Monthly Archives: November 2020

Travel, Videos

Aerial Travel Video: ‘San Francisco, California’

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Highlights, landmarks, attractions:

Silicon Valley – Silicon Valley is a region in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology, innovation, and social media.

Golden Gate Bridge – The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco and the United States. It has been declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Coit Tower – It is a 210-foot (64 m) tower in the Telegraph Hill, offering panoramic views over the city and the bay. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

Travel, Videos

New Aerial Travel Video: Pamukkale & The Blue Mosque In Turkey (2020)

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Pamukkale – Imagine a glorious spectacle of white terraces made of sedimentary rocks. There are pools on the white terraces. That’s Pamukkale, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular tourist attraction in Turkey. Pamukkale, Turkish for “cotton castle,” is a surreal natural landscape located in southwestern Turkey. The pools on the white terraces have high mineral content, and people have bathed in them for thousands of years. Also, expect to find hot springs and limestone walls in Pamukkale.

Blue Mosque – The Blue Mosque sports six minarets and majestic architecture. Situated in Istanbul and built in the 1600s, this historic Turkish attraction and place of worship entreats with an opulent interior lined with thousands and thousands of blue tiles that are adorned by various patterns. Find the mihrab, the central element in the mosque. It is a beautifully carved marble with a stalactite recess.

News, Podcasts, Politics

Sunday Morning Podcast: NEWS FROM ZURICH, TOKYO & London (MONOCLE 24)

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Tyler Brûlé speaks to Rob Cox and Christoph Lenz, while the Monocle teams in Europe and Asia unpack a dramatic week in global newsrooms.

Travel, Videos

Walking Tour Video: Paris – Church Of Saint-Sulpice & Saint-Germain-Des-Prés

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The Church of Saint-Sulpice is a Roman Catholic church in Paris, France, on the east side of Place Saint-Sulpice, in the Latin Quarter of the 6th arrondissement. It is only slightly smaller than Notre-Dame and thus the second largest church in the city. It is dedicated to Sulpitius the Pious. 

Saint-Germain-des-Prés is one of the four administrative quarters of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. 

Books, Design, Hospitality

Design Books: ‘MKV Design Alchemist’ (Assouline 2020)

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Going deeper than mere decoration, London-based interior designer Maria Katsarou Vafiadis and her team have accomplished a broad range of exclusive projects around the world, from leading hotel groups to unique residential properties. MKV Design is distinguished by its distinct vision for exciting and intelligent designs that move people emotionally.

Showcasing the designer’s extensive understanding of the hospitality industry, this comprehensive volume explores MKV Design’s most prominent projects to date, highlighting the balance between commercial demands and artistic integrity. Design Alchemist brings together an impressive array of signature works, elegantly capturing the creative trajectory of an innovative and far-reaching design practice.

Dominic Bradbury is a writer, journalist, lecturer and consultant specializing in architecture and design, as well as property and travel. He has written over twenty books, including Mid-Century Modern Complete, The Iconic House and The Iconic Interior (Thames & Hudson) and Winch Design (Assouline). Bradbury is also a contributor to The Financial Times, The Times, The Telegraph, House & Garden, World of Interiors, Wallpaper, Vogue Living, Architectural Digest and Elle Décor.

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History, Travel, Videos

History: ‘The Column Of Trajan’ In Rome (Video)

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Trajan’s Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan’s victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan’s Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum. Completed in AD 113, the freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, which artistically represents the wars between the Romans and Dacians (101–102 and 105–106). Its design has inspired numerous victory columns, both ancient and modern.

Design, Gardens, History, Travel

Italian Gardens: ‘Giardino Giusti in Verona’ and ‘Villa Fracanzan Piovene’ near Vicenza – “Shakespearean”

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Giardino Giusti in Verona and Villa Fracanzan Piovene: The centuries-old Italian gardens that evoke the romance of Romeo and Juliet.

November 7, 2020

The name Giusti has been synonymous with one of Italy’s most celebrated Renaissance gardens since the late 16th century. Originally wool-dyers from Prato in Tuscany, the Giusti family had moved its business north in the previous century, settling in an unglamorous industrial suburb of Verona. Within a few generations, its members were rich and had also acquired the requisite antiquarian and artistic tastes of true Renaissance gentlefolk.

The garden created by Agostino Giusti between 1565 and 1580 was intended to fulfil various functions. It had to showcase his collection of Roman inscriptions and to serve as a setting for the lavish theatrical and musical productions—the predecessors of opera—then in vogue. To this day, the garden retains the surprise element of a stage set, presenting a magnificent and entertaining spectacle that totally confounds one’s expectations of a city garden.

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Travel, Videos

New Aerial Travel Videos: ‘Shanghai, China’ (2020)

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Short travel film of Shanghai 10/2020 from above in 4K.

Shanghai, on China’s central coast, is the country’s biggest city and a global financial hub. Its heart is the Bund, a famed waterfront promenade lined with colonial-era buildings. Across the Huangpu River rises the Pudong district’s futuristic skyline, including 632m Shanghai Tower and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, with distinctive pink spheres. Sprawling Yu Garden has traditional pavilions, towers and ponds.