Episode 9 Barcelona

The Zurich airport is just as messy as the one in Frankfurt. The walking is long from end to end. This airport also has a subway connecting different terminals like the one in Hong Kong. If you have to do connection here, please allow yourself ample time.

Barcelona sits in the region of Cataluña. The Spanish have some strong features of their own but they are more on the rustic side. Again, economy is not too successful and the country is struggling. Tourism is still very promising.

Barcelona is very much related to the sea. The buildings are mostly Gothic style. We did our usual tourist thing. Barcelona is proud of Picasso and Gaudi yet I was not in favour of such. Both of these gentlemen were usual thinkers and that would be it.

Episode 8 – Monte Carlo

It is a wonderful town. It is small and yet it smells money. You have to count your dollars when you do things here. The Hotel de Paris is off limits to tourists. Somehow we managed to sneak in. It was grand but it was old and traditional. I could not imagine people paying 6000 Euros and up for 1 night of service here.

The car racing was finished. We missed it. Not that we could afford to go and watch it. We stood by the dock and watched this yacht “Lady Moura”. It is ranked #7 in the world and owned by some Arabian Shih. It baffled my mind when money could be used in a more proper way.

We went onto the village of Eze which was in the French territory. It is a quaint little village and there are narrow paths and walkways. Everything had to be transported to the town by human labour. A plumber came by and he was grumbling about he had to work. It is a very strange place.

Episode 7 – my town Firenze Florence

While Rome is famous for its quantity of tourist places, Florence makes up for it with the quality of its art and sculpture. In my humble opinion, Florence housed a better selection of architecture, buildings, monuments, bridges, museums, and they are all finely decorated with exquisite sculptures.

The Sistine chapel is grand and overpowering but it lacks the artistic charisma of Duomo (the house of God). The different natural color marbles and the exterior detailing on the walls gives you the far sense of superiority.

You should not miss the statue of David by Michelangelo. That might be a duplicate and yet it is stunning enough to demand your admiration. The fine muscle lines, the lovely flow of the body, the details all pointed out to some life like spirit captured within this figure. The statue might one day come alive. The stare of the statue was just amazing. It brought a strong, determined sense of vision. It can certainly look into the future with its positive influence.

Continue reading →

Episode 6 – Roma, finally

It was an early wake-up call and then rushed into the city of Rome to avoid traffic. I am an early riser and I was having my breakfast at 4 in the morning. I was not the only one in the dining room. Some people were complaining about not able to get window seats. What can you see at that hour of the morning? I do not understand the logic behind this.

Rome was congested with traffic. There was no way to get around the narrow streets with a coach. The best way was to walk, and walking we did. St. Peter’s Square was the first stop. It never fails to amaze me with all the statue and sculptures. We stood in the square, on top of the mark where one could only see a single layer of columns. It was certainly a marvel with this optical illusion.

The guide pointed out the window where white smoke would fly in the election of a new pope. Then the guide told us, there was never any chimney to burn the used ballots. It was a little heater they used on top of the roof to burn the ballots. This is devastating news since all the grandeur was destroyed with the review of the truth.