Up Close with Dali in St. Petersburg

3 June 2012 by Raul 12 Comments

Salvador Dali, one of the most interesting painters of the 20th century was, let’s say, a tad eccentric – but a genius nevertheless. The new Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL does a great job of presenting of how Salvador Dali evolved his style in a way that a layperson like me can grasp and enjoy. Guided tour and/or audio guide are included in the price of the ticket which makes it an easy decision – and makes the experience and appreciation VASTLY more meaningful. I left with a better understanding of Dali, his motivators, and his evolution.

Here are some pix of the museum and its grounds (but none of the art!).

The cars at the entrance of the museum (not sure the purpose)

A beautiful day in St. Petersburg, Florida

The entrance to the museum on a beautiful day

Internal architecture elements at the Dali Museum - the spiral staircase

The top of the spiral staircase which reminded me of the tip of Dali’s mustache

Glass ceiling at the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg - neat architecture

Looking towards the staircase and the ceiling on the 3rd floor

Glass ceiling at the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg - neat architect

The glass ceiling

Outdoor Dali mustache at the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg

Trying out Dali’s mustache

Grounds of the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida

The back of the museum

This serranita sandwich at the museum cafe was good but those olives were really outstanding!!

Wish tree at the Dali Museum - great way to discard of wrist tags

Entry wrist tags at the wish tree – clever idea to avoid trash around the parking lot!

Filed Under: Florida, US & Canada Tagged With: architecture, Dali, florida, food, museum, St. Petersburg

Discovering Chicago’s Architecture by Boat Tour

14 May 2012 by Raul 11 Comments

These well-traveled eyes have seen a lot of great cities and still have others left to discover. But they can say that they have seen truly one of the most interesting and enjoyable cities in the U.S. – as long as it is not winter, of course! (OK, it still can be fun in winter as my visits many moons ago can attest though my memory cannot fully recollect…)

Chicago is vibrant, day or night. It is not the 200+ yr old charm that Philly has (Chicago burnt deep and well in the famous fire). It is not the capital of everything that NY is. It is not the power center that DC is. But it is a city that has everything that an urban area should have: unique neighborhoods, a vibrant center, a body of water (or two) running through it, great food, great hotels, diversity of entertainment options (blues clubs, skyscraper-top bars, mafia lore, shopping, people watching, and on and on), and a strong business community. Of course, it also has that required element of large cities: corrupt (or dubious) power brokers – but I digress.

But one thing it that tood out to me as if I had never been here before was the architecture. Not sure if it was the scale (as in the Hancock and ex-Sears Towers or as in the Merchandise Mart), or the contrasts between “old” and new, or just the fact that I got see it on foot, on boat, and on a bus.

View from the Wrigley Building to the "south side" of the Chicago river

View from the Wrigley Building to the “south side” of the river

If you have any interest in learning about the city’s architecture (and you most definitely do not need to be an architect for that!), the boat tour is a great option. The boat tour we took was offered was by Wendella Boats (http://www.wendellaboats.com/ (right by the Wrigley Building on Michigan Ave.). They provide an excellent narration of the architecture of the city by cruising the river – and they help you learn why the river no longer flows into Lake Michigan… I won’t spoil it for you. They also offer you a free drink (and you can pay for more) – the Honker’s Ale was very nice. And I digress again.

Here are examples of the architecture of Chicago (more pictures on my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ILiveToTravel):

Buildings in Chicago that show it has great architecture

The building on the left was inspired by a champagne bottle

Chicago's high buildings reflected on the Cloud Gate, or The Bean

The real and reflected skyline (at The Bean in Millenium Park)

Windy City Tweetup – Chicago Here We Come!

29 April 2012 by Raul 7 Comments

Tweetup, what is that?

Since it is the first time I write in my blog about a “tweetup“, I feel I should have an intro section here on what they are! Tweetups are gathering of tweeps (people who have connected via Twitter) who share a common interest, say travel, photography, etc. It does seem a little odd to go to one to meet people one has only met online. However, if the tweetup doesn’t happen, it stays only online, doesn’t it?

