TravelswithCharie

The colors of Autumn are magical. And Bellagio Conservatory creates vibrant vignettes with orange, red and green foliage and flowers of the season. It’s always a pleasure to wander in the garden despite the number of visitors who can’t take enough photos of the variety of pumpkins on display and the colorful arrangements of flowers and plants. This year’s theme is the Garden of Time hence the clocks on display as well as petrified wooden animals in this enchanted forest where time stands still. The display is only through November 9th. So if you’re in Vegas, make sure to stop by the Conservatory. These gourds are big and quite heavy. Chrysanthemums and elaeagnus olive martini offer contrasting hues. Coleus in rich colors pop in this vignette with white, orange and green pumpkins. This orange pumpkin registers at 749 pounds. This pumpkin weighs 630 pounds. Check out this three dimensional work of art. The detail is astonishing especially the miniature pumpkins. Waterfalls  provide c...

San Sebastian Minor Basilica Following the destruction of its three churches due to fire and earthquakes, the parish priest of San Sebastián in the 1880s, Esteban Martinez, sought the help of a Spanish architect named Genaro Palacios to build a church that could withstand an earthquake. Palacios’ idea was to use steel to construct the new church and make it both earthquake and fire resistant. To this end, prefabricated steel sections were ordered from Belgium which were then sent to the Philippines in 1888 in eight separate shipments. Belgian workers traveled to Manila to put together all these sections on-site. Pope Leo XIII raised the status of San Sebastián to Minor Basilica in 1890, a year before the new church was consecrated in August 1891. Steel is not without its share of problems. Rust and corrosion are expected of a structure that is over a century old especially when it is close to Manila Bay. Interventions have been undertaken throughout the years to preserve the Basilica a...

The Pyramid of Tirana My guide, Eddy, didn’t show me around Tirana until a few days after I arrived. We joked about how I’ve been all over Albania, North Macedonia and Kosovo without once setting foot on Skanderbeg Square. But it was a good thing we waited because we had a leisurely time exploring the city center on foot without the traffic that plagues the city on a weekday. I must confess that I didn’t expect much from Tirana beyond the bunkers. The videos I’d watched of the city didn’t impress me so I was pleasantly surprised by all the things I saw and especially the new, modern architecture. I would definitely want to stay close to Skanderbeg Square on my next visit so I can spend more time exploring and sitting at one of many outdoor cafés near the repurposed Tirana Castle. While we’re on the subject of confession, I have another confession to make. That is, I was wowed by Albania and I’m now a fan of this beautiful Balkan country. From Berat in the south to Shkoder in the northw...