Archive for 2017

National Palace of Sintra

Published on 5:04 PM By rika.C.

This is a palace that paints the history of the Portuguese voyagers.

Originally built by the Moors in the 10th century, the castle later became a residence for the Christian kings, after the conquest of Lisbon by Afonso Henriques in 1147. The palace did not undergo much transformation until the reign of King Joan I (1385-1433) and later by king Manuel I (1495-1521), where the funds came largely from the new riches found by the voyagers.

Apart from the patterns inspired by nature and geometric shapes (Mudejar glazed tiles), the doors and windows are also ornately decorated in the Manueline style. The rooms were designed such that the ones further away from the main hall had increasing privacy from the Magpies Room (where officials were hosted) to the back chambers (i.e guest rooms)

Magpies Room

The Magpies room was used to host important ambassadors and governmental officials, and received its name with a wooden ceiling full of Magpies.

Magpie Room

King Sebastio's Bed chamber

Coat of Arms Room

This room is one of the finest example of the Manueline style and is located at the highest point of the castle. On the ceiling you will find the coat of arms of the 8 children from King D. Manuel I, and below it are the coat of arms from 72 of the noble families in Portugal.

There is also an inscription that says:

" Through the efforts of loyal services were these won and with such others shall be preserved".

Coat of Arms Room

Apart from the ornately decorated ceiling, the blue and white glazed tiles are also done by an artist known as Master PMP, which is particularly representative of the Mudejar decor. You will also find similar ones in the Water Grotto.

Water Grotto

The Water Grotto depicted the Creation of the World, the Four Seasons with elaborate fountains, gardens and mythical themes. Water would sprout from tiny orifices, keeping the space cool and the ladies "entertained".

Palatine Chapel

The chapel ceiling is embossed with geometric lines representing the stars and moons, very much alike the ones we saw at Alhambra. The walls were entirely covered with fresco painting of doves carrying olive branches, which despite the use of red color, somehow gives off a calming effect.

Palatine Chapel

The Kitchen was immensely large and I love the white tiles, really gave off a fresh modern look to it!

Kitchen

Julius Caesar Room

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Falstaff's Love for Sherry & the Tio Pepe in Spain

EUROPE

Published on 2:34 PM By rika.C.

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Those who are familiar with Shakespeare, must be aware of the number of times Sherry wine was mentioned. It is without surprise that this was naturally related to a time when England was one of the largest importer of Sherry wine. It was a time when the British encouraged barter trade, English wool for the wine. The marriage between Catherine of Aragon and King Arthur of England and then later King Henry VIII reinforced and tighten this trade sale.

Catherine of Aragon, used to complain: "The King, my husband, keeps the very best wines from the Canaries and Jerez for himself".

Barrels of Wine with country flags

The Sherry wine is made primarily with Palomino grapes, and only those that are from Jerez region can be called a Sherry. Summer in this region is often dry and hot, with an average temperature of 17 celsius degree. The breeze from the Atlantic Ocean serves as a good moderator of maintaining the level of humidity and temperature that is good for growing the grapes.

The Tio Pepe winery, is one of the largest and most famous winery in Jerez region. It was founded in 1890 and the name literarily means "Uncle Pepe".

You will also find that there will be roses planted in the vinery, right next to the grapes, as they serve as a good indicator of whether the condition is suitable for the grape. If the roses are blooming, so will the grapes.

The Jesus Barrel Room
When Queen Isabel II visted in October 1862, she wanted to the the vendimia festival, but this is way past the grape pressing time. So Sr. Gonzalez went to each household to ask for the remaining grapes to make a press for the queen. The total volume is 33 times more than a traditional cask, and was names the Jesus barrel because he was crucified at the age of 33. They later added another 12 casks to represent the "Last Supper", with its twlve Apostles.

The Royal & the Famous
There is another room that is full of casks that were preserved for the royalties as well as the rich and famous. It reminded me of a Swiss vault, where you can only get the wine that has been preserved only for you. (Too bad we cannot try any of the Winston Churchill wine).

