Shelagh's Lens
Bringing Vancouver and the world to inspired travellers
Category: Architecture
Art Deco in Miami
If you like sunshine, sand, water and Art Deco architecture, Miami may be the place for you. This is just one of a number of gorgeous buildings near the beach.
Read MoreBalboa’s Shadows
Not being one for straight lines, I found the architecture – and its shadows – particularly appealing just inside the entrance to the Botanical Building in San Diego’s Balboa Park. If you have the opportunity to visit this beautiful city, …
Read MoreGently Lit
Is it a visual effect crafted by mirrors, gilt and a single fixture, or something more? We’re back at Palais Garnier, the Paris Opera House, where the sense of the theatrical is not confined to the stage. Here, we had…
Read MorePatterns
Barcelona’s Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya is situated in a building known as the Palaau Nacional of Montjuïc, which gives the impression of a majestic, enchanted castle; think Cinderella rushing down one of the exterior staircases. The building is, however,…
Read MoreUpstairs, Downstairs
Urban renewal is nothing new; it was on Napoleon III’s mind when he placed Baron Haussmann in control of rebuilding significant portions of Paris more than a century and a half ago. Haussmann selected the site of the Opera House,…
Read MoreGaudi’s Barcelona
This is the house that Gaudi built, in Park Güell. Like many, we chose to visit Barcelona based in part on word of the wonders of architect Antoni Gaudi i Cornet. This Catalan genius was born south of Barcelona in…
Read MoreHouse of Beauty
Montreal, Quebec is among Canada’s older cities, and is home to Notre-Dame Basilica, which began as a chapel constructed between 1672 and 1683. Architectural influences range from baroque to gothic revival, and the church – which received basilica status in 1982 –…
Read MorePlaying for Gold
At Mirador de San Nicolas, tourists gather day and night for views of Granada’s Alhambra. The views, with mountainous backdrop, are gorgeous by daylight and take on enchanted hues as the sun sets on another day. There is a high…
Read MoreNo Place Like Home
Granada, particularly in neighbourhoods such as the Albayzin area in which we stayed, is a city of narrow, cobbled hills and stone. There are advantages to visiting such quarters, including proximity to Mirador de San Nicolas and its views of the…
Read MoreDichotomy on the Plaza
Porto’s Avenue dos Aliados is a splendid site, and is literally on the doorstep of the InterContinental’s Palacio Das Cardosas, where we recently enjoyed stellar hospitality. Stepping outside the hotel one morning, my eyes were drawn to this gorgeous Jaguar….
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