Weekly Photo Challenge: Pattern – Dali Catholic Church, a Beautiful Combination of Western and Eastern Architecture – My Yunnan Trip # 11

This post is in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge – Pattern This post was already posted yesterday on my other Blog named Falling in Love with Arts.  I am re-posting it here in order to categorize all my Yunnan posts in one place.  I tried to re-blog yesterday and again WordPress messed up my photos.  They…

My Yunnan Trip #12 – Dali City, the Ancient Tea Route and the Bai Minority

“Dali City (Chinese: 大理市; pinyin: Dàlǐ shì; Bai: Darl•lit; Hani: Dafli) is a county-level city in the seat of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, northwestern Yunnan province of Southwest China. Dali is the ancient capital of both the Bai kingdom Nanzhao, which flourished in the area during the 8th and 9th centuries, and the Kingdom of Dali, which reigned from 937–1253. Situated in a once significantly Muslim part of South China, Dali was…

Weekly Photo Challenge: From Above #2 – What is the Duckie? Why is it a Fad in Hong Kong?

This post is in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge – from above I just reblogged another post and thought I could add-on to it.  But WordPress messed up all the pictures and contents when it is reblogged.  I may as well write another post. I am interested in the Duckie because my friends from Hong Kong…

Weekly Photo Challenge: From Above — the Duckie in Hong Kong now …

Originally posted on A week in the World.:
So the Weekly photo challenge is from above. Take an image of something from above and show it in a different light. Some of you may be aware of the rubber ducky that is Hong Kong at the moment near the star ferry in TST. It is…

Lijiang, the cute little bungalow where we lived – My Yunnan Trip #10

This is the cute little bungalow where we lived in Lijiang. There was an attendant who made breakfast for us every morning.  We were a party of six who occupied one bungalow with three floors.  There were four rooms, each equipped like an individual hotel room.  The night scenery in the hotel compound was very…

Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture #2 – My Yunnan Trip #9: What is the Totem Pole in Yunnan?

This post is in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture. This is my second posting on this Challenge which is very interesting to me. I always thought that totem poles only existed in places where natives Indians lived.  I saw quite a few in Alaska and Canada.  After my visit to Yunnan, I realized that…

Weekly Photo Challenge – “from above”- My Yunnan Trip #8

Koi Good Fortune, Success, Prosperity, Longevity, Courage, Ambition, and Perseverance   This post is in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge – from above This picture was taken in a restaurant in Daly, Yunnan.  The restaurant had a big pond.  When I looked down, wow….so many koi! Have you ever seen so many koi?  I haven’t.  This was my first time! Enjoy the…

What did we eat in Yunnan? — My Yunnan Trip #7

Originally posted on FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
I just returned from a 9 days’ trip to Yunnan, China.  The trip was great, but not the food!  In fact, none of my previous China trips had food that satisfied me.  For some of my readers who don’t know,  I grew up in Hong Kong which has the…

Beautiful Art Design in the Lufeng World Dinosaur Valley – My Yunnan Trip # 6

Originally posted on falling in love….with arts:
What a beautiful wet day!  These pictures were taken at the Dinosaur Valley which I posted in my other blog: My Notebook. The patterns on these huge columns are dinosaurs. The human beings are so small! Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great…

Where on earth will you find a TV inside the compartment of a public toilet? My Yunnan Trp #5

What is the most challenging experience traveling in China?  Unanimously:  public toilets!   I still remember the most challenging ones were during our trip to the Silk Road in 2006.  This year, when we went to Yunnan, there was no exception.  Everywhere we went, the public toilet is the squatting type (which is better than…

Lufeng World Dinosaur Valley – Five Tops and Five Mysteries -My Yunnan Trip #4

There must be times when you or your kids were fascinated by the world of dinosaurs.  When the science fiction adventure film Jurassic Park was created by Steven Spielberg in 1993,  The film was marketed with the tagline “An Adventure 65 Million Years In The Making.”  The movie was a hit.  Theme park Jurassic Park was developed in…

“Dynamic Yunnan” – a beautiful ethnic minorities dance show in Kunming – My Yunnan Trip #1

Originally posted on falling in love….with arts:
I just came back from a 9 days’ trip to Yunnan.  The first post I would like to share with my readers is this beautiful ethnic minorities dance show in Kunming.  It is  Dynamic Yunnan, a grand, original ethnic dance show produced by the famous Yang Liping,…

My Yunnan Trip #3 – Folk Dancing and Folk Music at Stone Forest (Shilin), Kunming

Stone Forest (Shilin) is one of the highlights of my Yunnan trip.  Before we talk about the natural rocks landscape in this UNESCO World Heritage site, I would like to introduce to you the beautiful traditional folk dancing and folk music by the ethnic minorities in this area. Yunnan has many minority groups. This is…

Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture – My Yunnan Trip #2

This post is in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture. I just came back from a 9 days’ trip to Yunnan, which is  “a province of the People’s Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers (152,000 sq mi) and with a population of 45.7 million (2009). The capital of the province is Kunming. The…

Five or Six Maidens? The Porch of the Maidens in Athens, Greece

Please refer to my previous post which is reblogged from my friend Clanmother’s post The Philosopher who loved numbers.  When I saw her picture, I asked her when and where she took this picture.  She told me it was taken in May, 2011 at the Acropolis.  I said, I visited the same site in April, 2011…

The Philosopher Who Loved Numbers

This is from my friend Clanmother ‘s recent post. I like this picture and all the philosopher’s quotes. But one thing that puzzled both of us is the number of maidens. This is too interesting. I am reblogging this post to my other blog where my other readers may help us find an answer. I…

