SRI LANKA FACTS, the Land of Serendipity

 Beyond its ancient ruins, beautiful beaches, and amazing wildlife, the island nation has many other stories to uncover.

1. Sri Lanka is nicknamed Pearl of the Indian Ocean and teardrop of India.
2. Sri Lanka gave “serendipity” to the English language.
3. The Sri Lankan national flag is one of the oldest in the world known as Lion Flag, dating back to 162 BC.
4. Sri Lanka has 8 Sites inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage.

These include 6 cultural Cities and 2 natural sites:
(1) Polonnaruwa city; (2) Sigiriya city; (3) Dambulla Golden Temple; (4) Galle old town and its fortifications;
(5) Anuradhapura city; (6) Kandy city;
The natural sites include: (7) Sinharaja Forest Reserve; (8) Sri Lanka Central Highlands.

5. Sri Lanka was the first country in the world to democratically elect a woman as the head of government.
6. Sri Lanka is home to the oldest tree ever to be planted by a human: Sri Maha Bodhi was planted in 288 BC, which makes it more than 2300 years old.
7. Sri Lanka covers an area of 25,332 mi². Its wildlife is incredibly diverse, home to: 123 species of mammals (such as elephants, leopards, and crocodiles), 227 species of birds, 178 species of reptiles, 122 species of amphibians, and many other animal species.
8. The national sport isn’t cricket but volleyball.
9. Sri Lanka is totally about tea. It was formerly known as Ceylon, a name synonymous with tea: it is the largest exporter of tea in the world, and grow black, green and white
10. There’s more than hundreds waterfalls in Sri Lanka. The majority of its electricity is supplied through hydropower plants that tap into the immense energy of these falls.
11. Cinnamon originated in Sri Lanka, and found by the Egyptians in 2000 BC. Today, Sri Lanka is still a leading exporter of the world’s cinnamon.
12. A sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha, brought from India in the 4th century CE, is still preserved in the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy.
13. Nuwara Eliya, a British-built town located in the hill country, is known for its temperate, cool climate. It used to be the favorite holiday retreat for the British elite.
14. Adam’s Peak is the most sacred mountain in the country; it has been a mecca for people of various beliefs in Sri Lanka for over a thousand years.
15. It has the highest literacy rate in South Asia (92%).
16. Rice and curry is the staple dish in Sri Lanka. It’s often eaten from a banana leaf and with the hands (no cutlery). Rice is the main ingredient of Sri Lankan cuisine.
17. It is common for restaurants, cafes, and bars to be named as hotels.

FLORENCE NEWEST OUTDOOR DRINKING TREND

AND IS ALSO ITS OLDEST

In Renaissance-era Florence, small windows “buchette” were notched into the side of a building, carved into the outer walls of villas and palaces, and worked as wine bars. Le Buchette were stationed at elbow’s height, framed with stone, and shaped like a tabernacle. When dusk hits, Florentines would knock on the wooden shutter and throw coins, now Euros, and the Chianti would flow…

Now, a handful of people are changing Florence’s Newest Outdoor Drinking Trend (also its oldest).

“We need to help the Florentines regain possession of something that belongs to them,” says Matteo Faglia, the president of the 5-year-old Buchette del Vino cultural association. Faglia and his two cofounders are on a self-funded mission to preserve the legacy and locations of these buchette.

They have spent the last few years identifying buchette and documented 181 in the city; restored them; and mounted shiny plaques under each.

The owners of Babae, an osteria down a flagstone alley in the Oltrarno quarter, reopened the buchette in their exterior wall and restored its functionality. Now, you can walk up to the brightly painted wooden shutter on Via Santo Spirito, ring the bell outside, and the tiny door will open to you. Throw down a few Euro for a white or a red wine, and a glass will be handed to you.

The window is open from:  09 am till 02pm, and from 05pm till 08pm.

To keep track of the up-to-date map of every restored wine window, consult Buchette del Vino’s website (https://buchettedelvino.org/home%20eng/index.html).

