KALEIDOSCOPE OF MY MEANDERINGS: Travelling2015

Showing posts with label Travelling2015. Show all posts

Friday, April 01, 2016

MADRID STREET SIGNS WITH PAINTINGS...

For those of you who have been to Madrid, you may remember that the street signs in the downtown area of the city are stunning hand painted tiles representing the name of the street in some way. I have been to Madrid for several times, however, last December I was struck by the intricate detail and quality of those street signs. I loved how something as ordinary and bland as a street sign could all of a sudden become a work of art. I don’t know the history behind those signs. I have never seen street signs with paintings in any city.
I was told they have been this way from times when people were illiterate. That is pretty clever, isn't it?
I photographed a few of them...

All the signs are three by three, so a perfect square of a total of nine tiles. The background is generally always white, while the names of the streets are written in big black capital letters.

Spanish street signs are attached to the buildings at different heights, and have different fonts, pictures, and styles. Apparently, they care more about aesthetics and tradition rather than efficiency.

I love the painted street signs in Madrid. They add such charm to the streets...

~~ Enjoy every day of this month ~~
~~ Have a wonderful weekend ~~

Thursday, December 17, 2015

ITALY - ROME A FEAST FOR THE EYES #3

To place yourself under an obligation is to sell your liberty

(Roman proverb)

You have had enough time to take rest from the previous tour, so today let's start with a long stroll in the Roman Aqueduct Park, which is part of the Appia Antica Park. This Park will be visited soon, I mean, on the same day of our outing to the city's main market. We will spend the last day in Rome doing some window shopping.

The Aqueduct Park is located in a working class neighbourhood. The surrounding area will not resemble the city centre from an aesthetic perspective, but, it will give you a glimpse into the daily life of resident Romans.

The Acqua Mariana canal has a long history which dates back to the Middle Ages. In 1122, Pope Calixtus II ordered an artificial canal to be built for the purpose of bringing water to the farmed fields and serving the various mills and factories that had been built within the Aurelian Walls.

We won't have enough time to see every corner of the Park but we will find the Roma Vecchia farmhouse building that has been recently turned into a restaurant, a 'rustic' golf course, and other infrastructures that give pleasure to visitors, even if this is only walking a dog or getting together with friends...

Let's leave the Park and return back to the city centre where we are going to wander streets and squares. Everywhere is crowded with tourists. By a mere chance, nobody was walking up or down the Spanish steps.

Why not stop and look at perhaps Rome's most smile inducing sculpture - Bernini's life-size marble elephant?

As always, I've been pleased to have you touring with me and I hope you will continue to give me the same pleasure in the coming tours that will complete the stay in Rome.

In the meantime, I want to wish you and your dear ones, a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with the achievement of all your dreams.

Enjoy the slideshow...

RELATED POSTS

ITALY #1

ITALY #2
ITALY #3
ITALY #4
ITALY #5
ITALY #6
ITALY - ROME #1
ITALY - ROME #2

~~ Thanks for joining me~~

~~ See you next year in... Rome, of course... the tour is to be continued...~~

Thursday, December 03, 2015

ITALY - ROME - A FEAST FOR THE EYES #2

Rome wasn't built in a day...

View of Rome from Gianicolo (Janiculum in English) is the second-tallest hill in Rome and one of the city’s most popular attractions. While it’s not one of the “Seven Hills of Rome,” as it sits outside the ancient boundaries of the city, it provides perhaps the best panoramic view that you can get.

We will start today's tour with a quick visit to Rionale market. Then, at Barberini Square and, after seeing the Fountain of Triton, we are going to take metro and then a tram to reach Villa Doria Pamphili, commonly called Pamphili, only...

I admit, I love Roman Villas, and this third stay in the eternal city didn't include a visit to the Villa Borghese or to the Villa Adriana because I had already been there before. So let's visit a seventeenth-century Villa with what is today the largest landscaped public park in Rome, at over 450 acres (it's larger than Hyde Park by 180 hectares and about 55% the size of Central Park).

The Casino del Bel Respiro

Like at any other park, we see people jogging, walking their dogs, spending their time the way they like far from the hustle and bustle of the city centre.

Differently from other parks, we see many parts of statues, a consequence of the government's takeover of the park in about 1970 - yes, that's 40 years ago, not 140 - and its inability to keep the park from being raided by thieves and vandals.

Before leaving the Park let's take a photo of the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica

From the Park, we are walking along a large road that crosses the entire Gianicolo (top photo) and as we see the St. Angel's castle, we cross the bridge of the same name. The Tiber river is running silently...

Suddenly, I have an idea: 'how about killing two pigeons with one stone???": we have enough time to visit the exhibit by England's Henry Moore at the Baths of Diocletian, the largest baths under the Roman empire.

I'm sure you have noticed some sad street scenes that you wouldn't like to have seen but Rome, like any other large city, has homeless people in stark contrast to the large segment of the population.

The slideshow below includes images of other aspects of the city: for instance, outside the market, there was a dog leash holder (something I have never seen in Portugal) for shoppers' dogs, and others like a language school advertisement at the metro station. It pictured a coat-free cat jumping down a table. I roughly understood the reason for the choice of that image...