Tossa de Mar, Costa Brava
Tossa de Mar is a little over an hour drive north of Barcelona. In the 12th century the medieval town was walled off and a castle was built on the highest point of Mt. Guardí.
The town was popular with Spanish and foreign artists during the 1930′s and the municipal museum has a good collection including the Celestial Violinist by Marc Chagall.
There is a trail with great views that goes between Tossa de Mar and Lloret de Mar. The route between Tossa de Mar and Lloret de Mar coincides with section 11 of the GR 92 trail.
See also
Lloret de Mar – Tossa de Mar – GRs
Palau del Parlament de Catalunya
The Parliament of Catalonia, located in Parc de la Ciutadella. The statue of a woman in front of the building is called Desconsol (Distress; 1907), by modernist Catalan sculptor Josep Llimona i Bruguera (1864- 1934).
Gaudí’s Unfinished Masterpiece: La Sagrada Família
Looking down on the famous church designed by Antoni Gaudí and under construction since 1882. Gaudí combined Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms for this project, to which he devoted his final years.
La Deesa, Josep Clarà
La Deesa (La diosa, The goddess) by Josep Clarà i Ayats (1878–1958) in Plaça de Catalunya, Barcelona.
View from Fort Pentagöet, Castine Maine
The town of Castine is named after a French military officer who served in Acadia, Jean-Vincent d’Abbadie de Saint-Castin (1652–1707). He married a Native American Indian wife, the daughter of the Penobscot chief, Madokawando.
Acadia was a colony of New France – made up of regions of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces and modern-day Maine to the Kennebec River.
Our Lady of Holy Hope Catholic Church now stands on the site of Fort Pentagoet (1635-1734). Fort Pentagoet served as a trading post and was the capital of French Acadia.
Holy Island of Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England in Northumberland. It is only accessible from the mainland twice daily during low tide. The nearest town is Berwick-upon-Tweed, between Newcastle and Edinburgh on the East Coast Rail Line.
Lindisfarne Priory: The monastery of Lindisfarne was founded by Saint Aidan in 635 AD. He was a monk at the monastery on the Island of Iona in Scotland before being sent to Northumbria at the request of King Oswald.
In 793 AD the Vikings raided Lindisfarne and that date is often used to mark the beginning of the Viking Age. The attacks, notably in 793 and 875 AD forced the monks to abandon the site. In the eleventh century the monks returned to build Lindisfarne Priory, the ruins of which can be seen today.
Lindisfarne Castle: In 1542, Henry VIII ordered the Earl of Rutland to fortify Lindisfarne against possible Scottish invasion. The fort built on Beblowe Crag between 1570 and 1572 formed the basis of the castle that exists today. It was converted into a private house in 1903 by British architect Edwin Lutyens.
References: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindisfarne, www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lindisfarne-castle/, www.historvius.com/lindisfarne-priory-319/
London Cityscapes – from Sir Christopher Wren to Renzo Piano
At the center of Trafalgar Square is Nelson’s Column, guarded by four lion statues at its base. The name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory in the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815). On the north side of the square is the National Gallery and to its east St Martin-in-the-Fields church.
The Gherkin, designed by Norman Foster sticks out behind the Royal Exchange, the portico of eight Corinthian columns at the front of which are based on the the Pantheon in Rome. To the right you can see the steel exterior of the Lloyd’s building, designed by Richard Rogers.
The Shard was designed in 2000 by Renzo Piano, an Italian architect famous for designing Paris’s Pompidou Centre in collaboration with Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini.
View of the Square Mile from the Monument, a stone Roman Doric column in the City of London, which commemorates the Great Fire of London.
Looking up the Thames towards Tower Bridge at low tide.
St. Paul’s Cathedral designed by Sir Christopher Wren dates from the late 17th century. In the distance you can see the London Eye, a giant Ferris wheel erected in 1999, situated on the bank of the River Thames.
Heart of the Square Mile
View from the terrace of Coq d’Argent, a restaurant aptly named for its 1 Poultry address in the City of London.
The Gherkin, designed by Norman Foster sticks out behind the Royal Exchange, the portico of eight Corinthian columns at the front of which are based on the the Pantheon in Rome.
To the right you can see the steel exterior of the Lloyd’s building, designed by Richard Rogers.
NUMB at London Green Fair in Regents Park
Alternative Hip Hop band NUMB (Never Underestimate Musical Belief) playing at London Green Fair.
A Banksy in Mayfair
A relatively new Banksy tucked away in Bruton Lane – a stones throw away from the fashionable boutiques of Old Bond Street. The black stencil technique used here was pioneered by French street artist Blek le Rat.
