mosaic.rome

a truly off the beaten track, one of the almost unnoticeable basilica and catacomb in rome out of the 300 plus churches in the city.

[by the way he said i dressed like a catholic nun]

the entrance to see the mosaic and the passage descending to the actual church is quite a dramatic experience. firstly as it is an off the tourist spot, so it was quiet, empty as we made our approach. then suddenly there is this 'vampire' sort of organ music playing. we both were rather shocked and terrified as there's no body at that time...

saint agnese fuori le mura is a pristine, a real gem of the early christian church with the byzantine mosaic intact. the church is almost empty with just another german couple and a gentleman playing the organ when we made the entrance.

the original mosaic is quite well preserved, gold and glitters. the story behind this immortalised saint is a rather sad one

or rather an unbelievable legend which makes me think if the story of saint agnese is more of a legend or man told story than a real history. i love this undiscovered church though...

the ceiling, the deco is added at a much later time...

from here we went to search for another infamous church with mosaic. we took the metro to vittoro emmualle station (a sort of china town area). there are many chinese run shops scattered around a few blocks,the area is run down, like an abundant area, full of dirt, dust and graffiti with many asian ethnic walking around.

we walk towards santa maria maggiore and the santa prassede church is standing quietly at the corner next to the main square where santa maria maggiore located.

the marble floor is superb and beautiful

set aside the china town story, the mosaic is quite impressive, the church a lot more bigger and grander compare to the humble saint agnese church we visited in the morning

the mosaic is also a lot more avant grande, mosaic bust of Christ with four angels

mosaics of the apse and triumphal anchor, lavish should i say....

don't get us wrong, we are no pilgrimage nor we are catholic of that sort, we are here just to appreciate the beauty of the mosaic as a piece of art, a piece of art from there early christian era with byzantine influence... just a chase of rome mosaic beauty...

rome.city.of.fountains

on the day of your arrival and immediately after dinner, you say to him, “let me show you the romantic side of rome at night”.  assuming that these places will not be packed with tourist after 10pm.  you were completely wrong, tourists are everywhere in rome, day or night and even at wee hours. 

there is not a crowd in at fontana di triton at the barbelini square, may be this is an exception as it is not super famous plus the rival fontana di trevi is just some 800m from here. 

but when you got to the cobble path that leading to fontana di trevi, the crowds forming, restaurants are still busy, there are enough people walking around selling things and the fountain is flooded with nothing but people, camera flashes, it is just people everywhere!! the three coins in the fountain is possibly just a legend but many people come to throw coins into the fountain...

where is the serenity of fountain di trevi that you often see in the movie? it doesn't exist.  You say to him, “may be piazza di spagna aka spanish steps will be quieter, less crowded, let’s go there”.  you remembered  spanish steps was quite enchanting in the late dawn when you were here with your sister in march 2008,

but when you reached there, they are still crowds sitting at the steps but the area has not much light…

the famous half sunken boat, which i think is the work of bernini...

on the next day, after the excess intake of ancient rome, you wanted something sweet to spice up your mood, even though you didn’t want to visit piazza navona as you suspect it will be as crowded as fontana di trevi, but still you ended up here because the guide book recommends a good patisserie just round the corner.

after maxii, you stop briefly at piazza del popolo which is the square with three branch roads leading to piazza di spagna

one afternoon at villa borghese, you thought it has some monuments to showcase but it appears to be a local weekend playground. the area is like central park in new york where it is almost impossible to cover all the sites.  nonetheless, you find this lake cum fountain very charming.  the afternoon sunlight enhances the color of the water...

fountains and water sources are every where in rome, even right here in vatican city...

you say to yourself "rome is definately a city with many fountains". these fountains should have accentuate your romance experience in rome like in many movies but somehow, rome is also overly crowded with tourists (like us) but nonetheless the trip itself is a rememberance of a romance that once started ten years ago...

meeting.sissy.at.budapest.opera.house

a busy day at work and the dutch traffic is driving me crazy! i witnessed three accidents just along a short drive from schiphol-rijk to my office at around 3pm, and two accidents on my home bound journey at 7pm.  these days i am tired of driving and traffic jam instead of tired from my work.  anyway, set asides the reality of autumn traffic and the fact that not all my rome photos are ready, so i decided to continue with one of the last few tales of budapest...

twenty fifth august

“you must visit the Hungarian state opera house” as your host jennifer told you.

now you are here, right in front of you is this famous opera house. it is a building that showcase of neo-renaissance architecture but with some elements of baroque.

along with it richly decorated details; you can just stand there and stare at the grandiose lobby for hours and hours.

let alone you haven’t get into the real inner beauty – the auditorium hall as yet. you came by to buy the ticket for the guided visit at 3pm. this is the only way you can have the glimpse of the horseshoe shaped auditorium as there is no performances on during the summer.

you waited in the hall way waiting for the tour to start, you walk the elegant stair case, up a few level and enter the velvet red and chandeliers decorated auditorium.

the guide says that this opera house is almost a replica of vienna opera house but only half a size smaller, as the hasburg monarchy didn’t want this opera house to be bigger or equal to their homeland opera house. you haven’t been to vienna yet, so it is not up to you to judge.

