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Poblet Monastery, Spain

 Europe  No Responses »
May 302009
 

Poblet Monastery, Spain

Poblet Monastery


The Monastery of Santa Maria de Poblet is a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1151, located in the comarca of Conca de Barberà, in Catalonia (Spain). It was founded by Cistercian monks from France. The main architect was Arnau Bargués. It was the royal pantheon of the kings of the Crown of Aragon since James I of Aragon. This monastery was abandoned in 1835 and was restored during the 1940s. This monastery was the first of three sister monasteries, known as the Cistercian triangle, that helped consolidate power in Catalonia in the 12th century. (The other two are Vallbona de les Monges and Santes Creus). It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, since 1991. The altar (1527) was sculpted by Damián Forment. Nice Spain tourist spot.
Spain GPS travel destinations: 41° 22′ 51″ N, 1° 4′ 57″ E

Poblet Monastery, Spain GPS coordinates: 41° 22′ 51″ N, 1° 4′ 57″ E

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Tikal antigua Guatemala

 South America  9 Responses »
Dec 082008
 

Tikal is the largest of the ancient ruined cities of the Mayan civilization. It is located in the El Petén department of Guatemala at Now part of Guatemala’s Tikal National Park, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular tourist spot.

Tikal antigua Guatemala

Tikal


The closest large towns are Flores and Santa Elena, approximately 64 kilometres (40 mi) by road to the southwest. Tikal was one of the major cultural and population centers of the Maya civilization. Though monumental architecture at the site dates to the 4th century BC, Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period, ca. 200 AD to 900 AD, during which time the site dominated the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily while interacting with areas throughout Mesoamerica, such as central Mexican center of Teotihuacan. There is also evidence that Tikal was even conquered by Teotihuacan in the 4th century A.D. Following the end of the Late Classic Period, no new major monuments were built at Tikal and there is evidence that elite palaces were burned. These events were coupled with a gradual population decline, culminating with the site’s abandonment by the end of the 10th century. Guatemala travel guides.
GPS coordinates: 17° 13′ 19″ N, 89° 37′ 22″ W

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The Museum of Natural History, Berlin

 Berlin  No Responses »
Jun 302008
 
The Museum of Natural History, Berlin

The Museum of Natural History

The Museum für Naturkunde (in English, the Museum of Natural History), widely known as the Naturkundemuseum, seldom as Humboldt Museum of Berlin. It has a massive collection of more than 25 million zoological, paleontological, and minerological specimens, including more than ten thousand type specimens. It is most famous for two spectacular exhibits: the largest mounted dinosaur in the world, and the most exquisitely preserved specimen of the earliest known bird, Archaeopteryx. Tourist spot for travel guides.
GPS travel destinations: 52° 31′ 47″ N, 13° 22′ 45″ E

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Casa Batllo, Barcelona

 Barcelona  No Responses »
May 072008
 

Casa Batllo is a building restored by Antoni Gaudí and Josep Maria Jujol, built in the year 1877 and remodelled in the years 1905–1907; located at 43, Passeig de Gràcia (passeig is Catalan for promenade or avenue), part of the Illa de la Discòrdia in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia.

Casa Batllo, Barcelona

Casa Batllo, Barcelona


The local name for the building is Casa dels ossos (House of Bones), and indeed it does have a visceral, skeletal organic quality. It was originally designed for a middle-class family and situated in a prosperous district of Barcelona. The building looks very remarkable — like everything Gaudí designed, only identifiable as Modernisme or Art Nouveau in the broadest sense. The ground floor, in particular, is rather astonishing with tracery, irregular oval windows and flowing sculpted stone work. It seems that the goal of the designer was to avoid straight lines completely. Much of the façade is decorated with a mosaic made of broken ceramic tiles (trencadís) that starts in shades of golden orange moving into greenish blues. The roof is arched and was likened to the back of a dragon or dinosaur. A common theory about the building is that the rounded feature to the left of centre, terminating at the top in a turret and cross, represents the sword of Saint George (patron saint of Catalonia), which has been plunged into the back of the dragon. Must tourist spot for any Barcelona sightseeing tours.
GPS travel coordinates: 41° 23′ 30″ N, 2° 9′ 54″ E

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Guinness Storehouse, Dublin

 Europe  1 Response »
Apr 292008
 

Guinness Storehouse, Dublin

Guinness Storehouse, “the home of Guinness”, is Dublin’s most popular tourist attraction. A converted brewing factory, it is effectively a shrine to Guinness, incorporating elements from the old brewing factory to explain the history of its production. Some of the old brewing equipment is on show, as well as stout ingredients, brewing techniques, advertising methods and storage devices. The exhibition takes place over 7 floors, in the shape of a 14 million pint glass of Guinness. The final floor is the Gravity Bar, which has an almost 360° panorama over the city, where visitors can claim a free pint of “the black stuff”. The storehouse is where they used to add the yeast to the beer for fermentation. Unlike the Anheuser-Busch Brewery tour, Guinness Storehouse visitors do not get to see the beer being brewed in front of them. But from various vantage points in the building you may see parts of the brewhouse, vats, grain silos and the keg yard. Must see tourist spot in travel guides for Dublin.

Guinness Storehouse, Dublin GPS coordinates: 52° 20′ 69″ N, 6° 17′ 11,58″ W

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Rialto Tower, Melbourne

 Australia  1 Response »
Apr 242008
 

Rialto Towers (often The Rialto) is the second-tallest reinforced concrete building and the tallest office building in the Southern Hemisphere, when measured to its roof.

Rialto Tower, Melbourne

Rialto Tower, Melbourne


(Several other skyscrapers in Australia are taller if their spires are included, as are some other structures such as communications masts and observation towers). It is at 525 Collins Street, in the western side of the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. Nice sky view great tourist spot.
Rialto Tower, Melbourne GPS coordinates: 37° 49′ 8″ S, 144° 57′ 30″ E

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