vBloga collection of my notes and thoughts…

I learned of Antoni Gaudí while visiting Barcelona last year. A highly admired architect, his works are both beautiful and functional. For instance, when designing the interior patio for Casa Batlló, he accounted for the loss of natural light towards the lower floors by making the windows progressively larger, and using wall tiles of lighter tones. The end result is rooms that are well lit by natural light on all floors, and a wall that appears evenly coloured.

We originally only planned to visit Casa Batlló, and Sagrada Familia; but having seen them, we decided to visit Park Güell as well. We didn’t get to visit La Pedrera that time, but did see it from the outside. All these places are within easy reach in Barcelona, and should not be missed.

We saw these cute postcards in Stanley Market, Hong Kong earlier this year. They cost HKD 25 each. While not exactly a travel postcard, it is a nice option for the more crafty recipients. The idea is that you send them the postcard. When they receive it, they can peel off the printed fabric, cut out the shapes, and sew them together. It took me several hours, over the past few evenings, to put the cow together. Admittedly, it is easier than I expected.

Most modern day visitors to London will tell you that the London Bridge is nowhere near falling down, and that it is solid, sturdy, and plain. However, the bridge actually has a very long and interesting history.

One evening, while in Agia Napa recently, we dined at the Sage Restaurant. It was a lovely restaurant with nice food and atmosphere. The front of house is managed by a very friendly maître d’hôtel, who seemed to know all the people around. Just before we left, after realising that we were from London, he sang London Bridge is falling down and told us a little story about the bridge—that the old London Bridge was bought by an American and is now in the United States.

At the time, we weren’t sure whether he was joking. Nevertheless, it piqued my interest. A quick research on the internet revealed that it is true. The old London Bridge was close to falling down, and was eventually replaced in 1831 with the new London Bridge as we know it today. The old London Bridge was sold, dismantled, shipped, and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where it still stands today.