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Innsbruck

5/31/2015

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 Innsbruck is a natural haven and cityscape all rolled into one. Nestled in the Austrian Alps, Innsbruck is for mountain lovers, golfers, hikers, skiers, cycling enthusiasts or strollers like me.The golden lights reflected off Nordkette, the jewel of the Alps pleases all visitors who flock to this urban city.You can take a cable car to get to the peak to get a good view of the valleys and mist-shrouded summits.
 We arrived here on a Sunday morning, hence, practically had the streets to ourselves. Since all the museums were closed we started our random walk from the railway station towards the Old Historic center.Undeniably, no matter where you are the city has endless views.
Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo style buildings share spaces and stand together in timelessness. 
 We started our stroll from the railway station and reached near Landestheater, near the historic Altstad. The theater is surrounded by the imperial Hofburg, Hofgarten and The University of Innsbruck. Innsbruck is home to about 30,000 university students. Walked through to the Golden Dachl - Golden Roof- city's most famous sight. Built in 1500 by Emperor Maximilian to honor his marriage to Bianca Sforza. It is decorated with about 2,657, fire-gilded copper tiles.The emperor and his wife used to sit in the balcony and watch celebration of festivals, tournaments and other events that took place in the square below. A jazz group was playing in the balcony of the building entertaining the crowds sitting and relaxing or eating in the eateries below.
 There is a beautiful Baroque style building in the corner opposite the Dachl that you can gawk at. 
 We walked along the golden roof side of the path a little way down and came to an opening and saw the beautiful view of the Alps.There is a small bridge on river Ine. Wondered around this place taking in the views and took innumerable pictures of the houses lined along the river.
 Walking through the narrow streets couldn't help noticing the souvenir shops selling beautiful handcrafted things- aprons, bags, crocheted table linen, funky hats, sweaters and a myriad of other stuff. Tracht- is a traditional attire comprising leather breeches for men and frilly corset dresses for women.This alpine attire is a beautiful local costume. Some other unique items you can pick include tree hangings, wooden and fabric puppets, locally made honey or Honig as called in German, house shoes called Doggin. Tirolean bacon and schnapps and for a delicacy- Tirolean grey cheese- with a bold flavor, served with vinegar , oil and onions. Not to forget the irresistible snow globes, now a staple souvenir in stores worldwide. Snow globes were created by a surgical instrument mechanic Mr. Perzy I , an Austrian in 1900. He came up with the idea when attempting to improve the brightness of the newly invented electric lamp.
 Right around this area is a Swarovski store. If you do not want to venture out of the town to the Swarovski Crystal World, this store is enough to smother you with shimmering stones.
 From here we came to the Maria Theresien Street walking towards the iconic Triumpforte. It is a Roman inspired triumphal arch gate built by the Empress Maria Theresa. It commemorates the wedding of her son Archduke Leopold on its south side and a tribute to the death of her husband  Francis I, on the north side.
Innsbruck is a very walkable city and in a day we had a great time exploring and soaking in the sights.
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Neushwenstein Castle

