#the mosaic on the side is sea glass <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[thyme-for-spells]

Friday workings with Aphrodite <3

We did a self-love and self-improvement bowl today. Pretty crystals, a cinnamon stick, a feather, a seashell, rose petals, quartz, and lemon balm. This was done atop a mirror with the Erotes’ statue and Aphrodite’s statue nearby. Next to Aphrodite is her oil, her candle, and a radical self-love and attraction spell I did a year or two ago.

[thatgirlonstage]

mermay prompt: JamiKali + gold?

I'm not entirely happy with the way I ended this one but if I keep picking at it I will run out of time to work on other prompts so I'm calling it good. Keep an eye on the Ao3 collection next year, I might put a revised version up once I've had longer to sit on it. I really like the worldbuilding concept I'm playing with, anyway :3

(also I hope you see this, nonny — sorry for taking most of the month to get to it!!!)

———

Mermaids cry pearls and their scales are made of gold.

Those are the kinds of myths that Jamil grows up hearing, circulating in whispers through the bazaar, repeated like a dreamy incantation by traders in their cups, posted in hashtags below visibly photoshopped images of supposed beachside treasures.

“If only they knew, huh Jamil?” Kalim giggles by his side, letting silk run over his hands like water. When his fingers lift away, there’s an embroidered pattern of fish leaping along the edge of the headscarf, flashing in the sunlight. Kalim’s smile is brighter than the pure silver of the thread, a searing thing, white teeth a slash in his brown skin. “I don’t think these people even believe mermaids really exist.”

Jamil bites down hard on the urge to tell him to shut up. Drawing any attention will only make Kalim’s remarks seem significant to anyone who already overheard them. He bites down so hard that his lip splits. He tastes iron. Kalim, brow furrowing, reaches up and swipes a thumb over Jamil’s mouth.

When mermaid blood is spilled on sand, it turns into rubies.

“Are you all right?” Kalim asks, popping his bloodied thumb back out of his mouth. “You’ve been so quiet today.” He spits a shard of something glittering and red into his palm, considers it, and discards it on the ground. A moment later, Jamil hears a muffled exclamation from behind them. He does not look back. Looking back will only draw attention. People exclaim in bazaars all the time.

“It’s too hot,” he says by way of excuse. “It’s making me tired.”

Kalim pokes him in the shoulder, a friendly reproach. “You should have said! I would’ve come on my own. It’s only the groceries.”

“Last time I let you go on your own, you left an entire frieze of the legend of Sinbad carved over the entrance of the fish merchant’s stall.”

Mermaids have sea silk for hair. I bet if you plucked a mermaid’s eyelashes they’d be made of saffron.

Kalim laughs, the sound high and bright and as bubbly as a stream. “I forgot about that! The poor man was so confused.” He trails just the edge of his pinky finger along a piece of pottery, and the mosaic pattern gains a thin golden outline. “I’m sorry I make you worry, but it’s just that your magic is so abundant, I’m overflowing all the time.” He leans up and presses his lips to Jamil’s cheek. “Take a little back, okay? It’ll help me behave.”

When a mermaid kisses you, forever after, every time you speak, gems will fall from your lips.

Jamil feels his own magic surge backward into his skin, electricity racing up and down his spine. It sits there, crouching in his nerves, making every hair on the back of his neck stand up, locked in his blood. He inhales sharply and lets the breath hiss back out between his teeth.

“Warn me when you’re about to do that,” he says. “It’s not exactly comfortable.”

“Oops.” Kalim looks contrite. “Sorry, I gave you back a little more than I meant to!” He reaches as if to take some of it again, but Jamil jerks his head away.

“It’s fine.” The magic pulls at his tendons, crackling with unreleased potential. He grits his teeth against the scraping, scrabbling, screaming need for release, the way it hits a wall at every turn. Kalim is at least no longer quietly turning every pebble he steps on into sea glass.

“Your magic really is just that potent,” Kalim tells him, settling back into his place next to Jamil, grin diamond-white in the afternoon sun. “I can make anything you want, Jamil.” He slides his hand into Jamil’s, interlocking their fingers. “Just ask. Whenever you want anything, just ask and it’s all yours.”

Jamil hopes the smile he gives in return looks less forced than it feels. He can’t bring himself to speak, to tell Kalim the truth. He only breathes and lets himself imagine the contact of their palms makes his magic trickle back into Kalim a little faster, that the pounding desperation in his skull to let the magic out of his skin is a little lessened, that the tightness of his jaw is due to sun and stress and hours spent with Kalim as company, and not a curse weaving its prohibition into his tongue and teeth, stopping any spell from passing his lips.

If someone asked Jamil Viper to tell them a story about mermaids, this is what he would have said:

It’s true, mermaids can make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.

But they can’t do it alone. They have to borrow your magic.

If you wish, you can promise them magic in return for jewels, for gold, for pearls, for anything your heart could desire.

So go to the river if you want, trail a finger in the water under the full moon, and send out a spark to let one of them know you want to talk.

But be careful.

Once you’ve made a pact with one it cannot be undone.

They will stay bound to your bloodline forever.

———

Mermay prompts are open until May 31st!

[bahamapoolsswfl]

Florida's Finest: Essential Features of Luxury Pools in the Sunshine State

When it comes to luxury pools, Florida sets the standard. With its tropical climate and outdoor lifestyle, creating a personal oasis is a dream for many homeowners. At Bahama Pools, we specialize in transforming backyards into stunning retreats. From artistic mosaics to cutting-edge outdoor living spaces, the essential features define Sunshine State's luxury pools.

1. Decorative Mosaics: Art Beneath the Surface

Transform your pool into a work of art with decorative mosaics. These intricate designs can range from playful sea creatures to elegant geometric patterns, bringing personality and beauty to the bottom and sides of your pool. Mosaics elevate the visual appeal and provide a unique, customized touch that sets your pool apart.

2. Fire Features: Ignite the Night

Create a captivating poolside ambiance with fire features. From fire bowls perched along the pool's edge to cozy fire pits and integrated fireplaces, these elements add warmth and drama to your outdoor space. Perfect for evening gatherings or quiet nights under the stars, fire features combine functionality and aesthetics to enhance your luxury experience.

3. Hot Tubs & Spas: Ultimate Relaxation

Incorporating a hot tub or spa into your pool design offers the perfect blend of relaxation and wellness. Whether easing muscle tension with hydrotherapy jets or hosting a tranquil spa day, a hot tub provides a year-round retreat for comfort and leisure. Seamlessly integrated into your pool layout, our spas are designed to complement any luxury pool.

4. Pool Interior Finishes: Beyond the Basics

The pool interior is where functionality meets luxury. Choose from various finishes, including classic plaster, durable pebble applications, or modern glass beads. Each finish offers unique benefits, from enhanced texture and slip resistance to dazzling aesthetics. Our premium materials ensure your pool remains beautiful and functional for years.

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Elevate your pool’s ambiance with advanced LED lighting systems. With customizable colors and intensities, you can switch from a serene blue for evening relaxation to vibrant hues for lively pool parties. Lighting enhances the pool's beauty and ensures safety for nighttime swims.

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7. Outdoor Living Spaces: Extend Your Oasis

A luxury pool isn’t complete without a fully equipped outdoor living area. From summer kitchens to shaded pergolas, cozy seating areas, and integrated sound systems, we design spaces that encourage relaxation and entertainment. These features turn your backyard into an all-season destination for family and friends.

Ready to make your dream pool a reality? Contact Bahama Pools at (239) 445-5530 or message us online and let us bring the ultimate luxury and innovation to your backyard. Whether you’re looking for artistic mosaics, soothing water features, or a complete outdoor living space, we’ve got you covered. 

[manychocolatefactories]

CatCF Dark Chocolate: Part 2, the tour

Willy Wonka and his factory:

For the Factory in this version, I wanted to give a feeling of the factories of the 19th century. Something between a place where a mad scientist would work and a steampunk fantasy. Willy Wonka himself is based on Jules Vernes.

Willy Wonka himself is a man with an "impressive beard", a solemn but kind air on his face, and an overall feeling of knowledge and wisdom. Wearing a thick and tight jacket, a black top hat and a dark green coat, his appearance actually gives mixed signals: his short hair is fluffy and shaggy, like a man of free spirit, of amusement and not much care, but his beard and mustache are neatly trimmed and cut, like any serious and respectable man. His hair is brown, chocolate-colored, but with touches of white and gray here and there. His eyes are kind and twinkling, but his mouth is a harsh thin line. He is the kind of man that will say the most extravagant things perfectly seriously, but treat serious and common business as a joke. Don't think however that is an extravagant or funny man. Again, he rather gives the feeling of a kind mad scientist.

As for the Factory itself, actually the locals, the people of the town over which the Factory looms, dislike it. Sure, the Factory is admired by people wordlwide - tourists come to see it, painters come to paint it, it is a landmark admired in foreign countries. But the locals do not like it at all. It is a tall, dark, cold and stern building, with no color of beauty, only locked doors, metallic fences, thick walls and high chimneys. The Factory does not employ anyone of the town, in fact no one ever saw the Factory workers arrive or leave. Wonka himself has never left his factory for decades now. Couple that with strange white silhouettes seen at the windows, and the ramblings of the local homeless man who apparently hates the Factory and keeps insulting it, and quickly a bad reputation was built for it. Adults believe Wonka is trying to hide a shameful secret, the kids tell tales of "the haunted chocolate factory"...

In fact, I wanted an air of creepiness for the Factory. I took back the original idea of Dahl that all the workers are regular humans dressed in white, and I pushed it a little further: they are basically so covered in white you can hardly see them anymore. They have white blouses and jackets, white gloves, white masks, white caps, white helmets... After each kid's demise, a mysterious poem is recitated (like in Dahl's original drafts), mysterious voices that could be eithe the worker's or something else... In fact, with each kid demise there is an element of sppokiness which may be the kid hallucinating out of fear, or not (Augustus in the river thinks something is tying to catch him or drag him down  ; Wilbur and Rice in the dark hear and feel creepy things...). And Wonka himself keeps making ominous references to "selling your soul to the devil"...

But in truth the Factory isn't a death trap at all. Behind the scenes, the workers are just normal people with their own life and their usual office routines, and who happent to leave very discreetly the Factory. The Factory is also based a lot on the Menier chocolate factory, which is the "real-life" Wonka factory. I may speak more about it one day.

Anyway... now let's go on with the tour!

# The Labyrinth. Behind each entrance, before each exit of the Factory, is a labyrinth, a maze Wonka designed after the works of Penrose and Möbius. Only he and his workers know the way out of them. This is merely a security measure.

# The Edible Garden. For this garden, I wanted to insist on the idea of it being fake and artificial - Wonka didn't try to create a perfect replica of a landscape. This room doesn't even have any real sense in the Factory, it is merely a piece of art he created so that he could come in here to relax and mediate. There are no windows, all the lights come from spots on the far-away ceiling and the ground is grey stone (because Wonka is revolted at the idea of making grass out of candy, it would be too dirty). There are trees of hard caramel and mint candies, orchards where the fruits are made of gummy, lollipops shaped like flowers and numerous sculptures of sugar - none of this is to be eaten however. At the back of the garden, there is the Chocolate River. The River serves a double use: on one side, it is merely an aesthetic addition to the Edible Garden. On the other, it is a source of energy for the Factory - it used to be a water mill, and Wonka kept the ancient structures but replaced water with chocolate. As such, the production of chocolate actually helps create energy back - and the river ends with a series of different pipes, each one leading to a different room where the chocolate will be used.

This is where Augustus Pottle meets his demise. The competitive  glutton tried to empty the river of its content, and fell into it. Sucked up by one of the glass pipes, he did a long travel through the tubes and pipes of the factory, which crushed and reshaped his fat into a cylindric body - before he fell into one of the boiling vats. There, the heat was enough to have all his fat melt, like in a super-intense sauna. Hopefully, he was rescued before being boiled alive - but Augustus left the factory as a mass of sagging, extra-skin, his wrinkled folds dragging on the ground, like a skeleton wearing a bride's dress made of human flesh.

# At the back of the Edible Garden, there is a long hallway that passes by a balcony. Said balcony allows one to see the "Mosaic room", a place where Wonka makes mosaics out of pralines - and since the room is really vast, he can make giant mosaics.

# The Vanilla Fudge Mountain. While it looks like a miniature mountain kept inside a giant room, this titanic hunk of vanilla fudge is actually a fragment taken out of the Honeylaya mountain range (located somewhere between the great Black Thunder chocolate mines, and the sugar marshes of the Sea of Marmelade). [References to the Himalaya, the Black Thunder coal mines, the Black Thunder chocolate bars, the Sea of Marmara and salt marshes ]. This room is basically a copy-cut of Dahl's deleted chapter of the same name, with workers breaking down the mountain, piling the fudge in wagons and then sending it to the Cutting and Pounding Room.

This is where Wilbur and Rice meet their demise. Unruly, and tired of having all their pranks and "fun" sabotaged by Wonka and Bertie Upside, they decide to ride the wagons. Of course, they are sent down the Cutting and Pounding Room - hopefully for them, Wonka has installed an intelligent wire strainer/net that can catch all impurities detected, to clean the fudge. So the kids are saved, right? Well the thing is that, while waiting on the wire strainer for someone to save them, the kids, bored and gluttonous, ended up eating all the fudge that fell down around them. They ate so much of it, that the machine ended up identifying them as "fudge" instead of "impurity" (since they were basically 80 percent fudge after their gorging Xp). So they where sent down in the Room, thrown on a conveyor belt... ready to be pound and cut into slices. The workers realized this of course and stopped the conveyor belt before the knifes - but the kids still got pounded. Wilbur, who was lying on his side when he got pounded, became tall and thin ; while Tommy, who was standing up, got pounded on the head and became small and large. In fact, when they got out of the Factory, their angry parents ended up mistaking one for another and going home with the wrong boy.

# After the Vanilla Fudge Mountain, the tour goes by another hallway, this one with numerous tall and colorful windows - stained glass made of sugar. Each window illustrates a famous chocolatier or candy-maker, but in the style of saints in churches. You have Philippe Suchard (the grandfather of Milka), Henry Isaac Rowntree (the maker of the Fruit Pastilles and Fruit Gums), the Menier family (the biggest chocolatiers of 19th century and first half of 20th century Europe, and distant relatives of Wonka) ; the Murrie family (creators of Hersheys) and the Mars famly (bheind the Mars bars, the M&Ms, the Snickers and the Milky Ways). "All families" Wonla notes with an air of sadness. Indeed, Wonka always wanted a family - or rather at this point in his life he regrets to not have a family and an heir, isolated that he is in his factory.

# Inventing Room number 3. There are numerous "Inventing Rooms" in the Factory, dedicated to developping, inventing, testing, studying products or just do crash tests. The number 3 is clustered with huge, squat and heavy dark machines, with vats, cauldrons and ovens, and all sorts of other structures dragon-like due to the steam and fire they spill out. It quite a grim and sinister place, but it is also where Wonka tests his most fantastic inventions, like the Rainbow Drops, the Luminous Lollies or the Three-Course Meal Gum.

As you guess, this is where Violet Beauregard will meet her demise. I set myself a rule to avoid all blueberry transformations when dealing with the demises of the Violets, so here I rather use the tomato soup: after chewing (not only did Violet took the gum due to her "talent" but also because she misheard Wonka and thought it was a "tasting" room), her face becomes red and chubby, her skin smooth and glossy, her cheeks puff out, her nose bulges, her forehead bloats, her throat becomes big, her lips thick and her ears thin, pointy, green. Result? Her face looks like a mass of tomatoes. Tomatoes for cheeks, a tomato for a forehead, tomatoes instead of eyelids, a tomato for a nose and two for the lips... Think of the Arcimboldo paintings, how he made faces out of flowers and vegetables. It is the same thing here. And while her parent is furious at first, they end up actually realizing it might be for the better - because now she is truly unique and attention-attracting, and that's what her parents always wanted...

# Follows a long hallway with a series of different rooms: two are taken from the original book, the Fizzy Lifting Drinks and the Squares that Look Round. One I changed slightly: the Chocolate Milk Room, where Wonka keeps special cows that have a chocolate-flavored milk.

# The Heating Room. A room taken from Dahl's deleted chapter "The Warming Candy Room".

This Heating Room looks like the negine room of a submarine or a freighter, filled with turbines, pistons, pipes, wheels and pressure gauges. This is where Wonka creates all of his heat-related products: hot ice-creams to fight chilling days, hot ice-cubes to give back warmth to a cold drink, and finally the warming candies (see the original deleted chapter). Marvin Prune, absolutely outraged by what he perceives as Wonka breaking all laws of science and physics, tries to prove that he is a quack by stuffing himself with handfuls of warming candies. Which results in him over-heating: he becomes red, sweaty, thirsty, removes all of his clothes (save for his underwears) and screams to death.

Wonka will have him put in the freezer, and also covered regularly in water, to avoid him drying up to death or combust. But even as he is leaving the factory, he is still red, sweaty, steamy and in underwears - the falling snow melting as it touches him.

# The Nut Room. Another classic piece of the original factory that I wanted to reinvent. Basically, here the kids do not visit the Nut Room proper, but the Under-Nut Room, or Sub-Nut Room. You've got the Nut Room where the white-clad workers separate good nuts from bad nuts Then the "bad" batch is then in this under-room, where trained squirrels will sniff out any potential "good nut" the workers may have missed. All the nuts are on a conveyor belt, that is getting then thrown down a chute.

Of course, Elvira Salt meets her demise here by trying to take one of the squirrels by force, resulting in a squirrel attack. However, the squirrels do not push her down the chute. Rather, she climbs on the conveyor belt to avoid them and has her fur stuck in the belt. She could have escaped if she had let go of it, but she refused to let it go, so she fell down the chute... and Wonka cannot remember if this particular chute leads to the compost vat he uses to grow his fruits, vegetales and berries   - or to the furnace...

But don't worry, she actually falls down in the compost. Elvira will leave the factory extremely dirty, unbearably stinky, so much not even an entire week of baths and showers can remove it, and probably with one or two diseases, but alive.

# The Television Room. I did not had time to clearly prepare this one, but it will be where Michael (Mike) T-V meets his demise. Discovering he can go inside television, he is more happy to oblige, and is absolutely thrilled to be in his favorite shows. But as soon as he leaves the television, he realizes that he is now as small as a television character! No bigger than the screen! He will be sent back to his home, now only able to play with his toys and figurines, the only things at his doll-like size.