the guide tells the tale of franz josef and sissy whom you are quite acquaintance to due to the 3 movies that you have seen about sissy.

 it is lovely to learn about them and the love of sissy towards the hungarian people and vice versa. the whole building is decorated with various oornamentations include paintings and sculptures by leading figures of hungarian art of the time.

apparently sissy came so often that one of the room is named after her the ‘sissy room’, and the ‘royal room’ (which she only uses when franz josef is with here)...

modern.rome

we just came back from rome. from the sunny and  warm eternal city back to the grey and cold lowland. perhaps i just got the phd (post holiday disease).  lot of photos to sort out and of course many travel impressions to organise, again time is not on my side....

the rome trip is the replacement for paris trip.  the road trip became a short haul trip, but nonetheless is all about taking time to celebrate, to enjoy one another, and to cherish the moment.  i had quite a few impressions from this trip but for now i am just going to show you a different facet of rome, hopefully is the most untypical one, the modern, the arty rome.

maxxi is it!! not a bric a brac of ruins or broken columns and marble , maxxi is sleek and handsome, a creation and masterpiece of zaha hadid.  it is not the mainstream tourist attraction and located a little of the city center but still it attracts quite a bit of arty crowds on sunday morning...

maxxi is boast of architecture and modern arts. the building is in the serene white and good use of floor length glass and space like any modern design.

the long corridors interlink the various wings together make this museum a nice space to explore....

the half transparent roof top with good use of natural sunlight all in the name of green and sustainable living...  the other museum that give me the same impression is the one that i visited in kyoto last year, miho museum also gives a wow effect like this one...

there are quite a number of galleries with a wing dedicated to the architecture with the show models of futuristic buildings and sketches of  rome monuments with modern interpretations.  the other wing is all in the name of modern arts with good use of space, objects and light to convey a certain message or a intuitive way of expressing an idea, a value and impression. by the way, i love this sofa, although the futuristic design and silver color is not to my taste but it is super comfy to sit on....

a good reflection of object indoor, the sky and the cotton puff like cloud, and the surrounding environment...

and a good reflection of ourselves in this so called 'prison cell' with the illustration of 'extended space' using floor length mirrors.  the idea is not new but the human interaction aspect is quite intrigue and provides me an interesting way to enjoy art to the next level...

out there is sunny and pleasant, but since the museum is closed on monday, that leave us to visit maxxi on sunday regardless of rain or shine.  after all i have no regret as every moment is well spent indoor.  we also took the advantage to rest our feet outdoor at the chairs provided by the museum and i just admire the building so much that i couldn't help but do my humble sketches on my travel pink book.

maxxi is refreshing and stands out beautifully against his ancient rome rivals...

bonjorno.rome

greetings from the eternal city!!!

 autumn in rome is still as warm as dutch summer.  it's a relief to escape the cold for some pleasant warm weather.

till then, more travel tales on our roman holiday...

hero.square.budapest

well, my photos for the budapest state opera house are not ready for posting yet, so i will skip the story of sissy and franz josef for now and show you the hero square.  as far as my memory recalls, i walked from the opera house to hero square and beyond...  is a long straight boulevard with plenty of sights keeping me busy...  i arrived in the late afternoon and took a quick stroll around the hero square, a quick glimpse of city park and vajdahunyad castle (a vampire feel castle) before i soak in szechenyi termal bath .  all those will come in different posts....

hero square by day during late afternoon

the night view is completely different from the day scene.  it is quite breathtaking and still very communist even with the light illumination.

the left wing of the square

the middle tower

the right wing of the square

the hall of arts (műcsarnok)

there are two museums facing each other like a rival with the hero square in between that as if the hero square is acting as a peace mediator for both museums that stand at each flank of hero square

 

museum of fine arts

as i walked toward the bus stop to catch a bus back to my home, i have one last look at the hero square, he is quite a handsome square isn't it?

::muvesz::

[monday blue....i am not quite ready for work after a well fed weekends, but the reality is i am sitting in front of my computer. i have been doing good with the fasting, no tea or coffee so far, i am doing okay with plain water and vegetarian diet. for now, i will continue with my summer story of budapest...]

twenty fifth august

from new york caf�, you hop on to tram 6 to octagon. you are now ready to check out the opera house. well, not quite ready yet!

the opera house guided tour starts at 3pm, so you have plenty of time for lunch at m�v�sz caf� just diagonally opposite the opera house, has been around since 1898.

you enjoy your lunch there with a goulash soup as starter, this is the sort of goulash soup you like a dash of modernity not so hearty...

a m�v�sz salad that consists of cheese, duck meat, green, pine nuts and croutons. you like your salad, it is nice and refreshing even though the cheese is a little salty. when you are done with the savory fix, you make a quick tour inside the caf�.

you came across the cake stand at the entrance and you see the black forest cake, quite tempting but not tempting enough for you to have a piece...

more cakes on the parade...

some you don't even have the name for it but one thing for sure, you won't want another piece of cake after new york cafe. you walk straight in...

you like the chic interior that reminiscent of a 19^th century salon with gilded stucco, wall to ceiling mirrors, wrought candelabras and gilded picture frames.

now you are ready for the opera house.