5/30/2015

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  Neuschwanstein means "New Swan Stone" is located in the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen  in southwest Bavaria, Germany.This castle was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria, who paid for most of it out of his personal fortune rather than dipping into the Bavarian coffers.Ludwig II is known as the fairy-tale king. The inspiration for the castle came to the eccentric king from the theater themes, musical mythology and operas of Richard Wagner,his close friend.
 I wanted to visit the Castle primarily to see what and how a medieval- style chateau called the Neuschwanstein Castle, that was built for no strategic or defense purposes, inspired the Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle. Well, it turns out that the dainty turrets, cylindrical towers and the romantic views  surely did inspire Walt Disney  and then forever became a fairy-tale oasis.
  The Castle is a hybrid of shapes of Romanesque with cuboid and semicircular arches,Gothic with slim towers and delicate embellishments, Byzantine art and architecture all mingled in an eclectic fusion for a nineteenth century castle.The white sandstone was sourced from a nearby quarry and the sandstone brick for the portals and the bay windows along with the marble from  places near Salzburg.
  Despite its size the castle does not have space for a royal court, only private lodgings and servant quarters. Ludwig II lived as a recluse in the castle for a total of 172 days only. He was found dead in a nearby lake along with his psychiatrist. He was 40 years old. His death is still a mystery as to if it was a murder, suicide or purely accidental. When Ludwig was stripped of all real power, historians believe he decided to retreat into his fantasy kingdom in the Alps, living in alternate reality in which he could play his operatic daydream of christian knights and magical swans. He would sleep during the day and wander the castle at night.
  He had a perfect location picked out as the castle sits near his childhood castle of Hohenschwangau. It has a 360 degree views of pristine alpine scenery of lakes, lush valleys and towering peaks. Had the castle been completed it would have had 200 rooms, with all technological comforts such as electricity, sewage system, central heating and electric buzzers to summon servants. However, only few rooms are in service - The Throne room, Ludwig's Suite, The Singer's Hall and the Grotto. The castle has been featured in movies such as The Great Escape ( 1963) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ( 1968).
  To get to the castle we took an early morning train at 5.45 am from Munchen HBH ( Munich's Central Station) to Füssen. The early morning journey was a window into the Bavarian countryside.The rolling green meadows, farms, windmills and solar powered barns made up much of the scenery. The herd of cows strolled and grazed in open un-fenced fields. It drew my attention to the cow bells around their necks. Beautifully handcrafted with representative alpine figures they are hand carved or cut out of wood or bronze with leather collars. Some have sleigh bells jingling, telling the herdsmen how far the cows have cruised out. It keeps the loitering cows safe from wandering off the cliffs as they search for greener pastures. The noise of the bells also keeps evil spirits at bay, such is the belief. The clanging and chiming of the bells is certainly a key part of living on alpine pastures, keeping the old fashioned farm culture and life alive. So then in that moment I decided to buy a cowbell as a souvenir to represent the memories of this trip,
 On arriving at Füssen we took Bus 78 that drops you off just downhill at the ticket center by the castles. From here you can go to the two other neighboring castles or take a bus to Neushwanstein castle. A small ride and you get dropped off at a station to hike the rest of the way to the majestic entrance of the castle. Along the way you can take pictures of the beautiful Bavarian scenery that frames all three castles.
 The entrance ticket is timed. No photography is allowed of the interiors. It takes about 45 minutes to complete the guided tour.
 King Ludwig built a beautiful castle using his vivid imagination. No wonder 1.5 million visitors flock in every year to check it out.
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Pisa and The Leaning Tower

5/23/2015

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Misadventures are part of adventures as well. I sure did realize this when I overslept and missed my early morning train to Pisa. Well, sometimes you have to reassess, reorganize and reset and go on. 
So, if you want to travel in Italy, all the trips can be done by train. Trenitalia has a good network and is cheap. For all the places you want to go, you can buy the ticket at the counter, in vending machines or online. We took the train from Firenze (Florence) to Pisa- a scenic train ride through Tuscany. It took a little more than an hour. Got off at Pisa Centrale train station.

Well, when you imagine Pisa, Italy, the first thing that comes to mind is of course the leaning tower. And as is a cliche in life "to tick off" the major sites, this was exactly my plan, until I bought a map of the city. It showed all the sites to visit clearly and I got my bearings for the city and now I had a plan. I had an entire day and it was a bit overcast, so me and my husband set out on our own pace.

Walked out of the station into Piazza Vittorio Emanuel, got a pic with the man himself. Since it was early morning, it was quiet, a few hawkers were lining up the pavements and arranging hats, sunglasses, umbrellas and all kinds of "leaning" souvenirs. We saw groups, actually hoards of youngsters with backpacks gathering around the square with the Polizia in the side lines. I could smell a rally of some sort.

Right around this area I was excited to find a mural made by a Pisan student and artist Keith Haring of New York.
Keith has also designed a jacket worn by a pink-wigged Madonna for a performance of her song "Like a Virgin" for the TV dance program Solid Gold . This mural is titled "Tuttomondo" and what is really cool about it is the theme, which is that of peace and harmony in the world, which can be read through the links and divisions between the 30 figures which, like a puzzle, occupy 180 square meters of the south wall of the church of St. Anthony. It is easy to miss. Check it out in the pictures. It is an awesome piece of art by an artist who brought AIDS into public view through his street art style subway drawings.

The piazza leads into Corsa Italia, a chic street lined with boutiques, bakeries, art galleries, leather goods shops and cafe's and more.You can have your fill of shopping here. It's fun walking into each one of these unique stores for you have no idea what you may like and end up buying. Not a perfect analogy, but it's like listening to a radio, you don't know which is the next song to be played and it could be your favorite. The department store H+M had its ceiling painted a la Renaissance style. Along the way, as I love diving into alleyways in a quest not to miss anything interesting, we got happily lost and came out on a bridge on River Arno.

