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The remarkable remains of the arched hall at Ctesiphon/Taq Kasra.

giant-archway-of-ctesiphon-known-as-tak-

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Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Imperial Hall, by Old Street tube station in London. Some wonderful terracotta work at the front. The back of the building is the opposite - extremely plain and basic.

imperial-hall.jpg

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Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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14 hours ago, DavidM said:

Probably the biggest wow factor was visiting the winter palace and hermitage in st petersburg

St Petersburg is stunning, even in the depths of winter. The colours and style of architecture make it a much more cheerful place than Moscow, and the girls are very Scandinavian-looking. It was -33 degrees when I first visited and the locals were just wearing the sort of stuff I would wear when it's a bit frosty!

IMG_8188.jpg

Edited by Desert Skipper

“There is perhaps no better a demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world.”   Carl Sagan

 

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9 minutes ago, Desert Skipper said:

St Petersburg is stunning, even in the depths of winter. The colours and style of architecture make it a much more cheerful place than Moscow, and the girls are very Scandinavian-looking. It was -33 degrees when I first visited and the locals were just wearing the sort of stuff I would wear when it's a bit frosty!

IMG_8188.jpg

It was -9 when we went in February and it was the first time I really knew what cold was . It was a lovely city , far nicer than Moscow . That was 93 and basically the whole country was a basket case then 

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6 minutes ago, DavidM said:

That was 93 and basically the whole country was a basket case then 

I think it was around that time that the famous Maccy's opened in Pushkinskaya Sq. My mum got to eat in there within the first few months of it opening! She said the rest of the country was still a huge mess though.

Edited by Desert Skipper

“There is perhaps no better a demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world.”   Carl Sagan

 

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15 minutes ago, Desert Skipper said:

I think it was around that time that the famous Maccy's opened in Pushkinskaya Sq. My mum got to eat in there within the first few months of it opening! She said the rest of the country was still a huge mess though.

Yes it certainly was . We never went but it must have beat the beetroot soup we got for lunch . The food was horrendous then , I remember that 

Edited by DavidM
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It's an odd one, but I have a soft spot for Alicante airport's new terminal building. Airports are often horrible places (Manchester and East Midlands, I'm particularly looking at you) but the new terminal at Alicante has been designed really well and is spacious, filled with light and surprisingly relaxing. It's also not a giant shopping centre with planes attached.

Also, they've named it after Miguel Hernandez, the Spanish Civil War poet jailed and ultimately killed as a result by Franco's fascists. I love his work.

In terms of classical buildings, I'm always impressed by anything the Victorians built.

"I am the avenging angel; I come with wings unfurled, I come with claws extended from halfway round the world. I am the God Almighty, I am the howling wind. I care not for your family; I care not for your kin. I come in search of terror, though terror is my own; I come in search of vengeance for crimes and crimes unknown. I care not for your children, I care not for your wives, I care not for your country, I care not for your lives." - (c) Jim Boyes - "The Avenging Angel"

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15 hours ago, DavidM said:

Probably the biggest wow factor was visiting the winter palace and hermitage in st petersburg

It's very impressive but going round the Hermitage was ludicrous. Hordes of tourists taking photos of artwork without actually looking at it. I could do that on the internet. The contrast with some of the Soviet era buildings was stark - at least the Commies had the sense not to demolish the historic buildings. Although the churches were closed for religion, they were repurposed without affecting the remarkable artwork. 

I never felt comfortable in Russia.

"I am the avenging angel; I come with wings unfurled, I come with claws extended from halfway round the world. I am the God Almighty, I am the howling wind. I care not for your family; I care not for your kin. I come in search of terror, though terror is my own; I come in search of vengeance for crimes and crimes unknown. I care not for your children, I care not for your wives, I care not for your country, I care not for your lives." - (c) Jim Boyes - "The Avenging Angel"

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If we're talking buildings, most of Jonathan Meades' excellent documentaries are about architecture, and you can watch them here: http://meadesshrine.blogspot.com/p/shrine.html 

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Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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52 minutes ago, tim2 said:

It's an odd one, but I have a soft spot for Alicante airport's new terminal building. Airports are often horrible places (Manchester and East Midlands, I'm particularly looking at you)

Pretty much any new airport building outside the UK is a joy to experience. Natural daylight and outside views are the key to any terminal, since you have to spend a good chunk of your time waiting there. The new terminal at Manchester was supposed to all-glass according to the original CGI when announced. Now it's cheap cladding. Not a great 'Welcome to the North' for visitors.

53 minutes ago, tim2 said:

I never felt comfortable in Russia

You get used to it. The first time I went to Russia I was in the bathroom of my hotel in Sokolniki having a shower, and a guy jumped on to the balcony with a bucket and a squeegee, like he was going to clean the windows. Since I was naked and not an exhibitionist, I hid in the bathroom waiting for him to finish his job. He cleaned about a tenth of the window very poorly then spent about 30 minutes studying the room and the desk through the window! And I'm pretty sure he wasn't a potential burglar. Or maybe he was and I've just read too many Le Carre novels 😁

“There is perhaps no better a demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world.”   Carl Sagan

 

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As a young lad I used to love going into the Wool Exchange in Bradford, it is (was) a Waterstones book shop and Starbucks(?).

Looking up at the roof of the building, the smell of books and coffee. It was special.

I was very impressed and surprised by the foyer of Antwerp train station a few years ago.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 08/01/2022 at 13:04, Futtocks said:

If we're talking buildings, most of Jonathan Meades' excellent documentaries are about architecture, and you can watch them here: http://meadesshrine.blogspot.com/p/shrine.html 

Quite by chance I came across the one he did about Cuthbert Broderick (The Case Of The Disappearing Architect). I'd never heard of Meades but I knew Broderick was a local man so I started watching. It was a cracking piece of TV.

"I'm from a fishing family. Trawlermen are like pirates with biscuits." - Lucy Beaumont.

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1 minute ago, Ullman said:

Quite by chance I came across the one he did about Cuthbert Broderick (The Case Of The Disappearing Architect). I'd never heard of Meades but I knew Broderick was a local man so I started watching. It was a cracking piece of TV.

His documentaries are excellent. His non-fiction books are fascinating, but you may want to steer clear of some of his fiction if you are prone to shock or prudishness. One of the first stories in his book Filthy English is the autobiography of a dog who has a career in bestiality porn films.

His cookbook is a treat, though. 

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Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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