A miracle
A colourful plaque on a house in Calla de Virgen
de Villavana at Morella in Spain
depicts a prodigious miracle which is said to have happened at the house in
1414. San Vicente Ferrer is said to
have resurrected a child who had been chopped up by its mother and stewed
because she could find nothing else fit for the saint to eat.
Morella
Salvador Dali house
Sagrada Familia
The name Antonio Gaudi is synonymous with Barcelona in Spain and evidence of his architectural genius is apparent everywhere.not least at the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's most emblematic work. A symbol of Barcelona all over the world, this church is the greatest example of the man's genius and probably the greatest curiosity in the city. Born in 1852, Gaudi obtained his degree in architecture at the age of 26 and soon became the visionary genius of art nouveau. The Church of the Holy Family had been under construction since 1882 under the direction of architect Francisco del Villar who began the crypt in neo classical style. Gaudi took over in 1883 before the crypt was finished and changed the whole project using complex symbolism whilst providing a visual explanation of the mysteries of faith. Since Gaudi's death in 1926, building work has been erratic and controversial but continues as and when funds are available.
Donkey taxi
The amazing village of Guadalest near Benidorm in Spain is built literally into the rocks at the top of a mountain, a place where it is impossible to drive a motor car. It is very popular with tourists who are dropped off from their coaches on a car park way below the village itself, where they are left to walk up the steep paths and steps to reach the village. All is not lost however because it is possible to get a taxi, but it would have to be one of the licensed ‘donkey taxis’ which ply for hire.
Silent Night
Chapel
The
little Austrian town of Oberndorf is situated on a sharp bend of the Salzach
River, downstream from Salzburg. At this
place is a tiny memorial chapel dedicated to Joseph Mohr, a curate, and Franz
Xaver Gruber, a music teacher, who created the world famous song ‘Silent Night,
Holy Night’.
The
idea for the song came from Mohr and his idea was to write a song for midnight mass on Christmas Eve. In
1818 he wrote the lines and his close friend Gruber wrote the melody and it was
heard for the first time in the parish church of St Nikolaus
in Obersdorf. The rest is history.
In
1899 the church was demolished as a result of flood damage and the Mohr and
Gruber Memorial Chapel stands in its place.
Both
men are depicted in stained glass inside the chapel.
The castle
guard
The very
fine castle which dominates the town of Thun
near to Bern in
Switzerland
was undoubtedly once heavily fortified.
Now it is merely an great tourist attraction.
The only guards to be seen now are the flock of
geese kept in a small compound alongside
the hugs walls. They are said to be the
finest possible early warning system.
The
The apes on the Rock of Gibraltar are a great tourist attraction, particularly when they are being fed by the army sergeant who is the Official Keeper of the Apes. It is not known how they came to be on the Rock but they have certainly lived there in considerable numbers since at least the 18th century when the British took possession of the territory.
It is said that if the apes should ever leave the Rock, then so will the English. Winston Churchill himself ordered that their number should never fall below 35.
Unexploded
bomb
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