their size and structure, banana plants are often mistaken for trees». Bananas, which are grown in 132 countries around the world, provide you with Vitamins A, B6, C, potassium, and of course Banana Republic(s)""GIT GIT WATERFALL in North Bali - 10 km south of Singaraja, the former administrative centre of the islands during the years of the Dutch power up to 1953 - is a more than 30m waterfall that pours into a pool. About 700 meters from the main road, the path will show, further to the banana plants and the bamboos, many stalls with merchants trying to load you with souvenirs from all over Indonesia . You'd better take a swim...""LOVINA - We stayed at a hotel in Lovina, took a swim in the pool, and early morning were ready to start discovering the Island""KINTAMANI ROAD - On the way to Lake Batur""LAKE BATUR, at the feet of Mount Batur and Mount Abang, is the widest lake in Bali. Mount Batur is ...
More About: East

TRAVELLING ACROSS BALI...
2007-09-10 10:08:00
MONKEYS AND TEMPLES - SEPTEMBER 2005After a short break, I'm back to continue the Bali saga; it has only a two year delay...KEDATON FOREST"Kedaton, also known as «Holy Forest», is a small forest, located in Sangeh Village, with hundreds of monkeys living freely, around the temple of Pura Bukit Sari. They are quite acquainted to receive the visit of tourists, and thus have many expertise in snatching cameras, jewellery, wristwatches or glasses to trade for food"***PACUNG"RESTAURANT with the perfect location: a perfect view to go with your meal"***PURA ULUN DANU BRATAN"PILGRIMS - Danu Bratan is inside the caldera of the extinct volcano Gunung Catur, and is one of the main sources of irrigation in the Balinese highlands. The temple is dedicated to Dewi Danu, the lake goddess, and pilgrims come to pray and to ensure generous harvests""RESTAURANT - Another one with a beautiful view""SNAKES - Amazingly, tourists don't seem to pay much attention...""TEMPLE - Pura Ulun Danu Bratan is loca...
More About: Indonesia , Travelling , Acro

BALI - THE ISLAND OF THE GODS [?]
2007-08-24 22:20:00
LAST POST BEFORE A TWO WEEK HOLIDAY...After a too long year, I'm finally going to be able to take a break... Under the circumstances, I won't be blogging or commenting for the next two weeks or so. Hope to be back to your company in blogosphere, and visiting your blogs by mid September. Meanwhile, I just leave you in Bali , and will miss your post and comments...Take care!***TEMPLES - SEPTEMBER 2005The first version of this post was published in late September 2005, on my return from Bali. Then, I wrote, after Clarence's suggestion: "Since you're having just the subtitles you'll see only the best of it, and avoid some «unclean» places, where you could witness the garbage, and feel the terrible smell..."Some days later, however, there was a second bomb attack in Bali, and I added: "Just after posting this, I heard today?s news on Bali. It seems that Terror struck again and that the worse of it showed for a second time in the island. We were very happy to have had the chance to se...
More About: Indonesia , Island , Gods , The Go

SUMMER BREAK
2007-08-17 22:34:00
ALGARVE - AUGUST 2005There are many places to go on holidays; but everything considered, if you want to have a nice time on the beach or if you love golf and don't want to run the risk of the rain ruining your swing, the place to go is the Algarve . Peaceful (notwithstanding the presence of some more «energetic» July/August tourists), good food, sunny skies, no hurricanes, typhoons or whatever, calm and refreshing waters, it's definitely Difficult to find better."PENINA HOTEL - The Penina is a nice hotel, close to the village of Alvor, and a golfer's paradise""GOLF - In the estate of roughly 1.5 square km there are three courses: the Championship, the Academy and the Resort, all of which were designed by the late Sir Henry Cotton. Within very easy driving distance there is a choice of another seven courses. If you're not fond of golf, there are six tennis courts, a FIFA-sized football field, a jogging circuit, and an Olympic size swimming pool..." "SWIMMING POOL - Should you pref...
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BACK TO LAKE LEMAN
2007-08-14 01:01:00
EVIAN, YVERDON - MAY 2005Those who have good memory will remember that the posts of the May 2005 trip started in Sugnens, Switzerland , near Lake Leman. After a long journey, we came back to Lake Leman, but on the French side!EVIAN-LES-BAINS"EVIAN-LES-BAINS is located on the south bank of Lake Geneva, opposite Switzerland, has 7,500 inhabitants and is built in tiers at the edge of the lake. Evian is an international tourist resort, profiting from spectacular surroundings between lake and mountains" "CITY HALL - The Villa Lumière dates from the end of the 19th century. Works began in 1885 and the villa was to become the residence of a rich owner, who however died in 1887 while the building was still unfinished. In 1890, it was bought by Antoine Lumière, a portraitist installed in Besancon and father of the inventors of the cinematograph (Louis and Auguste Lumière), to become its summer residence. Since 1927, the Villa Lumière hosts the city hall of Evian-les-Bains""EVIAN is also the b...
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