After almost a year of participating in travel talks on Twitter, a few of us decided it was time to meet in person these other folks we so enjoyed exchanging travel ideas and experiences with in Twitter. We held our first tweetup in Austin, Texas.

Windy City

We realized this is something we needed to do again and, sort of on its own, one day, we were chatting in Twitter when someone just said we should all meet in Chicago. And, that was it. Chicago in May it was. Chicago had many pluses but definitely meeting local tweeps was a key driver.

So What Happens – Where Do We Stay?

Those of us traveling, while we don’t have big budgets, want a memorable experience all around. And that starts with our accommodations.

We found out that the Hotel Sofitel Chicago Water Tower not only had a great deal at hand but a great location, sleek designs for the rooms, and an incredible-looking lobby with tons of ambience. We look forward to the phenomenal service levels typical of the Sofitels! Check them out here -> http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-2993-sofitel-chicago-water-tower/index.shtml. We will let you know how it goes!

So What Happens – Where Do We Eat? Where Do We Have Cocktails?

Well, this is very much a problem in a town like Chicago since the options for good food are so many. Here is where our local tweeps and some research on the travelers’ part comes into play.

We certainly wish we were able to engage with some of the local establishments pre-tweetup so we could perhaps better understand what was possible to create the right environment for a groups of folks that want to get each other better while enjoying some food and/or some drinks.

Of course, being a travel tweetup, this group will be “broadcasting” in Twitter and via their blogs about the experience so we sure hope we have great things to say and great tips to provide fellow travelers so their future visit to the Windy City benefits from our insights!! That is what we travel bloggers love to do most – help point others to the best travel experiences!

So far, we have identified The Pump Room (http://www.pumproom.com/) at Public Chicago as a place we definitely will spend time at. The Pump Room evokes the vibe of the 1930s/40s yet caters to a modern-day crowd. It has been celebrated by Travel + Leisure, The Today Show, The New York Times, Chicago Live, etc. This place has catered to just about every big star over the decades. And now it will cater to this tweetup crew!

So What Happens – What Do We Do?

We have not planned out the day time hours but we have decided to do a river architecture boat tour with Wendella Boat Tours (http://www.wendellaboats.com/). We got a great deal via Groupon and we liked the fact they would serve us a drink during the tour – this crew enjoys nice beverages so we sure hope that is what will be served! We will tell you about the tour during our ride!

We are certainly open to ideas so feel free to share any you have. And if you are in the Chicago area and like travel, feel free to connect with us so you can meet us during the weekend events on May 11-12, 2012!!!

Chicago, here we come!

Filed Under: Illinois, US & Canada Tagged With: architecture, boat tour, Chicafo, hotel, Pump Room, Sofitel, Tweetup, Wendella Boat, windy city

The Awesome Ceilings of The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia

21 July 2011 by Raul 1 Comment

The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia is a fabulous building (actually a series of connected buildings, one of which is the “real” Hermitage). The museum contains, of course, great pieces of art. It is also a historical site having being built in 1764 by Catherine the Great as the Winter Palace (more about the Winter Palace: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermitage_Museum). But it is definitely an architectural jewel.

In another post I shared pictures of the spectacular chandeliers. Here I would like to focus on theceilings. I do not think I have seen ceilings like these in other European palaces, though perhaps it is more that the style of these ceilings is more to my taste not because other palaces’ ceilings are not spectacular in their own right.

Filed Under: Europe, Russia, Special Photos Tagged With: architecture, Catherine the Great, ceiling, chandeliers, Hermitage, Russia, St. Petersburg, Winter Palace

Chandeliers of The Hermitage

16 July 2011 by Raul 1 Comment

While I am not obsessed with chandeliers and the like, I noticed after getting home from visiting St. Pete (as I call it), how many pictures of chandeliers I took at The Hermitage (and of the ceilings). They are definitely elegant but their designs were not too stuffy. Not being a connoisseur, but still having opinions, I would say they were made to be interesting not over-bearing. (Click on the picture to see a larger version.)