# The Molding Room

This room is also taken back from Dahl's original draft. Basically, it is where Wonka creates many of his chocolate sculptures - he has an entire zoo of chocolate animals, and very recently created a machine able to form men, women and children out of chocolate. And this is also where Bertie Upside will meet his demise.

You may be wondering: Bertie? What has he done wrong? He is kind, gentle, generous, perfect. He helped Charlie on numerous occasions, he stopped the mischief of the brats... Isn't he a good kid?

HE IS NOT. Grandpa Georges was right all along: if he appears better than the others, it means that he twice as worse.

Bertie Upside truly has a heart of gold. Which means a heart of cold and hard metal, not of flesh.

Bertie Upside is a psychopath, a sociopath, an evil little boy. Sure he knows how to put on a nice and gentle facade, but it is just manipulation. If he is orphaned, it is because he killed his own parents, and now that he is left alone with Charlie (Wonka being busy elsewhere), Bertie will try to kill him, just for fun, by putting him in the "Chocolate Boy" mould so that he would be smothered in a chocolate statue.

However (I have to admit this part is a bit blurry), Charlie will resist and Bertie will end up thrown inside another moulding machine... A piñata-creating machine. When Bertie will get out of the machine, he will still be a living boy... but now with a flesh as fragile as papier-mâché, and insides filled with candies. Now he is really a sweet kid inside as he is outside. And  he will have to be really gentle... if he doesn't want to break.

And of course after that Charlie gets the factory, as it turns out that Wonka was looking for an heir with this tour. Happy end!

   Now, as I mentionned a poem forms itself through the story, rhymes being added after each kid's demise (an idea originally taken from Dahl's first drafts of the story). It goes like this:

"Nine little children, in the garden they went,

But one fell, and then they were eight."

"Eight little children, an unruly mix,

Two rode to Chicago, and then they were six."

"Six little children went into a room as busy as a hive,

But one did not listen carefully, and then they were five."

"Five little children, less and less at every door,

One had a fever and then they were four."

"Four little children saw squirrels down the tree,

One fell down the squirrel hole, and then they were three."

"Three little children, and none are new,

One went to play and then they were two."

"Two little children, we are soon to be done,

One got his trickandtreat, and then there was one."

"One little children, everything he won,

He lived ever happily, and now we are done."

[writingsofmyimagination]

Conjecture |12|

Idol Reader Au, Enemies to Lovers AU

Summary: Your management refused to renew your contract unless you collaborated, so you ending up working with Min Yoongi. A guy you’d disliked from before both of your debuts. There is more to their past than meets the eye.

Links to other parts:  | 1 |  2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |11| 

So this will be the penultimate chapter :)

Hope you guys have enjoyed the series.

Words:4600

Rating:18+

Warnings: SMUT!! (BDSM themes, Sub Yoongi, Slight exhibitionism maybe, squirting, pegging) Swearing, alcohol comsumption. General sass.

Permanent Tags: @msunnsstuff  @rosey-roseu @eyelessmin @backtonormalthings

Reblog, Like, Comment 

I’ve done some Domme reader stuff that I haven’t done before so please comment on how i did :P

//

It’s been two months since Yoongi heard those three words slip past your lips from your lips in the hotel room. He made love to you that night like you couldn’t believe. He didn’t let you lift a finger because you were exhausted, especially after the performance and the emotional drainage loaded onto you that day. He worshipped your body, like the goddess he truly believed you were. Everywhere your body liked to be touched received his lips in the form of a kiss or light nip. Your body was subject to wave after wave. You were left a wrecked, exhausted shaking victim of his tongue technology.

//

It had been a week since Yoongi had heard you mutter those words in person. You’d been in the in the States. You’re reunion was going to be at a house that you knew pretty quickly you’d wanna excuse yourselves from. The … had been gently stroking at your walls since you left the airport. You were slowly getting needier and needier and every bump and damn pot hole was making it worse. If Yoongi had been good and done what you’d asked then he would have a smooth silicon butt plug making him just as needy.

Why do I do this to myself

-How long are you going to be?-

-Missed me huh? :P-

-Is it a crime? And besides Tae keeps trying to get me to dance and linking arms with me…help-

-Lol, I will pay extra to see this. I’m here anyway-

The bass could already be felt through the lit porch. The wide white door with gold embellishments; the window to the party inside. The house was extravagant, so says Greek god of music Apollo posing for the stone fountain you passed on the way to the porch.

“About time you showed up, pretty sure Yoongi is swamped with Tae affection and needs you” Lee chuckled welcoming you inside.

“I’ll make sure I take my time getting a drink then, thanks for inviting me by the way”

The annex floor war marble, the black pattern laced in the white marble resembled mosaic, this room was clear but the noise flooded out through the open living room door.

“Oh please, how much have we worked together these past two years. You basically lived in my here for two months this year” He wasn’t wrong he’d near enough help you produce most of your last album.

“Alright! I was just being polite jeez!” he slid your coat off your shoulders storing in in the cloak room large enough to be a childs room.

You followed him through to the king sized kitchen. The flurry of people drifting in and out, in addition to the smalls groups conversing conveniently next to the generous snack table the kitchen appeared to be much more cramped. You responded to a few smiles and waves in turn; there was a fair share of Idols around; as well as dancers, producers and various other roles from the music industry. All the alcohol bottles were shoulder to shoulder along the back of kitchen unit.

“Mixers all in the fridge, you good?”

“Yeah, yeah” you were already eyeing up the different flavour gins. His only response was a thumbs up and he merged seamlessly through the people and out the back sliding doors.

Mid pouring the lemonade arms wrapped round your front and you were squeezed tightly, all with added sound of a high pitch squeal.

“Oh my god I’m soo glad to see you” Sophie squealed. When you were released you turned to find her and a couple of the hair stylists from your company equally brimming with slightly drunk infused glazed over eyes. Karen was already handing you a shot. Sambuca! The worst!

When your sambuca disgust face twitching stopped you followed the girls outside. The sun was low in the sky, ready to pass the illumination baton on to the tall lamps dotted around the pool. The swimming pools lights were already glistening below the calm blue as perfect yellowy ovals. The calm blue was disturbed by a couple of splodges of green, white and pink; an inflatable dinosaur and unicorn ring were happily bobbing on the surface. Untouched, for now at least. You didn’t need to scan the mass of smart casually dressed people around the pool for long until Hobi’s laugh pierced through the music yanking your gaze to where your legs were now taking you.

Of course, it was right next to the music deck. Underneath the permanent veranda. ….. had moved his music deck outside, as far as you could tell there was no one actually manning so the music must be from the speakers with just the option to mix. You clapped eyes with Tae, a grin and an amused shake of your head greeted him. He chuckled, Yoongi’s hand captured firmly under his arms. You shushed him. You wanted to enjoy every miniscule reaction up close. Yoongi was naturally trying to pull away from affection to find solace in the chairs in front of him. When you were easily within range Tae let go stepping behind for you to come darting behind Yoongi wrapping your arms around him.

“Seriously, I swear to god I will end you!” Yoongi warned, blind to the more feminine hands at his waist. The other boy’s mouths dropped which hastily got covered to shield their amusement.

“Rude!”

His body stiffened before fighting in your grip to turn and face you

“Babe.. I’m so sorry I thought you were Tae” You kept your face straight for as long as you could to enjoy the panic washing over Yoongi’s face. It was a mere and feeble few seconds before you erupted into a giggle. You could feel eyes migrate onto you; as much as you were amongst your own industry and there were no paparazzi the two of you were still pretty big news.

“Hey” the saccharine low voice melted into you like butter on a hot crumpet.

“Hey” you replied, his hands dropped to envelope yours into a squeeze. His lips were screaming to you, begging for yours to comfort them but you were not a huge PDA fan. Yoongi who seemed more than happy using you as an excuse to go sit down and out of the zone of dancing Tae; who’d now moved onto Jin who was much more pliant.

“You look nice” Yoongi spoke plainly clambering through the glasses on the table until he reached his wine.

“I look nice?” You mocked teasingly

“You haven’t seen me for a week and you just say I look nice?” you goaded further. His eyes rolled, smile twitching at his lips.

“God! you’re sooo demanding what do you want me to say?” he whined sparkle glinting in his eyes.

“I missed you, can’t wait to have what nice clothes you are wearing on the bedroom floor while I fuck you until your begging me to stop”

The remainder of your mouthful of drink sprayed onto the stone, darkening Infront of you. Your glance quickly scanning your immediate surroundings for potential heard ears. Your core clenching around your toy. The dampness of your underwear becoming mildly uncomfortable.

Did he just?...out loud? Where has my shy Yoongles gone

“Well… I mean that’s certainly more… interesting”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, not bad, if it was me though I probably woulda said… missed you can’t wait to have my mouth round your cock drinking down your cum”

“Ooof touché. Now no more otherwise you’ll start giving me…issues. Where’s Sophie and Karen disappeared off to?”

“Well we wouldn’t want that would we” pecking him on the cheek.

“No doubt to get me more shots to catch up, has Lee played your track yet?”

“Not yet he’ll, he’s got my memory stick”

“You trusted him with the password? Bitch you don’t even give that to me!” you whined.

“Damn right I don’t last time I did you put our private videos on there, I don’t need that kind of distraction when I’m at work”

“Not my fault you have no restraint”

You were right. Sophie and Karen had fought their way back over to you each with two glasses in their hands. Jaegerbombs.

“The hot tubs freee and has our name on it…” You’d packed your bikini in your overnight just for this. You wrote some of your favourite tracks from your last album in that hot tub.

“You saw Lee wave at Yoongi flagging him over

“You guys go I’ll be like 5 mins, got to hear what my boys made”

“Babe, you’ll hear it wherever you are, you go I’ll catch you in a bit” The kiss to your forehead signalling finality

“Fine!” you huffed squeezing his hand off your waist

“Sure it’s not just because you want me in a bikini quicker?” you teased out loud.

“You flatter yourself way too much” He countered acting disinterested; the glint of insincerity clear as day through his eyes. The hand he’d refused to let go now slid from his grasp.

The appeal of the hot tub was it was embedded into the floor. You stepped down into the shimmering warmth. A square area immediately around the circular pool the floor matched that you’d find in a sauna. You’d be on your knees on the seat of the tub, relaxing undulation of bubbles swarming your skin while you’d be writing lyrics on the wood, elbows growing sore with how fast your ideas were flowing out. The biggest appeal was the one-way glass, you could see the pool and if the patio pool area was free of swarms of people you had an aesthetic view of the skyline. The blanket of lights from the sea of buildings of Seoul.

The flow of water was circling and bubbling away, diffusing weakly into your tired muscles. The condensation had made the room soothingly stuffy and warm. The one-sided glass leaving the three of you in a tranquil heat filled space. You’d initially packed an overnight bag as you weren’t sure if you’d be staying at Yoongi’s or yours. You’d packed a few… extra things for Yoongi which you made sure were coated underneath the pyjamas.

The music filtered through the speakers in the top corner of the room, your ears alert for Yoongi’s new music that he’d refused to share with you. You’d tried every legal blackmail your mind could possible to torture Yoongi. When it came to music you’d very quickly learned he was as stubborn and private as you. You’d only hear it when he was happy for everyone to hear it; the only way you’d hear something before was if you were actually collaborating.

“Don’t you think Kihyun is looking damn good tonight” Karen cooed.

“You’d eat that boy alive” you chuckled

“How do you know I haven’t already?” she challenged from the side of the hot tub, the thin waves of steam failing to cover her deceptive smirk.

“Oh come on! you know Wonho would have told me” triumph filled the air. The three of you shared amusement

“You still talk to him then?”

“Not as much, but we’re still close”

“Well that’s hardly surprising most of your messages were absolute filth.”

“Well, there is that” you laughed, Sophie blunt as always.

“Anyway cheers girls, you bitches are the best” Glasses klinked, the beat of a song you’d never heard before started seeping into the room

“Oooh this must be it” you buzzed, the lower tones and bars of music ringing true of Agust D.

Your heart thumped to the bottom of your stomach, lead weighted. Blood plummeting southwards leaving your face drained. The sounds reaching your ears unbelievable.

“Well that’s erm different” Both girls eyes on you to gauge your reaction, you’d not moved. Face frozen eyes stuck wide.

“Wait…that’s not you…is it?” Your stiff expression face obviously confirming. The whole intro of the song he’d mixed in was the unmistakeable sounds of your moans. You completely blocked out anything when the lyrics started.

“I’m going to kill that asshole” Your shock morphing into pure anger out of embarrassment and self-preservation from m completely falling into tears.

“That’s a fucking dick move, he didn’t even ask?” mouth falling into a O.

“Would I want to hurt him if he did? I mean Jesus how could he, that’s so humiliating”

“He’s an artist right, you guys get soundbites from everywhere, people won’t even think it’s you. No one would expect Yoongi to do something like that. And it’s remixed pretty good, it’s pretty sexy actually”

“Don’t you even dare support this”

“I’m just saying” Karen shooting to defensive mood

“And anyway, that’s beside the point! How could he do that to me”

He is going to learn the full meaning of in dog house back home and he’d be a fool if he didn’t know that already.

When the songs was at its end the crept open. As soon as you saw his face you made sure you gave him daggers, right now you hoped they were primed and sharp. His hesitant movement into the room, sheepish aware of the wolf’s den he knew he was sacrificing himself to. Swim shorts over his shoulder.

“We’ll just go” Karen elbowing Sophie.

//

“What the actual fuck Yoongi! Your joking if you think you’re getting in” you seethed. He took a small step forward but no further. The barrier of your blood boiling giving him no choice but to choose wisely and come no closer.

“I’m…sorry, it was a complete accident, please let me explain” He rushed.

“An accident?” you scoffed.

“You don’t make a whole fucking song by accident, I don’t even wanna hear it. Do you know how embarrassing that was?” His head drooped low, eyes regretful looking up desperate at you.

“No one knows it’s you…I”

“You don’t know that! That’s besides the bloody point, you used something private without even asking for permission” He slumped himself down on the wooden bench that ran along half the room.

“I know I’m sorry, it wasn’t meant to be played”

“Oh the song you’d made that Lee Asked if you could play at his party you mean?” you snapped.

“I made two versions!” his voice never even raised but it strongly spoken.

“I thought I’d removed that one off the memory stick, he obviously played the wrong one” You churned the fact that actually he’d never meant the song to be heard through the grinder of your thoughts.

“Please forgive me I never meant to…” he pleaded

Fine!

“You know what fine! If you didn’t play it on purpose… just get out I’m too angry, I need to cool off” he stood without a word of contest. He knew by now how hot blooded you were. Eyes never leaving the floor, the now wounded sheep made his way towards the door. His face wringing the anger from your body as quick as it had flared. Leaving you empty with just guilt for company.

“Yoongi wait”

“Want to make it up to me?” He recognised your tone, he recognised the devilish smirk slowly creeping across your face.

“I’ll do anything you want” Instant submission.

Good boy

“Well that’s exactly what I want, lock the door, get changed and come in”

He joined you in simple black swim shorts, his V-lines more prominent than the last time you saw him. As soon as he settled you straddled his lap. A spring recoiling in his arms looping round your waist to hold your hips. He shouldn’t get to touch you, you wanted to pin them but you’d missed his touch too much to argue with yourself. You let it be, for now.

“You need to stop working out” You delayed his reply

“Wh..y” you went onto his lips, hard; catching his bottom lip between his teeth with just a much force. You heard the soundless exhale, a soft breeze from his lips. The growl was stuck in his throat but your hand felt it where it was resting loose on his throat.

“You can’t be hotter than me. Now are you ready to be a good boy and do exactly as I say?” his amused smile switched to an open mouth whine; dragging his hair back in a short tug.

“Well that’s impossible and yes I am yours to use” to hear those words roll off his lips was just…

“Sit up on the side I can’t have you make me cum with all this water” You clambered off him to resume the same position.

“I’ve missed those hands and I know how much you like to use them but to make it more of a punishment I won’t be moaning for you or calling your name” Your ability to do this was partially his fault, when you’d stay at the dorm with the others Yoongi actually wanted to keep things quiet from his brothers. You would always make sure you’d seduce the fuck out of him so he couldn’t refuse. You’d test how quiet he could be and he did the same. So in short it was actually mostly your fault.

You pulled at the bow at the back of your neck, the top flawless in the way it fell from your skin. You held it up biting your lip letting it fall from your hand. Yoongi pulled at the tie just below your hip, bottom lip also disappearing becoming victim of a bite. The lustful coffee swirls of his eyes focused on yours waiting for approval before he removed it from your glistening skin.

The grip of your hands tightening on his shoulders, his hand dipping, tracing his fingers from your neck down, your chest rising under his touch, through the valley of your breasts. His palms flipping up when they reached between your thighs. Pursing the heavy breath through your lips, dissipating the moan in your throat. Both your foreheads pressing together eyes challenging each other in a battle of unbridled lust. Throwing your white flag back with your head when his finger pressed to the front of core, too quickly finding the precious velvet wall. The double hit being in this position his palm was also pressed against your even more precious bundle of nerves. Your neck quickly succumbed to a wave of open-mouthed wet kisses; each igniting a different line of nerves rerouting them between your thighs. Your chest pressed to him your back arched in a perfect crescent. He tilted you back slightly leaning further to you. His fingers could go that much deeper. His palm pressed to your clit with just more pressure. Before your head buried in his neck the unknowing hustle of the people received such an arrogant devilish smirk before a harsh thrust of his hand had you clamping down on his shoulders. He was trying to make you lose your own game. All your moans you made sure were caught in your throat.

“Fuck this is infuriating without you moaning” Yoongi breathed in your ear. His fingers pumping harder.

You could support less and less of your own weight; you became heavier in his hand and lap. He knew he had you.

You fell completely apart, your legs tensed so hard convulsing around his thighs. His fingers still pressed hard to the front of your walls; palm still snug on your clit. He hooked his finger harder inside you, the next pulse of your muscles with the pressure of his fingers right there caused something deeper to release

Your cry flooded past your lips, the moan and expletives loud and breathless in Yoongi’s ear. If his shorts weren’t wet from the hot tub, they’d definitely be soaked with you.