The river, slightly muddy, runs through Pisa. It has several bridges going over it and the view of the city running alongside it is beautiful. The yellow, red, orange, blue buildings reminded me of Venice. As the city was still waking up we walked towards a little church, Santo Sepalcro, a unique church which is octagonal in shape made with locally quarried stone and has slits for windows. It has a red pyramidal top sitting on the columns. Further down the river is another church Santa Maria della Spina, it owes it's name to spina ( thorn) from Christ's crown of thorns, one of which is housed here since 1333, or so the story goes. The exterior is beautiful, ornate with many sculptures.

Had a cup of coffee and proceeded on Via Santa Maria peeking into interesting shops and came to Piazza dei Cavalieri or Knight's Square. This is now a center of education.Three imposing monuments here are - Palazzo dell' Orologio, Palazzo della Carovana and Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri. This square was a popular gathering place where all discussions, protests and victories were conducted or celebrated. The Piazza della Caranova has a beautiful facade done in sgraffitti (technique of layering and then scratching the paint). It has six niches that have busts of grand dukes of Tuscany tucked in them.

With a little more legwork reached Piazza dei Miracoli. It had started to drizzle by now. In this piazza is the 'star' attraction of Pisa- the leaning tower called Torre di Pisa also called Campanile also called the bell tower. You will be surprised once you reach this place because you find more than you had expected. The leaning tower shares the space with a Duomo, a Baptistry, and Camposanto Monumentale.

As you take it all in, you realize that opposite to the massive cathedral with the Duomo, the leaning tower actually looks smaller than you think it is. Also, the tower looks very fresh, not aged, clean and almost fake, so does the very green grass surrounding these monuments. The tilt, however adds a unique dimension to the monument which resembles a wedding cake. The height of the tower from ground to the top is 55.86 meters on the tilted side and 56.70 meters on the higher side. The tower was leaning at an angle of 5.5 degrees and after the restoration work between 1990 and 2001 it is now leaning at about 3.99 degrees. When it was built in 1772, it started tilting because the foundation was unstable. Various attempts were made to fix the problem, but the city relies on the "tilt "as it is worth the tourism it brings.

The entire sensation of exploring the leaning tower was done and dusted in about an hour, unless you want to climb some 300 steps to the seventh floor of the tower for 18 € and ring the bell. I weighed the idea and decided more fun than doing this was watching tourists "pushing" the tower. Frozen in this pose for at least 10 minutes. Some were very serious and determined to get that perfect pic. Every body was trying to get the classic cheesy picture just right. You can make fun or join the fun, which I did and got my cheesy picture after a few retakes. We hovered around the tower a little more. Had a little picnic on the greener than green grass. I had packed some pesto and mozzarella sandwiches with some hot tea in a thermos. Perfect for the rainy day.
Then we proceeded on to check out the Baptistry . It is beautiful, very ornate and we probably took more pictures of it than the tower. We got out of the old walled gate into Piazza Mann and found ourselves in a bazaar. Got some souvenirs, some gifts and then walked on Via Roma towards the train station. It was around 3 p.m by now.

We passed through Oto Botanica, a garden which is part of the University of Pisa. Well, Pisa is a University town. There are 60,000 students out of the 100,000 inhabitants. The math and science department are considered very strong in this University. There is also an Institute of Anatomy and Museo Anatomia. Pisa is also the birth place of the famous Galileo Galilee- a mathematician, a physicist and an astronomer. I had no idea that the famous Medici family helped him complete his studies at the University of Pisa as he struggled through it.There is also a famous myth that he dropped two cannon balls from the leaning tower of Pisa to test mass vs. speed. But that is debatable as there is no evidence to support it.

Came back to along river Arno and walked past the Cittadella Vecchia, an area which was a shipyard in the 13th century. What is left of the monument are some brick arches.

By now with all the walking and sightseeing we had definitely worked up an appetite.  So what do you eat in Pisa? Pizza, of course. Had dinner at a trip advisor recommended restaurant called "Dabbe". It was quite an experience I will remember every time I order a pizza. The waitress helped us understand the menu and recommended to try  " a new kind of pizza", remember it's all about getting out of your comfort zone. So I got a pizza with anchovies. Well, I have to admit it didn't go well on my palate.

Walked back to the square Vittorio Emanuel. The huge gathering had certainly become a protest to legalize cannabis. We watched the protesters for some time.

By now we had recorded 16,715 walking steps on our Fitbit and my feet were begging for a break. Took a train back to Firenze. Had a very memorable trip.