Chandelier in The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia

Any experts out there who can enrich the readers??

Filed Under: Europe, Russia, Special Photos Tagged With: architecture, ceiling, photo, Russia, St. Petersburg, The Hermitage, travel, Winter Palace

Photo of the Week – A Colorful Home

8 June 2011 by Raul Leave a Comment

Last December, I finally fulfilled a dream almost 19 years old: to go to Punta Arenas and see the Chilean Patagonia. I have written about the trip already in the blog but I thought this picture merited a Photo of the Week entry of its own. This is a home in Puerto Natales, near the hotel where I stayed and not far from the waterfront. The mix of colors and dominance of the blue of the exterior of the home really caught my eye.

Puerto Natales Home

Note: Though I already posted a picture this week, I decided to just “go crazy” and post more than 1 since I will not be posting in the next two weeks 🙂

Filed Under: Chile, South America Tagged With: architecture, Chile, house, Patagonia, Puerto Natales

Arriving in the Southern Island of Middle Earth: Christchurch, New Zealand

21 June 2009 by Raul 5 Comments

There are so many awesome places in New Zealand but I feel Christchurch, though not one of the top 2 cities in NZ, may be the best place to hit first on a trip over (Dunedin is not far behind!).

The arrival

I arrived in Christchurch on the eastern coast of the southern island of New Zealand (where Lord of the Rings was filmed; the lands in the movie were called “Middle Earth” for those who may not be familiar with the movie!). From the plane we flew over the southern Alps, as they are unofficially called. In this picture, we pass over the highest peaks and you can even see a glacier coming down. This is the view you want to see ahead of coming to NZ!

Southern Alps, New Zealand, Christchurch, glacier, nature

Glacier flowing to lower right corner of pic as I fly over the Southern Alps in New Zealand

It was around 230 PM and we were delayed getting off the plane because a passenger had flu-like symptoms. Nice. The health person from the airport had to board the plane and do some kind of test on the passenger before any of us could get off. I could not see exactly what he was doing but after a few minutes of whatever, we were allowed to get off the plane. The airport claims to be the “top carbon neutral airport company in the southern hemisphere” which I found amusing for a couple of reasons, one of which is the recurrent theme in Australia and NZ of claims about a place being the “—-est” (tallest, biggest, cleanest, etc.) in the “southern hemisphere”. Considering how little of the world is in the southern hemisphere, these claims almost seem too easy 🙂 but, heck, someone’s got to make the claim!

Besides being carbon neutral, the airport is nice and small and it was very easy to just go to the bus stop and catch bus 29 intown. It dropped me off very close to my bed and breakfast but apparently I signaled “stop” one street too early so I walked an extra block. No worries, extra exercise. The streets were very pleasant and had the air of a place where people knew each other, where people felt safe, and where the pace was not too fast and not too slow – a great place to get to know NZ and, especially, the south island.

A great place to stay in Christchurch

The Orari Bed and Breakfast was in an old house and was very nice. At 6 PM they cracked open some wine for the guests so I knew I had ample time to walk around before sunset (around 430 PM) and be back to shower, unpack and get some wine. The room was frigid when I got there though they had turned on the standing heating unit probably just before I arrived. I thought I would freeze that night but the standing units (there was another one) and the heating blanket worked really well. In fact, all too well, I was burning up in the middle of the night and had to turn off the heating blanket! It was the first time I had used one… I was very glad with my choice of place to stay due to a great location next to an art museum but otherwise not in the middle of things, yet a short walk away from places to eat, the city center, etc. Oh, and the staff is great! It definitely made me feel Christchurch and NZ was putting its best foot forward to welcome me.

