Touring Paradise, St George’s Street — ‘memory mile’ of a Naval Town part 2 October 15, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Map, Museum, Rail Pass, Sightseeing, South Africa, Tickets, Tour, Trails, Travel Clinic, Trip , 2commentsFrom Jubilee Square to ‘Black Town‘ Jubilee Square, on the left, commemorates King George V’s Silver Jubilee in 1935. By coincidence, the drinking fountain in the square commemorates an earlier jubilee — that of Queen Victoria in 1897. It was moved here recently from its original position near The Residency. A statue of Able Seaman Just Nuisance was unveiled nearby in 1985. (more…)
Gypsy Serenade continue… August 26, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Africa, Paris, Tour, Trails, Trip , 3commentsThere in a tiled room in the basement the pleasure began: Gonzalo’s daughter danced for us. She was fifteen, lithe, conscious of her own body and beautiful in her art, and all the while as the spectators’ enthusiasm grew her father watched her, drinking Jerez, nodding his head and smiling.
Presently he drew me aside to suggest that if I would like to give him a certain sum his wife and daughter would go immediately and prepare a gypsy supper. He explained that their house down under the railway by the Bridge of Three Eyes had only one room, but his own eyes shone as he described the delights of a gypsy supper. (more…)
Pleasant hollow QUELUZ continue… June 15, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Aquarium, Art Gallery, Coliseum, Dolphinarium, Gymnasium, Library, Lisbon, London, Museum, Oceanarium, Planetarium, Portugal, Restaurant, USA , add a commentThe interior of the palace (which was partially destroyed by fire in 1934 but felicitously restored) is entered from the cour d’honneur. The cheerful lightness of first room, a corridor known as the Sala das Mangas, derives from its wall-to-ceiling revetment in blue and yellow azulejos, the characteristic Portuguese decorative tiles. A key position in the palace is occupied by the ceremonial reception room, the Hall of the Ambassadors. This room is also called the Hall of Mirrors, for most of the wall space not occupied by the window embrasures is filled with mirrors in gilt Rococo frames. The coved ceiling is decorated with a large painting, in which members of the royal family are depicted behind a balustrade as if watching one of the evening concerts for which Queluz was famous. (more…)
The relentless uniformity of the bays of the south facade of the Escorial continue… June 3, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Austria, Europe, Library, USA , add a commentThe church itself is a central-plan building focusing on four great piers that support a hemispherical crossing dome. The general scheme of the interior follows the example of St Peter’s in Rome, but the architect has transposed the details into a solemnly majestic key, his personal interpretation of the Doric order. The enormous scale, the relative absence of ornament and the unrelenting austerity of the granite surfaces produce an awesome, almost suffocating effect. Fortunately this tension is relieved by the presence of a number of outstanding works of art, which act as aesthetic oases, so to speak. The east wall is entirely filled by a great retable designed by Giacomo Trezzo of Milan, incorporating paintings by Pellegrino Tibaldi and Federico Zuccaro and sculpture by Leone and Pompeo Leoni. (more…)
River Thames bank: Historic royal palace of Hampton Court continue… June 1, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Europe, London, USA , add a commentThe splendour of Henry VAT’s enlargements can be assessed in the Great Hall, built in 1531-6 to replace Wolsey’s smaller hall. So eager was Henry to see the room finished that he ordered the workmen to labour throughout the night by candlelight. The interior of the hall, which measures 97 by 40 feet, is dominated by an imposing hammer- beam roof that recalls the pioneer example in Westminster Hall, London. Another remarkable ceiling of Henry’s time is the wooden fan vaulting added to the Chapel Royal in 1535-6. Here the carved and gilded pendants stand out against a dark blue ground powdered with stars. The royal pew of the chapel leads to an L-shaped room asso¬ciated with the tragic fate of Catherine Howard, Henry’s fifth andsecond-to-last wife. (more…)
The Doge’s Palace continue… May 30, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Greece, Museum, Paris , add a commentLinking the palace to St Mark’s basilica is the Porta della Carta, the main entrance to the courtyard. (The name of the gateway seems to derive from a later custom of fixing public notices on to it.) Its richly carved decoration (begun in 1438) was designed by Bartolomeo Bon and his son Giovanni. The central panel of the doge Francesco Foscari kneeling before the Lion of St Mark was renewed in the 19th century, after its destruction during the Napoleonic occupation of Venice; but the figures of Justice, Strength, Temperance, Prudence, Charity and of St Mark are all original works of the early Renaissance style in Venice. In its original state, the surface of the gateway was richly coloured, with blue and gold predominating. (more…)
Malmaison: the Favourite country residence of Napoleon and Josephine continue… May 22, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Destination, England, France, Library, Museum, Paris, Turkey , add a commentIt soon became obvious that the château was too small. Percier and Fontaine added on two wings and pulled down the dividing walls in order to enlarge the drawing rooms. In doing so they practically caused the main structure to collapse and had to reinforce it with massive pilasters which still today look somewhat incongruous. The interior was decorated with care in the taste of the day. The walls were hung with both antique and modern pictures. Two red marble obelisks adorned one of the doorways; they came originally from the Château de Rueil, once the residence of Cardinal de Richelieu but now nonexistent. Berthault built follies in the shade of the trees; a Gothic aviary, a temple of love, sphinxes were dotted about the groves and the banks of the stream. (more…)