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Florence

5/22/2015

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This is a city where foundations of Renaissance were laid. It is choked full of history, art and architecture and culture.With your first step into the city you will go back in time. Renaissance is written all over this town beautifully preserved in it's architecturally perfect historical buildings and breathtakingly sculpted art everywhere. This city is settled around river Arno, where Julius Caesar, who can be named as the founder of the city gave land to retired soldiers of his army in 59 BC.
The city owes most of its masterpieces to the Medici family. Many monarchs of Florence and three Popes come from this family.
Even if you know nothing about the history behind Florence's art and architecture,  you will be struck by the power and beauty of this place.
For the five days that I was here, these are the places I checked out .
Duomo- Cathedrale de Santa Maria del Fiore
The red brick Duomo is imposing in the skyline of Florence. Inside the Brunelleschi's dome ( the largest in the world) you find one of the most beautiful pieces of art you will ever see. Frescoes of "The Last Judgment" by 16th century painter Giorgio Vasari fill the cupola. To see it up and close I made a  hike up 463 winding stairs to the top of the Duomo. It is challenging and claustrophobic but the 8 € ticket, a few dizzy spells and sweaty brows are all well worth the view in side the Duomo and of the beautiful city.
The dome is octagonal and built without the supporting wooden frame, unheard of at that time.The buildings exterior is covered with marble panels in shades of green, white and pink.The floor is marvelous marble mosaic pattern.
The Cathedral's 44 windows constitute the most extensive stained- glass art work of 14th and 15th century Italy.
In this piazza are many other important buildings such as the Baptistry and it's famous Ghiberti's bronze doors, Giotto's bell tower and the Archbishop's Palace.
Galleria degli Uffizi
Holds the world's most important collection of Renaissance art. In the museum are the works of Michelangelo, Giotto, Botticelli, Da Vinci and Raphael.There are about 3100 works of art, about 1700 on display at a given time. Not to miss art works are Michelangelo's Doni Tondo, da Vinci's Annunciation, Fabriono's Adoration of the Magi and many more.
Florence, Medici and Renaissance indeed played a huge role in art, architecture, science and in molding the world as we know today. I was glad I got the tickets online in advance as the lines just to get in the museum were long.
Galleria dell' Accademia
Treasures Michelangelo's "David",easily the most famous sculpture in the world. There is also his Saint Matthew and the Four Slaves. Other highlights are Botticelli's Madonna and Child and Madonna of the Sea.The museum also holds extensive collection of 40 historic musical instruments.
Boboli Garden
Strolled over the bridge to the other side of the river into a beautiful and sprawling English garden on the hillside.
Palazzo Pitti
Is the largest palazzo owned by the Medici family. There are 8 different galleries in this palace. It is massive and can wear you down . Here you can take a trip back into time into three eras- Roman ruins, a Medieval fortress and an amazing Renaissance chambers and paintings.
Mercato Nuovo
Is a covered market which has been open to business since 11th century.You can find souvenirs along with leather handbags, belts and wallets, shoes and hats, shawls and scarfs and various other knickknacks.
The most famous attraction here is the Fontana del Porcellino, a bronze statue of a wild boar created by Pietro Tacca. Visitors rub the pig's snout for good luck. Also put a coin in his mouth, if the coin rolls into the grater where the water flows then your wish will be granted.
Ponte Vecchio
Is a bridge, an ancient one that survived the bombing during WWII.It is lined on both sides with shops mostly selling gold jewelry.  Some of these jewelers have been here for generations. It is a lively place, busy and crowded with tourists, musicians, street sellers. However, the beauty of the bridge is to be admired from a distance with it's colors and reflection changing as the day goes by.
Piazzale Michelangiolo
This square is on a hill in the Oltramo district that can be reached by climbing up some 150 stairs. The observation point on the square gives a panoramic views of the city often seen on postcards. I was there in the evening and it was amazing seeing the city bathing in the changing lights of a sunset.
The Piazzale honors the sculptor and artist Michelangelo. There are bronze replicas of Michelangelo's David as well as the four allegories of the Medici Chapel of San Lorenzo.
Museo Galileo
Over 1000 items are in collection here, historic scientific instruments including large globes, stethoscopes,
Compass, telescopes and scientific measuring instruments are on display.
Piazza della Signoria
This is Florence's most popular square. It is dotted with statues, a fountain and important buildings.
Loggia dei Lanzi is a corner building with high open arches that has the statues of Medici Lions by Fancelli and Vacca.There is a copy of David in marble by Michelangelo in the same spot where an original stood for 69 years after it's completion in 1504. Next to it is Hercules and Cacus by Bandinelli, a bronze equestrian statue of Cosimo I de Medici and Rape of the Sabine women by Giambologna, Judith and Holofernes by Donatello, Persus with the head of Medusa by Cellini.The Fountain of Neptune is octagonal in shape with Neptune on a high pedestal designed by Bartolomeo Ammannati.