“Did you just?” he asked through heavy exhale, smugness caked on his face.

“I did just”

“That was…so fucking sexy”

“Great punishment” he toyed like a brat.

“Oh babe I’m not done” The glint in your eyes made sure he knew. You tugged his hair dragging his head so your mouth was next to his ear

“I’m going to fuck you from behind while you look out at everyone. I want you think how much of a good boy you are”

“What? You can’t?” you’d already got yourself out of the hot tub.

“And why not?” You challenged, fully prepared for his response.

“Don’t you need…”

Yes I do you thought to yourself holding the harness in your hand

“You brought that to a house party?” the wideness of his eyes briefly sheltered the mischievous creases that built in the corners of his lips.

“Well I was hoping I’d be coming to stay at yours”

“But seriously…here?” he still challenged

“Oh so you don’t mind making me squirt like that, but fucking you is a bit too far?”

You butted in before the guy had a chance to respond

“Now stop being a brat, I want those off and you bent over the side of the tub” The lack of smile and piercing eyes dissuaded any more backchat.

The gold metal buckle lightly pinched the skin at your hip as you stepped into the pool. Yoongi’s head already resting on his arms. He exhaled through his teeth, your hand gently reached around and wrapped at the base of his cock.

“Are you so hard it hurts yet?”

“Getting there” he admitted, the colour fading back into his knuckles when you let him go

“Well you’re not going to cum from this” you warned.

“That’s never not happened” The complaint coming through a low echo with his head weighted on his hands

“You’ve been doing sooo much better. You’re just going to try extra hard for me today. Promise I won’t make it too difficult”

“If you do then you’ll just have to go without making me cum for a month. And you know I’ll make you watch when I do it myself”

“Ready?” hand slick with raspberry lube stroking the thin purple silicone shaft.

“What do you say?”

“I’m sorry for playing that song…ugh!” If he was going to say anymore, he didn’t with you teasing

“Thank you, now ask for it. Ask for your punishment like a good boy” His head took a quick glance up soaking up the view. He couldn’t deny it had definitely become quite a kink. The danger and the audacity of it just ruffled his feathers in all the right ways.

You deemed the silence too long. Fingers skipping up his spine, twizzling in his hair. Sharp tug.

“Ugh!”

“I’m waiting”

“Fuck me…please… I won’t cum…I don’t deserve it” His words hitting you like honey, sweetening right in between your thighs

“God, you drive me crazy when ..” Your leg propped up, hand resting at the base of his neck. Another hand tight on the masterpiece of his ass.”

His head dropping, groans deep in his throat. Hips slow pressing into him.

“Head up, look straight” Knocking your hips in a jolt against him

“I want you looking at all those people while I fuck you”

“Do you think they’ll be surprised to know how much you love it when I have you from behind” You leaned as far forward as you could, slithering your words at the top of his spine. Feeding into his love for you dirty mouth.

He was attempting to choke his moans away, half conscious of the open space of the room. He was struggling to hold himself together. When he’d whine a certain way, you knew he was close so you’d stop and give him a moment to control himself. You weren’t feeling cruel enough to actively try and make him fail.

Your hips had slowed now, and the long drawn tortured moans you were rewarded with. Oof. You could have quite easily stopped and wrapped the mouth he loved so much around his cock and given him the release he so desperately needed. You didn’t.

“I…can’t…anymore” he panted, exhausted. You still inside him pushing your hips to meet his ass once more

“Say please”

“Fuck please!” he cried. The desperation calling your punishment satisfactory. The top half of his body collapsed onto his arms. A beautiful panting mess of your own creation.

“Now I’m so hard it hurts” he breathed, muffled. Buckles undone, harness carried to the bag. Satiated smirk solid on your lips. You made no attempt to hide it when you re-joined him back in the tub. He shuffled round and slid fluidly onto the seat. The creases around his eyes glistening with tears. You swept them away with a gentle swipe of your thumb.

“Such a beautiful boy. Such a mess for me”

“I’ve been good, please…let me cum…Babyyy” Oh god the whine was sounded so perfectly with need and beauty. You were actually impressed he managed it. He’d normally come undone pretty quick.

“Fine, you can cum but… you have to tell me, and you only get my hand” His hands excitedly grabbing your hips as you sat on his lap; gasping when you most definitely on purpose guided his cock through you as you lowered yourself.

He really was desperate.

He breathed a curse as your thumb rolled over his tip. Eyes automatically firing warnings your way. Inhaling your bottom lip between your teeth, the evil smirk responding. You are still in control and you are not done.

Back arched into his chest, hand spread at the base of his neck. Lips dangerous, finding that spot he loves you to clamp down on.

“Fuck, I’m not going to last long” he breathed already flushed trying to contain himself. The small bulge of his adams apple bobbed underneath your lips, his legs stiffened in between yours. You kept your hand movements slow and deliberate. Wanting to drag each long groan past his lips that you could.

“Is that nice baby?” Asking the obvious you knew but you wanted to hear it.

“Mmm so…” his words choked as your hand worked faster. His fingers locked tighter onto the outside of your thighs, head dropping back mouth agape stuttered soundless whimpers. Your hand constricting the side of his throat coaxing him to just topple off the edge.

“I’m going to…” Your hand abandoning his cock before his hips started spluttering. Even though you still had pressure on that beautiful milky throat of his. The sweet exasperated groan and breathy curses tweaked the sides of your lips up. His tortured pupils looking so feebly at you, devastated you’d just ruined his climax that he was gagging for. The water settling around you, your arm dragging droplets round his scapula, rolling down his chest perfect little drops.

Wet hands toying with the bottom of his hair line.

“You’re unbelievable, you know that” his chest still rising and falling in rapid undulations beneath you.

“And you know you can’t get enough of it” you countered pressing an adoring kiss on his plump lips.

“Babe you seriously gotta stop trying to leave me like this” it was a weak tired plea more than being a brat so you forgave him. If you ruined him just right, he’d stay hard; giving you plenty of extra play time. You retrieved your bikini halves from where they were shamelessly dropped.  Facing the gap in the wall towards the changing area wringing out your hair; your ass a full spectacle to him to enjoy.

“Well I won’t because we’re not finished and you’re going to come and fuck me against the wall”

He followed you through into the changing rooms like the absolute love-struck horny puppy you know he is and you wouldn’t change him for the world.

[restaurantinsanjuan]

The Best Things to See, Eat, and Do in San Juan

Why come to Puerto Rico when you could travel in Mexico, or Miami, or even the Dominican Republic nearby? Great inquiry. Come to Puerto Rico to encounter the unusual impression of being in a completely unique nation (gas by the liter, streets by the kilometer, Spanish is spoken) while as yet being in the United States (same dollar, same president, no requirement for a visa). An outing here is a 3-for-1 deal of Caribbean sea shores, tropical rainforests, and wonderful mountainscapes - with the uncommon special reward of not one but rather three bioluminescent sounds. There's sufficient to see and do in Puerto Rico to keep you occupied for quite a long time.

All things considered, at the top of any Puerto Rico agenda ought to be San Juan, the dynamic capital city where most of the island's visitors land. Set up in 1521, this is the most established European-established settlement in the US and the second-most seasoned in the Americas. You don't need to squint too difficult to see that rich history around you: The pastel-hued Spanish frontier structures and thin cobblestone roads of the Old Town are ensured by seventeenth century strongholds and a 15-foot-thick crisscrossing divider. Take a mobile tour around Old San Juan to get the full impact. Additionally of historical import: The piña colada was concocted here.

Be that as it may, San Juan is something beyond enchanting old stuff and tourist shops. It's a mosaic of steadily advancing areas, similar to the cosmopolitan Miami vibes of Condado, or the fashionable person bars and road craft of Santurce. Regardless of whether you're here for the afternoon or remaining for a whole week, here are the best things to do in San Juan.

The Best Things to See on a Trip to Puerto Rico

Tour the history-pressed San Juan, zip line through a tropical rainforest, and hit the sea shore.

Visit the absolute most seasoned fortresses in the Americas

We should move the touristy stuff first, will we? Two tremendous fortresses front San Juan's northern face. To the west, the sixteenth century Castillo San Felipe del Morro (normally known as El Morro) is undoubtedly perhaps the most notable attractions in Puerto Rico. With its essential area ignoring the San Juan Bay, El Morro protected this port city from 1539 to as of late as WWII.

Passage into El Morro costs just $7.00 - save your ticket, since it likewise incorporates section to "that other fortification," Castillo San Cristobal, inside 24 hours of procurement. This is fundamentally El Morro's neglected younger sibling, yet San Cristobal is cool too! It's the biggest European fortress in the Americas and features the notorious Devil's Guerite (Garita del Diablo). Rumors have spread far and wide suggesting that warriors would randomly vanish as they stood watch in this guerite.

It's about a mile stroll from one fortress to the next, and the walk alone is breathtaking, with pastel provincial houses on one side and a capturing blue ocean on the other. A mammoth esplanade fronting El Morro fills in as a public social event spot, and is a great spot to take a break.

Take a look at the lead representative's home

After you visit the fortresses, walk the waterfront down to La Fortaleza, another walled compound where the island's Governor lives. You're not permitted to go in - it's in a real sense the Governor's home and office - yet you'll see it from the entryway. Lately, the First Lady has stepped up and brighten Fortaleza Street paving the way to the fundamental door. Right now, it's adorned with many bright umbrellas drifting over the road.

Snap a selfie at La Puerta de la Bandera

Since 2012, the passage doors of a flimsy structure on San José Street have become a significant image for Puerto Ricans living under the island's present financial emergency. Craftsman Rosenda Álvarez initially painted the doors with the Puerto Rican banner, just to revisit her painting four years after the fact, quiet the red and blue shades of the banner, and paint them dark all things considered. It was an analysis to the questionable monetary oversight board that is currently controlling the island funds. The structure is presently a famous selfie spot among tourists and local people.

Chase for noticeable (dead) local people in the graveyard

Despite the fact that it's found right close to El Morro, this pioneer time graveyard is regularly neglected by tourists. It lies right external the divider, confronting the ocean. The Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery is the last resting spot of a few noticeable Puerto Ricans - among the most acclaimed names discovered here are Pedro Albizu Campos, Jose Celso Barbosa, and José de Diego, among numerous others.

Chill with something fruity

In the event that you see a little kart with "piraguas" composed on it, do not spare a moment! Piraguas are squashed ice cones seasoned with nearby natural product syrups like cherry, enthusiasm organic product, strawberry, tamarind, coconut, and lemon. Sadly they're a withering practice, yet they can in any case be found in Old San Juan, particularly close to El Morro and Paseo la Princesa.

You'll likewise see hand crafted popsicles sold to a great extent at inhabitants' front doors, generally for $1. These are paletas, seasoned with pretty much every natural product on the island. Guava. Coconut. Other stuff. I got one that was an orange-and-cream blend, and I discovered it some way or another gooier than I'd anticipated. It was likewise truly reviving. Which was fundamental around noontime in the late spring, when the city can be, ah, I'll simply say it, abusively hot.

See the rotunda in the Puerto Rican Capitol

The capitol building is a marble structure fronting the Atlantic, not a long way from Fort San Cristobal. Passageway is totally free, Monday through Friday. Look upward at the roof, where the history of Puerto Rico is portrayed in a dazzling, point by point mosaic. Remain in the focal point of the rotunda, and you'll be encircled by glass-encased duplicates of the Puerto Rican and U.S. constitutions. Outside, the Puerto Rican and U.S. banners fly one next to the other.

Visit the most established house of God in Puerto Rico

In the first place, look at the gallery at Casa Blanca, a house worked for the Spanish traveler Ponce de León and his family. De León, who broadly (and uselessly) looked for the wellspring of youth, kicked the bucket on a campaign before he could move in. Walk a couple of squares to the San Juan Bautista basilica where Ponce de Leon moved in, and where he'll remain forever; he's entombed inside.

There's nothing extravagant about the design, however San Juan Bautista is the most established church in Puerto Rico and the second most seasoned in the Americas. Notwithstanding the tomb of de León, it contains the holy place to Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago - the principal Puerto Rican and the main layman in the history of the United States to be beatified.

Dance to the beat of "Despacito" in La Perla

La Perla has gained notoriety for strict hundreds of years. This historic shanty town was initially settled in the nineteenth century to house previous slaves and destitute workers who weren't permitted to live inside the city dividers. Today, the area appreciates newly discovered acclaim as where Luis Fonsi shot his music video for "Despacito." It was hit hard by Hurricane Maria is still amidst remaking. In case you're nearby on a Sunday night, go celebrating at La 39 Bar, a shoddy bar based on the top of a house that was mostly obliterated during the typhoon. Request a Medalla, the most mainstream brew in Puerto Rico.

Go to a well known speakeasy mixed drink bar

Likewise featured in the "Despacito" music vid is the speakeasy El Condal. This spot is so well known among local people, it doesn't require a sign outside. It's found where the well known Hijos de Borinquen bar used to be (you can in any case see the first name inside, painted on the divider), and El Condal holds the calm vibe of the famous unique.

It's tourist-accommodating, however as you advance inside you'll discover more than tourists drinking - and moving - there. Past the covered up indirect access are four more individual spaces, including a wine-bar, dance floor, and basement like bar - each with its own music, vibe, climate, beverages, and food. You may even get spendy and drop $9 on a mixed drink.

Attempt a delectable tripleta

Puerto Rico has no deficiency of delightful road food, particularly since the food-truck fever has assumed control over the island. In any case, Puerto Rico has had its own customary food-truck dish throughout recent decades - it's called tripleta. What's a tripleta? It's a sandwich. Tripleta implies three, so this sandwich has marinated barbecued 3D square steak, ham or pork, and chicken. It is served on a portion of yam bread with chips, mayonnaise, and ketchup. Trust me, it is delightful! Among the most famous tripletas is El Mariachi, found in Caguas and numerous different districts. You can visit best Italian restaurant in San Juan.

Absorb the Miami vibes along Ashford Avenue

Ashford Avenue feels like a Caribbean adaptation of Miami Beach with its Miami-style design, very good quality stores, popular lodgings, and beachfront bistros. Stroll along the road to absorb the climate, chill at the beachfront Ventana del Mar Park, have a dynamic night at the historic La Concha Resort, or tune in to live groups at the Hard Rock Café.

[misslisterkeepsajournal]

1831 Thursday 13 October

7 10/.. 12 40/..

Great deal of rain in the night but apparently fair at 7 10/.. and, now at 8, at which hour Fahrenheit 64°. - out at 8 1/2 - Went into the bookseller's shop opposite - bought Chichester guide - they did not burn the bp. [bishop] last night in effigy - the police interfered and prevented the burning - but all the people seem reformers, moderate or radical - then sauntered down to the Cathedral stopping as I went to admire the beautiful gothic market place a little below the hotel (The Swan) -

A verger went all round the cathedral with me and to the top of the tower (about 248 steps) from which springs the steeple, within the latter is a sort of scaffollding by which to secure four ladders, of 40 feet long each, hung, as it were, in air one above another and by which the workmen ascend, and, when at the top, if anything is to be done outside (which has happened without accident 4 or 6 times in the time of this verger, a singing boy in the cathedral 40 years ago) they make a hole in the stone work, and put up a scaffolding on the outside of the steeple - too hazy to see Chichester steeple, or the Portsmouth or the Isle of Wight - but good bird's eye view of the town - not large - merely high Street good and another goodish street or 2 the west Sussex and East Hampshire infirmary is a large handsome looking plain building stone or stuccoed - a small part of boulevard or old rampart left, shaded by 2 rows of fine large elms, the only town walk the inhabitants have - the corporation sold all the rest long ago by bit and bit and it is all built upon - Both inside and outside of the cathedral exceedingly plain - round Saxon arches - no ornament - the interior has been lately cleaned and scraped, so that, the white and yellow wash being gone, the natural colour of the stone is left with great advantage - saw no painted glass -

View of Chichester Cathedral in 1833 by Joseph Francis Gilbert [Image Source]

Walked all thro' the cloisters (3 sides of a square remarkably neat and well kept - roof not underdrawn - of the sweet or chesnut eatable wood that, as is the rest of the cathedral, which spiders have an aversion to, and therefore not a spider's web to be seen - thro' the cloisters, and entered by the South transept door - on one side (right) paintings of all the bps. [bishops] - on the other all the Kings from William the conqueror down to Henry 8 when they were done - this transept screened off by the tomb of St. Richard once famous for the miracles done at his shrine in this cathedral - the transepts communicate with the side aisles of the nave and choir which last takes in the part under the tower roofed in the same height as the rest of the choir - instead of tabernacle work, plain gothicized sort of wainscot of deal painted darkish brown with gild gothic mouldings - looks much better than might be fancied from the description - beyond the choir the Sanctum Sanctorum, a presbytery - handsome and spacious - 2 fine columns of darkish porphyry like Sussex marble (from near Horsham) with 4 smaller columns clustering round them - from the east end of presbytery descend by a few steps into the fine large well-aired vault of the duke of Richmond made in 1750 the 1st. duke buried in westminster abbey till taken up and brought here - 20 coffins there - the broad brickwork bench on which they stand is on arches to prevent damp and there are open windows on each side that the place is as sweet as any other part of the church -

Above the duke's vault is what was the Lady's chapel to which one ascends by a few steps - now the library - in a line with the choir, but much lower - small library - the chapter holds its meetings there - some old brass plates (like small bread and butter plates) a chalice etc. and inscription of William the conqueror's time taken from the tomb of the 2nd bishop - (translated by the reverend Thomas Valentine prebendary of Selsea - the organ is of the time of Charles 2nd - the choir screen very plain gothic of time Henry 6 - 3 pointed arches the middle one much the narrowest - no transept aisles - double aisles on each side nave and choir - fine specimen of quite plain old Saxon - church consecrated 12 September 1199 - believes there is an error about this date in the guide book - several errors - records not consulted that ought and might have been - the belfry tower not mentioned save in a note of errata - a large good loking looking square gothic tower, a little distance from the church built for the bells because of the injury they might do the steeple, as said the verger guide -

The choir at Chichester Cathedral [Image Source]

In returning, sauntered along High street in spite of its raining a little bought sponge, and a pair of strong leather shoes at a venture - back at 11 50/60 and from then to 1 25/.. breakfast and read the Times - sad rioting work at Derby - and the mob burnt down the duke of Newcastle's Nottingham castle, to the ground on Monday - Very comfortable at Chichester - the Swan a very good Inn-

