Three things come to mind every time Versailles is mentioned: Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette and the Treaty of Versailles (1919). Connecting them are wealth, power and madness. During Louis XIV’s reign, France was a leading European superpower. France fought three major wars: the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War…
Category: UNESCO World Heritage Site
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, an Indian Architectural Wonder
Early July 2017, a colleague from the University of the Philippines Diliman passed on a daunting task of delivering a lecture on digital humanities in Mumbai, India. The task was terrifying but the thought of Mumbai was seductive. Mumbai is one of five Indian cities in my bucket list (the other cities: Delhi, Agra, Goa,…
The Gutenberg Experience at the Plantin-Moretus House–Workshops–Museum Complex
The movable-type press is a system of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce a document usually on a paper. The figure behind this technology is Johannes Gutenberg, who in mid-15th century Europe, introduced the metal movable-type. Gutenberg created his type pieces (the metallic alphabets, numbers, and punctuation) from lead, tin, and antimony, which…
Belfries in the Flemish Region of Belgium: Towers of Power in European Histories
Among the European countries I visited, Belgium is my favorite. I will not get tired of visiting this small nation over and over again. For many, Belgium produces the best beer in the world. Actually, the Belgians are the producers of the best beers (take note plural) in the world. As for me, Belgium, especially…
Rio and its Playful Landscape (Part 2 of 2)
I am really glad, I did not let those popular biases perform interpellation on me. Otherwise, I would not have experienced the carioca landscapes between the mountains and the seas. My visit to Rio de Janeiro was spent for a few hours only. I will definitely go back to Rio to explore more its magnificence. Not…
Rio and its Playful Landscape (Part 1 of 2)
In the Philippines, when one thinks of Brazil, she thinks of the Amazon jungle, the carnival, beauty pageants, and Rio! Rio’s popularity has been on the rise since the 1960’s. The Bossanova song “A Girl from Ipanema” invaded the world radio, even winning Record of the Year in the 1965 Grammy Awards, beating American and English…
Skogskyrkogården: an Architectural Wonder where the Beauty of Life and Death Meet
On my way to Stockholm in 2016, a friend asked me via Messenger to pass by Skogskyrkogården, especially since he knew my sort of interest with UNESCO World Heritage Sites. “Skogsky what?” I asked. “Thought you are a WHS fanatic, you don’t know Skogskykogården?” he quipped. I googled (thanks to an easy access to information)….
Gaspar, Baltasar and Melchor or the Three Kings in Kölner Dom/Cologne Cathedral (Part 2 of 2)
It was raining when I arrived in Köln. I was afraid that the bad weather would spoil my first opportunity to pay tribute to the three kings. Rain and cold weather – not a good idea for travel, I know. However, the bad wheater did not spoil my visit. According to the brochure handed…
Gaspar, Baltasar and Melchor or the Three Kings in Kölner Dom/Cologne Cathedral (Part 1 of 2)
For a long time, four things come across my mind each time I hear “The Three Kings” or “The Three Wise Men” or in biblical terms “The Three Magi.” First, I think of them as Gaspar, Baltasar, and Melchor (how they are called in the Philippines). In relation, I also think of the gifts they…
Sydney Opera House: Sculptural Marvel and Architectural Wonder
A trip to Sydney is never complete without a visit to the Sydney Opera House, one of the most popular and most visited tourist destinations not only in Australia but arguably also in the entire world. Just like any other first timers in the “Land Down Under,” the very first thing I did on my…
