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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 11, 2022 2:25:28 GMT
These pictures make Medellin seem very appealing! I like big cities & this one seems to have some of everything -- sophistication, but lots of homey use of the city, too. I love the look of Cafeteria Isam. Noted what the parking lot was called ~ "parqueadero". That's totally different from here, where it is a estacionamento.
Not to be critical, but that big tan church you keep showing would probably be pretty if only it had more spires!
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 11, 2022 7:43:27 GMT
I shall contact them and ask for a few more. Won't be too noticeable I'm sure.
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Post by mossie on Apr 11, 2022 8:45:30 GMT
Dog burgers??, can you request any particular breed?
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 11, 2022 9:30:10 GMT
Of course. Irish wolfhound is quite popular because you get big ones.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 11, 2022 12:08:04 GMT
Botero? You’ve heard of him? Can’t go anywhere in the country without finding some reference to his artworks. His own signature style of sculptures and other artistic pieces. “Fernando Botero Angulo (born 19 April 1932) is a Colombian figurative artist and sculptor, born in Medellín. His signature style, also known as "Boterismo", depicts people and figures in large, exaggerated volume, which can represent political criticism or humor, depending on the piece. He is considered the most recognized and quoted living artist from Latin America, and his art can be found in highly visible places around the world, such as Park Avenue in New York City and the Champs-Élysées in Paris.” Mind you, he was born here so there’s no surprise these are all over. In this square were probably three times more than I photographed - Nearby - Some areas were very busy, this being below one of the metro stations. Some places not so -
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Post by bjd on Apr 11, 2022 13:12:39 GMT
We visited the Botero Museum in Bogota. Nice gardens and paintings but I don't remember many sculptures. Botero's art is definitely recognizable anywhere.
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Post by fumobici on Apr 11, 2022 15:07:11 GMT
Those bronze sculptures look disconcertingly like those of Shen Hongbiao. Here's one I took of one of Shen's work in feont of the Pantheon in Paris.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 11, 2022 15:52:16 GMT
I see the resemblance for sure but I can't see any females in his work. His look powerful and threatening whereas Botero's.... isn't. If anything as Botero was born in 1932 and he was born in 1969 I'd swap around the sentence "Those bronze sculptures look disconcertingly like those of Shen Hongbiao" to say his look like Botero's, if you see what I mean.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 11, 2022 16:02:25 GMT
Different generations inspire others.
South America has a fascinating mix of architectural styles because it is not bound to the same traditions as Europeans. Then again, the styles do not always mix as well as one would hope.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 11, 2022 17:18:40 GMT
I've never heard of Botero or even remembering seeing any of his work in Paris. It is not unpleasant but his theme seems to be that everything must be out of proportion.
I was in awe of that striped building. It is a real work of art.
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Post by lugg on Apr 11, 2022 19:57:40 GMT
Just catching up - The The Bolivar memorial section is fab really enjoyed seeing it. Those trees - not just the palms and the info re Sago palms but the photo trees in no 2 of post # 280. I guess the flight out of the airport was quite spectacular ( ? daylight departure) - such a lovely setting . The mural is lovely too , nice muted colours.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 12, 2022 0:47:53 GMT
Really enjoying this, Mark, and getting a sense of what a big city Medellin is. There is an amazing variety of architecture. I expanded the sign over the door of that singular gothic checkerboard building & it says it's the Palacio de la Cultura. Lots of cultura would fit in there! I'm guessing it was built for that purpose sometime maybe in the 1880s. (?) The modern stuff is impressive -- that soaring white building and the brick one with all the round columns on the facade that turned out to be a parking garage. I guess the thing I like about Botero is that I can never make up my mind whether I like him or not. I do like the well-dressed lady holding her gloves and pocketbook, also the undressed lady on her side who seems to have been inspired by a painting by Leger maybe. How much time did you all spend in Medellin? Were you still with your friends at that time, or on the leg towards home? I've never heard of Botero or even remembering seeing any of his work in Paris. Tod, I did a report on a Botero painting exhibition in Palermo here.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 12, 2022 4:57:26 GMT
Lugg, the departure was just in time in the evening to get a view over the coastline before the light disappeared. Yes, very nice.