Off at 1 35/.. - Goodwood (3 miles from Chichester) plantations (duke of Richmond) stretch along the range of down (down) at a little distance north of the town - the duke getting rich - a good economist - has bought a great many farms lately in this neighbourhood - at 1 3/4 pass road (left) to Goodwood and in 5 mins. [minutes] more get a peep of the house - oblong - south part a pediment in the middle and a round topped little round tower at each corner - flattish all around after leaving the Goodwood downs, and not very interesting drive till alight at the Norfolk arms Arundel at 3 10/.. - wait for my 2 servants -

At 3 55/.. at the castle - stands high, on a chalk hill - the low rich ground (some of it let at 6 guins. [guineas] an acre belongs great part to the duke great to the corporation) about it, supposed to have been covered by the sea at the time the castle was first built by the Romans - (no date of the castle) - In proof of the retiring of the sea, anchors and other marine implements have been found on digging - at present this low land forms quite a basin round particularly in front south of the castle - the river Arun running along it with remarkable windings - but if it was not for these windings - these great détours - the tide comes up so strongly that it would force the water, so back as to make it overflow this low land - the Arun runs to the sea and to the Thames - and navigable all the way, sometimes by canal-cuts - the man who shewed the house said Arundel was originally perhaps Arundale -

Arundel Castle c1880 [Image Source]

Magnificent castle - the old ruins fine - particularly the great old ivy covered round Keep Tower where we afterwards saw the 7 large horned american owls - but the present house built on the old site, partly keeping up the old walls (4, and, in places, 5 yards thick) by the late duke, who spent above 30 years and £600,000 in doing it, unfinished as he died and left it - on entering the court, the building forms nearly 3 sides of a square - or a centre and wings - centre 4 stories high - entrance (rather projecting) with its large windows above and on each side of it, 4 tiers of 2 three light windows = 8 - on entering (right) baronial hall and unfinished chapels - (left) library and unfinished saloon - baronial hall tho' not quite finished very fine - magnificent oak plain gothic groined roof - capital model for the hall at Shibden? - chapel a heap of brick and rubbish within not seeable - ditto the saloon -

But the mahogany lined, beautifully gothic wrought library tower which cost above £30,000 - far the most beautiful library I ever beheld anywhere - from the baronial hall, we saw dining room breakfast room fine drawing room etc. (the centre divided by fine long gallery) but I skip all to get to the library - 130 feet long - gallery round mid-height the room and all the windows above the gallery - the galleries finished at the top like aisles, and the middle part finished likewise at the top and partly for a gallery, library, museum! 3 arcades and a sort of transept. then 3 arcades more at the other end - 6 windows on each side, and one transept window on each side = 14 windows - two beautiful white marble chimney pieces on the same side (north east side) that were bought by the late duke at the sale of the duke of Bedford's house in Bloomsbury square pulled down about 38 years ago - of the 1st. chimney piece the 2 large supporting figures are whole lengths of Socrates and Plato, with a square medallion of Archimedes and his attributes in the centre of the architrave - one of the figures of the other chimney piece is said to be Æsculapius - library walls 4 yards thick - the library windows outside seem large churchlike windows - the lower 1/2 of them lights the library - the upper lights rooms above -

The library at Arundel Castle [Photo by Des Morris]

The castle and its fortifications stands on 5 1/2 acres of ground - the man thought the baronial hall must be 45 feet high - and the drawing room 25 feet high - he recommended me to see Bignall - the fine old Roman mosaic pavement discovered there - 7 miles from here - on the Petworth road - turn off 4 miles from here at the public house at the foot of Bury hill - 1 5/.. hour in the castle - 20 mins. [minutes] at the old round keep tower and 10 mins. [minutes] looking round about the castle - there is a narrow way and parapet wall all round the front towards the town and the south -

Home at 5 35/.. washed hands had hair done etc. - dinner at 6 in 3/4 hour - then till 8 40/.. wrote all the above of today - very glad to have come round to see this castle - the present duke does nothing at it - leaves all unfinished or not just as the late duke left - the present one has lately bought a large estate here of a Mr. Walker - I look everywhere for models for Shibden - I must be contented to do as little at it as possible - my ideas are too apt to grow too large - from 8 3/4 to 11 1/2 at my travelling account and to my great joy brought it down to tonight - oh! that my private account, cashbook and all the rest were equally well done! - but what I have done is better than nothing - I must work at the rest for a day or 2 in London - a little rain while out this morning at Chichester and a little also as I came here but afterwards (from 3 p.m.) fair - Fahrenheit 65°. now at 11 1/2 - Came to my room at 11 40/.. -  

Reference: SH:7/ML/E/14/0134 - SH:7/ML/E/14/0135

[travelling-around-this-world]

JORDAN 🇯🇴

Strange, haunting beauty and a sense of timelessness. Dotted with the ruins of empires once great, it is the last resort of yesterday in the world of tomorrow. 

— The late King Hussein

One of the most beautiful countries I've ever seen. Why? Because of people. Jordan people really made my trip here.

Now I'm gonna give you some tips for visiting Jordan in 9 days.

- do not use public transports (they don't work properly); better to go around with a driver or rent a car (as we did: we payed 200JD for 8 days)

- atm can be found easily everywhere

- remember always to have water with you (first of all in the hot season) and something to cover your shulders/head.

- people are super kind and I've always trusted them. Don't be shy and get to know locals! ☺️

Day 1 - Amman

We arrived in Amman and we went immediately sleeping, as it was 4AM. The day after, we woke up and went directly visiting the city.

What to see:

1) CITADEL

The area known as the Citadel sits on the highest hill in Amman, Jebel Al Qala’a (about 850m above sea level), and is the site of ancient Rabbath-Ammon. Occupied since the Bronze Age, it's surrounded by a 1700m-long wall, which was rebuilt many times during the Bronze and Iron Ages, as well as the Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad periods. There's plenty to see, but the Citadel's most striking sights are the Temple of Hercules and the Ummayad Palace.

2) ROMAN THEATRE

This magnificently restored theatre is the most obvious and impressive remnant of Roman Philadelphia, and is the highlight of Amman for most foreign visitors. The theatre itself is cut into the northern side of a hill, and has a seating capacity of 6000. The best time for photographs is the morning, when the light is soft – although the views from the top tiers just before sunset are also superb.

3) SUQ

Bustling markets and souqs brimming with treasured lamps and magic carpets have long been a rather stereotypical, largely orientalist image associated with the ‘Eastern World’. In reality, that Middle East mall culture is where its at, but in recent years a number of very innovative and groundbreaking markets have also cropped up in and around Amman. Just walk inside them, feel the atmosphere and all the smells around.

4) KING ABDULLAH MOSQUE

Completed in 1989 as a memorial by the late King Hussein to his grandfather, this blue-domed landmark can house up to 7000 worshippers, with a further 3000 in the courtyard. There is also a small women’s section for 500 worshippers and a much smaller royal enclosure. The cavernous, octagonal prayer hall is capped by a magnificent blue dome 35m in diameter, decorated with Quranic inscriptions. This is the only mosque in Amman that openly welcomes non-Muslim visitors.

Where to eat

- Al Quds

We'll happily vote for this tiny, spotlessly clean place on Rainbow St as one of the best falafel spots in Amman. Tasty sandwiches (with tomato and pickles) have been served up fast for more than 50 years, but watch out for lunchtime queues when the office workers descend.

And for have some drinks go to La Calle, one of the few proper drinking holes on Rainbow St, La Calle has a couple of decent-sized bar areas, and a small but breezy terrace on the 3rd floor that's great for cooling off with a glass of wine or a chilled bottle of local Carakale ale.

We slept at Olive Hotel, very cheap and located in the city center.

Day 2 - Jerash & Mount Nebo

From Amman you can easily get a car and drive to Jerash. It should take 1 hour but it depends a lot on the traffic.

The ruined city of Jerash is Jordan's largest and most interesting Roman site, and a major tourist drawcard. Its imposing ceremonial gates, colonnaded avenues, temples and theatres all speak to the time when this was an important imperial centre. Even the most casual fan of archaeology will enjoy a half-day at the site – but take a hat and sunscreen in the warmer months, as the exposed ruins can be very hot to explore.

From there we drove South to Mount Nebo.

MOUNT NEBO is where Moses is said to have seen the Promised Land, a land he was himself forbidden to enter. It's believed that he died aged 120 and was later buried in the area, although the exact location of the burial site is the subject of conjecture.

After hiking on Mount Nebo, we drove to Madaba where we slept for two nights.

MADABA, 33 km (20 miles) south of Amman, is known as The City of Mosaics where underneath almost every house lies a fine Byzantine mosaic, with its long history dating back further than 1300 BC. Here we visited the biggest mosaic center of the world.

Best restaurant: Adonis

Best hotel: Grand Hotel Madaba - staff is super friendly and helped us a lot!

Day 3- Azraq and the East Desert

Stretching east of Amman, the parched desert plain rolls on to Iraq and Saudi Arabia. This is a place where endless sand and barren basalt landscapes give proof to man’s ability to thrive under harsh conditions. The discovery of flint hand-axes in this desert indicates that Paleolithic settlers inhabited the region around half a million years ago. But the most remarkable remains of human habitation are the palaces built by the Damascus-based Umayyad caliphs during the early days of Islam (seventh-eighth centuries CE). During the height of the Umayyad dynasty, architecture flourished with the cultural exchange that accompanied growing trade routes. By 750 CE, when the Umayyad dynasty was overthrown by the Abbasids of Baghdad, a richly characteristic Muslim architecture was evolving, owing considerably to the cosmopolitan influence of builders and craftsmen drawn from Egypt, Mesopotamia and elsewhere throughout the region.

Today it is possible to see many relics of the early and medieval Islamic periods in Jordan. Dotted throughout the steppe-like terrain of eastern Jordan and the central hills are numerous historic ruins, including castles, forts, towers, baths, caravan inns and fortified palaces. Known collectively as the desert castles or desert palaces, they were originally part of a chain stretching from north of Damascus down to Khirbet al-Mafjar, near Ariha (or Jericho).

There are various theories about the purpose of the desert palaces, yet the lack of a defensive architectural design suggests that most were built as recreational retreats. The early Arab rulers' love of the desert led them to build or take over these castles, which appear to have been surrounded by artificial oases with fruit, vegetables and animals for hunting. Other theories suggest that they came to the desert to avoid epidemics which plagued the big cities, or to maintain links with their fellow Bedouin, the bedrock of their power.

Most of the desert castles can be visited over the course of a day in a loop from Amman via Azraq. The following description details a road trip taking the northern route from Amman to Azraq and the southern highway on the return trip.

What to see:

- Qsar Al-Azraq

- Azraq natural reserve

- Qusayr Amra

- Qasr Kharana

Day 4- Wadi Mujib and the Dead Sea

From Madaba we started driving south, direction Dead Sea.

A spectacular natural wonder the Dead Sea is perfect for religious tourism and fun in the sun with the family. With its mix of beach living and religious history you can soak up the sun while Biblical scholars can get their daily dose of religious history. The leading attraction at the Dead Sea is the warm, soothing, super salty water itself – some ten times saltier than sea water, and rich in chloride salts of magnesium, sodium, potassium, bromine and several others. The unusually warm, incredibly buoyant and mineral-rich waters have attracted visitors since ancient times, including King Herod the Great and the beautiful Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra. All of whom have luxuriated in the Dead Sea's rich, black, stimulating mud and floated effortlessly on their backs while soaking up the water's healthy minerals along with the gently diffused rays of the Jordanian sun.

First stop was the Dead Sea Panoramic Complex, for an amazing view on the Dead Sea. Them we drove to the Wadi Mujib Adventure Center. This is a must-do in your trip! A beautiful adventure in the Canyon 😍

After this 2-hours adventure we started driving south on the Kings Highway, stopping by a couple of castles:

- Karak castle

- Shobak castle

Day 5- Petra

Undoubtedly the most famous attraction in Jordan is the Nabatean city of Petra, nestled away in the mountains south of the Dead Sea. Petra, which means "stone" in Greek, is perhaps the most spectacular ancient city remaining in the modern world, and certainly a must-see for visitors to Jordan and the Middle East. The city was the capital of the Nabateans -Arabs who dominated the lands of Jordan during pre-Roman times- and they carved this wonderland of temples, tombs and elaborate buildings out of solid rock. Every year thousands of people flock to one of the main places to visit in Petra, the monasteries excavated in rock. In two days you can enjoy the 15 kilometer long route. To begin, it would be nice for you to see the main Petra attractions: the Visitor Center, the Via Sacra or Al-Khaznez. The architectural beauty is priceless, for it has been featured in many films, as might be Indiana Jones. Ad-Deir Monastery offers a spectacular view and is one of the most famous monuments and attractions in Petra. An area and 800 steps separate you from this natural treasure. The Theatre of the Nabataeans acts as a chameleon in the desert, carved directly into the rock. Other stuff to do in Petra includes visiting the Altar of Sacrifice, one of the best viewpoints that can be enjoyed throughout the country. Between monument and monument, you'll be transported through the Avenue of the columns, a very busy road with a series of Doric columns that look like decorated stone. It's one of the most charming things to see in Petra. Finally, here at Minube we encourage you to complement these Petra activities by visiting the Royal Tombs. They're visible from anywhere in the area. Certainly, Petra could be part of the seven wonders of the world, since many people request information about the many places to see in Petra. Go and find out for yourself!

Tickets for one day cost 50JD; for 2 days is 55JD. As it's huge, better to get the 2-days-tickets!

Restaurants: Red Cave (beduin meals) and Beit Al Barakah

We stayed at Al Rashid hotel that is located in the very city center.

Day 6- Petra

As Petra is huge, we visited the city for 2 days. In the afternoon we took the car and drove to Aqaba.

Day 7/8 - Aqaba

In summer here the weather is really, really hot! Too hot 😥 it's difficult to walk around and do things. You absolutely need to stay at the beach for cooling down.

We stayed at Aqaba Adventure Center. It's a sort of hostel with a pool, and it's a diving center too. It's 10km from Aqaba, but with the car was perfect to go and back.

Aqaba is Jordan's only Red Sea resort and port city which is warm, sunny, inviting, and has a dazzling undersea world of some of the most spectacular coral reefs to be found anywhere else, located 332 km (206 miles) south of Amman. For relaxation, water sports, and winter warmth, Aqaba is warm, sunny and inviting, fringed with palm trees, lapped by the crystal clear waters of the Gulf of Aqaba, cooled by a steady northerly breeze, and ringed by mountains that change in color with the change of the hours. Snorkeling, water skiing, wind surfing, para-sailing, fishing and a variety of other water sports, including unsurpassed scuba diving are just some of the popular activities to partake in. It's very turistico and not like the other places we visited in Jordan, but it worths for relax and snorkeling 🌊🦐🦀🐠🐙🐡

Best restaurants: Ali Baba Restaurant and Captain's restaurant (for fish)

You can find also places that serve alcool here (we really love the staff at Buffalo Wings!)

Day 9 - Wadi Rum

Wadi Rum is everything you’d expect of a quintessential desert: it is extreme in summer heat and winter cold; it is violent and moody as the sun slices through chiselled siqs (canyons) at dawn or melts the division between rock and sand at dusk; it is exacting on the Bedouin who live in it and vengeful on those who ignore its dangers. For most visitors, on half- or full-day trips from Aqaba or Petra, Wadi Rum offers one of the easiest and safest glimpses of the desert in the region. For the lucky few who can afford a day or two in their itinerary to sleep over at one of the desert camps, it can be an unforgettable way of stripping the soul back to basics.

We stayed at Beduin Lifestyle Camp and we are really satisfied of this beautiful experience. We had a 4 hours tour on the Jeep during the afternoon, where we could see all the most beautiful places in the Wadi Rum. We watched the sunset drinking tea with our Beduin friend and then we slept in a Beduin camp. In the evening we had dinner with them and played music together, dancing. We slept in a very small tent, but it was clean and comfi. The day after we took the camel for going back to the village.

Day 10 - back to Amman

400km back to Amman, a long drive before flying back home.

Special memories to those people we met during this wild adventure:

- Mohammad (met in a shop in Amman)

- the small child and his dad offering us tea in Azraq

- Abdullah (the beduin near Azraq)

- Marta and Niccoló, who did Canyoning with us

- Maria and Bernart, the two Spanish guys who hiked with us in Petra

- Saker, the Jordan guy met in sport bar in Petra who gave us camel milk

- Steffi and JoJo, the two German girls from Munich

- Harm, the musician Beduin who cooked tea for us in the Wadi Rum

Thanks to my travelmates who came with me during this amazing adventure...

[barefootbeautician]

Getting lost in Bangkok

This is usually the first stop when coming to South East Asia. A place full of weaving motorbikes, honking tuk tuks, the smell of meat being grilled by the side of the road and intense humid heat. This is a love or hate kind of city and it can take a while to get used to its high pace busy ways. I believe you can get all your exploring and sightseeing done in 3 days.

So you step outside the airport in Bangkok and have the fun part of trying to figure out the cheapest way to get to your hostel. I recommend not to just give in to the honking and shouting of "taxi taxi!" from the drivers as they charge a ridiculously high price. The best way to get into the centre is by the metro, it's fast and a lot cheaper. Once in the centre, and probably still lost, you can get a taxi or tuk tuk which won't cost as much as it would from the airport.

Accommodation

In my opinion, it's best not to actually stay on Khao San road which a lot of backpackers do. It's full of loud cheesy music, drunk people stumbling around and people waving scorpions in your face. If you don't plan on sleeping or can sleep through the bass of the music, then this is the street for you! If however, your like me and need sleep to function, then I suggest any hostel a few streets away in any direction to get some peace and quiet.

"Sloth Hostel"

Really liked this hostel! Very central place and just a 5 minute walk from the hustle and bustle of Khao San Road. Can't go wrong with comfy pod beds, clean rooms, free basic breakfast and hot showers. Everything you need from a good hostel.

"Casa Nithra Hotel"

If your looking for a bit more luxury, this place was great in old town Bangkok! Big rooms, comfy bed and a peaceful rooftop pool. It has a restaurant that sells yummy food plus your a short walk away from Khao San road with loads of restaurants, clubs and shopping.