The Garden City

The town of Christchurch is called the Garden City and I would agree with that although it was the beginning of winter. The “suburbs” were very nice but also the areas closer to the city center. The city center itself was manageable and with some key sights to check out.

Christchurch, New Zealand, cathedral, earthquake, southern island, architecture, Canon EOS Rebel

The ill-fated cathedral, fatally damaged in the earthquake and now being rebuilt in Christchurch

Christchurch cathedral New Zealand earthquake southern island

Interior of the cathedral of Christchurch before it was destroyed

Christchurch square plaza chess New Zealand

A friendly game of chess in Christchurch’s main square

architecture center of Christchurch New Zealand, Canon EOS Rebel

Beautiful architecture in the center of Christchurch

New Regent street in Christchurch before earthquake New Zealand Canon EOS Rebel

New Regent St. in Christchurch – seriously damaged during the earthquake

I strolled down Oxford Terrace by the small river that cuts through the town as there were a lot of restaurants/cafes/pubs along the street and I wanted to scope out where I would have dinner later that night. I settled for a place called Sticky Fingers where I later got to enjoy a very nice Sauvignon Blanc wine from Marlborough called Cloudy Bay. The place has a nice smart and modern ambiance. The seating areas was very comfy and next to but separate enough from the bar area. The food was good but I would not say stellar. Other restaurants in the strip that caught my attention were Ferment and Liquidity.

My visit in Christchurch was short and I am going back at the end of my tour of the southern island so I should get to sample another restaurant and sip on the wine at Orari. The tempo of the city and its charm served as a great welcome mat for this first time visitor to the magical place that is New Zealand.

(Pictures taken with Canon EOS Rebel)

Filed Under: Australia & NZ, New Zealand - Southern Island Tagged With: architecture, Canon EOS Rebel, cathedral, Christchurch, earthquake, Marlborough, New Zealand, photo, Sauvignon Blanc, travel, Wine

How to Explore Sydney’s Outlying Areas

4 June 2009 by Raul Leave a Comment

Day 2 of my Sydney visit began with many options on things to do. However, my legs felt like they needed some rest after all the walking on day 1, and it was alternating between rain, drizzle, and no rain. So I opted to get on the Explorer buses that go on two different routes and that allow you to pay one fare and get on and off the bus at any of the designated stops along the way. I love taking buses get acquainted with a city (since you can observe things vs. an underground train, for instance) so I went for it. While the red route stays close to the city’s center, the blue route heads to the outskirts towards Bondi Beach (the most famous of the Australian beaches). See this link for more info.

The bus has a recording which highlights key city sights/sites along with some history and such things so one really does get good value from taking them (the bus drivers usually add more commentary as well). For me, the Explorer bus rides helped me identify areas of town that I definitely would want to explore more during my stay. The bus tours also allowed me to get out of the rain for a good bit of time (each route runs a 2-hr circuit)! So I went off on the blue route.

First Stop – Watson’s Bay

Along the way to Bondi, I got off the bus at Watson’s Bay to have lunch at Doyle’s, a famous fish and chips place on the waterfront (Doyle’s website ). It was very good and I had been hungry for a bit so the combination was a success.

I did a short hike from there along the cliffs in that part of the coast which was good because 1. it was not raining, and 2. I got off the bus and got to stretch my legs… From this vantage point, one can see the entrance to Sydney Harbor from the ocean. This ships look puny next to the cliffs on the far side!

Bondi Beach and Surfers

Bondi Beach

Once I got to Bondi Beach, we were told there was a scenic trail connecting it to the next beach town over (where I could catch the next Explorer bus) so I decided to get off the bus again though it was drizzling (I was wearing a rain jacket). The coastline was beautiful and the waves were roaring due to the weather.

Of course, surfers were out in full force. I have never really paid attention to surfing before. It does seem a lot of fun if you don’t mind waves thrashing you about. However, by watching I realized surfers spend a lot of time just hanging out waiting for the right wave. As I was trying to take some action pix, it seemed to take forever for them to get on a wave. It seemed to me like it could get boring.