Bixa, that palace was - "It was under construction from the 1925 to 1937 and designed by Belgian architect Agustín Goovaerts in a Gothic Revival style." So later than I would have though as well and originally built/designed to be the administrative centre of the region. We spent a couple of days in Medellin and by this time the one friend who flew out to us had left several days previously and the friend that lives there had anyway just the first couple of days with us and had to go back to work.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 12, 2022 4:59:50 GMT
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Post by bjd on Apr 12, 2022 6:21:49 GMT
That mall looks intended to make shopping a cultural experience.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 12, 2022 9:58:49 GMT
It would do if it had many shops!
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 12, 2022 11:27:25 GMT
Maybe covid has something to do with its slow start but probably the rental rates are unreasonable.
I find the square brick building very striking in its unashamed austerity, but it benefits greatly by having so much open space around it.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 12, 2022 11:59:07 GMT
There are two virtually identical brick buildings that were built to mimic the coffee drying houses in the coffee growing areas. Originally built as residences on the top two floors and commercial premises on the ground floor in about 1895. In the 1920's when the main railway arrived they were turned in transit hotels as the station is just across the road. They are now a school/college and community centre.
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Post by lugg on Apr 12, 2022 18:15:46 GMT
Wow Mark, Medellin looks a city I would love to see - so many surprises and such a mixture of architectural styles . Call me a heathen but I dont think I had heard of Botero before but I really like your images of his sculptures and Botero Plaza.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 12, 2022 18:57:13 GMT
I admit I would never have heard of him either had I not been before to Colombia.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 12, 2022 23:49:59 GMT
Bixa, that palace was - "It was under construction from the 1925 to 1937 and designed by Belgian architect Agustín Goovaerts in a Gothic Revival style." So later than I would have though as well and originally built/designed to be the administrative centre of the region. We spent a couple of days in Medellin and by this time the one friend who flew out to us had left several days previously and the friend that lives there had anyway just the first couple of days with us and had to go back to work. Thanks, Mark! I don't know much about the history of architecture, but that gothic-revival building from 1925 is interesting in light of a book I'm currently reading. In it a Finnish architect goes to NY in 1923 and rails against the looking-to-the-past architecture being turned out in the post WWI era. Overall the architectural shots of Medellin show it as a vibrant city which is aware of its importance in the country. The mall is weird, though The only things I've ever seen that resemble it are some ex-monasteries here in Mexico. It was nice that you all got to see friends, but it seems even nicer that you & Mrs M got to take an honest to god vacation together after all the moving for work and going back & forth you all have done in the past couple of years.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 13, 2022 9:53:31 GMT
I'm still moving back and forth in that tomorrow I go to Spain to check the house and brother, come back, then Slovenia and Croatia, then Spain again for a walking holiday, then back, then a tentative but not confirmed Germany visit, that takes me up to the third week in June when I'll be driving and taking ferries to go to Spain for the summer. I will be accompanied by Mrs M at certain stages.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 13, 2022 10:23:24 GMT
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Post by bjd on Apr 13, 2022 10:54:58 GMT
Are the last two pineapples?
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 13, 2022 11:50:54 GMT
I like the latticed structure which certainly provides good shade, but if it ever catches on fire, it definitely won't last long.
Turtles love to climb on top of each other even when they are not having sex.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 13, 2022 12:01:29 GMT
Are the last two pineapples? Page 3, post 65 onwards clarifies a little of that question. I'm not qualified to say.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 15, 2022 10:49:24 GMT
I found this out about Pineapple Bromeliads - The pineapple is often taken to be the most beneficial out of all the other bromeliad varieties. In fact, it is the only bromeliad that can be consumed as a fruit. I am pretty sure MicktheCactus will identify the variety name.
Bixa - Mick - Anyone: Photo #8 - the one after the Delicious Monster fruit ( which is edible and has a lovely flavour) The one with the pink flowers. What plant is that? as I have one and cannot find anyone to identify it- Not even our plant nursery.
About that bad hairdo duck - It is a Crested Khaki Campbell duck. There are many varieties of crested ducks and it was quite a job finding a photo that matched Marks photo exactly.
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 15, 2022 11:00:39 GMT
Ananas comosus with the main variety grown commercially in Colombia being the Golden Pineapple.
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 15, 2022 11:05:21 GMT
Not sure which is #8 as my Kindle doesn't show numbers. Do you mean the one that might be ginger?
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Post by tod2 on Apr 15, 2022 11:17:07 GMT
The photo that has a bit of a haze in the middle - I think opposite long stems leaves that could be ginger. The flowers are pink and hanging over the pathway.
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