TravelswithCharie

Monument to the Bandereis, Victor Brecheret, 1954, granite Who were the bandeirantes? They were 16th-17th century prospectors who traveled from Sáo Paulo to the hinterlands of Brazil in search of gold. While on these expeditions, they enslaved and killed indigenous people as well as recaptured African slaves who had escaped to the interior. What they did do to earn this monument was to increase the dominion of São Paulo to areas beyond that established by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas. The monument has been a sore issue with the indigenous people and it came to a head in 2013 when they demonstrated in front of it and spray painted the monument with the words “ bandeirantes assassinos ”. Despite this strong message, there has not been much change on the part of the government to address the issue. In 2016, the monument was doused with red paint and graffiti. The new Mayor at that time took steps to curb these attempts to deface the monument which he described as the “symbol of the city

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

Walking inside the cavernous halls of Riga Central Market, you wouldn’t know that there are only 619,000 residents in the capital city. Yet this market is so huge it could probably provide the needs of 1.87 million* people living in Latvia today. The Central Market of Riga is actually the largest market and bazaar in Europe with over 3000 stalls. Frankly, I got tired going from one hall to the next. And when I was done indoors, there was a bazaar outdoors to explore.  * Source: World Bank Fish section The Riga Central Market is included with Old Riga on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Dried fish Smoked fish The cheese and pastries section are in the same hall. It’s hard to decide what to get from the amazing selection. Meat Section Notice the architecture of this pavilion. Old German Zeppelin hangars were recycled to form the five pavilions of the Central Market. There is a clothing and bedding section both indoors and outdoors. I bought my souvenirs here at the Central Market. Th