That's what I was awestruck by in Florence.  The sheer scale of the buildings, paintings, statues and churches. It feels like being in Alice in Wonderland...where you feel dwarfed once you pass through the rabbit hole.
The painted ceilings. I have no idea how the Italian artists did it. But they love an ornate, fancy painted ceilings. I challenge you to walk around with your head thrown back and not have your mouth wide open and eyes popping out.
I'm not a Catholic,  but I would light a candle and say a prayer when visiting such majestic churches and get humbled. I guess the spirituality that permeates brings you closer to God, can't deny the divine connection here.
Florence is all about the views. Dusk time is simply magical as the crowds thin out, you can watch the street musicians, wander around the romantic cobbled streets , watch men in their best tailored suits riding their bikes, admire women in high heels clattering on the pavements, talk to University students hanging out at cafés, oogle some more at the gorgeous architecture.
You will not want to leave this beautiful city.
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Milan

5/20/2015

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Being Italy's business and commerce capital, Milan does not get painted with the same rustic charm beauty brush as other Italian destinations. However, Milan's Duomo is decidedly the most impressive structure. It covers almost an entire city block with a capacity for 40,000 people. It is the 4th largest cathedral in Europe -(in case your curiosity is piqued the other three are St.Peter's in Rome, St.Paul's Cathedral in London and Seville Cathedral in Spain.) It is more than 600 years old and has an amazing facade.The Gothic facade is adorned by  3159 statues of which 2245  are on the exterior, 52 spires, 135 gargoyles and 700 figures that decorate the pink hued marble facade. Inside is some pretty spectacular marble flooring, not to mention the jaw slackening splendor of the space as a whole. In the piazza was a sculpture of a giant apple with a patched up bite. It was part of the Expo Milan on Foods and Art exhibit. Also went to the Museo de Duomo where you can get up and close with the statues, gargoyles and Saints that adorn the Duomo.

Getting a bird's eye view of a city is my favorite thing to do, so I climbed the stairs to the roof top of the cathedral to capture the personality of the city and for an incredible view from above.

My other favorite view of Milan was from inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele,which is alongside the Duomo and competes with it for attention. The Galleria has a high curved glass and iron ceiling and a glistening marble, mosaic tiled floor. It is a splendid mall that has an ambiance of part Saks Fifth Avenue and part Vatican Palace. It houses exclusive stores such as Vittorio Emanuele, Louis Vuitton, David Campari, Gucci, Prada, Boss, Umberto Boccione and many more. It is a graceful, light-filled mall that offers some of the best people-watching in the world. And even if haute couture is not your kinda thing , it's worth the window shopping stroll. Well , Milan is definitely the fashion hub.

Next stop Da Vinci's " The Last Supper" which is in the dining room of a church Santa Maria della Grazie, and believed to be completed between 1495- 1498.The Last Supper is a painting and not a fresco which is 15 ft by 29 ft painted directly on a drywall and it is deteriorating fast. It has narrowly missed being destroyed from bombing during WWII. The paintings iconography was used as a central theme by author Dan Brown, native of Exeter, New Hampshire in his best seller "The Da Vinci Code" which was also made into a movie.

For the evening , I headed to the Navigli neighborhood which has a system of canals designed by Leonardo da Vinci in the 17th century. It was once the lifeblood of Milan and today it lends historic charm to this lively part of town. I strolled around the picturesque waterway, wandered off into the streets and alleys that stem off from it and walked past all sorts of bohemian bars, restaurants, antique shops and art galleries immersing in the hipster atmosphere.  This area offers a totally different vibe from the main city. Selected a restaurant and settled down for a dinner. The nightly ritual of Aperitivo- where a predinner drink morphs into a full flegded buffet of meats, cheese, risotto, pasta , canape and more. It is the happiest of the happy hours. Restaurants are crowded and humming at this time.    .

Next day headed to Sforza castle which is home to seven museums which are dedicated to everthing from ancient art, 15th- 21st century wooden sculptures, prehistoric/ Egyptian archeology.

Another museum Biblioteca Ambrosiana has about 30,000 manuscripts exhibited. My go to section here was 1,750 drawings by Da Vinci, you guessed it he's my favorite scientist. I checked out his codex Atlanticus   

Next stop was the Royal Palace of Milan, inside is a sweeping staircases and elegant halls designed by Luigi Vanvitelli in 1769. The leading artists of the time were commissioned to decorate the interiors.The most stunning room is the Hall of Caryatides which escaped the bombing during WWII unlike other parts of the Palace which were later restored. The palace is an eye candy adorned with beautifully decorated ceilings, chandeliers, murals and rich tapestries.