Temple hopping

Our temple hopping was a lot of fun! Mainly due to getting kidnapped by a very nice tuk tuk driver who took us around to 4 of the temples and of course, a suit tailor shop. It only cost us 30Baht for the whole thing plus he got us a river boat ride for cheaper! You have to be careful with this as we heard after about a lot of scams from getting a tuk tuk day tour, we were just very lucky.

"Wat Pho- reclining Buddha"

This temple is home to the massive 46-meter long golden reclining Buddha and is definitely a must see! It's one of the oldest and largest temple complexes in Bangkok.

The temple compound is also the national headquarters for the teaching of traditional Thai medicine, including Thai massage.

"Wat Arun- Also known as "Temple of Dawn"

This is probably one of the most beautiful and most famous temples in Bangkok. The full name of this temple is "Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchaworamahaviharn". It is named after the Hindu deity Aruna, the god of the dawn. In the centre stands the impressive 82 m high beautifully decorated Khmer-style tower,where you can walk up the steep stairs and admire the view of Bangkok and the surrounding rivers.

To get to the temple you have to cross the Chao Phraya River, this costs 5 Baht each way by shuttle boat. It costs 50 Baht per person to get into the temple and remember when visiting any of these temples to cover knees and shoulders as a form of respect.

"Grand Palace"

This is one of the busiest tourist stops in Bangkok and a definite must see. It's situated on the banks of Chao Phraya River surrounded by four tall walls holding in the impressive Grand Palace complex.

Walking into this historic place, it's hot, crowded and full of big excited tour groups. It costs 500 Baht per person and if you really want to learn about the history, you can hire a guide at the ticket kiosk. Or you can rent an audio guide for 200 Baht = US$ 6 for two hours.

"Wat Intharawihan- The temple of the standing Budda"

This impressive 32 meter standing gold Budda is a Buddhist temple complex close to the Chao Phraya river. It is decorated with glass and 24K gold mosaics and dates from the early Ayutthaya period.

It's not a massively popular temple and there isn't much else apart from the Budda but if you have spare time it is definitely worth checking out the size and beauty of this standing Budda.

Chinatown

This vibrant street is a maze of little alleyways, hectic markets and yummy authentic Thai street food.

I found it was best to visit at night to experience the bright lights, hustle and bustle of the markets and of course the amazing food stalls with there lovely plastic chairs and tables in the street. I had the best BBQ sea bass I've ever tasted in one of the little restaurants along this road.

Khao San Road

This is one of the craziest streets I've been on! It has quite a mix of things to do and see. Starting from street venders selling clothes, people waving barbecued insects for you to eat and random souvenirs sold all down the road.

As the evening turns to night, relax in one of the many street-side bars and enjoy an ice cold Chang as you watch the mixture of backpackers and families wondering the busy street. The later you stay, the crazier it becomes! The battle of the music from the many clubs, dangerously strong buckets of alcohol and people dancing in the streets. Every night this street was a sea of people crowding the road!

If your not a party animal you can always just enjoy a comedy show which we enjoyed on one of our calmer evenings out. The street has a mixture of everything so go enjoy!

Lumphini park

Bangkok's biggest park, loved and used by visitors and citizens. It's a beautiful well kept park, perfect for a stroll or chilling on a bench watching people out for a run or watch the peaceful lake with the background of the city. It's also a lot of fun watching or participating in the aerobics that take place all over the park!

Food

"Cabbages and Condoms"

What a funky place to go! It's a little hard to find but so worth it. Forget a quick bite to eat and a movie. Why not have a romantic dinner surrounded by condoms instead?

Mechai, the chairman of Cabbages and Condoms, did not believe that condoms should be seen as a taboo because they’re a necessity to protect people against a number of things, including unwanted pregnancy.

The food is really good and the restaurant supports a number of different non-profit organizations in Thailand, including the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), a sex education and AIDS prevention group.

"Street food"

The obvious one is the amazing Street food around Bangkok. You can find all different authentic Thai food throughout the streets and in the markets.

Pad Thai

Such an amazing dish and so cheap! Made with rice noodles which are stir-fried with eggs and chopped firm tofu. It is flavored with tamarind pulp, fish sauce, dried shrimp, garlic or shallots, red chili pepper and palm sugar and served with lime wedges and often chopped roasted peanuts. Yum!

Khao Neow Moo Ping

The best snack on the streets of Bangkok has to be the skewers of freshly grilled pork paired with a bag full of sticky rice! They taste amazing and are great if you just want something small to eat.

To sum up Bangkok, it is a mixture of modern buildings and historical temples with lots to do and plenty of places to feast on amazing food. As I said 3-4 days is really enough to see everything so go explore this fascinating city!

[imjustthemechanic]

Natalie Jones and the Golden Ship

Part 1/? - A Meeting at the Palace Part 2/? - Curry Talk Part 3/? - Princess Sitamun Part 4/? - Not At Rest Part 5/? - Dead Men Tell no Tales Part 6/? - Sitamun Rises Again Part 7/? - The Curse of Madame Desrosiers Part 8/? - Sabotage at Guedelon Part 9/? - A Miracle Part 10/? - Desrosiers’ Elixir Part 11/? - Athens in October Part 12/? - The Man in Black Part 13/? - Mr. Neustadt Part 14/? - The Other Side of the Story Part 15/? - A Favour Part 16/? - A Knock on the Window Part 17/? - Sir Stephen and Buckeye Part 18/? - Books of Alchemy Part 19/? - The Answers Part 20/? - A Gift Left Behind Part 21/? - Santorini Part 22/? - What the Doves Found Part 23/? - A Thief in the Night Part 24/? - Healing Part 25/? - Newton’s Code Part 26/? - Montenegro Part 27/? - The Lost Relic Part 28/? - The Homunculinus Part 29/? - The End is Near Part 30/? - The Face of Evil Part 31/? - The Morning After Part 32/? - Next Stop Part 33/? - A Sighting in Messina Part 34/? - Taormina Part 35/? - Burning Part 36/? - Recovery Part 37/? - Pilgrimage to Vesuvius Part 38/? - The Scent of Hell Part 39/? - She’ll be Coming Down the Mountain Part 40/? - Stowaways Part 41/? - Bon Voyage Part 42/? - Turnabout Part 43/? - The Apple Part 44/? - Vesuvius Wakes Part 45/? - Fire At Sea Part 46/? - The Real Jim Part 47/? - Return to Naples Part 48/? - La Mela Part 49/? - A Demonstration Part 50/? - Out of the Frying Pan Part 51/? - Into the Fire Part 52/? - The Last Homunculus Part 53/? - Transmission Part 54/? - Metamorphosis

I told you I’d be back!

For a moment, nothing seemed to happen.  Then there was a sudden loud noise, a sharp bang that reverberated through the entire structure of the Scorpio II and made the ship heave on the water.  The air filled with an electrical smell.  Nat was thrown to the ground on top of Perenelle, then reflexively curled up and covered her head as she heard the musical tinkling of shattered glass hitting tile.  The lights flickered and died, and the ship continued to rock back and forth for a moment before the stabilizers finally kicked in to bring it back to an even keel.

One by one, the lights started to come back on.  Natasha sat up.

The air was full of electricity – she could feel her own hair standing on end, and when she checked on Perenelle, wisps of hers had come free of her bun.  A few metres away, Jim’s long brown hair was standing out around his head like a halo.  He was not looking at Natasha, but at what was behind them in the open plaza space.

What looked like lightning was arcing from one side of the metal railing to the other, and from the ruins of the chandelier to the floor below.  In the middle, almost but not quite touching the railings, was the philosopher’s stone.  It still looked like a miniature sun, with its surface bubbling and tossing off fountains of hot energy as if actively fighting its containment.  As Nat watched, one of these spurts touched what was left of the stained glass ceiling.  The metal struts immediately began turning to gold, which was not strong enough to hold up the dangling ruins of the chandelier.  They snapped, and the entire fixture dropped into the stone, right through, and hit the mosaic tile floor below.  With it came a mass of hot plasma, and the tiles, too, were transmuted, spreading out from the middle.  The wooden railings around the plaza balconies, and the marble treads of the spiral staircases, quickly started to go as well.

“I’m guessing that’s our signal to leave,” said Nat.  The Stone was already getting redder.  In a moment it would engulf the balconies as it grew.

“Very observant.”  Perenelle took her hand, then grabbed Jim’s, and they ran for the steps further aft.  The carpet was turning to gold under their feet as they went, and they heard the pillars that supported the Piazza roof begin to groan, no longer equal to the weight they were bearing.

They burst out onto the Promenade Deck, and Natasha stopped, suddenly confused.  She’d turned right… that should have been facing towards the docks, where the cables were connected.  Instead, they were looking at open water.  She ran to the railing for a better look.

The ship had turned.  They weren’t yet far from the dock, but they were facing out into the bay, sailing alongside the Molo San Vincenzo, heading out to sea.  The cables they’d brought on board to connect the stone, having done their job, were trailing in the ocean behind them, leaving swirls of liquid gold in their wake.  Nat had meant to get the ship away from the shore once the stone was safely on board, but that would have required returning to the bridge.  This should not be happening, unless…

“Is there somebody else on board?” asked Jim.

“There shouldn’t be,” said Nat.  They’d taken care of Newton’s homunculus and the four others he’d brought along.  Did he have another agent on board they didn’t know about?  Of course he did, she thought.  He’d stayed one step ahead of them at every move so far.  Why not now?

“You know what?” asked Nat.  “It doesn’t matter.”  If they were on their way out to sea they were going away from people, and that was the important part.  If there were still a homunculus on board, then he, she, or it could be carried off and turned to gold with the rest of the ship.  “Try aft.  Maybe our little boat’s been carried along in the wake.”

They hurried towards the stern.  Natasha in her stocking feet and Jim in his shoes were able to run, while Perenelle walked as fast as she could in her high heels to bring up the rear.  Between the two swimming pools, directly above the piazza several decks down, was a little cluster of restaurants that served drinks, burgers, and ice cream.  Their walls were leaning inwards, and parts of them were starting to collapse as the philosopher’s stone engulfed the supports beneath them.  It had better be okay to leave the ship moving, Nat thought, because they weren’t going to be able to head forward again.

At the very back of the promenade deck, looking down over the Diamond Class swimming pool, they could see the little boat they’d come in by bobbing and spinning in the Scorpio II’s wake.  It was already nearly a hundred metres away.

“We’re just gonna have to swim for it,” Nat decided.  She turned to face her companions.  “If we jump from here, we might get sucked into the propellers, so we’ll have to…”

She cut herself off the doors of a nearby cabinet opened with a bang.  This space was used to store lifejackets, so with the ship evacuated it had been empty – a perfect hiding place.  The man who jumped out was soaking wet and furious, and he launched himself at Perenelle and grabbed her by the hair.  Nat went for him, but he pulled out a knife that must have come from out of the little restaurants, and put it to her throat.

It was the last homunculus, the one Nat had thrown overboard rather than kill.  Somehow he’d gotten back on board.

“You want to be immortal,” he said to Perenelle.  “So if you don’t want to die right now, you’re gonna go back in there and detonate the Philosopher’s Stone.  You’re going to finish Newton’s work, or I’m going to cut your throat!”

Nat caught Jim’s eye, and saw him nod.  He had a bit of elixir left.  They’d used almost all of it, but hopefully there would be enough to save Perenelle if Nat could apply pressure to her jugular before she bled out.  Not exactly her usual procedure in a hostage situation, but with that in mind, Nat and Jim dashed forward to wrestle the homunculus.

He saw them coming.  Whether it was because he could tell what they meant to do, or maybe because he was just an asshole, he dropped his knife and threw Perenelle off the stern of the ship.

Jim was so shocked he just stood there, mouth open.  Natasha kept going, and kicked the knife out of the homunculus’ reach.  Jim came out of his momentary shock and scooped it up, while Nat threw the man to the ground and pinned his hands behind his back.  Damn it, she should have killed this one earlier!  Why hadn’t she just killed him?  Because she’d thought Jim would be angry with her.

“Look for Perenelle!” Nat ordered.

Jim had been on his way to join her.  Now he went and looked over the back of the ship, leaning at a dangerous angle and turning his head back and forth.

“Perenelle!” he shouted.  “Perenelle!  Mrs. Flamel!  Can you hear me?  Wave or something?  Are you in the water?  Hello!”

He stayed there, shouting for her, for what was in this situation a very long time.  Several minutes went by, during which time first one, then the other of the spherical radar arrays on the ship’s superstructure crumbled and collapsed.  The ship lurched in the water, and the engines failed.  From where Natasha was she couldn’t tell if they were riding lower in the water, but she suspected so.  The gold was building up and the moment it got to be too heavy, they’d go straight down.  Nat got to her feet, dragging the homunculus with her, although again, she wasn’t sure why… were they going to take him along?  What would they do with him if they did?

Finally, Jim stopped shouting and slid to his knees, where he stayed for a moment, leaning his forehead against the railing with his eyes shut.  He’d been angry with Perenelle for using him and he didn’t rust her, but she’d still been his last hope for a normal lifespan, and a normal life in general.  With her dead, there was nobody to even do so much as brew him more elixir.

He got up and picked up the knife again, looked at it, and then dropped it.  Instead, he walked over and put a hand on his double’s neck.  After a moment, however, he let go and stepped back.

“You do it,” he told Nat.  “I can’t.”

Natasha momentarily wondered if she could, either – but that was silly.  She’d killed people with a far better claim on humanity than this homunculus, and ones who’d done far less wrong.  She squeezed, and he disintegrated, leaving Natasha and Jim alone on the deck.

From somewhere below them there was a deep groaning sound that vibrated the floor under their feet and made Nat’s insides shiver in a very uncomfortable manner.  The ship began to tilt to starboard, and she and Jim both grabbed at the railings.

“We gotta go,” said Nat.

Jim shook his head.  “What about Perenelle?” he asked.

They both looked over the edge again.  The engines were silent now, and the propellers had stopped churning.  The ship was just drifting along on the course the homunculus had set it.  Nat wondered if it were a good sign that there was no visible blood in the water, but that was a pretty forlorn hope.  Perenelle had figured out how to stop her own aging, how to heal injuries that ought to kill, and how to escape the depredations of disease, but she wasn’t indestructible.  A trip through the propellers of a ship this size could kill a whale.  It could kill an alchemist, too.

Light from the philosopher’s stone appeared through the stateroom windows below, and the ship listed further.  There was only one thing they could do.

“We have to go,” Nat said, and put a hand on Jim’s shoulder.  “I know what you’re thinking, but there’ve got to be other alchemists.  Perenelle said Paracelsus was the expert on homunculi, and if he were dead she would have said so.”  Wouldn’t she?

Jim shook his head.  “How long do you think it’d take to find him, though?” he asked.

“I don’t know, but it’s our best shot,” said Nat.

Jim, however, reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out Sir Stephen’s locket – the one with the lock of Buckeye’s hair.  Nat put her hand over it.

“Newton said that wouldn’t work,” she reminded him.  “Anyway, the ship’s sinking!  You’ll drown when it goes under!”

“Do we believe anything Newton said?” asked Jim.

“I don’t know,” Nat admitted.

“I’ll be dead before we can find Paracelsus, or anybody else,” Jim told her.  “They don’t want to be found, remember?  And they won’t help even if I ask.  They think I’m…” he hung his head.  “Disposable.”

It wouldn’t work, Nat thought.  She was sure of it.  She had her doubts about her own plan, but surely it stood a better chance of working than Jim’s did.  She’d beaten the homunculi in fights before.  She could stop him.  She could throw him overboard, knock him out and carry him, she could…

But that didn’t mean she should.  What Jim wanted, more than anything, was to be considered a human being, and human beings were allowed to choose their own fate – even if the one they chose was suicide.

“Even if it works, you’ll drown,” she repeated.

“Maybe not.  Maybe I can swim for it,” Jim said.  He squeezed her hand.  “I have to try.”

Nat nodded.  Then she bit her lip, hard enough to draw blood, grabbed him by the shirt and kissed him.  With her lips and her tongue, she smeared her blood around and inside his mouth.  He tasted the iron and realized what she was doing, and stepped away in surprise.

“What…?” he asked.

“Human tissue,” she said.  “Just in case.”

Jim wiped his mouth on his shirt, leaving a red smear on the white fabric.  “You go,” he said.  “I’ll catch up.”  He reached for her, intending to kiss her again.

This time it was Nat who stepped away.  “If that’s really what you’re going to do,” she said.  “We don’t have time.  Go now.”

“I’ll catch up,” Jim repeated.  “I promise.”  His adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and then he ran back to the nearest door.

[imsfire2]

Writing meme

RULES: List the openings of the last ten stories you published. Look to see if there are any patterns that you notice yourself, and see if anyone else notices any! Then tag some friends.

I was tagged by @atthelamppost – thank you for tagging me!

1 By stardust and moonlight

“I know you’re out there,” Jyn Erso says to the open door, and the wolf beyond it. 

The creature’s been hovering round her cottage all day, and so far has made no attempt either to hide itself, or to attack.  It’s no normal beast of the wild woods, this, though she’s not yet sure what it is.  But talking to it is certainly worth a try.

Her home stands on the edge of the forest, in a dell sheltered from the north-east wind by the embrace of the trees, and hidden from the eyes of soldiers, and worse, by the hunched spine of moorland and the broken land and marshes in the south.  Any company she needs, she goes to; no human soul comes here, not without her permission, and very precise directions.  Yet the place tends to attract strange creatures like this; the place, or she herself.  There’s probably a shine of magic on her like a full galaxy’s light, could she but see it.  But though the stardust of her power makes her fingertips tingle and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, it’s invisible to human vision.

2 A table at the wedding

“We shouldn’t have been put here,” Jyn hisses. “We’re near the front.  It’s not right.”

Her neighbour leans down a little to answer.  Okay, perhaps more than a little.  Cassian has had a few drinks and his hair is in a mess, his collar open, his eyes mild and smiling. “Not right? - how?”

“Up here it should be – close friends.  We ought to be on the back table.”

At least she’s not so drunk as to say family.  The groom has none and the bride has only her brother.  Besides Han and Leia, and Luke acting as best man to both bride and groom, the top table is occupied by Chewie, Mothma and Admiral Ackbar, and Threepio embarrassedly passing dishes to and fro.