Link: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/florences-newest-outdoor-drinking-trend-is-also-its-oldest

In the heart of Europe lies a city shaped by emperors, authors and artists. With its gothic exuberance, 19^th-century opulence and 20^th-century modernism, Prague truly is a city like no other. From graffiti walls to shocking beer facts, here are the legends and facts you never knew about this glorious European capital.

1. Prague Castle is the largest in the world. The 130-metre wide medieval castle, 70,000m² land is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. Prague Castle spans an impressive 18 acres and is home to stunning cathedrals, chapels, royal palaces and gorgeous ornamental gardens.
2. The Rolling Stones liked the Prague Castle so much that $32,000 later, their stage light technician created the lighting of the castle, still in use today.
3. Charles Bridge, connects the city’s Old Town to Mala Strana over the Vltava River, was built in the 1300s. It is said to be haunted by ghosts whose heads ended up on nearby spikes.
4. The Charles Bridge has some rather mathematical significance. Former Czech king Charles IV laid the first stone of the bridge at precisely 5.31am on July 9, 1357. The king was so into astrology and numerology that he chose this date because of its written form: 1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3-1.
5. Charles Square was once the largest town square in the whole of medieval Europe.
6. Vltava River is the longest in the Czech Republic.
7. Astronomical Clock Tower: an exact replica of the Astronomical Clock can be seen in the Hongdae district of Seoul in South Korea!
8. Every hour the Prague Astronomical Clock strikes: a whole procession sets off including the 12 Apostles and Death and finishing off with a golden rooster crowing. The clock gives accurate information about: Day of the Year, Zodiac Signs, and Medieval Perception of the Universe with the Earth in its center.
9. Prague Is Home to the World’s Second Ugliest Building: Zizkov Tower building, tall and grey structure. It has statues of climbing babies on it. Czech artist David Cerny was said to disrupt Prague’s medieval skyline.
10. The Petrin Lookout Tower stands atop Petrin Hill – climb the 299 stairs and admire the best views. Called TV Tower, it has a one-room hotel with an amazing view over Prague from 70 m.
11. The narrowest street in Prague (Vinarna Certovka) is barely 50 cm wide and has its own traffic light, which prevents pedestrians from meeting in the middle. (Mala Strana, Hlavni Mesto, Praha)
12. The city’s famous Dancing House was inspired by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Designed in collaboration with Canadian-American Frank Gehry and Croatian-Czech Vlado Milunić, the building symbolizes yin and yang.
13. Beer Spa: you can BATHE IN BEER and drink unlimited amounts! Apparently the high oil content in the beer helps open pores, gives a glowing appearance, improves immunity, stimulates metabolism and eases stress.
14. Locals drink more beer per capita than any other nation in the world (Pilsner). Each Pragueite consumes roughly 155 liters of beer a year!
15. The sculpture of the hanging man depicts the Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud and can be found in the Prague Old Town.
16. There is a graffiti wall devoted to John Lennon. Since 1980, it’s been repainted numerous times and is laced in graffiti lyrics from Lennon and The Beatles…
17. Karlovy Lázně Night Club in the city centre, is central Europe’s largest club

Baroque streetscapes and imperial palaces set the stage for Vienna’s artistic and musical masterpieces alongside its coffee-house culture and vibrant epicurean and design scenes.

“Vienna’s imperial grandeur is the legacy of the powerful Habsburg monarchy. Their home for more than six centuries, the Hofburg palace complex, incorporates the Burgkapelle (Imperial Chapel), where the Vienna Boys’ Choir sings Sunday Mass, and the famed Spanish Riding School, where Lipizzaner stallions perform elegant equine ballet, along with a trove of museums, including in the chandeliered Kaiserappartements (Imperial Apartments). Other immense palaces include the baroque Schloss Belvedere and the Habsburgs’ 1441-room summer residence, Schönbrunn, while 19th-century splendours such as the neo-Gothic Rathaus (City Hall) line the magnificent Ringstrasse encircling the Innere Stadt (inner city)”.

In the Museums Quartier district, historic and contemporary buildings display works by Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt and other artists.

Austria’s Imperial capital offers a unique blend of imperial traditions and stunning modern architecture. It is famous for its cultural events, imperial sights, coffee houses, cozy wine taverns, and the very special Viennese charm.

