TravelswithCharie

Lucia Condrea Art (Arta Condrea) In the small, peaceful town of Moldovita, a monastery with painted frescoes on its outer walls remains as vibrant as it was in the 16th century. It is one of eight monasteries in the Bucovina area designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s no wonder that artists like Lucia Condrea have flourished in these parts when the source of inspiration to paint and create beautiful things are in their neighborhood. Lucia Condrea has decorated eggs for decades and has won many awards for her artistry. At the International Painted Egg Museum that she established in Moldovita, there are at least 15,000 of these precious eggs. Over the years, Condrea’s technique has evolved into fourteen artistic styles for egg ornamentation. They are: relief colored wax, graphics from batik technique in black and white, lacery, antique works, abstract painting, old Hutul  sewing patterns using wax and natural colors, chromatic diversification, cubism in 3D, patterns from old ca

Church of St. George, Voronet Monastery Eight churches of Moldavia in northern Romania have been recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites for the distinct Byzantine inspired frescoes with religious themes that cover their exterior walls. Built between the late 15th and 16th centuries, these churches are remarkably well preserved. I had the opportunity to visit four of these churches namely, the Church of the Beheading of St. John in  Arbore, the Church of the Annunciation in Moldovita, the Church of the Resurrection in Sucevita and St. George in Voronet. The Church of St. George has been singled out for the vibrant blue color background of its frescoes which was made from lapis lazuli, among other elements. This particular shade is referred to as Voronet Blue. The Church of St. George was completed in just three months and three weeks. It was built by Stefan the Great, Voivode of Moldavia, in 1488 to commemorate his victory over the Ottoman Turks in the Battle of Vaslui. The photo abo

Spice Market, Istanbul I just noticed that I haven’t posted anything since January 9th of this year. It’s a little hard to write something when you’re traveling because you’re distracted by the 101 things you need to do while you’re living abroad temporarily and the vastly different social life you’re suddenly exposed to. The other reason for my lack of posts is that I find it difficult to write about my travels because the “words” are not flowing. I did write about some of my activities related to my school supplies program. You’ll find this here:  balaynicharie.blogspot.com .  Bucovina, Northern Romania I do have quite a few travel articles in the burner. These are about my visits to Bucovina with its unique painted churches, my trips to Brazil and the beautiful coastline of Uruguay as well as my experiences in the incredible country of Turkey, the breathtaking landscapes of northern Taiwan and the Water Village of Brunei. I’m so grateful to have been able to do some traveling the