The Mouse
There is a really cute story about this winery is that during lunch hour, a worker had a glass of Sherry beside him, and a mouse came over to enjoy it as well. Amused by its good taste, the worker started leaving out a glass for the mouse every night, and eventually making a mini-ladder for it as well.
The kind of friendship between mice and men.

This is definitely one of the place to chill for an afternoon, and don't forget to do some wine tasting after the tour!

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Metropol Parasol, Seville

architecture

Published on 12:26 PM By rika.C.

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The Metropol Parasol could have ended up as a disaster.

Situated at the La Encarnación square, at a 2200 years old city Sevilla, this clash of modern meets tradition is a challenge that the German architect Jürgen Mayer H had to face.

The square had accommodated an old market since the 19th century, this was a prime commercial district. The market was torn down in 1973 and went into dormant for many many years.

The place was in need of an urban renewal. During the reconstruction, ruins of Roman and Al-Andulas were found and the project went into pending again. The project was reopened again for bidding in 2004, to see what is the best way to renew this place.

Jürgen Mayer H kept it all -- the old market, the Roman ruins and added his own icing on top - a gigantic Mushroom timber structure. It is said to be one of the largest timber structure in the world.

The Structure

The structure has over 3000 joints and has to meet all the standard requirements of waterproof, sun-proof, and so a type of laminated lumber called Kerto was selected. All the different joining parts were actually constructed in Germany (the weather in Spain could pose a difficult threat if it were to be constructed locally) to be assembled in Seville.

The citizens were resentful at first.
People had memories here. Situated at a beautiful Jewish Quarter, there are unique boutique shops, family-owned bakeries at every corner. How are they to accept a new mushroom in this neighborhood?

And they went from resentment to confoundment and finally to acceptance that this new architecture is going to bring life back to this old neighborhood. No more stores are going out of business, new restaurants and bars and moving back in.

Now there are new memories -- it is now one of the hottest spots that local go to to enjoy the gentle breeze on a hot summer night.

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The city of Pomegranate, Granada & the Alhambra Palace

Alhambra

Published on 12:53 PM By rika.C.

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Granada was the last city to fall to the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabela in 1492. For a long period of time, the Moors have known it as the "City of Pomegranate".

One of the greatest gem of this city, is the beautiful Alhambra, also known as the "Red Castle", is an Arabian night palace overlooking the fertile lands of the city below.

We first spent some time in its beautiful garden, the Alameda de la Alhambra, which was filled with intricate corridors of roses, wildflowers and myrtles. In particular, there were tall massive English elms that were brought by Duke Wellington in 1812.

Every corner there is a surprise, and needless today, every patio, every corridor comes with a beautiful mountainous view.

Chamber of Ambassador

The Chamber of Ambassador is the largest room of the complex and it is completed covered with geometric patterns and ataurique motifs (of flowers and leaves). There are three windows panels on each side of the wall, bringing new light to the room and giving it an unique complexion. The ceiling had a designs of stars and constellations with cedar wood panels, representing the seven heavens of paradise.

Chamber of Ambassador Window Silhoulettes

Courtyard of Lions

Adjacent to it is the Courtyard of Lions, which was built in the 14th century, where the 12 marble lions fountain would channel water from each lion's mouth, which really reminded me of the 12 zodiac water fountain at Old Summer Palace in China. I was also very much fascinated by the fact that this courtyard (or many of parts of the palace) was designed with golden ratio in mind.

Courtyard of Lions

The tiles also has a lot of mathematical beauty in it to form such delicate tessellation. It is said that M.C.Escher visit to the Alhambra and Mezquita in Cordoba had a very large influence on his work later on.

Mugarnas (Honeycomb vaulting) & Mocarabes (Stalactites)

Apart from the use of geometric shapes, tessellation tiles, inscriptions from the Koran, there are lots of forest and natural imagery involved.

The Mugarnas are these tiny squinches that form the shape of honey-combs, often found in Iranian or Persian architecture.

