If you’re going to Venice, you’ll need to leave room in your suitcase and your wallet for a Venetian Carnivale mask (or twelve). You can buy them from street vendors but the most beautiful ones are in shops dotted around Venice. I have never seen so much beauty in one place. These small decorative porcelain masks were hanging on the door of a mask shop … Continue reading Venice: Home of the Masquerade
St Mark’s Basilica in Venice is one of my favourite buildings because it balances decadence and delicateness. It’s not as overbearing as some other iconic architecture. For example, I thought St Peter’s in Rome too overbearing and not particularly beautiful. Rome is a very masculine city and this is reflected in their architecture. Everything there seems to strives for glory rather than beauty. Venice is … Continue reading St Mark’s Meringues
Many mistake this gothic icon towering over the Prague skyline as Prague Castle, but St Vitus Cathedral is an entity all of its own – six centuries in the making. Entry is free to the first part but you will need a ticket for full access. For those of you who can’t yet speak Czech, you can find St Vitus in Prague 1, in the … Continue reading Postcard from St Vitus’ Cathedral, Prague
I was forewarned that this monument to the slain Swiss soldiers who were killed in France was deeply moving, and that Mark Twain had called it “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.” I still wasn’t prepared for how heartwrenching it was. It’s a very short walk from the centre of town and is in a beautiful clearing, definitely worth a … Continue reading Weeping Lion in Lucerne