Naples, Florida, United States - 1st November 2012
By: tarepanda
Today we head out to try some local food.
The restaurant is called Cracklin Jack and says A Taste of the Everglades. The everglades is a wetland in South Florida, near where this restaurant is. It looks like a swamp, or a grass prairie, but is actually a slow-moving river 60 miles (97 km) wide and over 100 miles (160 km) long. How slow does it move? It travels about half a mile (0.8 km) a day! I can walk faster than that!! The Everglades has been inhabited by Native Indians since over 15,000 years ago and today is still home to some Indian tribes.
On the wall they have pictures from old newspapers.
They have frog legs, catfish and gator tails on the menu! Our host tells us that there are a lot of alligators in the Everglades, one time she went cycling and saw 47 of them on a 15 mile trail! Hmmm... I was thinking of visiting the Everglades but now I change my mind.
Here are more traditional Southern dishes: sweet potatoes, fried okra, fried green tomatoes. In the south, they like fried food a lot, and a common meal will be fried chicken or fried catfish. They are also famous for their barbeque as well. Real barbeque is different from grilling. The meat is put into a pit with low heat and smoke, and cooked for many hours.
Here comes our food! Fried catfish! Catfish is a fish common in the south, with whiskers that look like cat.
BBQ ribs with baked beans.
As we head home, we pass through the Everglades. We are now in the Indian reservation area.
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Posted Jan 7, 2013, 2:06 am
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Miami, Florida, United States - 4th November 2012
By: tarepanda
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Posted Jan 11, 2013, 7:20 pm Last edited Jan 11, 2013, 7:20 pm by tarepanda
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Lisbon, Portugal - 5th November 2012
By: tarepanda
We are going out to do some sightseeing!
First thing first. We need some breakfast! Naturally we want to try the famous pastel de nata with coffee. It is an egg tart from Portugal.
We buy the ticket for the subway. It can be used on buses and trams too.
Let's check the map to see how we get there.
We are on the subway now!
We arrive at the terminal. Here they have trains too.
We get outside the terminal to get on a bus.
Portugal sure looks very different from where I've been before.
After the bus ride we arrive at our destination, the Azulejo Museum. Azulejo is a type of painted, tin-glazed, ceramic tilework that was introduced to Portugal by the Moors in the 15th century, and has become a typical aspect of Portuguese culture. A major aspect of Portuguese architecture, they can be found on the interior and exterior of churches, palaces, houses and even railway or subway stations.
The museum building looks very old.
The moment we enter, this azulejo painting of soldier greets us.
These tiles from the 16th centuries are some of the earliest examples of azulejos.
These are examples from the 17th century.
This is a peony pattern.
I have to say, the painter is not very good at drawing!
We see examples of how the tiles are used to decorate churches.
The corridors are decorated with azulejos too.
Some of the azulejos are very large in scale. They can be used to decorate the whole side of a wall in a room, instead of using tapestry.
Here's an example of tiles along a flight of stairs.
This one has different flowers, animals and boats in it.
This one is pretty, isn't it? Each tile shows a different picture.
By the 18th century, people certainly can draw much better. This is depicts maritime and country life.
I really like the colorful tiles.
Sometimes a series of tiles are used to tell a story.
This one is supposedly scenes from China.
Wow, look at this! A paranoma of Lisbon.
Now we go on to some more contemporary designs.
We are getting tired, let's take a break.
Afterwards, we visit the chapel that is also part of the museum. There are a lot of artifacts on display.
The ceiling is very beautiful.
I see a reproduction of the Last Supper.
The inside of the chapel is very beautiful.
As we exit, we pass by the workshop area. Wish we can see the artisans at work.
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Posted Jan 13, 2013, 4:45 pm
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Lisbon, Portugal - 6th November 2012
By: tarepanda
Today we go explore downtown Lisbon.
We start out at Praça do Comércio. The square is still commonly known as Terreiro do Paço (Palace Square), because it was the location of the Royal Ribeira Palace until it was destroyed by the great 1755 Lisbon Earthquake.
We walk through the triumphal arch onto Rua Augusta. This is a lively pedestrian street with mosaic pavements, outdoor cafes and many shops.
Here is a newspaper kiosk. The front page of newspapers are displayed, so people stand there to read them.
There are souvenir shops too. Do you see the many rooster figures? They are called O Galo de Barcelos, and is the unofficial symbol of Portugal. There is a story behind it. At a banquet given by a rich landowner in Barcelos, a valuable piece of silver was stolen and one of guests was accused of the theft. He was tried by the court and was found guilty, despite his claim of innocence. On the day he was to be executed, he was brought to the magistrate. The magistrate was having dinner with his guests. Seeing the cock on the plate, the condemned man said, “If I am innocent, the cock will crow.” The cock stood up from the plate and crowed, and the prisoner was allowed to go free.
We stop for lunch. As Portugal is famous for its codfish dishes, we decide to try one. This one is baked with potatoes.
This is the Santa Justa Elevator which can take you up for a view of the city.
Can you see the car passing under the little arc?
We reach Rossio Square, with the column of Pedro IV in the center and the national theatre behind it.
There are many shops around.
This is a beautiful fountain. In the 19th century the square was paved with cobblestones in wave patterns, a design seen today in many other pavements all over Portugal, and that has spread to Portugal's former colonies from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) to Macao (China).
We see an old tram.
And a modern one! Running on the same track!
We find a shop and go in for our daily quota of pasteis de nata!
What interesting pattern they have on the streets!
We continue to walk around the streets.
This is a nice-looking police station but we are not interested in a tour.
This is the Rossio Railway Station. What is special about it is its facade, made in Neo-Manueline style unique to 16th century Portugal.
