bags

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bags


-  Nautical : The sagging or bulging part of a sail.

- Slang : a. To fail to attend purposely; skip: bagged classes for the day and went to the beach.
  Source

I am stretching it like that just to use a picture I took last weekend (the Med after a heavy rain), which was manipulated to include a tiny Halloween goodie bag .  My bags  are packed as I will be gone for a  very short while, leaving early on Saturday. Pls leave your direct link, specially if you have multiple blogs, I will be returning visits asap. Thank you and Happy Halloween!!

urban bat

This is not a Halloween decoration but a street lamp in Barcelona's main boulevard Passeig de Gracia. The architect was Pere Falqués i Urpí and the 31 lamps integrated with benches are 103 years old. Can you spot the bat below at about 10 o'clock??

Update: although inquiring minds want to know, I cannot find the reason for the bat online...but I will keep trying!

looking down

I sometimes watch my step and I look down... then I found this. There used to be a pole here of some sort, only the aggresive maritime environment caused heavy oxidation...

beach flora

Macro Monday

I will formally introduce it to you once the blogosphere tells me the official names! seen last Saturday, close to the Med.

tied hearts

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traffic

Theme Thursday: traffic

Tourist traffic inside the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, heading to admire this amazing mosaic I first saw in my highschool art textbooks... I simply couldn't believe my eyes, I stood in front of it for long, long minutes...

(click to enlarge)

The Deësis mosaic (...) probably dates from 1261. It was commissioned to mark the end of 57 years of Roman Catholic use and the return to the Orthodox faith. It is the third panel situated in the imperial enclosure of the upper galleries. It is widely considered the finest in Hagia Sophia, because of the softness of the features, the humane expressions and the tones of the mosaic. The style is close to that of the Italian painters of the late 13th or early 14th century, such as Duccio. In this panel the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist (Ioannes Prodromos), both shown in three-quarters profile, are imploring the intercession of Christ Pantocrator for humanity on Judgment Day. The bottom part of this mosaic is badly deteriorated, probably due to rain since the mosaic is next to the windows. This mosaic is considered as the beginning of the Renaissance in Byzantine pictorial art. Source.

brought to you by the letter N

ABC Wednesday : N

Notice the neat ceiliNg!

Pls click to enlarge! Another perspective from the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Did I mention it is huge? there are some 4,000 little shops  and it has more than 50 streets, so it is very easy to get lost. The good thing is that the stalls in the bazaar are grouped by type of goods, such as  pottery, jewelry, leather and carpet shops. There is much, much to see, I am glad I didn't miss the ceiling! (which wasn't always this neat!)

shopping

Ruby Tuesday

At the Grand B*azaar!

blue apotropaic

Blue Monday

Attempts to ward off the curse of the evil eye has resulted in a number of talismans in many cultures. As a class, they are called "apotropaic" (Greek for "prophylactic" or "protective", literally: "turns away") talismans, meaning that they turn away or turn back harm. Source

This is the talisman seen all over in Turkey, in all sizes, as magnets, in jewelry, all manner of decoration, you name it!

looking up

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This week's theme is a free choice....since I was in  Istanbul last week my choice is a view of the Blue Mosque, a fascinating place and hard to photograph to do it justice. Pls click to enlarge for an overview of the decorations!

pink sky

True Colours Thursday is hosted by Blue

This week's color is pink ...I only like this color in nature, that's why I  like this shot of Istanbul at dusk (straight out of the camera). Seen last weekend.

how about some tea?

Ruby Tuesday

Back from Is*tanbul, where I had many of these small glasses of tea...

Updated, because inquiring minds want to know...
- this is the traditional way to serve tea: in a tea glass placed on a saucer. The painted saucer seems to be the very traditional one, see here.
- It was black tea, very much the way I like it. I didn't find it too strong and I could drink it black (no sugar) as I always do with my teas. Turkish people always add sugar!!

A word of thanks and a short break

Thank you very, very much for your kind birthday wishes -  you certainly made my day!

I was busy and had no time to blog yesterday. Today isn't much different as I am flying to Istanbul for 4 days in a couple of hours. Business meetings are scheduled for next week  but not for me, the  early retired one: I'll return home before they begin.

Enjoy the weekend, I know I will!!

a happy day to you and happy birthday to me...!

lighthouse

Ruby Tuesday

Our 10-day Germany trip ended in Hamburg, where I took this picture close to the Elbe River.

from the street gallery

Blue Monday * Mellow Yellow Monday

"Peace to every living being on earth, look after everything which needs life ".  Painted for Lorenz, Luca, Livio, and for all children of the world, according to the bottom line. Excuse my free and unprofessional  translation, poetic words are not my strength!! This is one painting  - from  about 100 - from the East Side Gallery in Berlin, probably the largest open air gallery of the world :  After the Wall came down in 1989, hundreds of artists from all over the world gathered and transformed the eastside of the Wall that had been untouchable up to now, with their paintings, giving the Wall a new face in a new time. 

It is a fascinating place and an international memorial for freedom. More on the gallery here.  More images can be seen  here.

photo hunt: words

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Backwards words... the glass façade of Berlin's central train station - Berlin Haupbahnhof - as seen from the inside.  It is the main railway station in Germany since 2006, Europe's largest two-level railway station, and the largest crossing station in Europe: about 350,000 passengers travel through this station each day in more than 1,800 trains daily.

Photographed during our 10-day Germany trip in September, Days 6-7 in Berlin.


Click to enlarge for a view of the train station during Christmas 2006, courtesy of the wiki. More wiki info here.

Fenster

 (pls click to enlarge!!)

Day 5 of our 10-day trip to Germany found us visiting Erfurt and Weimar. In Erfurt we saw this newly renovated building, a  red house from the 16th century Renaissance with the  name Zum Breiten Herd (link in German only)- House of the Wide Stove, built in 1584. The ground floor  was in fire in July 2008, that explains the house renovation. (I am always amazed about the things the net can tell us!)


Here is a closer picture of the top window  and the decorations, including  the Gaffköpfe (staring heads) and the figure of a servant on the very top.

And a cultural moment in which this blog shows you Goethe's home in Weimar. He lived here from 1782 until his death in 1832.

 

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