I stood on the roadside above one of the beaches (like 50 – 75 feet high) and I noticed how cars would slow down as they approached where I was standing. After a few of those, I realized those were surfers checking out the conditions of that beach to see if they would surf there. Some parked and changed right by their cars and some just kept going (I assume the conditions weren’t up to par for them). It was about 2 PM on Thursday so I wondered if these guys just take a break from work to surf, if they are on vacation, or if they just don’t work.

End of Day 2!

So it’s the end of day 2 and my impressions of Sydney have gone from architectural & engineering awe after seeing the the Opera House and the Bridge to awe at the beauty of the city and its natural setting. The architecture can range from ultra-modern (Renzo Piano’s famous building) to the quaint buildings of the late 19th and early 20th century that you see not only in The Rocks area but elsewhere.

Typical homes in The Rocks area

The neighborhoods due east of the Central Business District all the way to the beaches all have distinct characters and unique charm. How would one choose where to live?? (Of course, property prices would take care of that as many of these seaside areas are quite pricey, precisely due to the seaside location and charm”.) I was expecting Sydney to be a modern city that was made pretty by its seaside location but my perspective changed dramatically today as I got a broader view at the different parts of town and realized there is a lot more to the beauty of the city than the seaside aspect to it.

Filed Under: Australia - The "Mainland", Australia & NZ Tagged With: architecture, Australia, Bondi Beach, Sydney

Last Day in Krakow, Poland

5 March 2009 by Raul 2 Comments

Alright, vacation is almost over, I am on my last evening in Krakow prior to heading back home. Morning flight at 5:30 AM to Prague, then another to JFK, and then Atlanta. It will be hard but sitting down for a long time sounds good after all the walking I have done this week. I have eaten all sorts of delicious yet very fatty food (the whip cream here is REAL cream!) but I don’t feel my jeans are any tighter!

I need to write more about a few experiences from the trip but here I will recap some of the sights in Krakow itself.

Krakow main square Poland Wawel Castle travel Canon EOS Rebel Photo

Krakow’s is one of the most magnificent squares in Europe

Krakow, main square, Poland, travel, photo, Canon EOS Rebel

Another angle on the great square of Krakow

The city is loaded with history. It used to be the capital and we visited the site of the royal palace, Wawel Castle (http://www.wawel.krakow.pl/en/), which sits atop the hill of the same name. Unfortunately, the royal residence was closed for a few weeks and re-opens on Monday. But we visited the crown treasure and armory museum in the basement of the palace and also toured the Cathedral (which is also in Wawel Hill) and the royal tombs underneath it. All very impressive (reading up a little Polish history before the trip paid off!).

Wawel Hill, Wawel Castle, Krakow, Poland, Basilica of St Stanisław and St Wacław, cathedral, history, religion, architecture

The main features of Wawel Hill are the same-named castle and the Basilica of St Stanisław and St Wacław (the Wawel Cathedral)

We also got to see very different style churches and key sites in the life of Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II). He clearly is still a big figure in the city where he lived most of his life and served as priest, bishop, and cardinal.

We have eaten very well and will write more about that later. Highlight of the day was finding a bakery with cream cakes, like the one I ate in Wadowice. Mmmm… cream cakes…

Today has felt very cold due to high winds. I learned from someone that it is the “halny” (winds from the Tatra Mountains http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halny).

I am guessing my next entry will be once I am home but have a few odds and ends to write about the trip. The trip to Krakow, though short, has been well worth it!

Filed Under: Europe, Poland Tagged With: architecture, Basilica of St Stanisław and St Wacław, history, Krakow, Poland, religion, Wawel Castle, Wawel Hill

Bella Bologna – Italy’s secret

24 January 2009 by Raul Leave a Comment

The following is a guest post by fellow traveler, Chris Sanders.