Look this guy is selling chestnuts!
We find the funicular tram that will take us to a Miradouro (viewpoint).
Let's get on the tram.
After a few minutes we are up the hill!
The tram goes up and down the same track, so it has doors on both sides.
We are rewarded with a nice panorama of the city.
Time to leave. Should we walk down the steep slope or take the tram?
Hmmmm we are tired. Let's just hop onto the tram!
We find the metro station and take the subway back to the hotel.
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Posted Jan 17, 2013, 5:25 am
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Lisbon, Portugal - 10th November 2012
By: tarepanda
Today we visit the Alfama neighborhood in Lisbon. It's the oldest district of Lisbon. Its name comes from the Arabic Al-hamma, meaning fountains or baths. During the times of Moorish domination, Alfama constituted the whole of the city, and it was also the only part of the city not destroyed during the great 1755 Lisbon Earthquake.
First, we have to take the tram to go to Alfama. There is a long line!
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We wait and wait, and finally our tram comes!
We get off at Miradouro das Portas do Sol. This is a statue of St. Vincent, the city's patron saint, holding a boat with two ravens, the symbols of Lisbon.
From the terrace we get a very beautiful view of Lisbon.
The weather is gorgeous and the houses look very lovely viewed from high above.
A short walk away is Miradouro de Santa Luzia where we get more views of the city and spot this wall tile.
There are a lot of souvenir shops around, and we visit some of them.
Look at all the bottles of Port and other wines! Port is a famous wine from Portugal and here you can see them from different vintages. New ones to some that are decades old! Some people buy the wines that are made from years of great harvest, while some buy the ones from their year of birth or anniversary.
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Posted Feb 15, 2013, 4:44 pm
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Belem, Portugal - 12th November 2012
By: tarepanda
After a very enjoyable visit to the Monastery we go ahead to visit another sight.
Look at this beautiful tower by the Tagus river! It's called the Belem tower. It is one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal and also UNESCO World Heritage Site, like the nearby Jerónimos Monastery we just visited. The tower was constructed on a small island but with development the shoreline changes and now it's right by the shore.
On the Gothic-rib-vaulted ground-floor bunker, there are canons along the niches.
The bartizans, cylindrical watchtowers, are topped by Moorish-looking cupolas.
Now we will climb up the tower.
What a beautiful view of the city!
Here we get a nice view of the river with its bridge.
This is the inside hall of the tower.
Nice view indeed! A beautiful day!
The Monument to the Discoveries is a 52 metre-high slab of concrete erected in 1960 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. The monument is sculpted in the form of a ship's prow, with dozens of figures from Portuguese history following a statue of the Infante Henry sculpted in base relief.
After all the sight seeing we are a bit hungry. Time for a coffee break! Wow looks like everybody is hungry and lining up for food!
The cafe has been around since 1837! What's so special about it?
Ahh, we are here for the pastéis de nata!
The counter is very busy w all the customers!
The tarts in the photo looks delicious!! Where are the real things?
We pass by the kitchen. Look, there are the tarts!!
Lots and lots of them! I want the whole tray!
Let's get a seat.
We look at the menu, but of course we know what we want!
Hey waiter, waiter!
We want some fresh from the oven, hot pastel de nata with a delicious cup of coffee!!
It was a fun day of sight-seeing but sadly it's time to leave!
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Posted Mar 23, 2013, 5:28 pm Last edited Mar 23, 2013, 5:30 pm by tarepanda
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Homestead, Florida, United States - 9th December 2012
By: tarepanda
We are now back in Florida. Today we go visit an attraction called Coral Castle. It's built by the man in the picture, Edward Leedskalnin.
Well this is a very old sign. The admission is definitely not 10 cents now!
Hmm I wonder what we will see?
There is a sign that says "Ring Bell Twice". In the past, visitors would drop a coin and then ring the bell to enter. Leedskalnin was very strict about "ring bell twice". If the visitors rang it too many times or only once, he would not let them in till they got it right! He sure sounds like a weird fellow!
The whole place is built with big limestone! According to our guide, the man who built the castle, Edward Leedskalnin, was eccentric indeed. He came from Latvia after his sweet 16 broke up their engagement the night before marriage. He lived alone and built this whole place by himself, craving and moving stones weighing many tons, never letting anyone see him work! There is a lot of mysteries and legends about how he built the whole place, people claiming to peek in at night and saw him levitated the stones around! Not to mention the man was only 5 ft tall!
Here are some lounge chairs for you to rest in.
This board meeting table is craved in the shape of the state of Florida. The puddle of water in the center is Lake Okeechobee.
These are the "beds" though they must be very uncomfortable.
And a bathtub!
This table is carved in the shape of heart. Some visitors liked to propose or renew their vows at this table.
The sundial is accurate within minutes.
Oh a dungeon! I wonder what creepy creatures live in there? Well, our guide said this was where he stored his food, keeping it cool underground.
And a well for nice, cool water.
Guess what this is? His stove! He put food inside the metal ball, built a fire underneath, and the food would cook up nicely.
This door was built so cleverly that even a child can push the stone door open, but sadly the mechanism is broken now and cannot be repaired.
We are shown where he dug the coral stone for his castle.
These are signs of different planets. I bet it's great sitting here and watching the stars in the sky at night!
It's impressive indeed! Very beautiful and we cannot imagine how a man was able to build the whole thing back in 1930s without any help from machine or men!
We went up the second floor of the the building. (How did he even build this?)
This is the bed he slept in.
Everything looked somewhat primitive.
Quite an interesting tour indeed!
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Posted Apr 12, 2013, 3:26 pm
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