Honeycomb Vaulting

There is also another similar form, called the "Mocarabes", which are more like sharp stalactites that are found at entrance ways or half-domes.

Carlos V Palace

One may start thinking that this palace seems very much out of the place. In fact, after the Reconquista, Carlos I (also know as the Hasburg Holy Roman Emperor Charles V -- we will get into more detail as to why the Spanish and the Holy Roman Empire was related), he decided to add a residential area that is closed to the Alhambra. The building was never really completed (war depleted Carlos I income in finishing this area), and the roof was only added in 1957.

Carlos I Palace

Despite its Renaissance facade, when you walk into the hall, you will find that there is an inner circular patio, which is unprecedented in Renaissance architecture.

This place felt more like a bullring rather than a palace, nevertheless, it is beautiful.

Courtyard of Generalife

Night view

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Exploring the Islamic past of Cordoba, Spain

architecture

Published on 8:55 PM By rika.C.

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Cordoba - a city of ancient past, where Jews, Muslims and Christians once worked side by side to build this massive beauty, the Mezquita Mosque Church. The Mezquita used mosques in Damascus and the al-aqsa mosque in Jerusalem as reference, but to be designed to be better. Originally a church for Roman church of San Vicente, it was then extended and rebuilt as a Mosque by Abd ar-Rahman I in the 6th century. It later went through two more renovations, which gave its prominent looks today. Fashionably fusion I would say.

Orange Courtyard

Upon arrival you will enter this serene, spacious courtyard filled with orange and cypress trees. The trees were only planted in the 16th centuries, and before then, it was just a quiet space for ablution before entering the mosque.

Bell Tower

The bell tower was built in 951-52 as a minaret, but was later remodeled and heightened in the 16th century. Hence the bell tower is very unique kind of its own -- with architectural influences from mannerism and islamic art. (Very similar to the one I saw in Split, Croatia).

The Interior

The interior of Mezquita Mosque-Cathedral is truly remarkable -- lavishly ornate with geometric patterns, and the arches are still a sight of architectural wonder today. The hall is divided into sections with 2-tier lined arches, in stripes of red and white brick stones. The arches are elevated in such a way to create airiness and openness. People could freely move about in the arcade without feeling that there are columns in place, giving it an extra sense of endlessness.

The Maksura & Mihrab
The Maksura area has an intricate movement of arches, forming a canopy of shades and lights. Each dome is decorated with star-like patterns and flower motifs. There is also a white marble slab sculpted in the shape of a shell and engravings from the Quran. The designs were largely inspired by Byzantine tradition. The skylights inundate the space with light and adds a mysterious yet majestic feel to the space.

The Cathedral

At the heart of the Mezquita is a 16th century built altar area and choir space, when you look from the top, it forms the shape of a holy cross. The altar and panels of bibles (in the choir space area) were made from fine mahogany stalls. Somehow, despite of its extravagance in Baroque and Renaissance design, it flowed smoothly with the rest of the architecture. This is truly a holy space, that shows that all culture and religion can stay in one place, at peace.

Painted altar of the Encarnacion by Pedro de Cordoba

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ICELANDIC Horses

EUROPE

Published on 2:17 PM By rika.C.

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Being a horse lover, I try to make an effort to visit one of the local stables. When I visited Iceland, I decided to stay at Gauksmyri, a horse stable hostel where we got some time to meet the Icelandic horses!

When I asked the owner, is Icelandic horses warm blood or throughbreds, she couldn't answer as that is the only bred that ever existed in Iceland!

I was surprised to find that horses are forbidden to be imported into Iceland, and any exported ones are not the be returned to preserve its unique breed. The current breed has been preserved to be bred pure in Iceland for at least 1000 years. Apparently 900 years ago, some horses were either brought from Scotland or Mongolia, so that's probably why they have similar features.

Icelandic horses have broad shoulders, short and muscular neck, deep chest, and although somewhat like the size of a pony, they are known for withstanding some of the harshest winters in Iceland. Not to mention that hey also have a calm and big personality!

Just look at those big adorable eyes :)