They should have mentioned the word 'ruins'. I was expecting big castles which were mostly intact, not just broken walls...
Anyway it turned out to be a good getaway, a relaxing outing.
Happy New Year to all!!!
It should be named 'Tintagel Castle Ruins' ! What we saw on that island were only ruins of the castle that once overlooked the Atlantic. One part of the castle garden which was too near to the cliffs was claimed by the sea. What was left was the bottom part of the walls, an old well, an old storage tunnel and an old chapel altar rock.
The wind at the top of the hill was extremely strong, with the temperature slightly above freezing temperature, I was only able to take a few shots before putting my hands back into the warmth of my jacket.
Talk about living on the edge... My friend has a strong appetite for stunning views and locations for photo shoots.
Apparently after looking at the whole album for that journey, this was the only one photo with all three of us in a photo.
The path to the castle wasn't accessible with vehicles, hence, we had to cross streams, walk downhill thread past some lightly frozen paths to the castle entrance.
My camera took the faster way down, however, using the same stream... whee..... swish swosh.... ARGH!!
First you have to get the ingredients. It would be much easier getting an orange with celery sprouting out of it, two in one, no need to get two separate ingredients hihi
Chop, dice, pour in some water, press button and see them dance. Before and after of the process.
Anyway, nothing can go wrong with a blender, just put in the chunks of food and press, and there you have it, fresh smoothie/juice/puree. Cheers for good health.
Its a comfy place, however it gets cold at night due to the sea breeze and also the heater which is not in tip top condition. Brrrrr.... not a good thing with winter just around the corner.
A great view of the sea from the living room window, the military dock is just on the right of my house, sometimes I can see some big ships passing by. I would like to think that those are destroyers , but I am not sure. This morning I only shot some yachts and the big mansion across on the rocky island. I wonder how one goes to that mansion.
Here's the mansion up close.
Seagulls are everywhere, even in the city. This one was wandering at the garden at the ground floor, outside the apartment. There are some models of warships and subs along the waterfront walkway. There are benches as well for those who wish to have a longer look at the sea.
For the moment, I am still rather satisfied with this place, just the lack of internet connectivity gets to my head sometimes. *crosses fingers* Hope I get connected soon.
Photo taken by sis, haven't tried such photo angles before, turned out quite well with the sepia treatment.
Me and my Dad seldom take photos together, the most recent photos being those that from Dad's bday celebration, and before that, can't really recall though. Really ought to make more photo opportunities with parents and sister.
My auntie came to the airport as well, with everyone there, it makes it more difficult to say goodbye.
Family portrait in the airport. It will be another one year before I get to go back to M'sia. Well better hang on tight and enjoy the ride, it makes it more bearable and time will pass faster. *fingers crossed*
Plaza de Toro is the place where the fight took place. This was a smaller one as compared to those in bigger cities. Most of the crowds were from the older generations rather from those younger ones.
As the trumpet blew, the entourage entered the ring. Wikipedia site gives a pretty detailed and accurate explanation regarding this highly ritualized performance.
The bull was massive, weighing nearly 450kg. These bulls lived free until this event, and they were bred for this sole purpose. The crowd cheer as the bull, angered and charging at almost any moving objects, entered the ring.
The performance was divided into three parts, each beginning signalized by the blowing of the trumpet, each third angering the bull even more as it progressed to the final part where the matador delivers the killing strike.
The crowd gave a standing ovation in honour to the spectacular performance of one of the matador who managed to strike the bull directly at the heart. This gave the bull a swifter death as compared to ones which were not delivered as skilfully.
Such performances were to showcase the mastery of the matador over the bull, manipulating the bull to perform charges, anticipating its deadly goring strikes, while constantly showing an air of superiority over the bull. Being much bigger than the human opponent, the bull can be a fatal threat if taken lightly. Therefore the skill of the matador and the entourage should as well be noted. Throughout the whole performance, my heart was thumping both with fears for the matador and sympathy for the bull.
In the background, the palace building. Countless statues populate the gardens of Versailles. It made me wonder how the garden was kept maintained in those days without cherry pickers and grass cutters. Well, if you have tonnes of French francs, this would not be a problem I guess. The paths in the gardens, contrarily to what I used to thought, were actually fine pebbles, not fine sands.
The building in the background, with the tall windows is where the halls of mirrors are located.
Fountain of Apollo. King of the Gods, the Sun God is again being used to symbolize the King's absolute power.
Versailles chapel, where royal events were celebrated was one of the nicest rooms to occupy the vast compound of Versailles. This was how the King and Queen would have seen the chapel, from the tribune royale, where they heard mass.
The chapel as viewed from the ground floor. The colour scheme, yellow and white, was used extensively throughout the palace. In the other apartments, which can be found through the link above, architects borrowed inspirations from Roman mythologies.
One of the more famous area in the Palace was the Halls of Mirrors where 17 arches are lined up to reflect the light from 17 opposite windows which faces the gardens of Versailles. It had to be made known that during the time of its construction, mirrors were among the most priced item to possess and a rarity in its own class. To have a hall lined up with nearly 350 mirrors showcased the grandeur and extravagance of the Sun King.
The Louvre was converted from a palace/fortress, the Tate Modern from a power plant and Orsay from a train station. Each museums still carries with them the tell tale signs of its previous incarnation, as seen in the Orsay, with its arched ceiling and huge clock face on the main hallway.
This was a unique way of displaying an architectural model of the Opera in Paris, not as space consuming as the rest. Was the transparent floor part of the artist's presentation? The actual reason however remains unknown to me. 
Sacre Coeur which sits on top of Montmartre can be clearly seen through the huge clock at the top floor of the museum.
The Pantheon, built with inspiration from her sister in Rome, is now a burial place for various famous French. Victor Hugo's tomb is in the crypt of this building. This is sometimes referred to as the people's temple.
Inside the Pantheon, the columns and domes were decorated with sculptures and paintings, each with their own stories to tell. From the dome, hangs a steel cable holding a steel ball, forming a pendulum which was used to show time. This is called the Foucault pendulum, named after the French physicist who performed this experiment. The pendulum, being free hanging, swings on a certain plane, even as the Earth turns. Each hour was then represented with 11degrees. We compared the time when we entered and the time we left, nearly one hour, and this was presented correctly on the scale shown.
The modern art museum in London, Tate Modern was free to public. I quote the tour guide on the river cruise, 'If you have been there before and had seen modern art, you will know why it is free' ^.^
