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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 4, 2018 23:55:32 GMT
looks as if she really wants to remove her shoes, as she would do in Mosque. LaGatta, when I first saw those women I was wondering what they thought of all the Christian iconography. But I got a better look at their faces outside & now think they might be Somalian or Ethiopian Christians. Personally,I prefer the carved altar pieces and the triptychs. I am not a fan of 17th & 18th century art and much prefer the earlier works. I have to agree with you about preferring the earlier era, Bjd. I do understand how important the later stuff is in the history of art, but I have I have to force myself to appreciate it and that is mostly on a technical level. The drawing of the nurse and soldier probably is of our queen Elisabeth wife of Albert the first. History says she spent so much time tending our wounded soldiers whilst the king tried to economise the blood of the soldiers, something few war leaders of then bothered with. How interesting, Whatagain! I had to learn more and was astounded to find out that Albert actually led troops at the front and that Elisabeth worked as a nurse: www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-i/albert-i-king-of-belgium-he-fought-in-the-trenches-during-wwi-and-his-queen-became-a-nurse.html
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 5, 2018 21:42:11 GMT
So, I have ambled away from the cathedral square and onto the viewing platform at the river ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 5, 2018 22:09:05 GMT
Now we'll walk back to my little room near the train station ~ This Latino festival was sort of limping along. Alas, no Mexican representation ~ He pensively gazes out over Meir Street ~ Just think, this is only a side of the train station, not even the front ~ The landmark for the street leading to my little room in Antwerp ~ The "Chinese street" ends at De Coninckplein ~ My street, Spoorstraat, ended here at a T. To the left and right were African groceries. But the store behind the flowers the store sold rice steamers & mystery cooking appliances plus scads of Russian kitsch souvenirs -- nesting dolls & the like. These flower pyramids were all over town ~ In the window of an African grocery store. Somali?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 8, 2018 13:54:59 GMT
Since I am now well ensconced in Amsterdam, it seems I should wrap up this report on Antwerp. In report time, I'm showing the day after where I left off before. I've returned to the MAS, which is so beautifully situated on the marina ~
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Post by amboseli on Jul 8, 2018 15:26:16 GMT
I hope you took the escalators all the way to the rooftop terrace. With such clear weather, the view must have been incredible.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 8, 2018 15:43:55 GMT
Wossa standard shift?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 8, 2018 15:51:39 GMT
Yes I did, Amboseli, as you will see. I was fascinated at how the views seemed to change at each level. This post is about an exhibition I particularly wanted to see. There were a large number of pieces, not all of the same quality but overall quite impressive. I found most of her portraits striking ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 8, 2018 16:08:46 GMT
Four on the floor, Mick! Standard, non-automatic transmission.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 8, 2018 16:22:38 GMT
Tintin and Milou! Milou is the little white dog.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 8, 2018 16:50:31 GMT
I am always happy when I see non-religious art from olden times. I guess I mean non-Christian art because honouring Bacchus is always a good idea in my book. Michaelina must have been a very interesting woman and it is good that she lived to a ripe old age for those times.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 8, 2018 17:11:56 GMT
Four on the floor? Beach Boys!
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Post by bjd on Jul 8, 2018 18:47:12 GMT
Four on the floor? Beach Boys! 4 gears are as old-fashioned as the Beach Boys. Our car has 6 gears! Antwerp sure looks like an interesting place, with the modern bits fitting in well with the rest. The MAS was not there when we went in 1994. Time for another visit, I think.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 8, 2018 19:31:34 GMT
LaGatta, I wish they'd kept the pup's original name in the English translations of the book. Kerouac, I imagine that the religious works were the bread and butter of artists back then. Probably even when producing works to experiment or work out composition, etc., they may have given those works religious themes the better to sell them. Michael the Spiny Succulent is stuck in third gear. Oh, do go, Bjd, and be sure to stay longer than I did! The city is not only full of interesting official things to see, it also just has a great feel to it. The next section was entered through a hallway in utter darkness. It was also quite dark inside ~
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 8, 2018 19:37:10 GMT
My cars have all been automatic for about the last 30 years.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 8, 2018 19:50:05 GMT
Was the Beach Boys Little Deuce Coupe? Not sure.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 8, 2018 20:13:04 GMT
Bixa, you'll find many figures similar to those Papua-New Guinea ones at Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam. Perhaps you already have. There is a nice park just south of it, Oosterpark. While it is not as large as Vondelpark (you can walk to the latter from your rental flat)it is host to many activities due to the multicultural nature of the area (like yours in Oude West). You can combine this with a visit to Dappermarkt, a good street market, and the shoppinng street that bisects Dapperstraat. This street is named Eerste Van Swindenstraat west of the railway underpass, and Javastraat eastwards. This street (or streets?) has businesses from many cultures; I remember a grocer from Iraq - not very common. It has started to gentrify somewhat, but nothing as galling as De Hallen. Though there are probably more "hip" places than the last time I was there, alas. The website javakwartier.nl covers food businesses in and near javastraat (not just the hipster stuff). It is in Dutch only, but easily translated by google, and Dutch often resembles English (sort of "in-between" English and German, but I'll leave the West Germanic sound shifts for the time being). I remember this Moroccan bakery being very good but of course businesses can change: javakwartier.nl/boodschappen/afrah-fes/Shit! Put this in the wrong Benelux country - I can move it to Netherlands, I guess.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 8, 2018 20:28:11 GMT
Was the Beach Boys Little Deuce Coupe? Not sure. It was! Just checked the lyrics but have no idea what they mean!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 8, 2018 22:33:13 GMT
You're just grinding your gears now, Mick. Also, automatic transmission cars are only for the disabled. Real drivers want to shift the gears. LaGatta, . Yes, I'll be happy to have that information eventually. Right now I'm just barely dealing with this Antwerp thread, which I must complete. Hey, Amboseli -- here's that view from the roof terrace ~ This is fun, or at least it was fun for me. I've lost track of which exhibit was which, but one of them was entered through a darkened room, one wall of which was lit with sparkling lights. I was almost through the room when I realized that my image was strobing after me on the lighted wall. Of course that meant I had to back up and walk forward again several times in an attempt to capture the multiple Bixas strobed onto the wall. I never managed to catch the entire sequence. You can see, especially with my skirt in the first couple of pictures, how I was dragging my image along with me. After I went through the exhibit and came out through a similar darkened room on the other side, I realized that those exiting could see those entering. So some lucky soul(s) got to see me happily performing in a dark empty room by myself.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 8, 2018 22:56:51 GMT
By the time I got to the section shown above, I was pretty well museumed out. That was a shame, as there are so many worthy things to see there. For instance, as part of the Life & Death exhibit, there was an absolutely stunning collection of precolumbian artifacts which I was simply too tired to take in. The museum gives you a bracelet that allows you to leave and reenter the same day, so I'd suggest going fairly early, then exiting for a leisurely lunch and returning for more MAS later. The last section I attempted was a really broad and well-presented look at food production for Amsterdam past, present, & future. I snapped a few token pictures, but no longer had the attention span for the informative exhibits on flash-freezing, etc. ~
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