Sight - Namaste

The 9 Streets

dhiraj — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 07:20:00 +0000

The western part of the Canal Ring is a labyrinthine neighborhood, known as De Negen Straatjes (the Nine Streets), filled with independent shops. The act of shopping becomes a full-on afternoon activity as you wander the brick sidewalks searching for the perfect quirky souvenir or gift. The western part of the Canal Ring is a labyrinthine neighborhood, known as De Negen Straatjes (the Nine Streets), filled with independent shops. The act of shopping becomes a full-on afternoon activity as you wander the brick sidewalks searching for the perfect quirky souvenir or gift.

The post The 9 Streets first appeared on Namaste.

Santa Monica Pier

dhiraj — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 06:36:30 +0000

Childlike wonder returns in adult form the moment you approach the Santa Monica Pier’s iconic sign on Ocean Avenue. With scents of cotton candy and funnel cake wafting through the air and views of the Pacific Ocean—and possibly Catalina Island on a clear day—the scene is breathtaking. We did not take full advantage of our tickets on and off, but we saw a lot during a few hours. We would recommend two days with stops at the favorite places. We did not take full advantage of our tickets on and off, but we saw a lot during a few hours. We would recommend two days with stops at the favorite places.

The post Santa Monica Pier first appeared on Namaste.

Row DTLA

dhiraj — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 04:10:58 +0000

Book your required pass and board the hop-on hop-off double-decker bus at any of the East or West Route stops. Your ticket is valid for your selected time period from its first use. Buses arrive approximately every seven to 15 minutes. Settle on the open-air or lower deck, and don the headsets for multilingual audio commentary on the sights. Then, admire the 360-degree views of the buildings, monuments, and squares. For a city overview, stay aboard for the full loop of both routes—crossing between them at the interconnecting stops—or hop on and off at an unlimited number of stops to explore whatever grabs your interest.

The post Row DTLA first appeared on Namaste.

La Sagrada Família

dhiraj — Sun, 06 Oct 2019 04:45:51 +0000

If you have time for only one sightseeing outing, this should be it. La Sagrada Família inspires awe by its sheer verticality, and in the manner of the medieval cathedrals it emulates, it’s still under construction. Work began in 1882 and is hoped (perhaps optimistically) to be completed in 2026, a century after the architect’s death. Unfinished it may be, but it attracts more than 4.5 million visitors a year and is the most visited monument in Spain.

Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the church as a minor basilica in a huge ceremony in November 2010.

The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family) was Antoni Gaudí’s all-consuming obsession. Given the commission by a conservative society that wished to build a temple as atonement for the city’s sins of modernity, Gaudí saw its completion as his holy mission. As funds dried up, he contributed his own, and in the last years of his life he was never shy of pleading with anyone he thought a likely donor.

Gaudí devised a temple 95m long and 60m wide, able to seat 13,000 people, with a central tower 170m high above the transept (representing Christ) and another 17 of 100m or more. The 12 along the three facades represent the Apostles, while the remaining five represent the Virgin Mary and the four evangelists. With his characteristic dislike for straight lines (there were none in nature, he said), Gaudí gave his towers swelling outlines inspired by the weird peaks of the holy mountain Montserrat outside Barcelona, and encrusted them with a tangle of sculpture that seems an outgrowth of the stone.

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