Milan very gracefully blends the old with the new.


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Anatomy meets Art- Leonardo Da Vinci

5/19/2015

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Of all the scientists, I find Leonardo Da Vinci to be the most intriguing.He was an amazing genius and  wore numerous hats- was an artist, engineer, architect, anatomist, cartographer, geologist, writer, mathematician, poet, inventor, clothes designer among other things. A legend even in his own times, he unified the arts with the sciences. He strived to reach the core of his every pursuit and realize all his abilities and potentials.So amazing were his talents that he was accused of witch craft and his contemporaries saw him as a wizard .

Leonardo's futuristic inventions such as contact lenses and a writing instrument that resembles a modern day fountain pen are still with us in our everyday lives. He was indeed the quintessential Renaissance man, the one who represents the renascence, rebirth, of the arts, of science and of reason over superstitions. I got an opportunity to see his amazing works and discoveries at the Milan Science Museum.

When drawing the birds, he thought about the trajectories and the flight of the bird. He was a meticulous observer of nature. According to him the human body is a perfect machine, with a perfect architecture. When he drew a human body he showed "tendon or muscle is the cause of each movement" in his drawing. Leonardo's interest in proportions was sparked by writings of Vitruvius which provide a systematic examination of Roman engineering and architectural methods that were used in city planning,  temple architecture , in pneumatics, waterworks and drainage.

But it is the iconic drawing of the "Vitruvian Man" that tells about the proportions of the human body. In his study of living models and corpses he applied the core of his knowledge and created illustrations of human anatomy that are uncannily accurate, except for the female reproductive system . Anatomists during Leonardo's time often dissected unclaimed bodies, such as of vagrants or drunks who were more likely to be males.

Leonardo was the first to draw the human spine with the correct curves. He was also a first to draw a fetus in-utero.Today anatomy revolves and engages new imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that allows surgeons to view every detail for diagnosis and for operating.

Micro-anatomy, the study of anatomy at microscopic level is an area that was not yet there for Leonardo during his time. He however anticipated advances that would come only in the last several decade. His baby-in-utero drawing foresee the modern ultrasound techniques. His drawings of the anatomy of the shoulder look like modern 3D visualization.

He believed in his belief system and his own experiences. He saw and recorded what he perceived for the rest of the humanity hundreds of years ahead of his time. A wandering scientist with a pen ( that he designed ) with which he wrote everything in reverse, even his signature, that drew the future. He was an enigma . My big salute to this master genius.

Some fun facts about Da Vinci

- He was an ambidextrous,  paranoid dyslexic.  He could draw forward with one hand while writing backwards with the other producing a mirror image script that was laterally inverted. Others found it extremely difficult to read, which was exactly the point.

- Researchers at The University of Amsterdam and the University of Illinois used the face- recognition software to determine that Mona Lisa is 83% happy, 9% disgusted, 6% fearful and 2% angry.

- Leonardo was the first to prove why the sky is blue. (It's because of the way air scatters light).

- Bill Gates bought  Leonardo's Codex Leicester in 1995 for $ 30 million. This manuscript,  the only one not held in Europe, includes da Vinci's studies on hydraulics and the movement of water. Few pages out of it were used as screen savers on Windows 95.

- Leonardo de Caprio's name is Leonardo because his mother was standing in front of a Leonardo Da Vinci's potrait when he first kicked.

- In one of his drawings the uterus is wrong. In his drawing the uterus is as we would see in animals such as cows. Since it was difficult to procure female corpses,  Leonardo used the knowledge that he had gained from dissecting animals to help him understand the human body.
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Milan- Fashion and Design

5/18/2015

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  I wanted to check out  La Rinascente, a department store, walking distance from the Duomo. First floor was all about makeup. All cosmetic companies are here to give you a make over. Next four floors were designer clothes, shoes and accessories. You name a brand and you have it here. On the top floor are the restaurants and coffee shops. The basement was all sorts of miscellaneous stuff.The place is crazy pretty and if you appreciate design it is here you can get some European and Italian designers such as Alessi, Fritz Hansen, B&B Italia, Georg Jensen, Bodum and Kartell.Their products are all over in a supermarket setting, so no pushy salespeople to harass you. I got to oogle and drool at all sorts of pretty stuff. My favorite section was the housewares.  There is teaware inspired by the Japanese rock garden sand formation.There were really clever designs like a sharkfin soup bowl, paperbag vases, funky dome shaped jars with teaware in it. Variety of cups and plates and funky appliances. This place made me as "happy" as a bull in a china shop!!

