TravelswithCharie

The more of you, The more I love you, Tracey Emin, Neon text "There should be something revelatory about art. It should be totally creative and open doors for new thoughts and experiences." Tracey Emin I am drawn to Emin’s poignant neon messages created from her own handwriting. It's as if she's telling us something of herself.  The Battle of the Beanfield, Banksy On June 1, 1985, Wiltshire Police Officers stopped about 600 people on their way to attend the Stonehenge Summer Festival. What was to be a cultural celebration turned into a bloody confrontation that sent 8 police officers and 16 travelers to the hospital. 537 travelers were later arrested in the largest mass arrest since World War II. Why? There are several reasons claimed by both sides. One is the view held by police that these attendees were a direct threat because of their hippie lifestyle. Laugh Now is an art exhibition of Banksy’s indoor pieces on canvas, wood and paper. It is not authorized by the a

Emily’s apartment on Place de l’Estrapade The first season of Emily in Paris was the most watched romantic comedy show on Netflix in 2020 with 58 million households worldwide watching the show in its first 28 days. Not everyone loved it but it was a great escape from a long period of self isolation due to the pandemic and our inability to travel. The good news is that the second season of this series will be on air soon.* Emily Cooper’s apartment is on the fifth floor. Chef Gabriel also lives in the same building. Place de l’Estrapade The square in front of Emily’s apartment is a few steps from the restaurant where Gabriel works as a chef. This is a nice and quiet neighborhood. Gabriel’s Les Deux Compère Restaurant and the Boulangerie Moderne The restaurant where Gabriel works is the Terra Nera in real life. The Boulangerie Moderne where Emily gets her croissant from is next door (it was closed when I passed by because it was Bastille Day). Emily’s office Emily is a marketing executive

  Graz is the second largest city in Austria. Just two and a half hour by train from Vienna, it's the perfect long weekend getaway. With loads of history, architectural diversity and lots of terrace cafés, this UNESCO City of Design has plenty to offer and will easily keep you longer than planned. The Kunsthaus or art museum has been called many things - the friendly alien, whale and porcupine. It looks like a giant pickle to me from this angle. The rooftop of the Kunsthaus that gave it the nickname, friendly alien. View of the red rooftops of the old town with the Rathaus in the center, taken from the Schlossberg. Old town Graz is a Unesco designated World Heritage Site. How to get up to Schlossberg (Castle Hill)? There are 206 steps to climb to the Schlossberg. Thank goodness there are other choices to reach the top. There’s a lift at the bottom of this hill and a funicular just down the street. The funicular fare is included with the day transport pass and the lift fare is €1.30

Church of St. Mark’s Zagreb is a city of museums. The Museum of Broken Relationships tops the list of the most intriguing place to visit in the capital city of Croatia. And I must say that I had some of my best meals in Europe in Zagreb. Here are some highlights from my recent visit.  The 13th century Church of St. Mark’s bears the coat of arms of Zagreb (3 towers) and the medieval emblem of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia. This colorful tiled roof was constructed in 1880. Ban Josip Jelačić Count Josip Jelačić was Croatias’s ban (governor) from 1848 and 1859. He was the military leader of Croatia under the Habsburg Empire and during the Hungarian revolution (1848-1849).  Jelačić Square This is a busy square leading to the main shopping street of the city. There are lots of outdoor cafés here and the funicular to the old town or if you prefer, the stairs to St. Mark’s Church and the Museum of Broken Relationships are close by. The high reliefs of this building caught my eye. I wonder if