1. Wine Capital (1,700 acres of vineyards, 320 vintners e.g. Grüner Veltliner, Rheinriesling and Weißburgunder). 640 wine framers in Vienna produce 2.5 million liters wine every year. Grapes were cultivated in Vienna as early as 1132 A.D. The Heurigen (wine taverns) scene was made possible through an imperial edict, which allowed growers to serve food with their wine.
2. Viennese heuriger culture (wine taverns) has also been considered an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.
3. City of Music, or the World’s Capital of Music, as more famous composers have lived here than in any other city in the world (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Johann Straus and Johannes Brahms are just a few who called Vienna home). While in Vienna, you can visit the former apartments of many of these famous musicians, which have been turned into museums. And don’t miss The House of Music. Here you can “discover the fascinating world of sound and Viennese music in an interactive, playful way”.
4. City of Dreams: Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, lived and worked for nearly 50 years.
5. Tiergarten Schönbrunn or the Vienna Zoo, built in the Palace’s gardens in 1752, is considered the world’s most beautiful zoo and boasts over 700 different animal species. And it is said to be the oldest zoological garden in the world.
6. Vienna is divided into 23 districts. The city center in Vienna is a World Heritage Site.
7. The Austrian flag is one of the oldest national flags in the world.
8. Austrian Croissants: The famous French croissant has Viennese origin, the Austrian kipferl (i.e. crescent in German). Bakers in Vienna made kipferl to commemorate Austria’s victory over the Ottoman Turks. The shape is based on the crescents seen on the uniform of the enemy. It is in 1770, when Maria Antoinette of Austria who married King Louis XVI of France, introduced her favorite pastry to France.
9. The Wiener Riesenrad is the oldest still operating ferris wheel in the world.
10. Vienna’s Central Cemetery (Zentralfriedhof) has over 2.5 million tombs (more than the city’s live population), including those of Beethoven, Brahms, Gluck, Schubert, Schoenberg and Strauss.
11. The Sacher Torte was made by Franz Sacher, when the chef of the court of Prince Metternich fallen ill – just on when the prince ordered a new dessert. So the 16-year-old trainee, Franz Sacher, created a new dish. Hence, on that day in 1832, the Sacher Torte was born.
12. The candy Pez, was invented in Vienna in 1927. Pez is the abbreviation of the German word “pfefferminz” or peppermint. The dispenser design looked like a lighter. Smoking was prohibited, so the Pez slogan was “No Smoking – PEZing Allowed.”
13. The snow globe was also invented in Vienna, in 1900. The inventor, Erwin Perzy and his brother, are still making traditional snow globes, all hand painted and manually assembled.
14. Vienna has been voted the world’s most livable city for the last 7 years in a row.
15. Like Berlin, Vienna was also divided into four parts after WWII.
16. More than 300 Balls are held annually in Vienna (Covid-era excluded)
17. Viennese coffee culture is part of UNESCO intangible Cultural Heritage. (Café Prückel, has more than 100 years under its belt; Kaffee Alt Wien; Café Central housed inside Palais Ferstel; Café Diglas welcomed Emperor Franz Joseph I as his very first guest; Café Schwarzenberg; Cafe Museum; …)
18. Vienna sits on the border of 2 climate zones: the European transitional climate and the dry Pannonian zone.
19. Vienna the eco-friendly city: In 2014, Vienna adopted a ‘Smart City’ policy, which aims to have 50% of the city’s energy consumption come from renewable sources; and must limit the overall carbon emissions by 2050.

Barcelona, the cosmopolitan capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, is defined by quirky art and architecture, imaginative food and vibrant street life. It has medieval roots, seen in the Gothic Quarter, but a modernist personality represented by architect Antoni Gaudí’s fantastical Sagrada Família cathedral. Its restaurant scene ranges from fine dining to tiny tapas bars. Barcelona’s to-do list is as plentiful as its sunny days.

