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Tag: travel
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From The Hall of Giants
During my trip to the Baroque City of Dresden, I visited the Resident Castle Museum in the center. The Riesensasal or Hall of The Giants, retains 350 objects from the fifteen to seventeenth century. The Electors of Saxony believed in splendor. Their Suits of Armour worn for battle, jousting tournaments or royal parades of pageantry are knockouts.. The layout of the room is for maximum effect to experience the armour’s color and styles. If you are “Lord of the Rings” fan, this is your temple.
Stay tuned for more from Dresden.
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Florence in 3 Words
One word cannot describe Florence. We decided to use 3. Who could not fall in love with an intimate city offering gorgeous landscapes every part of the day, an early morning walk after breakfast, a hike up the hill in the afternoon, a stroll after a late cocktail.
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All in One Travel Experience
The Franconia region of Southern Germany is worth exploring, offering an array of travel experiences. For the outdoor sports enthusiasts, mountain hiking to the top is rewarded with 100 km landscape vistas.
If history is your passion, top recommendation is exploring the many historical cities of Wurzburg, Bamberg, Rothenburg, and Ansbach.
Wurzburg
Wurzburg is a romantic picturesque city of 120.000 on the river Main with spectacular Catholiccathedrals.While walking over the Old Main Bridge with its lined with statues, I was reminded of an intimate Prague.
The Wurzburg Residence in the city center is a splendid example of German Baroque style. For eye sweeping views of the city, climb the hill where the Marienberg Fortress is located.
Bamberg
Bamberg is a smaller city of 70.000 centered around a hill on the banks of the river Regnitz. A large portion of the historic community is a UNESCO heritage site. City Hall sits on an island in the middle of the river. The 13thcentury religious monument, Bamberg Cathedral overlooks the city from the hilltop.
Rothenburg
The animated city of Rothenburg, founded in 1535, is a living Disneyland of preserved history. Behind medievalwalls sits buildings resembling an American amusement park. I have no doubt the Universal Studios team was here. Walking along the cobble stone roads, looking into shops in the historic center made me feel a bit “touristic”.
Kathe Wohlfahrt’s Christmas shop is a “must go”. An Ikea type labyrinth of Christmas decorations of every shape, size, and color topped by a 4 meter high Christmas tree, then an equally high Christmas Pyramid. The store is enchanting while beyond kitsch, especially in July!
Ansbach
The best reason to visit Baroque city of Ansbach is the joy of the Ansbacher Garden. Simply Gorgeous! The Middle Evil is small, 40,000 inhabitants, but punches above its size with many beautiful monuments, start exploring from the Martin Luther Square.
Beer or Wine?
The Franconia area of Bavaria is split in two parts: Uppper Beer lands, Lower Wine lands. During the warm months there are many local festivals and tastings. A blessing but make sure you have a designated driver.
Ansbach and Bamberg are situated in Beer territory, look for Kellers serving .5 liter ceremic beer mugs.
Wurzburg and Rothenburg are located in Wine country along with the unique Bocksbeutel bottle.
Sidenote: I forgot my camera for part of the journey. Why? I was a bit hungover from the wine and beer tastings, so I for got to charge the battery. Even after the 600 meter hike, the first stop was a beer keller. When in ROME!
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Bavaria Travel
Travel Recommendation. Coming soon: The Full Story of traveling in Southern Germany.
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YouTube Here We Come
We decided to beef up our YouTube channel starting this summer with new web features on cinema and fashion.
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Podcast REAL!
Black and Paper PODCAST coming soon covering all the topics we love from fashion to relationships to travel.
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ITB Berlin 2018
Where to GO? How to GO? When to GO? The ITB is the world’s biggest travel fair, 26 halls dedicated to global tourism in Berlin.
Images by Vladimir Smichov for Black and Paper
Stepping into the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence was a dream. American press dubbed Ferragamo “Shoemaker to the stars”. Pickford to Garbo to Crawford wore his creations on screen and off.
Born the eleventh of 14 children in the Southern Italian city of Bonito. After opening his first shop at age 9 in his hometown, Ferragamo left his native Italy in 1915 in a third class berth for United States to learn more about footwear. Opening his store in Hollywood in 1923, the boutique was a patronized by Hollywood Stars. Fame and fortune followed, the quality of his shoes garnered the shoe designer a reputation known for luxury.
1927 was the year of Ferragamo’s First Class return to Italy on board the ocean liner Roma. Returning to his native country a very successful man, settling in Florence, the center of culture, style, and fashion. Purchasing the 13th century Palazzo Spini Feroni on the bank of the Arno River in the Piazza Santa Trinita, this would become the office and atelier of the privately held Ferragamo S.p.A.
I was given a personal tour of the Ferragamo Museum. Studying Cinema Costume in university, I came across the name Ferragamo often. It is a word I associated with the heydays of Hollywood Stars: Harlow, Monroe, Kelly, and Hepburn to name a few. Beyond the beauty of a shoe, I learned Mr. Ferragamo had an intellectual curiosity the body and footwear. He studied at University of Southern California as well as patented 400 inventions concerning shoe design.
The Museo Ferragamo is housed in the basement of the Ferragamo headquarters in Florence.
The museums exhibition is titled “The Return to Italy”. Ninety years ago Salvatore Ferragamo returned after 12 years in the United States. Creating a sense of being on an luxurious ocean cruise, the color palette was blue and white with the details of the ocean and sumptuous nautical travel. The presentation is spread over 8 rooms with each having a central theme. Room 3-Folklore and the Decorative Arts in Italy. Room 4-Italian Women. Room 5- “Industrious Florence of the 1920’s. Room-6 The Italian Home Room 7-The Body in Parts Room 8-The Body and Its Aesthetics. The exhibition is organized by Carlo Sisi.
The Museo Ferragamo is located at Piazza Santa Trinita 5/R Florence, Italy
Opening time from 10 to 19:30
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