Sans Souci: The light-hearted summer-house of King Frederick the Great continue… May 18, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Air Tickets, Airlines, Destination, England, Flight Schedule, Library, Lodges, USA , add a commentThe entrance hall contains Corinthian columns exactly matching the colonnade outside. Doors lead off on the right to the service rooms, left to the corridor, and straight across to the cupola hall. Both halls were by von Knobelsdorff. The floor of the cupola hall was designed by Johann Christian Hoppenhaupt and executed in marble intarsia by Duquesnoy. The Italian marble blocks for this hall were too large to bring to Berlin, and two stone cutters, Heller and Grepler, were sent to Hamburg to work them in the rough. The most decorative room was without doubt the music room, with decorations by Johann Michael Hoppenhaupt and a series of wall paintings by the court painter, a Frenchman, Antoine Pesne, director of the Berlin Academy, who was here to be seen at his best. (more…)
The Royal Palace: The former residence of the kings of Sardina and of Italy continue… May 12, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Airlines, Beach Resorts, Hotels, Library, USA , add a commentBeaumont was also the author of the painted figures floating above the mirror walls of Queen Maria Theresa’s room, their graceful limbs mingling in the cloudy recesses of the glass with the discordant images of modern sightseers. But the eye is soon distracted from these by the glittering inlay work of ivory, precious metals and rare woods which covers every piece of furniture and, like a film of hoar frost, emphasises the curves of broken pediments and slender cabriole legs. The effect is magical and is largely the work of Pietro Piffetti, another artist appointed by Juvara. An infinitely skilled craftsman, he was obsessed with the idea of inlaying wood with costly materials, and when he gave free reign to this idiosyncrasy, his art could result in a display of mere virtuosity. The king’s minute private chapel provides an example of this. (more…)
Queluz: A rose pink palace in the French eighteenth-century style continue… May 8, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Air Tickets, Airlines, Beach Resorts, Brazil, Europe, Flight Schedule, France, Las Vegas, Library, Lisbon, Memorial, Museum, New York, North America, South America, USA, VISA , add a commentThe Sala dos Embaixadores is the throne room, but an intimate one, for the room is not very large and the windows on either side let in the sun, and the gardens and black and white marble floor are reflected in tall mirrors above the narrow semicircular console tables. This is the only room where the restoration after a great fire in 1934 appears obvious. The other rooms which were damaged have been admirably restored.
Beyond, at right angles, are the apartments of Dona Maria’s son, Dom Joao VI and his sinister Spanish Queen, Carlotta Joaquina, whom Beckford described with such vividness. Sitting oriental fashion on a red velvet carpet laid on the grass, she made him run races with her ladies in the gardens and dance the bolero to a ‘ low, soft-flowing choir of female voices . . . smooth, well-tuned, and perfectly ‘melodious’. The orchestra, which then existed at Queluz was, according to Beckford, the finest in Europe and at that time the wooden theatre in the park still existed, though nothing now remains of it. (more…)
Tsarskeo Selo: The magnificent palace of the Empress Catherine the Great continue… May 7, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Air Tickets, England, Flight Schedule, Library, Memorial, Museum, Russia , add a commentThe staircases were decorated by murals — the work of Hubert Robert, the French painter of romantic landscapes with classical ruins. One of these murals represented the Gallery of the Louvre, lit from above, and another the imaginary ruins of the same gallery. The state apartments, which adjoin one another, overlook the main forecourt. First comes the famous Amber Room(iantarnaia komnata) with its walls completely panelled in amber, pale as honey. It had been made specially for the King of Prussia, Friederich Wilhelm I. Peter the Great saw it at Mon- bijou when he was in Berlin in 1717. The sergeant-king agreed to surrender it to him ‘ in exchange for eighty tall recruits’. (more…)
The Royal Palace Monaco: A Mediterranean fortress transformed into a gracious house part 2 May 5, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Air Tickets, Airlines, Beach Resorts, Destination, England, France, Library, London, Memorial, Monaco, Museum , add a commentThere were three towers along the main wing where the lords lived: St Mary’s Tower, the Middle Tower and the South Tower. To the right a round building guarded the entrance to the castle, for military strength was still its main purpose. As artillery improved, the art of defence was modified to meet the new threat. Honores new system of defence was based on two main points, All Saints Tower and the Serravalle Bastion. The first, of semi-circular shape, guarded the end of the rocky promontary. It had a platform for guns and was connected to shelters, hacked out of the rock, in which cannon were also placed. Underground passages connected it with the Serravalle Bastion, which consisted of three storeys of vaulted casemates, and which was likewise armed with guns. (more…)
The Winter Palace: A masterpiece by Italian and French architects on Neva continue… May 4, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Bank Note, Beach Resorts, Credit Card, Flight Schedule, Library, Memorial, Moscow, Museum, Paris, Travel Clinic, Travellers Cheque , 3commentsWith Catherine the Great in power we find a new style creeping into the character of the buildings, classical tendencies from the West replacing Elisabeth’s Russian rococo style, the Palladian influence reaching as far as St Petersburg. The town gradually became, particularly in the reign of Alexander I, an ‘ Empire’ town; its classicist features were introduced first by Quarenghi and later maintained by Rossi. Rinaldi, the Italian architect, and the French Vallin de la Mothe, both employed by Catherine the Great, brought the Louis XVI style to St Petersburg, but on an overwhelming scale, inspired and required by the gigantic dimensions of the Neva. (more…)
