Category: architecture
Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo
On my way to Vila Madalena (see earlier post here), I (Chris) first took the metro to Faria Lima and stopped by the Instituto Tomie Ohtake. This cultural institute, built by Ruy Ohtake – a prominent São Paulo’s contemporary architect, is dedicated to his Japanese-born naturalized Brazilian mother, Tomie Ohtake, one of São Paulo’s most…
Musee d’Orsay, Paris
We almost forgot about this post which was kept in draft form for the last 5 months. Musee d’Orsay is probably the second most visited art museum in Paris after Le Louvre. So many of you may have seen the place already. We were in Paris earlier this year. The lines for entrance tickets to the…
Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo
Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (Museum of the state of Sao Paulo) is a highly regarded museum dedicated to the visual artists of Brazil from the 19th century to now. Designed in 1897 by Ramos de Azevedo, the museum building housed the first art school of the city, Liceu de Artes e Ofícios. It is the…
Livraria Cultura @ Shopping Conjunto Nacional, São Paulo
Walking around São Paulo, I came across three remarkable bookstores. Two in the downtown area and one in a luxurious shopping mall in the business district. My short visit had become an unintended bookstore tour and I was delighted. I will dedicate a post for each one of them. This one owned by Livraria Cultura is…
The Peristyle and the Grand Canal, Versailles
Earlier this summer, while in Paris, we spent an afternoon at Versailles. Our earlier posts on the main chateau and the Grand Trianon are here and here. There were two sights at Versailles that particularly impressed us – the peristyle at the Grand Trianon palace and the Grand Canal. A peristyle is a columned porch or…
Le Grand Trianon, Versailles
Continuing with our tour of the Chateau de Versailles … The Grand Trianon is another palace within the grounds of the palace of Versailles that we visited. It turned out to be a great escape from the horde of tourists. Plan du Chateau, courtesy of Wikipedia. The palace is divided into two wings separated by…