3 Epiphany and cake

The first thing that hits Cassian as they come out of the terminal, hauling their wild assortment of luggage and looking around for the promised eight-seater mini-bus-cab, is the temperature.  It must be a good 16 or 17 degrees C here.  And okay, that isn’t hot; but after weeks of northern European winter temperatures, culminating in the astonishing beauty and fairy-tale sparkle of a snow-bound German Christmas, the temperature he confidently described as cold in October now feels astonishingly warm.  Balmy, even.  It’s comical; within minutes he’s perspiring in his jacket, and he hasn’t so much as looked at the parka stuffed in the top of his cabin bag. 

The sky had gradually cleared as they flew south.  First there were small breaks in the white, that allowed him glimpses of the Croatian coast with its lace of islands; then another bank of solid cloud, as brilliant as the snow over Saxony, and for over an hour the ground was hidden again.  But as they started to descend the cloud cover broke for good, like a clean line swept across the air, and the mountains came into view, rough gold and grey, bleakly rocky and definitely snowless.  Every ridge seemed to be lined with wind turbines, turning steadily in the clear air.  The valleys and coastal plains were startlingly green, the sea an assertive deep blue; fine golden roads looped between small towns like red and white tile mosaic, with an occasional glint of turquoise glass where a swimming pool caught the light. 

4 Out of darkness (Solo Quiero Caminar fic – all the rest are Rogue One)

So, he watches her.

The street is dark, and she is walking into the dark; he isn’t quite sure where the borders of the darkness lie, in the pools of streetlight or in himself.  His eyes aren’t working quite right anymore, and he clings on to the last sweet thing he will see, clings to the sight of her walking, as his brain clings to the last sweet thing it will know, the memory (remember me remember me) the memory of her body her lips the sadness in her eyes…

The blood running down his hip and pooling in the plastic seat is sickly, stickily hot and he is beginning to feel numb inside, the pain putting itself at a distance from him.

The street is dark, and Aurora walks into the dark, and he goes into the dark watching her.

5 In the mountains

There’s still snow on the ground at this altitude, and the grey cloud cover seems to come steadily closer to her as she climbs.  Steadily, and faster than it properly should.  It’s almost as if it’s creeping downslope towards her.  Pretty soon she’ll be enveloped in it.  Already the damp in the air is snaking inside her jacket, pinching at her old throat.

Well, so serve her right for volunteering.  All very well to acknowledge the twitch of guilt that comes when she looks at them, that tiny remnant of the Resistance, a few dozen beings with fear and hope in their eyes, without letting herself get sucked into joining them.  She could just have commiserated and offered a few quiet supply routes.  Instead of putting on her stoutest boots and actually marching out.  Time was, when she was a settled businesswoman, she’d have had more common sense.

Time was, she could have paid someone young and fit to do this job.  Why the hells the old fighter had to choose a place like this for a hideaway…

6 Home is where you start from

Jyn holds her hands out to the official.  Waits patiently and with a face of practiced unconcern while they scan her palms and the pads of her fingers. 

She has to discipline her expression slightly more when she’s offered a swab and a sealable tube.  There were too many years of hiding for it to be easy even now to surrender this data casually.  Even more than her hand-prints, her DNA could be used to identify her.  But the records-search can’t be completed without a clear and unequivocal ID.

Cassian, beside her, reaches out under the counter-top.  He squeezes her tense right hand briefly as she takes the swab in her left.  Jyn gives him a quick smile. 

7 Shh…

She’s muttering Shh, shh, shh sleepily, rocking in the old upright chair, and there’s a sudden warm light and movement in her peripheral vision.  She looks up, to Cassian leaning in the doorway, watching them. 

Esperanz has fallen asleep again, his nightmare gone, the warmth of her body a safety and a strength to ease his little heart.  She rocks him very gently as he clutches reflexively on her shirt.  Tiny toddler fingers, iron grip.  Heavy limbs, heavy head, sweaty brow pressed into her collarbone, sweaty curls under her hand.

The lamplight streams round Cassian and silhouettes him, but she can tell he’s smiling even in the shadows. 

8 Advice

All the Jedhan survivors look to Chirrut and Baze as parental figures and sources of counsel.  Outside of senior command levels elders of any race are in short supply in the rebellion, and sometimes you need the advice of an elder, both for personal questions and for practical things you simply don’t know how to do.  Things it would be hard to ask an admiral, even one as approachable as Ackbar.

It can be a little awkward at times. 

Baze does his best, patiently determined either to have an answer or to find one, or to find someone else who can.  He never knows when someone may turn up, hovering at his side, with their anxious eager eyes and random medical questions, and moral and domestic and childcare questions and Oh, it’s frustrating but he does what he can…  Stain removal, how to cook Argussian spinach, can you still eat old cheese if you cut off the mouldy bits?  Sometimes it flat-out stuns him, the things people think he’ll know.

9 A custom of poetry

Jyn is writing, and for a few moments, with the tip of her tongue caught between her lips, she feels as though she can do this.  How hard can it be to say what she has to, in a poetic way?

She reads through the handful of words on the screen.

Winces.  Deletes.

Tries again.

10 Pain

It galls Jyn to admit it, but she’d find her injury easier to bear if it had happened in the line of duty.  But to have taken up a bed in med-bay and a doctor’s time, to be using precious analgesics, when all she did was over-extend helping to move a console out of the briefing room; it’s just humiliating.

Right now, she’s doped up like a tantaun on a transport.  She can move about her quarters, she can walk and lie down, and bend into a seat if she takes her time about it.  Just.  But her back isn’t going to get better for a good while, and krif it, it’s no good, she needs the painkillers.

(I’m ignoring “Fifty words from a journey underground” because as that follows the fifty single-sentence mini-fics formula it doesn’t really have a beginning in the normal sense).

So...

Patterns/common themes/shared qualities errrr

I’m finding it surprisingly hard to spot any.  I seem to like to start either with description, or with a line or two of dialogue and then description immediately after.  Scene setting rather than jumping straight into action or plot.  Also I tend to open with one of my weaknesses, a rather long sentence.  

Tagging @gloriouswhisperstyphoon, @skitzofreak, @thenewleeland, @bright-elen

[maudanouk]

PROLOG

MARGOT

Tears overflow my cheeks and from my vanquished eyes a sudden shower falls.[1] The drops form a trickle, a flow, a torrent. Forty days and forty nights of continuous and universal rain.[2] Waves are in excess, everything runs to the sea. [3] No possible action of any flood could thus have modelled the land, either within the valley or along the open coast.[4] A flood that leaves everything in a state of confusion[5] forming a great briny mass searching for direction. The sea by its motion, detaches from its bottom an infinity of plants, shells, slime, and sand, which the waves and winds continually drive towards the shore. [6] There is a stone in the sea called the oyster. A stray grain of sand finding its way into its shells is enough to spark a new beginning. The Oyster comes out of the sea early in the morning ahead of the light, and, opening its shell, it swallows the heavenly dew and the rays of the sun and moon and the light from the stars above. And thus is born the pearl, I am born, from the most high celestial bodies.[7]

LENNY

(Thrusting the flat knife between the two shells) I keep praying for You to make something happen so why this awful, crawling feeling that nothing ever does?[8] (he turns the knife forcefully) God does not shout. God does not whisper. God does not write. God does not hear. God does not chat. God's infinite silence…[9] (the two shells crack open and he draws out the knife) The oysters valves are standing open and a pearl lays between them, a wonderful sight and notable, for no pearl in all history could be compared with it at all, either in size or in beauty.[10] But her beauty does not lie in the perfection of the sphere, nor in symmetry. She is irregular, ovoid, curved and lumpy. One moment it did not exist, the next moment it was full blown in my mind, as though it had been there all the time and needed only the bursting of a soap bubble veil to show it.[11] All this time I sought for truth and unity and now all that matters is her proud glow that strives for contradiction and multiplicity. 

ACT I

EXT. GARDEN - DAWN - ABOUT BEES AND HONEY

LENNY arrives at the WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE. Here is the garden and around it some flower beds, a space cultivated for flowers for Margot, to make a spray for her hair, to perfume the sheets.[12] Naturally, […] only the apple tree interests him, tempts him: he can see its flowers.[13] He walks towards the tree. The WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE is observing him. As LENNY reaches for one of the blossoms a bee flies out of it.

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE

Once on a June evening, in those long gone years when the ends of days sank into silence, I was waiting for a total eclipse of the sun on a terrace facing a garden, overlooking the foliage of a maple tree.[14] And I thought of you Lenny. In the sudden darkness I saw you, hidden behind a veil, the massive walls of the Vatican Palace. A faceless silhouette.

LENNY

It’s all different now she has revealed herself only for a short moment but I saw my reflection in her pearlescent luster: functioning, utilising, thinking in causes and effects, logically evaluating and analyzing. But what if I want to walk for hours and weeks without a destination. What if I want to know what the month of march brings for an Aquarius. What if I want to miss her for no better reason than that I love to be fucking emotional.

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE (hesistates)

When i watched the total eclipse of the sun that summer evening it soon became dark and an eclipse wind, like a wave, had risen when suddenly from the neighbouring house burst forth a sort of wild dance, with the strange, biting, astringent sound of Pan’s pipes. Young people were celebrating some festival, they had confused shadow with twilight and were playing as night fell. However much one knows about it, the veiling of the sun’s light is disturbing and transports one to another world. [15] I saw you cover up in darkness and now i see you longing for the sun. This is a complete inversion. And in this twilight a party shall rise so that the heart, that obscure, celestial flower, undergoes a mysterious blossoming.[16] That is the only way great loves stories are born and I don't want any more part time believers.[17]

LENNY

But how can i find Margot in this city still so strange to me?

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE

She’s the bee and you are her honey. What does Margot like?

LENNY (looking at the flowers)

Margot likes wind in her hair and salt crystals on her skin, lace and hoodies, rings on her fingers and flowers in her hair, black panthers and partridges, walking barefoot on wet grass and wearing mid calf boots, day dreaming and ADHD, dancing underground and sleeping in white sheets, Los Angeles and Palermo, birch trees and skyscrapers, gel nails and knitting, equal rights and mini skirts, cabrios and umbrella pine trees, Fellinis Roma and Mario Cart, seashells and pinecones, Zorra by Bad Gyal and playing the Bach Suite Nr. 1 on her Cello, passion fruits and rough fights, oranges and jeweled persian rice, fig trees and Coke, dry white wine and soft cheese, creaky parquet and soft carpets, ....

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE

The mask does not hide the face, it is the face.[18] Your new face should combine all these elements to a story and make a lot of noise.[19] [...] the veil of mystery you profess to hang before their eyes, serve but to stimulate their curiosity[20]. In being everywhere and nowhere [...] the object of much social curiosity[21] People will pay attention to it, speak about it, remember it. You’ll be EROS and I will be the embodiment of your story the place where all elements manifest in a happening. A great feast all the Margots will want to attend.

ACT III - THE INVITATION

INT. MARGOTS MURCIELAGO - AFTERNOON

A downpour of summer rain patters on the front window.  MARGOT is waiting at a red light. Her phone buzzes and she opens the message.

@ YUNGPAPA:

“My darling friends, there’s one spectacular party in the making! Join us tonight at the Wittgenstein House to another glass of wine under fig trees, eating fresh fish on soft carpets next to blossoming anthuries. Glowing cheeks from dancing till dawn. Bring a delicate, floating, spring bouquet of florets in new leaf green, cherry blossom pink, and marigold yellow[22] and we’ll serve everything else. XOXO”

ACT IV - THE PARTY

EXT. THE CITY - SUNSET

THE HOUSE WANTS TO BE KNOWN

The rain had stopped. The water evaporated on the hot asphalt and left a sultry summer evening air. AVAs cabrio is speeding down the Ringstrasse with its roof folded down.

AVA (lost in thought)

Do you think YUNG PAPA will attend the party today? I wish we’d find out who’s behind all this uproar.

MARGOT

Some weeks ago we’ve never heard about him and now he's everywhere.  Noise, ruckus, rumors spread.[27] I’ve heard the parties are supposed to be unique in its kind and his face, enveloped by a more or less dense veil[26] has sparked many suspicions. I think he looks like Hauru, wearing drop earrings made of rubies and emeralds combined dripping down[27] his lobe, his blonde chin length hair making him the cynosure of all eyes.[27]

EXT. THE SITE - SUNSET

THE HOUSE WANTS TO BE SEEN

The garden is enlightened by the colourful lights emerging the windows. The WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE is radiant and reaching in all directions, emitting visual, audible and perceptible vibrations. The air is full of petals twinkling through the air giving off a smell of orange blossoms. A car enters the SITE. AVA and MARGOT step out of it. Instantly they are surrounded by an electric atmosphere. On inspecting the entrance facade, you can discover a series of metaphors and symbolic signs.[29] It would be too strong to call this fantasy a portal to Hell, but it is surely no entrance to a Heavenly Jerusalem[30]. AVA and MARGOT join the stream of guests walking through the garden towards the WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE greeting, kissing, hugging.

INT. THE ENTRANCE - SUNSET

THE HOUSE WANTS TO FLIRT

The party begins as people are moving in, gathering in the entrance hall and taking a stand up cocktail.[31] There is champagne, caviar and fireworks.[32] Ahead, some distance from the entrance, is a great mural of brilliant color.[33] Opulent Ornaments, heavy textiles, reflecting surfaces.

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE (whispering to the Lenny)

First impressions are made. About me as the entrance always affects the impression of the whole house. And especially Margots first impression of you. Is she here?

LENNY

I see her in the hundreds of eccentric bouquets that the guests have brought along overflowing the room. I see her in that mans excessively long fingernails or and your lining flickers with golden mosaics and indirect lighting from above.

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE

Yes you are right. I’m discovering my dramatic side. I want to dance, twist my elements, feel the motion and sensuality. I flirt and wink at the guests with my dizzying array of rich surface treatments.

MARGOT

Ava! Look at this man sitting on the seashell sofa in the garden. He’s knitting all alone while everybody else is clinking glasses.

AVA (teasing)

Why don’t you bring him a glass of wine. I know it, I feel it, and you will say it.[35]

MARGOT (concentrated)

You just know me too well and yes, he is cute.

EXT. THE GARDEN - SUNSET

THE HOUSE WANTS DRAMA

MARGOT walks over to the LENNY. Rising up in a warm haze, the innumerable modern statues towered on their pillars half way up the golden webs of sunset.[36] The garden is a collection of living beauties, rare plants, exotic flowers and fruits. The trees are old and high. Long white cotton cloths are blowing in the wind, rendering shadow plays. LENNY is sitting in the seashell sofa sheltered from the wind, warm sunbeams begin to play. [37] MARGOT hands him the glass.

MARGOT (laughing)

Hello strange man, what are you knitting?

LENNY

Some of the more exotic plants have to be taken indoors for protection from the cold night air and swaddled in thick woollen garments.[38]

MARGOT We have, indeed, become a flower growing people.[39] You seem pretty passionate about your plants. I like it when people care. About anything actually.

LENNY

When, on a summer evening, the melodious sky growls like a tawny lion, and everyone is complaining of the storm, it is the memory of the Meseglise way that makes me stand alone in ecstasy, inhaling, through the noise of the falling rain, the lingering scent of invisible lilacs.[41] Or when I reach out to touch a fragile tree and blossoming spicules float downwards and fade, each with its clear, tiny tinkle.[42] These are the moments I cherish most and that’s why I care.

MARGOT (hesistating)

But for me love is not only loving and caring. I don’t want my house to be all light and soft. It starts getting fun when you have contrasts, contradictions and drama. It can be raucous, low, full, pleading, vulgar, sharp, cutting, jovial, harmonious, commanding, harrowing, seductive, explosive or irritated[...] noble, high pitched, servile, majestic, ample, sick, affronted, clothed in silence, echoing with the sea or forest, undercut by the twittering of birds, howling like a wild beast, [... ]asking questions and saying come here. [43]

LENNY

Until now I’v only got to know a more one-sided monotonous love but thats another story.

MARGOT (excited)

Oh look over there! A black panther is prowling through the peach trees!

INT. SALON - NIGHT

THE HOUSE WANTS TO BE DIRTY

Food is being served in the salon. The huge chandeliers had dimmed spread a diffused multi coloured light from the tiny nucleo bulbs that bespangle the vaulted ceiling [44] The materials in which the WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE presents itself come from the everyday domestic sphere, much having to do with ornamenting the body: copper and brass wire, buttons, beads, baubles, hooks, eyes, straps, false fingernails, makeup, hair, ribbons, lace, thread, shells, feathers, and bones. The amulets are fetishes, beautiful ornamental objects, and they are connected to the fetishism of architectural representation.[34] Billows of smoke of several hookahs hang in the air. People sit on couches of brocaded silk, leaning on a cushions[45]. Chattering and cricket chirping fill the air.

INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

THE HOUSE WANTS TO DANCE

After eating the WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE starts playing Promiscuous Girl by Nelly Furtado. Slowly the room is filled with curiously dancing people. Tossing their hands in a wanton and lascivious manner. One man imitates the movements of a kangaroo grazing in the woods, whilst a second crawled up, and pretended to spear him.[46] LENNY and THE WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE feel MARGOT penetrating them and start dancing along.

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE (dances irregularly curved from concave to convex)

♪ Promiscuous girl

Wherever you are

I'm all alone

And it's you that I want. ♪

LENNY

Our most intimate gestures move to sounds, we dance.[47] Absurd, peculiar, mad, fantastic, bizarre, eccentric, capricious, whimsical, laughable, and also charming. [48]

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE (opens the ceiling to reveal a hundred sparkling stars through the moving branches of the wind tossed apple tree blond, tawny, copper, golden, straw yellow, orange, ochre, sand or tan, multiplying the straight, centred, short rays, piercing and sharp like the trill of a bird. [49] The signs of the Zodiac are moving from east to west and go round the world in twenty four hours.[48] A strong wind starts rising.)

♪ Promiscuous boy

You already know

That I'm all yours

What you waiting for? ♪

LENNY

Minute promptings coming from everywhere, in quality, dimension or intensity, on every wave length make sensibility tremble, fluctuate and sweep and dance randomly over the spaces.[50] I look at Margot and even while she speaks the waves wash over her lips, and down into the deep she plunges. The sea breaking free.[52] WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE (Motion grows, as a wave grows white when the wind begins rising[53])

♪ Promiscuous girl

You're teasing me

You know what I want

And I got what you need ♪

LENNY

Time stands still where space folds in on itself. [54] The sea gives birth to a tidal flow […] a rhythmic current emerges from the disorderly lapping of waves, music surfaces in this place. [55] Here the body rises above disorder, here Margot rises above the waves, even more complex in her multiplicity than the nautical sound of waves breaking.

