Ponto de Vista

On the walls of the Jami Masjid, Ahmedabad

I’m sure you’ve looked at an exhibit somewhere and thought, “Hmm, if I remember my history lessons right, around this time, this war was happening in X country.” Or if you’re like me, “I wish I could remember anything at all from my boring history lessons. I wonder what was happening in India and China and the Ottoman empire when this painter was capturing this!” (more…)

Throwback to four years ago. Google helpfully told me that Istanbul is where Sunanda and I were on this day in 2012. This is the inside of the Yeni Cami at Eminönü … (more…)

Funny stuff in Kreutzberg

Grumpy cat had a message, I was reminded that I cannot wait for the Ab Fab movie, and in dry German fashion, a witty name for a minimalist coffee shop – all in the Kreutzberg area of fun restaurants and a gazillion coffee shops that all smelled good and all seemed full even on a Monday afternoon.

#Berlin #absolutelyfabulous #grumpycat #cafe #street #blog Shared via Instagram http://ift.tt/2ci3VEO and IFFT

Perfect weather came back later in my Stockholm week, but by Day 2, Sunday, the clouds were out. Monday was chilly. Tuesday was damp and cold. These photos are from Sunday and Monday. World Water Week officially started at 9 a.m. on Sunday (really) and after several panels, seminars, and plenaries, I went on a Bridges of Stockholm boat tour, from which I caught sunset over the water and viewed a lot of “Functional Architecture,” which I thought was quite nifty with their floor-to-ceiling windows. On a side note, I don’t know if the tour guide made that up or was translating something (more…)

Stockholm presented a face that was picture postcard perfect. The weather was warmer than my app had predicted, the sun was out, the sky was cloudless and the waters bluer than I’ve seen anywhere in a long time. Everything was welcoming, everything seemed to whisper, “Stay, stay, this is where you belong.” I didn’t fall for it (see what I did there?) Good weather is always followed by ridiculous cold. (And it was.) Anyway, I got in at about 1:30 on Saturday afternoon — sans luggage, that’s a different story — with the rest of my afternoon free and a rumbling tummy, so I hoofed it up the street, maneouvering sort of by instinct, kinda by map, away from Vasagatan (more…)

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But, first a nap.

Oh, and all the rooms are named after places, our room is Damão, the Portuguese name for Daman.
#blog #travel #Heritage #relax #goa Shared via Instagram http://ift.tt/1oTPQle and IFFT

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Sigiriya. Monastery turned fortress/palace turned monastery –1,200 stairs of which I did several twice (don’t ask) and I have to wonder, how athletic were the monks and courtiers who did this multiple times a day? Or did they just lower baskets down for their groceries? Then I end up wondering about how they found footholds to paint these beautiful (very non-celibate) pictures on the sheer rock face.

Clockwise from the right:
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