A few years ago, as part of my graduate studies at The Johns Hopkins School of International Studies (SAIS), my wife Wendy and I had the wonderful opportunity to live for a year in Bologna – a provincial Italian town situated in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, the region just to the north of Tuscany. Bologna and the broader region are an absolute treasure trove of culinary and other travel delights. It’s difficult to understand why such a wonderful part of Italy is today still relatively undiscovered by tourists (hence the name of this post “Italy’s secret”)…in Bologna and throughout Emilia-Romagna, you’ll find good eats and good sites and sounds, but you will not find hordes of tourists! Hey, maybe that’s what makes it so interesting to visit!

The main square – or, Piazza Maggiore

To whet your appetite, I’ve included a few notables about Bologna and the surrounding area…we highly recommend a visit!!

Bologna – food and higher education

It’s a shame the name of this town is the same as a cheap American lunch meat, because nothing could be farther from an appropriate comparison! Ok, there is a bologna like meat from Bologna called “mortadella” – but Bologna offers so much more than lunch meat.

For starters, how about Bolognese sauce (the yummy meat sauce we all love in our spaghetti) – it comes from Bologna.

And then there is the wonderfully rich lasagna vert – a green spinach pasta lasagna made with ragu and béchamel sauce, oh man!

Finally, Bologna is the birthplace of tortellini and the headquarters of Manjani Chocolate – makers of Fiat – umm, umm goodness!

For all these culinary notables, Bologna is often referred to as “Bologna the Fat.” I wish I could recommend a good restaurant in Bologna, but ironically, we rarely ate out because Wendy took cooking lessons from an Italian chef throughout the year and I was, quite happily, her test subject!

Aside from good food, Bologna is also known as a university town. The University of Bologna is old (founded in 1088 and claimed to be the oldest university in the world!), huge, and has several famous alumni including Dante, Thomas Becket, Erasmus, and Copernicus to name a few. My grad school, Johns Hopkins University, also has a small campus in Bologna. Interestingly enough, the Johns Hopkins campus was constructed with CIA seed money following World War II and was initially envisioned to be a listening post of sorts during the Cold War (Bologna was controlled by the communist party until the 1990s).

Other notable things to see while in Bologna

Great architecture – particularly porticos (some say it is possible to walk around the entire city and not get wet during a rain shower). Bologna suffered high levels of damage in its old sectors during World War II bombings yet it still retains great character!
The Piazza Maggiore with its ever-in-progress San Petronio, supposed to have been bigger than St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, not sure if that is true though. Napoleon’s sister is one of the notables buried there. Read more about it here.
Plenty of old churches – Bologna is the burial place of St Dominic.
See the town from up high from one of its medieval towers, the Due Torri (Asinelli and Garisenda). It’s a climb but, think about it, you get the benefit of two things for the price of one!
It’s the headquarters for Ducati Motorcycles (on one visit to the factory, Wendy actually got to start one up on the assembly line)
And it’s the headquarters for Furla – a fact Wendy cherished and still cherishes… there are more Furla shops per square km in Bologna than in anywhere else in the world… and my wife has been to them all.

basilica in bologna, san petronio, what to see in bologna, unfinished church

The basilica of San Petronio

View of the shorter of the Due Torri from the taller one

Colli Bolognesi

If Bologna can be described as “off the beaten path” of typical visitors to Italy, the Colli Bolognesi is – I suppose- “off off the beaten path?” The Colli are the rolling hills that surround the city and this area is definitely worth a visit. Aside from the scenic beauty and quietness, the Colli Bolognesi is also home to a number of vineyards and bed and breakfast establishments. One that my wife and I came to know (and its our favorite in the region) is Corte d’Aibo (http://www.cortedaibo.it/eng/) . Corte d’Aibo makes a bold Cabernet and Merlot – my wife and I were surprised to find it on the menu at Mezzaluna in NYC (a favorite haunt of ours when we are in the Big Apple).

There are so many great things to experience in and around Bologna. Please share your experiences with this great Italian secret. Do you have a favorite experience, restaurant, or site? Do tell!