WITTGENSTEIN HOUSE

♪ Promiscuous boy

Let's get to the point

Cause we're on a roll

Are you ready? ♪

LENNY

However much one knows about it, the veiling of the sun’s light is disturbing and transports one to another world. Lying on the moving floor, shaken by the movement of the waves [56] I am in danger of drowning.

MARGOT

I thought you’ve learned how to swim till now.

LENNY

I am a moving, active body, expressing in exertion, movement, gesture and dance, rather than in sensibility alone.[51] I’ve learned to swim in this flood of confusion. And the ship will not resemble merely a ship, but also the sea itself, even to its hull and sails being composed of waves.[52] The obscurity is long; here is the dawn; the cock crows to the Sun God.[53] And beyond the reach of water, beyond wind, cold, fog, light and dark even beyond noise, […] the house protects us just as the belly of a vessel separates us from the cold of the sea. [54]

[1] Seneca, Complete Works

[2] Da Vinci, Notebooks

[3] Serres, The Birth of Physics

[4] Round the World

[5] Buffon, Natural History Vol 2

[6] Buffon, Natural History Vol 2

[7] Physiologus

[8] Serres, The Five Senses

[9] Aquinas, Summa Theologica

[10] Procopius, History of the War Books Vol 1

[11] Asimov, Complete Robot Anthology

[12] Serres, The Parasite

[13] Deleuze Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus

[14] Aquinas, Summa Theologica

[15] Serres, Branches

[16] Hugo, Les Miserables

[17] The Young Pope

[18] Deleuze Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus

[19] Serres, The Parasite

[20] Rousseau, Collected Works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau

[21] Foucault, The History of Sexuality Volume 2

[22] Kassinger, Slime

[26] Deleuze, Cinema 1 The Movement Image

[27] Serres, Troubadour of Knowledge

[27] Rand, The Fountainhead

[27] Hovestadt Buehlmann, Quantum City

[29] Hays, Architecture Theory since 1968

[30] Frankl, The Gothic

[31] Schumacher, The Autopoiesis of Architecture Vol 2

[32] Carter, Anthony Blunt His Lives

[33] Ockmann, Architecture Culture 1943 1968

[35] Asimov, Complete Robot Anthology

[35] The Young Pope

[36] Proust, In Search of Lost Time Vol IV Sodom and Gomorrah

[37] Wollstonecraft, Complete Works

[38] Proust, In Search of Lost Time Vol II Within a Budding Grove

[39] Gothein, A History of Garden Art

[41] Proust, In Search of Lost Time Vol I Swanns Way

[42] Asimov, Complete Robot Anthology

[43] Serres, The Five Senses

[44] Asimov, Complete Robot Anthology

[34] Hays, Architecture Theory since 1968

[45] The Book of the Thousand and One Nights

[46] Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle Round the World

[47] Serres, The Five Senses

[48] Wittkower, Born under Saturn

[49] Serres, The Five Senses

[48] da Vinci, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci

[50] Serres, The Five Senses

[52] Serres, Genesis

[53] Virgil, Aeneid

[54] Serres, The Five Senses

[55] Serres, The Five Senses

[56] Serres, The Five Senses

[51] Serres, The Five Senses

[52] Foucault, This is not a Pipe

[53] Serres, The Parasite

[54] Serres, The Five Senses

[43] Serres, The Five Senses

[kellyramaeker-blog]

Athens, Greece

On the plane ride back to Germany from Athens, Greece, my shoes were still covered in dust from the Acropolis, and my face rosy from the sun. We arrived to Athens around 1am on Saturday. Fro the sake of our tired mind’s sanity, we grabbed a taxi to our hotel. The driver was kind and made conversation during the drive. As we entered the city he pointed our various landmarks: the parliament building, Syntagma square, the Plaka neighborhood. We were both excited to explore these places in the coming days. 

Despite the late night, Saturday began rather early. Jacob and I were excited to start adventuring. We grabbed breakfast at the hotel after we were ready for the day. I couldn’t tell you the names of most of the foods, unfortunately, but they were amazing. There were eggs and thick Greek yogurt, of course. There were small, thick pancakes fried and covered in syrup. The best part were these cakes that I can only describe as blocks of cooked maple and brown sugar Malt-O-Meal. I couldn’t get enough. It was an unexpectedly great start to our day. 

We set off for the Acropolis without a map, immediately after breakfast. We could see the Acropolis set up on the hill near our hotel, so we wandered through the Plaka neighborhood in that direction. We ended up in a little neighborhood on the north cliff side of the Acropolis. The houses were all painted stark white with red roofs and bunches of large colorful potted plants. The sidewalks between the houses were more comparable to small alleyways. They were no more than two people wide. Some had winding stairs that led up or down to a new level of white houses. As we wandered, I had a comfortable, lost feeling. I would have believed someone if they had said we had been transported to the front image of a postcard.

We wandered around a while more and eventually found the entrance to the Acropolis (Follow the fanny packs!) It was littered with typical tourist outfits and people from all over the world. Athens monuments give free tickets to students from EU countries, so we flashed our Hochschule Mannheim student ID’s and grabbed our free entrance. The Acropolis has several structures and ruins inside: Parthenon, Temple of Dionysus, Temple of Athena Nike, Temple of Asclepius, Erechtheion, Herod Atticus Oden Theater, and more. It also provides an incredible view of all of Athens. It’s a sea of tan buildings and ancient ruins on all sides. The structures in the Acropolis were incredible. Thousands of pounds of marble suspended in the air for over 2000 years with detailing still visible around the edges. It’s amazing that they’re still intact some of them are after all this time. In the afternoon, we grabbed lunch at God’s restaurant outside of the south slope and went to explore the Acropolis Museum. The museum was mostly ruins of statues, buildings, and pots. Several parts of the museum, including the entrance, have glass floors so you can see ruins below the museum. I’m unsure of what these ruins were of, but you can see rooms, walls, ducts, and pits.

To start the evening, we grabbed drinks and a snack at an outdoor restaurant. Our dinner reservation was at 9pm (Greeks eat very late - we thought we would join.), so we had time to kill. After finishing our drinks, we set out for more exploring of the Plaka neighborhood. At dusk, we found our way back to the white, postcard houses. This is one of my favorite pictures. Once it was dark we found our restaurant. The day had been warm, but the sandals and tank top I had on with my jeans were no longer adequate without the sun. Dinner was a little cold, but we couldn’t resist requesting an outdoor table on the roof of the restaurant. Our table had a view of Athens surrounding us on 3 sides, and on the 4th, a view of the Acropolis lit up with artificial lights at the base of the structure. Dinner was good. We ordered local wine. Jacob ordered fish, and I ordered pasta with crayfish. 

Sunday we got to enjoy the spectacular breakfast again. Then, we started walking to the National Archaeological Museum. On the way we stumbled on a big changing of the guard at Syntagma square in front of the parliament building. Rows and rows of the guards were marching around with a brass band. A second of the road was closed off for people to stand and watch. Then we continued our walk to the museum. It was an interesting place. There were colossal statues, like the Poseidon and the Young Jockey bronze sculptures. It had samples of some of the inventions, like the first clock with gears. After a quick lunch (Gyros this time), we walked across town to the Panathenaic Stadium, which was cool. It's all marble and was built over the ancient Stadium used in the ancient Olympics. Then we stopped by the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and there were ten or so massive Corinthian pillars with the Acropolis in the Background. After all that it was time to go. We grabbed our bags and got a bus to the Airport.

Day one - Walking around lost, not admitting we were lost

A pretty alley way

The white houses and the acropolis above

Found the Acropolis!

At the entrance of the acropolis

It was windy

This view...

The Erechtion with the famous Caryatids ladies in the back holding up the roof

Theater of Dionysis

Behind us: Propyplaea!

Behind us: Odeon of Herodes Atticus theater in the Acropolis and a way good view of Athens

(Casually showing off my ring and getting hair out of my face)

Behind us: The Parthenon

Temple of Athena Nike (Athena’s Victory)

The Parthenon

The Parthenon

The Erechtion

The Parthenon

The Parthenon

The Erechtion

The Erechtion

These are over 2000 years old!

The parthenon

Dionysis Theater

Dionysis Theater

The Acropolis up on the hill from the Olympic Stadium

All marble Olympic Stadium built in the 1800′s on the same spot where the ancient Olympic Stadium stood

Sore loser

This is my favorite picture - Look at that sky - Wowza

The Academy of Athens - Statues everywhere

The Temple of Olympian Zeus with the Acropolis in the background

A Greek Orthodox Church - The picture on the front is a mosaic

[laberintos-espinas]

A Tourist Guide to Pensacola, Florida

Situated in northwest Florida, ten miles from the Alabama state line on its beg, Pensacola is wealthy in notable, military aeronautics, and characteristic sights, all with Florida's unique sun, sand, fish, and water perspectives  Wedding Bands   Pensacola:

Despite the fact that St. Augustine, on Florida's east or Atlantic coast, is viewed as the most seasoned US city and flourished after Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles cruised to it and set up a province, Pensacola, on the state's west or Gulf of Mexico side, might have guaranteed the title if its own settlement had endured.

Six years sooner, in August of 1559, Spanish wayfarer Tristan de Luna moored in a zone nearby clans named "Panzacola," for "long-haired individuals," with the aim of completing Luis de Velasco, the Mexican emissary of Spain's request for building up a settlement on the sound.

Very much provisioned and arranged, he was furnished with 11 ships and brought 1,500 would-be pilgrims, among whom were African slaves and Mexican Indians. Be that as it may, history had to take some unacceptable byway when a savage storm wrecked eight of de Luna's vessels on September 19.

By the by, with an end goal to rescue the endeavor, he sent one of them to Veracruz, Mexico, to inspire help, leaving the outsiders to squeeze out a presence on shore and make due by depleting the provisions they had brought. However, rather than re-provisioning the homesteaders, the boats, showing up a year later, just saved the survivors by taking them to Havana and leaving minimal in excess of a military station by the spring of 1561. By August, the modest bunch of warriors relinquished the new land site and got back to Mexico, esteeming it excessively perilous for settlement.

In spite of the fact that it was past information at that point, a specialty as the most seasoned, ceaseless US city it could always be unable to make.

It would be very nearly 150 years, in 1698, indeed, that unfamiliar powers would by and by try to increase a traction for this situation, Spain set up a more effective post in what might become cutting edge Pensacola and toward that end spread out a provincial town.

As has so regularly happened since the beginning, land, once guaranteed, turned into the prize others looked for, frequently by military methods, and Pensacola demonstrated no exemption. Spaniards at first gave up to the French in May of 1719, however it was not really the finish of its possession. France, Spain, Britain, and Spain indeed would take ownership throughout the following century, until the last at last surrendered Florida to the United States in 1821. Since the Confederacy additionally "took up residency," Pensacola is considered the "City of Five Flags."

A noteworthy bit of its right around 500-year history has been safeguarded and can be knowledgeable about the Pensacola Historic District, which is overseen by the UWF Historic Trust, itself an association upheld by the University of West Florida, and it comprises of 27 properties on the National Register of Historic Places.

Affirmation, just available for seven days, incorporates guided visits and guest section, and tickets can be gotten at Tivoli High House.

Significant structures are many. Seville Square, for instance, is the focal point of the old settlement and filled in as one finish of the British course's motorcade ground, finishing at its twin, Plaza Ferdinand VII. It was here that General Andrew Jackson acknowledged the West Florida domain from Spain in 1821 and first raised the US banner.

A little, protected segment of Fort George, an objective of the American Revolution's Battle of Pensacola, is emblematic of British occupation from 1763 to 1781.

Unique houses proliferate, including the Julee Panton Cottage, the 1805 Lavalle House, the 1871 Dorr House, and the 1890 Lear-Rocheblave House.

The Old Christ Church, situated on Seville Square and inherent 1824 by slave work, is the most seasoned of its sort in the state to at present possess its unique site.

There are likewise a few exhibition halls: the T.T. Wentworth, Jr., Florida State Museum, which was developed in 1908 and initially filled in as the City Hall, the Pensacola Children's Museum, the Voices of Pensacola Multicultural Center, and the Museum of Commerce.

Despite the fact that not actually part of the Pensacola Historic District, the Pensacola Grand Hotel is situated on the site of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad's traveler stop, which itself was developed in 1912 to supplant the first 1882 L&N Union Station that served Pensacola for a very long time. It is currently on the National Register of Historic Places.

Reestablished in its unique wonder and changed into a lodging with a 15-story glass tower, it holds quite a bit of its initial embellishment, including a French earth tile rooftop and a clay mosaic tile floor, and is decorated with period pieces, for example, a strong, drop-cast bronze light and classical goods.

Its lavish "1912, The Restaurant," situated on the ground floor, highlights gateway Biva entryways from London, a cast-bronze French-style light fixture from Philadelphia, 1885 angled glass from a Victorian lodging in Scranton, and scalloped-molded flame broil work from Lloyd's of London.

Maritime Air Station Pensacola:

There are a few huge attractions on Naval Air Station Pensacola, which can be gotten to by the guest's entryway and requires ID, for example, a permit, to enter

Found itself on the site of a Navy yard that was raised in 1825, it started as an avionics preparing station at the flare-up of World War I with nine officials, 23 mechanics, eight planes, and ten sea shore propped tents, and was viewed as the first of its sort.

Drastically growing due to the Second World War, it prepared 1,100 cadets for every month, who aggregately flew nearly 2,000,000 hours. After its Naval Air Basic Training Command moved its base camp from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Pensacola, unadulterated fly airplane were consolidated in the prospectus. Today, 12,000 dynamic military work force, 9,000 of whom get flying preparing, are doled out to the station.

The widely acclaimed National Naval Aviation Museum, likewise situated here, is the biggest and one of Florida's most-visited attractions. It started not as a vacationer sight, but rather as a methods for remembering maritime flying history for cadet educational plans, for which there was neither adequate time nor subsidizing for the customary book-and-study methodology.

The office, at first housed in a 8,500-square-foot wood outline constructing that hailed from World War II, turned into the locus of determination, assortment, conservation, and show of airplane and curios that speak to the turn of events and legacy of the administration branch. It opened its entryways on June 8, 1963.

Ever-growing, it presently has 700 planes in its assortment that are shown in its 11 other authority Navy galleries all through the nation, yet nearly 150 immaculately reestablished ones are as yet displayed here after another office with 37 outside sections of land and 350,000 square feet of indoor space was finished. Confirmation is free.

Partitioned into the South Wing, the West Wing, a second-floor Mezzanine, and the different Hangar Bay One, it follows the development of Navy flight and the airplane it worked from its beginning to the most recent Middle East clashes.

The A-1 Triad, for instance, was so named since, in such a case that worked in the three domains of air (wings), water (buoys), and land (wheels). The Nieuport 28, in the World War I segment, encouraged plane carrying warship experimentation, while the mammoth Navy-Curtiss NC-4, at the limit of the Golden Age display, was the first to navigate the Atlantic from Trepassey, Newfoundland, to the Azores Islands off of Portugal.

Speed from stream warriors during the Cold War is spoken to by such kinds as the McDonnell F2H-4 Banshee, the North American FJ-2 Fury, and the Russian MiG-15.

Highlight of the West Wing is the "USS Cabot" island and a copy of its transporter deck, which is encircled by a broad assortment of for the most part World War II airplane, including the Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat, the Vought-Sikorsky FG-1D Corsair, and the General Motors (Grumman) TBM Avenger.

Of the various shows on the exhibition hall's mezzanine, which itself disregards both the South and West Wings and can even be gotten to via aircraft ground steps, there can be none that offer a more prominent differentiation to one another than those gave to lighter-than-air avionics and space investigation.

Advanced from the round inflatable first effectively flown by the Montgolfier Brothers in 1783 in the main case, carriers were huge, controllable inflatables which achieved lift by the lightness standard themselves, yet fused motors for impetus and rudders and lifts for, individually, yaw (guiding) and longitudinal (pitch) hub control. Suspended gondolas housed the team and travelers. Inflexible sorts included inner systems, which were not needed by the non-unbending ones, for example, dirigibles.

Gondolas or control vehicles from the Navy's L-8 and World War II-period K-47 aircrafts are in plain view. The last mentioned, conveyed on May 19, 1943 at Moffett Field, California, had a 425,000-cubic-foot inner volume.

In the second, or space, case, a reproduction of the Mercury Freedom 7 space container, the first was dispatched at 116.5 nautical miles and was air/space borne for 14.8 minutes, speaks to Naval Aviation's commitments to the Space Program, on the grounds that Naval Aviator Alan B. Shepard turned into the primary American to enter that domain on May 5, 1961.

Likewise in plain view is the first Skylab II Command Module, which circled the Skylab space station during 28 days among May and June of 1973. Worked by a three-part, all-Navy team, it set a few precedents, including the longest monitored spaceflight, the best separation voyaged, and the best mass docked in space.

Noticeable from both the mezzanine and the fundamental floor is the 75-foot-tall, 10,000-square-foot Blue Angels Atrium that associates the South and West Wings and highlights four Douglas A-4 Skyhawks in a plunging precious stone painted in the aerobatic group's dim blue attire.

[kapampangan-traveller]

It was a sudden plan to visit the landlocked province of Abra. Taking advantage of the long December holidays, we embarked on a cutting trip from Pampanga to Abra. I was to meet in Calasiao my travel buddy Ella where we will both take the bus to Vigan, eventually to Bangued, Abra.

THE CUTTING TRIP

It was a jam-packed bus terminal in Mabalacat City, as many passengers are rushing to their respective hometowns to celebrate the New Year. Having the youthful agility (that time), I was able to squeeze myself in the midst of sea of passengers and able to secure a seat at the rear portion of the bus, saving me from another standing commute. Few hours passed, we arrived in Dagupan and took a jeep transfer to Calasiao. In less than an hour, I saw the Calasiao spelling on many establishments, signalling our arrival. We had a quick lunch in a fast food chain before hailing a ride to Vigan. Even buses at this spot are full of passengers already. We are able to board a bus and take seats just beside the driver. It was one of the rare moments to stand behind the huge windshield.

