Shelagh's Lens
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Landmark
San Francisco, on the west coast of our continent, is home to many memorable sites, including the Transamerica Pyramid, dressed to kill in crushed quartz and seen here from the waterfront. The building was designed with both environmental and architectural…
Read MoreRound and Round
… we go, looking down over a staircase that was, for me, the highlight of the building in which it’s encased. Known as the Snail Staircase, the Spiral Staircase and as the Momo staircase, I think of it simply as…
Read MoreTick, Tock
When you’re a Canadian living in a relatively new city such as Vancouver, there’s appreciation to be had for visiting older locales. I’ve yet to visit two of our oldest cities, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Quebec City, Quebec, but have…
Read MoreParisian Feline
Ah, Paris. In the 16th arrondissement, or quarter, and barely a block away from Radio France, let’s pause a moment to appreciate the elegant corbels and pops of colour. Next, if you look a little closer while we visit the…
Read MoreAlhambra: 14th Century Sophistication
If ever you have the opportunity to visit Granada, nab it – for it’s difficult to imagine being anything less than inspired and enchanted by this palace and its gardens. While history tells us that the Alcazaba fortress here dates…
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 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 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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