EUROPE
I spotted her from the vaporetto on my way back from Santa Maria della Salute. Her lone self on the balcony of the Palazzo Genovese (now the Centurion Palace Hotel) overlooking the Grand Canal, and juxtaposed against the glorious details of the church beyond. What a fabulous vantage point from which to survey the panorama below! I admit I felt a wee bit […]
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It was Debra’s idea to meet in Bologna. Debra Kolkka is a (lucky) Australian, who lives part of the year in Bagni di Lucca, a Tuscan commune near Lucca, and writes a delightful blog named – no prizes for guessing – Bagni di Lucca and Beyond! Do hop over and take a look if you are a […]
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A fleeting moment in time, en route to a new beginning.
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Peggy Guggenheim’s irreverence and sense of humour is evident from this 1948 Marino Marini sculpture presiding over the canal side entrance to her old home: Palazzo Venier de Leoni (Now home to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection). The bronze male nude astride a horse is hardly what you would expect to be titled ‘Angel of the City’! Serious […]
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One of our friends wanted to know if two days was time enough for Venice. I laughed. That is more time than we had in the city on our first visit nearly three decades ago. Even then, when leisure travel was the prerogative of the extremely wealthy, and we were certain we would never ever step outside our […]
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To me, Venice is in itself a work of art. Today, I showcase some delightful window displays from the magical city…from chocolate art to carnivale masks. All but the first, shot through glass. Hope you like them as much I did discovering them. Happy travels…no matter where life takes […]
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Venice was all floating fabulousness! It felt like I was just getting to know the city, when it was time for me to leave. “What will you do there for an entire week? And alone?” my friends exclaimed before I left. I could easily have stayed another two. I walked mostly. Through endless narrow calli, over innumerable ponti and onto picturesque campi presided […]
Read MoreThis is coming to you from Chennai airport where I await the boarding call for my first ever solo trip. The ‘solo’ bit seems to have thrown a few people off kilter, including the Italian consulate, that demanded a letter from my husband stating he had no objection to my traveling alone!!! While he couldn’t […]
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R is going to be away on an unexpected business trip to New Zealand at the end of next this month with colleagues, and having been given to understand in no uncertain terms that my accompanying him would be a distraction, I suddenly find myself with two weeks of free time and no real plans. The […]
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The Village Saint Paul is a block of medieval buildings in the historic Marais neighbourhood in Paris, sandwiched between Rue Saint-Paul and Rue des Jardin Saint-Paul. It is a lovely tranquil space to while away a lazy weekend afternoon if you are in the vicinity, rummaging through antique and second hand stalls. The weekly Brocante […]
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The integrity and identity of historic urban spaces the world over, is under threat from unbridled growth and global integration. Especially in third world countries, where cultural heritage takes a back seat to new found aspirations of development & progress, despite the efforts of conservation groups. But when managed sensitively, it is the very contradictions […]
Read MoreA 60 metre stretch of road bordering the Shoah Memorial, in the Marais, once known as the Rue Grenier sur l’Eau, renamed ‘Allée des Justes‘ in June 2006, in tribute to those that did not forget the meaning of community. A pity our supreme court did. PS: I was amazed when my post on the […]
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The Urge To Wander 