In Calasiao downtown while waiting for a bus ride to Vigan

Me and Ella and the bus driver, bound to Vigan

THE VIGAN SIDETRIP

We intend to spend a night in Vigan before visiting Bangued. Taking advantage of the yuletide season, we strolled around the heavily decorated main streets of the touristy side of Vigan. Stalls brimming with tourists, the streets are breathing alive even at nightfall. Children running around with their apparent christmas garbs and presents and the clippity clops of tourist calesas are the usual busy attractions in Calle Crisologo.

Empty Calle Crisologo at around 4:00 AM

After calling it a night on the quieter side of Vigan, we planned to leave as early as possible to see the Calle Crisologo complete and utter void of tourists. We left at 4:00 AM and hurried to the very spot – we practically owned Calle Crisologo. We left soon as the skies turn from starry black to deep blue and few tourists starting to tread the renowned street.

Selfie with the bus before it leaves for Abra, and Ella seating at the front

Arriving at the then dimly lit Vigan Bus Terminal, the first leaving bus of the day bound to Bangued seats composedly in its slot waiting for the first passenger to board. With lengthy time for waiting, we decided to have our breakfast in the terminal-located eateries and tried on the local dishes they serve – Sinanglaw (warm sour- bitter profiled soup with beef innards) and Dinakdakan (Chopped grilled pork parts with onions and chilli peppers). Soon as our tummies are filled, we decided to board the bus and catch some quick snooze. The mini bus interiors looks like an oversized traditional pinoy jeepney with 3 by 2 seat configuration. As first passengers, we took the front seats.

My breakfast in Vigan with Sinanglaw and hot instant coffee

CROSSING BORDERS

One must not miss passing through the Tangadan Tunnel located in San Quintin municipality. Construction of the tunnel commenced last 1934 as many workers pummeled through sheer hard rock just to connect the new road sections, shifting the new path to Abra to a safer and easier to navigate terrain. The tunnel became the main gateway to access the hidden wonders of the Abra province. Years after its completion, the tunnel marks as one of the destinations in the province. Tourists on private vehicles take the opportunity to have a photograph with the view of the tunnel as their backdrop.

Tangadan Tunnel in San Quintin, able to capture this since of our front seat access

It was more than two hours of driving when we finally on the bustling capital. Before arriving, we enjoyed breathtaking views of the mountainous landscape of Abra through its winding provincial roads. With nothing but thick forests on view, this is the one of the best spots in Abra to enjoy mother nature. Soon as we set foot finally and officially onto the soil of Bangued, I breathed excitedly and started scanning around. Hordes of tricycle drivers offering us ride, mobile vendors yelling out loud their products, porters heaving sacks of produces onto their backs and passengers hurrying to exit the terminal borders. Reaching on the main streets, busy foot traffic on both street edges and establishments brimming with customers was a welcoming sight. More vehicles stuck in traffic jutting out thick grey smoke while motorcycles squeeze their away into tight traffic spaces just to get ahead – really just a typical town, only within the borders of Abra. It was national campaign season, and campaign collateral litter the streets, walls and buildings.

My shoe size did not comfortably fit on the foot space of the bus front sea

In every corner of the Bangued town, you would notice armed authorities in pairs – an army and a police officer, sometimes a trio with a traffic enforcer. This is a normal scenario during a campaign season confirmed by a random local. Using digital maps on our smartphones, we are able to locate the capitol grounds on foot.

AT BANGUED, ON FOOT

At the center of the capitol complex features an open park area with a recognizable half dome covered platform fronting the geometric-hive facade of the green colored Capitol building. Its ground floor roof extension features the typical Ionian column heads topped with a triangular roof.

Ella and the Abra Capitol Building facade

On the other side of the park is the Bangued Cathedral – St. James the Elder Parish. Already on a modern architectural style, the structure features a towering octagonal bell tower with four levels of arched windows. It features also a glittering retablo placed higher on the altar side. The ceiling is embellished with an elegant chandelier and the walls are parted by high arching windows, allowing natural light to enter through it s mosaic design glasses. A mass is celebrated at that time we visited.

We checked our digital maps and located the Calaba Bridge. One of the  longest modular bridge in the Philippines, spanning the wide yet seasonally treacherous Abra River – at 900 meters end to end. We chartered a tricycle to bring us on both of its ends, as walking under the afternoon us proves taxing. After agreeing on the amount we would pay the driver, we sped to the bridge. Soon after, a caged like structure emerged at the end of the road and there we met the signage of the bridge. The driver also instructed us that we can see and visit the riverbed below. True to its definition, the Calaba Bridge is indeed long. Seeing how vehicles turns into miniscule portions as they reach farther end. From there, we can see clearly the Sleeping Beauty. A portion of the mountainous skyline of Abra depicting a sleeping lady, with the face, chest and abdomen above the lower hills of the mountain ranges.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR1860.

Sleeping beauty mountain viewed from Oval Era Hotel

Since the sky was dry for days, the Abra River below apparently flows calmly against the clear blue sky. Noticeable are stilted huts above the river surface that visitors can rent should they wish to bathe on the river. There are no authorities that time to ask permission if we can try and check the huts, we just enjoyed seeing them from where we are. We took the chance to take road to the river bed. We marveled on the gigantic and massive support columns of the bridge. From there, we can hear and feel the clunking of steel whenever heavy vehicles would hit the bridge deck. Undettered by the noisy traffic above, scantily dressed children jumped back and forth onto the calm river.

After an exhausting afternoon tour around the main downtown area, we decided to check in with Oval Era Hotel (Contact: +63 917 184 6825) . This hotel is located on Cassamata Hill. We hailed a tricycle since our feet would not be able to carry us to the ascending road inside the park. We have made the right choice. At the wide balcony and open air veranda of the hotel, we can view the Bangued downtown, with the roofs below our feet. We chose an airconditioned twin bed room with private Toilet and bath. It was the best decision we made since we enjoyed much of our room. It also has a room balcony with view of the highers slopes of Cassamata Hill.

Our driver waited for us since he promised to bring us to another view deck within the Victoria Park. We continued the uphill road until we made sharp turn to the entrance of park. We saw an open air semi circular arena and a grotto. We walk around the park and enjoy the better panoramic view of Bangued and the mountain range backdrop.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR1881.

Finally, our driver dropped as off on the gates of the hotel and we hurried back to our room to rest. Soon as we are done refreshing ourselves and our back against the supporting mattresses, we decided to end our tour.

My bed while in Abra

At dinner, we visited the neighboring Ayesha Cafe. We are amazed by its interior and garden inspired alfresco dining area with the view of the Bangued town. I ordered then Crispy Beef Ribs with Gravy for my dinner. It took less than 10 minutes before the smoking hot dish landed on my table. The meat is tender and tasty against the crunchy breading. I decided to end my meal with an iced tea beverage.

We called it a night when we returned to our hotel room. The relaxing and calming cold room and soothing mattress instantly drawn to dreamland.

SINCE WE CAME A BIT EARLY

The province of Abra, being part of the Cordillera Administrative Region, proves its tourism potential. At the time of our visit, visitors are rare and locals seemed to be not used on sights of backpackers sauntering their thoroughfares. That time, December 2015, when tourism activities are not yet rampant, we had a hard time in obtaining information from locals. There is a different vibes as to a tourist town like Banaue where locals are more warm to visitors and a smile is like a permanent gesture. I remember when the now famous Kaparkan Falls of Tineg municipality is still reachable by 6-7 hour trek or 3-4 hour horseback ride according to a local we have spoken with. We also lack in coordination with the tourism office and we are only able to see spots on what we just researched in the internet. I am now happy that Abra has taken huge strides in tourism, and social media was an effective marketing tool on bringing to a wider reach the beauty of Abra. I am thankful to my longtime travel buddy and confidant, Ella, for joining me in this tour and herself braving the long commute. As of posting, I could imagine the impact of increasing tourism activities in Bangued. I have learned many destinations now, like the rolling hills, rice terraces and many waterfalls. I tried to plan an itinerary for this a weekend trip would not suffice. I want to see myself what could be the difference from years back. This lingering travel thirst would want my itching feet board that “Abra” or “Bangued” signed buses.

Photo of Mt. Bullagaw in Abra by avid mountaineer and trusted financial advisor, Mr. RJ Garo,

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WAKE UP- KICK ASS- REPEAT 📷 Saab

A post shared by @ rjgaro on Jan 31, 2017 at 6:52pm PST

Photo of Kaparkan Spring Terraces Falls in Tineg, Abra by Mr. Hancel Reyes ofThe Restless Pinoy Traveler blog

Dreaming still to visit this seasonal Kaparkan Waterfalls

TRAVEL GUIDE to BANGUED, ABRA: 

From Manila, you can take Bangued bound bus (Dominion Lines and Partas Line)

Alternatively, you can take Vigan/Laoag/Pagudpud bound bus and alight in Narvacan Junction. Take jeep, bus, van bound to Bangued

Will I ever go back? I will and that’s for sure. There are many section in the province still void of blog article and I am willing to spend time and effort to return to the province.

Exploring BANGUED: capital of Abra province It was a sudden plan to visit the landlocked province of Abra. Taking advantage of the long December holidays, we embarked on a cutting trip from Pampanga to Abra.

[044-eu]

Typical Marche recipes

Le Marche, someone described it as an orderly mosaic of vineyards, olive groves, wheat fields and sea. And in his typical kitchen we find all these genuine things. Let's start with the ascolana olives, a delicious appetizer of green olives stuffed with meat and then fried. Or even the rice and nuts salad. Moving on to the first dishes the best known is definitely the WINNER, a typical recipe of maceratese, the STROZZAPRETI Marche and the broth, cooked all over the coast. For the second, however, the anconetana stockfish, which is the gastronomic symbol of Ancona. and then again the rabbit in porchetta to the Marche. The sweets are many but the best known I think is the donut to the Marche. Also the woodwork, which is usually prepared during the Christmas period and the footballs that instead prepare in the Easter period.

Olive

Necessary for ascolana olives 500 grams of gentle olives from Ascoli 100 grams of finely ground veal pulp a pinch of cinnamon, pepper and nutmeg 2 beaten eggs flour, breadcrumbs, frying oil just enough. Preparation of olives with ascolana First, crunch the olives and soak them in lightly salted water so that they do not turn black. In a bowl knead the veal pulp, spices and beaten eggs. Form small balls and after passing them in flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs, fry in plenty of oil, Once fried, pass them into the paper towel to remove the excess oil and serve hot. This recipe has many variants because in some areas they put chopped parsley and garlic together with meat, in others ham or sausage or mortadella instead of meat.

Rice and nuts salad

Needed for rice and nuts salad 300 grams of dwarf vialone rice 70 grams of finely chopped walnut gherigli 1 tbsp chopped parsley 1 tbsp wine vinegar 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced chives, olive oil, salt and pepper just enough Preparing rice and nuts salad It is a very simple and fast preparation. First cook the rice in plenty of salted water and drain it al dente. Put the rice in a soup bowl, add the walnut kestrels, parsley, a pinch of chives. Season with vinegar, olive oil salt and pepper and after mixing well all the ingredients garnish with slices of hard-boiled egg and serve. Let's start the first dishes

THE WINNER

For the pasta 400 grams of flour 80 grams of semolina 4 eggs 2 tbsp vinsanto 40 grams of butter at room temperature For the sauce 200 grams of veal pulp 200 grams of chicken livers and chicken strips 150 grams of veal sweetas 100 grams of calf's brain 1 rib of celery 2 small onions 2 small carrots 100 grams of diced ham 1 glass of dry white wine 1 glass of milk 1 glass of meat or nut broth half a glass of tomato puree 30 grams of dried porcini olive oil, salt, pepper, butter and parmesan cheese just enough 200 grams of béchamel sauce. Preparing winners First you prepare the pasta. On a flatbread mix the flour with the semolina and start kneading slowly combining the beaten eggs, the softened butter and the vinsanto. Form a ball of smooth and elastic dough and in a saucepan covered with a cloth let stand for at least an hour. Now we prepare the sweetms and the brain, which must be cleaned and removed the membranes and then blanched for 5 minutes and chopped. Melt a little butter and two or three tablespoons of oil in a saucepan and fry the carrots, onions and celery, which should be finely chopped. Once the vegetables are golden, add the diced ham, porcini mushrooms, which must be in the water to soak for about 10 minutes. Also add ground veal flesh and chopped chicken strips. Brown everything and add a glass of dry white wine and allow to evaporate. Once the wine has evaporated add the tomato purée, milk and broth and simmer with a lid for about 2 hours adding a little broth if it tends to dry out too much. After two hours add the brain and the sweetas and cook for about twenty minutes. Then add the chicken livers, add salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes more. Take the dough now and make a thin pastry with a rolling pin. Divide the pastry into squares of 15-20 centimeters on the side, boil the squares in plenty of salted water, drain them and let them dry on a cloth. At this point butter and flour a baking dish and make the layers with the dough, sauce, béchamel sauce and Parmesan cheese until the ingredients are exhausted. On the last layer over the grated cheese put a few butter bows and bake in a pre-hot oven at 180 degrees for about 40 minutes. Remove the baking soda from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Anconetana Brodetto

Necessary for the anconetana broth 700 grams of cuttlefish 1800 grams of mixed fish (you can use mullet, soils, cod, sea bass, mackerel, eel, cephalus, redfish and other types of fish of the moment). kilograms 1 of chopped tomatoes 1 glass of white wine 1 glass of wine vinegar 2 onions 3 tbsp chopped parsley slices of stale bread just enough chilli, salt, pepper and olive oil just enough For the broth heads and cutouts of used fish an onion a celery rib parsley stalks a clove of garlic a ripe tomato a few corned peppercorns Preparation of the anconetana broth First clean the fish, wash it, dry it and let it rest covered with a thin veil of salt. Meanwhile, in a pot boil the fish waste, celery, onion, parsley stalks, tomato and a few peppercorns, for about an hour. At the end of cooking pass the vegetables and fish with a colander to form a narrow sauce. In a large saucepan put the chopped onion, garlic, parsley leaves, pour the vinegar and bring to the boil. Add 5 tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of chilli, chopped tomatoes and white wine and adjust the salt and pepper. Put the small fish sauce and cuttlefish in the saucepan and the cuttlefish should be cooked for 30 minutes. After that, add the other fish and continue cooking for another 20 minutes. Add the garlic mince and cook with a lid for another 10 minutes. Serve the broth on slices of stale bread and sprinkled with chopped parsley.   Now to the latter with a dish of frontone's tradition, the rabbit in porchetta.

Rabbit in porchetta

Necessary for rabbit in porchetta 1 whole rabbit 300 grams of chopped bacon 6 cloves garlic 1 tbsp possibly wild fennel seeds 10 grams of butter half a glass of white wine olive oil, salt and pepper just enough Preparation of rabbit in porchetta First clean and wash the rabbit while keeping the head, liver and ends of the legs aside. With the liver, the head cut in half and the ends of the legs, brown everything along with the bacon in abundant olive oil. Add the fennel seeds and whole garlic cloves and let it season for about twenty minutes. Remove the bones from the sauce and with the rest stuff the inside of the rabbit, closing with kitchen string. In a baking dish put the rabbit with a drizzle of oil, salt and pepper and half a glass of white wine and in the oven already hot at 180 degrees for about an hour. Served hot.

Anconetana stockfish

Required for anconetana stockfish 800 grams of stockfish already soaked 500 grams of ripe tomatoes 500 grams of potatoes 80 grams of anchovies in salt 70 grams of black olives half a glass of dry white wine a tablespoon of white wine vinegar a dollop of chopped parsley 2 cloves garlic 1 onion rosemary, salt, pepper, olive oil and milk just enough Preparation of anconetana stockfish The stockfish, washed, dried and cut into small pieces, should be left to marinate with a little milk for about 3 hours. Potatoes should be cut into wedges. Prepare the seasoning in the meantime by putting in a bowl with a little olive oil, the chopped garlic, parsley, onion, rosemary and the anchovies deprived of the head and the slus. In a bowl of fire start the layers putting on the bottom of the pieces of stockfish, on top of a layer of potatoes and a few tablespoons of seasoning, some olive and pieces of tomato. Continue with the layers until the ingredients are exhausted. Adjust the pepper and salt and simmer for about 3 hours with the lid, without ever turning the stockfish. Add a little water if the sauce tends to dry out too much. Serve after resting the stockfish for about 15 minutes. And now here are the sweets

The typical BosTRENGO Christmas cake

Required for BOSTRENGO 300 grams of white flour 300 grams of yellow flour 150 grams of chopped dried figs 60 grams of raisins 60 grams of walnut kernels butter, breadcrumbs and olive oil just enough Preparing the BOSTRENGO First put both the raisins and the dried figs in the cold water. In a pot bring to a boil about 2 liters of water. As soon as bubbles pour in rain the two dough using adagio trying to avoid lumps. Some kind of soft polenta has to come. Remove from the heat, add the figs, raisins and nuts, stirring well. Place in a buttered and floured cake tin and lined with breadcrumbs. On the bottom of the cake tin also a drizzle of olive oil. Bake in an already hot oven at 180 degrees for about 35 - 40 minutes. Serve lukewarm. CALCIONI or CACIUNI typical dessert of the Easter period. Necessary for CALCIONI 600 grams of flour 130 grams of softened butter 70 grams of lard 250 grams of sugar 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks the grated zest of a lemon For the filling 2 whole eggs and 2 egg whites 600 grams of grated sweet pecorino cheese 170 grams of sugar zest of 1 grated lemon Preparation of CALCIONI First prepare the dough by putting on a flat flour with sugar, lard, butter, whole egg and the two egg yolks, scent with the grated lemon zest and form a smooth and elastic dough. Wrap the dough in a cling film and let stand for at least an hour. Prepare the filling in the meantime. Whip the eggs to snow and then add the grated pecorino cheese, sugar and zest of a grated lemon. Resume the dough and with a rolling pin make a not too thin pastry. In this puff pastry with a glass form many saucers about 8 centimeters in diameter in the center of which to put a tablespoon of filling. Fold the dough closing the edges, brush these species of ravioli with the egg yolk and bake them in an already hot oven at 200 degrees for about 25 minutes. They serve cold. Read the full article