Barcelona is defined in 03 zones. Each area has its wealth of historic buildings, fine art, iconic parks, performing arts spaces, and so much more.
Zone 1: Port Vell, La Rambla, El Raval, La Ribera, Placa de Catalunya, Barri Gotic
Zone 2: Eixample, Modernisme, Gaudi
Zone 3: Diagonal, Pedralbes

Below, our list of the very best things to do in Barcelona for when it’s time to go back.

LA SAGRADA FAMÍLIA, Antoni Gaudí’s unparalleled Unesco-listed monument inspires awe by its sheer verticality, it’s still under construction. Work began in 1882 and is hoped to be completed in 2026, a century after the architect’s death.

CATEDRAL DE BARCELONA or Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, housed some 2,000 years a Roman temple.

CASA BATLLÓ, called the “House of Bones” created by Antoni Gaudi and influenced by nature and has no straight lines (because they don’t exist in nature, as per Gaudí), stone pillars that contort like animal bones, and a tall ocean-blue stairwell.

PARK GÜELL is an almost make-believe landscape, home to Barcelona’s famous mosaic lizard—the image on a thousand postcards—plus spiral towers that look like fairground slides. The park is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

PARC DE LA CIUTADELLA, is Barcelona’s urban “green lung” of 280,000m2. It holds the: Catalan Parliament, Zoo, fountain, museum, small lake for rowing boats, Triumph Arche, century-old trees and abundant flora, sculptures.

PARC DEL LABERINT D’HORTA, its labyrinth is definitely the standout feature, a maze made of elaborate swirls of thick foliage.

LA BOQUERIA, Barcelona’s oldest market since year 1217, with more than 200 stands united like a foodie’s choir: traders’ shouts, the clink of glasses, welcome greetings sung out (“holaaaa”).

LA RAMBLA, Barcelona’s most famous street and its one of the main arteries of the city — is nearly one-mile (1.2Km) pedestrianized boulevard from PLAÇA CATALUYNA to PORT VELL. It is still the strolling route for the city’s visitors offering the charm of the old-school florists, gelaterías, and candy stalls offering bites of crema catalana along the way.

SANT PAU ART NOUVEAU SITE, built by the legendary Modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner featuring Catalan Art Nouveau with extravagant domes, stained glass windows, epic pillars; with grounds scented by the medicinal fragrance of lavender, laurel and lemon. It was designed as a hospital that could heal by the power of its aesthetics.
BARCELONETA is a traditional district of Sailors & fishermen and 5km stretch of beaches. Millions of tons of sands were pumped onto 02 miles of shoreline lifting Barcelona into the rank of the world’s great beach cities.
CAMP NOU, Barcelona Football Club Stadium (largest in Europe and the 2nd biggest stadium in the world)
The “Kiss” Mural
EXPIATORI DEL SAGRAT COR or Sacred Heart church and the Tibidabo mountain
SANTA MARIA DEL MAR
PICASSO MUSEUM
OLYMPIC VILLAGE at the Sea Front: Water Sports, Discotheques, Bars …a place in effervescence

MONTJUIC is a mountain inside the city. A true bowl of Air. Hillsides covered with flowers, exotic trees & giant Cactus. The luminous fountains of Gaieta Buigas created magic environment.

LA RIBERA is a small village in the city, a very Authentic one. It forms with Barrio Gotico the Old City. (You can see Violin Makers, Glass Makers & Designers. Pensioners play cards, young people discuss at the edge of the fountain).

MONTSERRAT, the sacred saw-toothed Montserrat Mountain Range; its Monastery and 16th century Renaissance Basilica where you will view La Moreneta, known as the Black Madonna, the Patron Saint of Catalonia and a pilgrimage site.

DID YOU KNOW?
1. Millions of tons of sands were pumped onto 02 miles of shoreline lifting Barcelona into the rank of the world’s great beach cities.
2. 7 out of 9 UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES in Barcelona waere created by Antoni Gaudi, called God’s Architect. And they are:

1) Casa Vicens
2) Palau Guell (La Rambla)
3) Casa Battlo (Passeig de Gracia)
4) Casa Mila
5) Park Guell
6) Nativity façade and Crypt of La Sagrada Familia
7) Crypt in Colonia Güell

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