A walk around town...

The end of a busy street.

Quiririm is a small town, part of the larger town of Taubaté, in the Paraiba valley north of the immense city of São Paulo. It is on the high banks of the Paraiba river. Walking around this small town is almost as being in the countryside itself.

In Brazil beautiful flowers are all over the place.

An ugly concrete wall becomes interesting when it is grown with small plants.

The road ends in the fields.

Like this one....

Only two or three blocks away from the center of the town.

 

Home made

Just as everywhere else; a bathtub with water for the cows

A coutryside pub (or like we say here: The bakery)

A small farm

Sitting outside is important.

Great cows.

Like a painting of the Dutch painter Paulus Potter.

Of course.... ants are everywhere.

All ends at the road to Campos de Jordão.

A tropical greenhouse....

The Botanisk Have - the botanical garden in Copenhagen (Denmark) has an excellent Victorian tropical greenhouse. 

In winter, when you want to warm up a bit while walking through the city, it is very nice to visit this greenhouse.
For all the information on this botanical garden, for instance on the history, see: botanical garden in Copenhagen  see also: Botanisk Have (in English and Danish)

Winding cast iron staircases lead you up and down (one way traffic) to and from the gallery high up. It is a bit challenging when you are afraid of heights, but it feels good to walk "through" the tree tops. The lens of the camera gets a bit foggy making the pictures a bit mysterious. 

The gallery

Condensation on the lens - the misty jungle

Down again into "the forest"

This Victorian Greenhouse is of course the right place to see the fantastic Victoria Regia's. I never forget to visit them, but the last time I was there they were gone... Just an empty pond where they used to be. Maybe they come back, but I still had some earlier pictures. The most wonderful leaves I have ever seen.

Want to buy a pier....?

..... Then this is the moment. The “Pier of Scheveningen” in the Netherlands is
supposed to be auctioned in May this year.
The pier was opened in 1961 by Bernhard, Prince of the Netherlands. Now in
2013 it is derelict and falling apart.




It is good to walk here; in the wind, high above the sea. Especially in winter, when there are almost no people around.

 The view of Scheveningen. Chairs left behind in warmer days....

The casino and restaurant

The belvedere and the adventure island

 It is obvious that something has to be done, although this decay has its own beauty.

What is this for?? Kind of slide into the sea.....

Well is this the end of the Pier in Scheveningen? 

Or is it still standing strong enough for another bright future?

 I really hope the Pier will resist this special storm and will stay there for us to enjoy the waves and storms for many years to come.....

Flamenco at the Tablao Albayzin in Granada

Granada (Andalusia, Spain) is an enchanting city. The Alhambra, the old streets, the Moorish quarter...  and the tablao's; stages for dancing flamenco.

The dancing is fast and intense. The dancers and singers are completely immersed in their performance and extremely concentrated.

I took some pictures at the Tablao Albayzin (in the Moorish quarter). Without flash, so they are a bit grainy.

 The rhythmic clapping of hands.....

 The clicking of the heels and toes, the movement of the feet......

(An example of flamenco on youtube:   Fiesta gitana 1    Fiesta gitana 2 )

The writer in the square ......

The Praça Benedito Callixto is a nice square in the neighbourhood of Pinheiros in the huge city of São Paulo. This square is well known for its market of antiques and handicrafts. It is a nice place to go on a Saturday.

Of course there is the man with a bird to tell you the future. 

Or weird things, like this clock from a barber shop.... 

On Saturday afternoons, in the center of the Praça, cultural activities are organized in a auditorium like space called "Plinio Marcus".  Every fortnight during the "O autor na praça" there is an author signing his or her books.

Last Saturday it was Audalio Dantas, a famous Brazilian journalist. He presented his new book about Vladimir Herzog. Vlado was murdered in 1975 by the dictatorship of Brazil although they tried to have it looked like suicide.

Audalio Dantas

Someone found (at the market) a copy of an old magazine "Realidade" (it doesn't exist anymore) with an article of the author Audalio Dantas about the "crab people"; digging in the mud of Paraiba for crabs. 

There was music and singing, there were writers reciting poems. A very nice place with very nice people. If you ever might be going to São Paulo one day.... spend the Saturday afternoon on the Praça Benedito Callixto!

 Luiz Bahia reciting a poem

.... and singing

Téo Azevedo - singing the texts of Guimarães Rosa

"Tableau de la troupe...."

We and a lot of other people had a wonderful afternoon......

Enjoy your flight.....

Flying to me is always interesting. It is good to be a bit apprehensive during take off and landing. This magnificent way of transport should be treated according to its status; with respect! 

But while in the air, it is a good thing to enjoy the ever changing clouds, the colors on the airplanes, the reflections of sunlight on the wings....  

Sometimes even there are beautiful ice crystals on the window as a reminder of the extreme cold outside.

The melting icecap of Greenland

 

 

Ice crystals... on the outside

Enjoy the flight, enjoy the light