In the furniture section was a nail-less constructed stools that were put together by a technique of grid locking. I am a sucker for such unique things and my mind was racing as to what all and how much I could lug back home. Check out the pics for all the cool stuff here.

I realized the term " Made in Italy " is certainly associated with beautifully crafted, well made, Italian design , quality, creativity, originality and style which has certainly established Italy as a premier design and manufacturing country in the world.

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More Gaudi

5/17/2015

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Casa Batllo is another one of Gaudi's masterpieces. It is a casa ( home) which is magical and more than a building. It is actually a legend of art.The striking modernistic facade has a whole world full of surprises, both artistic and architectural . Gaudi is constantly having a dialogue between architecture and nature.

Casa Batllo was built for a wealthy Barcelona aristocrat. It is imaginative and unconventional. The roof is in the shape of a dragon with an armored back of iridescent scales. The spine forms the ornamental top and the colors on it change as you move from one end of the roof to another.

The facade of the building has no straight lines. It's like it is made of bones ( as supporting pillars) and eye sockets of the skull ( as balconies). I saw anatomy in a different light. Even the building seemed organic , it had life. It is covered by leaf vines. The facade tells a story- Monet's waterlilies, carnival scene with masks and bone flag poles, confetti showers and a dragon to be slayed by a warrior. You take as much time admiring and interpreting the outside of it as you would the inside of it.

Inside the house , the banisters are carved of fine hardwood, in the shape of a spine of a huge animal,. The fire place is shaped like a mushroom, oak doors have organic shapes with fancy twined handles and honeycomb shaped peepholes, ceiling is scaly or wavy evoking a ripple effect as in a sea.

In the loft are the laundry and the storage rooms. There is even a room for the priest to come and stay with the family. Throughout the house the passageways are painted white and are arched. You will feel as if you are walking through the ribcage of a giant whale. The building epitomizes form and functionality, as in anatomy and physiology. The complimentarity is amazing. There is an element of purity as art combines with function .

Gaudi's house has a magical characteristics of nudging at you. His creativity and design challenges you to ask questions and to think how Antoni Gaudi was able to synthesize and process the natural world and present such an extraordinary masterpiece for us to behold.

Park Guell - Has amazing mosaic stone structures, Gaudi's dragon fountain at the entrance and a huge lizard, with which every body wanted a picture. The walkways are supported by twisting rock columns that seem to be growing out of the soil. They appear natural and organic. On the roof of the Guell park is a terraced area where from you get a magnificent view of the city.There are multicolored mosaic tiled benches to sit upon.
On the park is also Gaudi's home which is now a museum that has his bedroom, prayer room . His personal belongings are on display along with some furniture he has designed.
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Barcelona and Gaudi

5/17/2015

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Barcelona is a timeless Mediterranean city. It is a perfect tourist city on a face value because of it's unique architecture, rich history, lovely beaches, mouthwatering food and a vibrant culture. And, beyond the travel brochure, Barcelona has a spirit and energy that is addictive and compelling.

Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's crowning glory
This cathedral,  well it actually is a church , is Antoni Gaudi's finest masterpiece and is still under construction since it started in  1882. Mostly cathedrals have taken over hundred years to build. This one is supposedly reaching completion in 2026 ( also Gaudi's 100th anniversary) which is comparatively I would say is quicker on historic cathedral building standards. It is so unique that there is nothing like it in this world. It is impressive, it is whacky, it is " Oh- my - God". I was totally dumbfounded by it's intricacy. The  only expression that came out of me was " WOW". Over 8000 people can worship inside this church.On the day I was there it was busy like a Walmart on a Black Friday! Just so you know,  the four artists who have made a lasting impression on the city of Barcelona are Gaudi, Miro, Picasso and Dali.

As I was standing and looking up the exterior of this fascinating church I realized why Gaudi is considered the Father of Modernista architecture movement. From outside this church looks like a super supersized sandcastle as in a fairy tale. Gaudi's works adorn the city. His inspirations from nature is very obvious in his work. Gaudi grew up in the countryside in southern Catalonia, amidst and around natural beauty. As a youngster he suffered from bouts of rheumatism that kept him from playing with other kids . So his mother took him for long nature walks. Hence, he used nature as his muse throughout his creations. At Sagrada Familia the trees in the main nave are a good example. You feel as if you have entered an enchanting forest. The trunks open up into a stone canopy. As I craned my neck up to look where the trees branch out a tingle ran down my spine. The ceiling is jaw dropping magnificent, as if blooming sunflowers are hanging upside down. Looking around , I noticed mineral forms on the capitals crowning the temple. Lots of wildlife- trees and plants and vines adorn the columns and the doors along with spirals like snails, amphibians and reptiles. Nature is definitely Gaudi's guiding aesthetics.