My South America Trip #22 ; Weekly Photo Challenge – Lost in the Details; Iphoneography – Monday: Nature; Say Cheese! March is Phoneography Month

As you can see,  the posts of my South America trip seem never end!  Just when I wanted to stop and turn to the attention of other subject matter, I read a post from a fellow blogger, and realized there is a new term Iphoneography!  Hey, this is exactly my club, and I should join…

Weekly Photo Challenge: “Forward” — My South America Trip #21 – The Metropolitan Cathedral in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

This post is in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge : Forward of WordPress. I thought I have concluded my South America trip, but I haven’t.   Churches, temples, mosques, are the places of worship, and most of them I visited, are ancient or historic in their architectural style.  This is the first time I visited a…

Musical Instruments in Turkey and Xinjiang

This post was inspired by my blogger friend musiqdragonfly’s post on Bologna of Italy, a college town. As she has been particularly inspirational to me in her music posts, I would like to dedicate this post to her.  This is a picture that I took in 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey.  A gentleman was playing this musical instrument…

Weekly Travel theme – Bridges

This post is in response to Ailsa’s weekly travel theme – bridges. http://wheresmybackpack.com/2013/02/22/travel-theme-bridges/ The first photo : Budapest. The bridge is between old and new towns, The second photo: We were crossing the Charles Bridge in Prague leading to the Prague Castle,

Argentine cuisine – trout, beef, pasta, empanada, sweet snacks and chocolates…

Originally posted on FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
In this South America trip, we were in Argentina for about 8 to 9 days.  Therefore I can say that we did tried quite a bit of everything in terms of Argentine food.  The food was good, but again, I did not notice a lot of traditional Argentine cuisine.…

Cultural Stewardship: Public Art and the Case of Henry Moore’s Outdoor Sculpture

Originally posted on Chelsea Pierce:
Figure 1. Moore’s Draped Seated Woman. From The Guardian.  A recent article in the Guardian newspaper has raised questions regarding the democratization of art and institutional responsibilities in the stewardship of public cultural patrimony. In regards to public art, it is often difficult to determine who is responsible for its…

My South America Trip #20 – Lamb and Wine in Chile

Originally posted on FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
In my last post My South America Trip #19, I mentioned the blog written by a North American anthropologist Jim Stuart living in Chile.  The blog Eating Chilean had its last post written in May, 2012.  I found it very interesting.  If you are going to Chile by yourself and you have…

My South America Trip #16 –What did we eat in Brazil, Argentina and Chile?

Originally posted on FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
I have written more than 15 posts about my recent trip to South America on my other blog My Notebook.  If you are interested in nature and sceneries, please do not miss my 15 posts on this trip.  Today I am turning to my food blog to share with you…

My South America Trip #19 – Chiliean traditional food “The Pastel de Choclo (Corn Pie)”

Originally posted on FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
In my last post on my South America Trip  #18,  I talked about a very popular Chilean dish Caldillo De Congrio. Even Pablo Neruda wrote an ode to this dish.  As we stayed in Chile for only 3 days, and we lived literally in the National Park, we didn’t have…

My South America Trip #18 – Chilean Cuisine: “Ode to Caldillo De Congrio ” by Pablo Neruda

Originally posted on FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
“Chilean cuisine stems mainly from the combination of Spanish cuisine with traditional Chilean ingredients, with later influences from other European cuisines, particularly from Germany, Italy,France and the Middle East. The food tradition and recipes in Chile stand out due to the varieties in flavors and colors. The country’s long coastline and the Chilean people’s relationship with the sea adds an immense array of…

My South America Trip #17 – Brazil – Caipirinha, Charrascaria, Brazilian Coffee and Coconut Water

Originally posted on FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
Brazil In Brazil, I learned about a new drink called Caipirinha.  It is alcoholic but made from sugar cane! Here’s the description: Caipirinha Caipirinha (Portuguese pronunciation: [kajpiˈɾĩɲɐ]) is Brazil‘s national cocktail, made with cachaça (pronounced: [kaˈʃasɐ]) (sugar cane rum), sugar and lime.[1] Cachaça is Brazil’s most common distilled alcoholic beverage (also known as Pinga orCaninha). Both rum and cachaça are made from sugar cane-derived products. Specifically with…

Andrea Bocelli’s new album Passione – Corcovado (Featuring Nelly Furtado), a choice of love and passion!

I appreciate music, including classical music, opera, classical pop, and also some popular music.  As I am a member of PBS, I naturally fell in love with most of the great performances on PBS.  I found Andrea Bocelli there.  Since that time, I have become his fan.   I did not buy all his CDs, as I…

Li Cunxin – Mao’s Last Dancer, has a new challenge as the Artistic Director of the Queensland Ballet

Li Cunxin introduces Queensland Ballet‘s Season 2013 The 2013 Season of  San Francisco Ballet just began.  We watched the first performance:  Program 1 -Suite en Blanc, In the Night, Borderlands, which are excellent!   It is indeed very timely that my sister-in-law in Melbourne just sent me this article about Li Cunxin, the Mao’s Last Dancer,…

El Ateneo Grand Splendid (Theatre Bookstore), Buenos Aires of Argentina

This is posted by my blogger friend musiqdragonfly who has been reading all my South America posts, supporting me with helpful tips and comments all the way. This is a classical bookstore that my trip did not cover. I am reblogging this to my blog so that my friends will also keep this place in…