Hi everyone!
As we dive into the month of August and cele...
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Hi everyone!
As we dive into the month of August and celebrate Happiness month, it's a great time to reflect on our Hosts'...
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Culture always played a crucial role in the modern tourism industry and represents a significant attraction for tourists (both domestic and international), extending tourist stays and reducing seasonality.
Some are great; some are small – no matter the size, though, many are grand in their meaning to the locals' history.
From ancient monuments to medieval castles, industrial constructions or picturesque white villages, and everything in between, the world has many monuments and sites to offer and experience.
As April 18th marks the International Day of Monuments and Sites, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to ask: What monuments are local to you and available nearby?
I am looking forward to reading your replies, and if you'd like to share photos of them, that's even better!
Thanks!
Nick
Radbourne Church@Nick
St Andrew's church Radbourne. A 13th century beauty with Grinley Gibbons memorial and many other effigies inside. Sadly closed at present due to Covid. One of many medieval churches in England at the bottom of people's gardens!
This looks beautiful @Mike-And-Jane0
I like how secluded and private it seems. I love medieval churches all over the UK. Today I went for my morning walk before work and took a new turn, ended up discovering a new church I never knew existed, hidden between some houses. A unique gem to explore in more detail over the weekend.
This Colossus in Arona is one of the main attractions in the region of Lake Maggiore. It shows San Carlo Borromeo, called SanCarlone by the locals, a catholic cardinal, Archbishop of Milan, born In Arona (1535-1584), canonized by Pope Paul V in 1610. He was so interested in the wellness of the people that he wanted to build many hospitals and charitable institutions. The descendants of his family still own today many lands around the lake, the islands Isola Bella, Isola Madre and the castle over Angera.
The statue, built between 1624 and 1698, is 35 m tall (including the basement) and is hollow with an internal structure of stones, bricks and metal. The exterior is finished with sheets of hammered copper.
Inside, on a spiral staircase, you can go up to his head and from there it is possible to take a gorgeous view through apertures in his eye, ear, nostrils and the back.
For a long time this was the largest statue of the world. Bartholdi, the designer of the Statue of Liberty in NY, spent some time in Arona studying the architecture of the statue of San Carlo and then the Statue of Liberty became the largest one.
Looking through the woods to the south of our villa from the garden you can glimpse the back of the Colossus of San Carlo Borromeo.
Wow, it looks so impressive, @Angela1056. I never knew it existed; thank you for sharing. When I was a kid, I was very impressed with the Statue of Liberty and knowing it was "based" on this, the Colossus in Arona, is a great new piece of information. I can only imagine how breathtaking the views must be from the top!
Yes @Nick , there is even a plaque at the foot of the Statue of Liberty commemorating the inspiration given by SanCarlone.
On beautiful St. Lucia, we have the Piton mountains, Gros Piton and Petit Piton. Also, there is the wonderous Diamond Botanical Gardens and Waterfall, which has some amazing tropical flora. The waterfall is naturally mineral rich water that occurs through the mixture of rainfall and volcanism (that's why the water looks murky). Many locals bath in nearby streams, and proclaim that the waters having soothing and healing affects.
I visited these fabulous sites 1.5 weeks ago, and the following are a few pictures that I took.
Gros Piton
Petit Piton
Diamond Falls
Excellent @Debra300! What better way to start the way than photos of beautiful nature! How lucky being able to enjoy such beauty so close to home. I wish I could teleport into those streams 🙂 Is the access free to all, or visitors need to have a ticket to visit the gardens?
@Nick I'm with you on this one. Saint Lucia looks incredible 😍
I really hope I get to see it in person one day 🤞
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We took pictures of the Pitons while on the Tet Paul trail (easy/medium easy). Entrance is free, but you do need to tip your guide: https://www.tetpaulnaturetrail.com/
The entrance fee to the botanical gardens and waterfall is nominal at only $7 USD, and an additional $6-8 USD if you want to bathe in their pools of mineral water: https://diamondstlucia.com/.
This is a picture of the stream outside of the gardens where you will often see locals. There was a Rasta man enjoying the nice water when I took this picture (he's not in the frame). We didn't have our bathing suits with us at the time. Otherwise, we would have went in, also.
Mineral rich streem
I don't know the names of the flowers. There aren't a lot of signs, and we didn't have a guide to tell us. There are lots of humming birds there, and they know to fly away just when you're going to push the camera button.
@Debra300 Exact same plants grow where I live.
The first plant photo is called a jade vine. It's a rare and sought-after plant. Those blue flowers are a totally unique color in nature, like something from another planet.
A friend had one he babied for years, but he lost it when he was out of town and his manager didn't water it. He looked so pained when I asked him how it was doing, as I was waiting for a cutting from it.
The second flowering plant is a type of heliconia, which are plants in the banana family.
The third I'm not familiar with, but looks like a type of lily.
The red-leafed plant is called a ti plant.
Not sure about the orange flowers.
Purple flowers are called copa de oro vine here- come in yellow and purple.
White flowers at the end look like desert rose flowers, but I can't tell really, because there are quite a few plants in that photo -I'd need to see the plant itself.
There'a cool app called Plantsnap. You can take a photo of a flower or plant and it will identify it.
What attractive flowers and plant life @Debra300 were they out in the open or in a designed area of the botanical garden. Hope you had an enjoyable day.
The plants are on open ground that visitors walk through on pathways around the gardens. You could even touch them (we didn't). Bathing under the falls is no longer allowed.