As you walk around you notice  the church is illuminated by blue, orange and pink hues from the stained- glass windows. The atmosphere is airy, bright, warm, serene , peaceful and full of prayers. The choir was softly singing on one side of the church.

If  for a minute you take the traditional church out of your mind you might think you are in a place of worship in some extraterrestrial region. Beyond doubt it is one of the most awesome sites in the world. It certainly symbolizes an uncompromising pursuit of perfection.

As your eye travels from the floor to the ceiling it seems as if Gaudi the artist, the designer , an architect is striving to unite the Earth with the Heavens.Using a magnolia leaf as inspiration,  he experimented with parabolic design, a method of building curves from straight lines. By 1915 Gaudi was studying geometry researching  hyperboloids and was once again tinkering with nature. The capitals of the column in the nave are modeled with  the scars that form when a tree branch is cut off, which creates transitions between the trunk and the branches of the trees. Gaudi adopted this growth pattern for the design of his columns using Oleander branches as his model.

For the exterior elements, Gaudi studied the crystallization of minerals such as pyrites, fluorite and galena. He incorporated these polyhedral forms into giant fruit cones, colored with Venetian ceramics that crown the Basilica towers.
During his lifetime Antoni Gaudi said that" The great book, always open and which we should make an effort to read, is that of nature". I left with a feeling as if I have read volumes. I left feeling inspired .
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Girona

5/16/2015

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This idyllic town is about an hour train ride from Barcelona.We stopped here on our way back from Figueres. As I was planning a visit here I found out that Girona's "Fleur de temps", a flower show, was scheduled that week. This was a 60th year of this event. On arriving at the station, a very friendly girl at the info desk explained that 126 flower arrangements were on display. She gave us directions to follow the grass footsteps to walk to the Old city and handed us a map with every exhibition numbered. This route is lined with fancy boutiques, art galleries, cozy cafe's, bakeries and restaurants. Before you realize it , window shopping can soon become your favorite activity.There was even a jester who was tumbling on a pole that ran across a street. It was  mechanized and life size and a little boy in a Superman suit was in control of it.

It was like a scavenger hunt as we discovered a new creation in a park, a church, on river Onyar, in Placas, on streets and alleys, on the hundred steps leading to a church, in the University compound, in the courtyard of a house, in a museum, hanging from the balconies, in the medieval porticos, along the ancient walls of the city. Passieg de la Muralla is the medieval wall that still surrounds much of the city.The entire town was buzzing with mostly tourists who were excitedly moving on from one arrangement to another. Every creation was unique, imaginative and beautiful. It was a delight to see flowers everywhere amongst the grey walls of a very ancient city where history is taken seriously here in the north east of Catalonia.Like so many other cities in Europe, this city has had its share of invaders, conquerors and rulers. It has survived some 25 sieges from Romans to French. Hence, you get to witness an impressive pile of cultural collisions.

Also visited the grand 18th century Cathedral de Santa Maria. It has a stairway with 90 steps leading to it against a gray facade that dominates the Girona skyline. Inside the church is an equally imposing single nave that is 72 feet wide, second only to that of St. Peter's in Rome. This place tells the story of Saint Narcis (Narcissm), the patron saint of Girona. The story goes that when the French invaders broke open his tomb they were swarmed and attacked by monster flies. That's why chocolate flies can be found in several traditional confectionery shops and Narcis as a name is quiet popular.

Outside on the street a chorus group sang some prayers. In a Placa a jazz group was performing to a cheering audience. A joie de viver prevailing in the atmosphere.

 The Jewish quarters have a museum encasing their history, housed in an elegant building with a stunning sunny patio, the museum is designed to show what a jewish home might have looked like. There are few remaining signs of Jewish culture. After the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, Christians moved in and either destroyed the Jewish homes or built new houses on top of them. (This explains why many of the houses are three stories high, startlingly tall for medieval dwellings.) There's a tiny oil lamp, a mezuza and photographs of mikvahs, and Jewish baths.

Amongst all the traditional buildings and ancient history that Girona is crisscrossed with, a red crisscrossed bridge designed by Gustav Eiffel as a prelude to his Eiffel Tower in Paris nods at modernism here. It stands out on the river Onyar that Girona is situated on.Walking along the Barri Vell, Old Town you can't skip noticing eye-popping colorful houses mirrored and reflected on the surface of River Onyar.
I was lucky to be here at the time when this city celebrates the festival of flowers. Our reward at the end of the day was a camera full of pretty memories. 
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