WW - Leonardo da Vinci, a gifted polymath

An awesome statue to commemorate a true historical figure. Both shots were captured outside Ufizi gallery in Florence, Italy




Leonardo da Vinci is best remembered as the artiste of the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. But he's equally famous for his astonishing talents in architecture, sculpture, engineering, geology, hydraulics and the military arts, all with success, and in his spare time doodled parachutes and flying machines that resembled inventions of the 19th and 20th centuries. During his lifetime, he also made detailed drawings of human anatomy which are still highly regarded today. Leonardo also was quirky enough to write numerous notebooks and sketches for countless advanced machines, with descriptions written in secret mirror writing, a trick which kept many of his observations from being widely known until decades after his death. Many of them were apparently never executed, but they anticipated modern inventions through the years to help scientists and inventors make new discoveries.

He had sparked public interest in 2003 with the publication of The Da Vinci Code, the bestselling thriller by author Dan Brown.


Leonardo da Vinci was a true genius of his era, and I wish we had a few more like him for the benefit of our future generations.

First Commenter - Caite

RT-Getting Around in Istanbul

This is my 2nd time in Istanbul, my first time there was about a few years ago. The place is pretty much the same, everywhere you turn there’s ongoing restoration works, and the city just keeps bustling nevertheless.


Getting around in Istanbul couldn't be any easier. There are frequent trams, funiculars and buses and the city is blessed with one of the best metro systems in the world. Most of the tourist destinations are accessible by either metro or trams. We never took a taxi as everything was made easy by city trams and metro. They were not only quicker, but also cheaper than taking a taxi.


You can easily obtained tickets in kiosks close to each station. It is valid in all metros, trams, funiculars and other means of transportation.


Trains and funiculars arrive fast but carriages are always crowded, especially during peak hours. However, pickpockets are everywhere and they are experienced and quick. It is something we should be extremely careful about. They usually work in groups to distract you while another one pick-pockets you which was what I experienced in Rome. My backpack was unzipped but fortunately, the pickpocketers didn't manage to get anything. I usually placed my hand-made money pouch worn under-clothing when I was out and about.


During my previous travels, I observed most metro systems tend to be filthy and rather dull from an aesthetic point of view. However, there are few cities that explicitly foster arts in metros like the ones I come across in Dubai , Moscow as well as in Istanbul.


This is one of the many stations that’s been decorated to reflect one of the Islamic cultures or inspired artwork on the walls of the line platform.


The walls along the tracks of most Metro stations in Istanbul are tiled, and most of them are decorative tiles. They can be delightful and inspirational for daily commuters as well as an attraction for tourists.



First Commenter

PhotoHunt - Vertical

View of the Piazza del Duomo

One of my fondest memories while in Italy was visiting the wonderful Leaning Tower of Pisa, built as a bell tower for the cathedral of the Italian city. I could not believe my eyes when I came upon this amazing tower and trust me, it’s absolutely leaning. Have you ever wondered why does the Leaning tower of Pisa leans?



Dating back to 1173 and even initially meant to stand perfectly vertical, the Tower of Pisa holds a significant place in world history due to its leaning tower at about 3.99 degrees.

It turns out that the foundation for the tower was poorly-laid, and the unstable soil prevented a vertical structure. Contrary to popular belief, the Tower did not begin leaning after construction was completed, it had already started to tilt during the early stages of construction. The soil under the tower was loose and was not correctly compacted before the construction began.

Prior to restoration work performed between 1990 and 2001, the tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees, but the tower now leans at about 3.99 degrees. This means that the top of the tower is 3.9 metres (12 ft 10 in) from where it would stand if the tower was perfectly vertical. Nonetheless, the Leaning Tower has stood for hundreds of years, despite the fact that it looks as if it may be in danger of collapse any moment.

The Leaning Tower has been closed to tourists from time to time as architects and builders worked to shore up the base, fearful it would eventually collapse completely.



According to the architects, the leaning tower of Pisa has stopped sinking from 2008 after the removal of a great deal of earth and will be stable for at least 200 years more. And, yes, now you can go up again. It has been measured by accurate readings and modern system, so feel free to stand as close as you want to the leaning tower. Up close and looking to the sky, you feel its extraordinary grandness. The facts of Leaning Pisa are astounding and amazing, so go see it yourself for an experience you'll never forget.



First Commenter - Rainfield

RT/WW - A glimpse of Dubai (Part 2)

We paid a visit to the Dubai's latest hot luxury shopping mall which claims to be the world’s largest mall. Imagine 1,200 retail stores, an olympic size skating rink, a 220-store gold souk, more than 150 F&B outlets and a very huge aquarium inside it. Unfortunately, we didn't spend much time there though as we have a flight to catch to Istanbul that evening. Anyway, we managed to capture a few shots before leaving the mall.

The complex is incredibly huge in every sense of the word and its upscale interior design is tastefully done in a contemporary way yet still provide a warm, comfortable and inviting feel. It's a classic and I love every single detail. All its spaces are very well- proportioned.


The entrance to the modern gold Souk in the mall. A lovely art depiction of the night sky embedded with glittering stars and encrusted jewels.


Statue of a stallion from the Gold Souk. The souk is designed as a tribute to the city's rich heritage of the gold and jewelery trade, for which Dubai is renowned globally


The intricate designs are found to resembles the ones in Italy


There is another amazing section of the mall which offers a great selection of coffee shops and retail kiosks overlooking the Waterfall, giving a soothing and cosy mood to meet. Several palm trees are also set up to replicate the atmosphere of a desert oasis.



The Waterfall runs through the entire four levels of the mall and is adorned with lovely art sculptures of human divers, how cool!



The iconic Burj Khalifa outside the Dubai Mall standing in its glory. The tower was renamed Burj Khalifa (formerly Burj Dubai) and now stands as the world's tallest building. I didn't manage to get up there as we were informed that the observation decks located at the 124th floor was closed due to some technical problems.

First Commenter - Mei Teng

PhotoHunt - Sweet

With Easter a mere few days away, I thought I'd share with you some of the Easter goodies that caught my attention during my recent visit to Austria.

There was an amazing egg store in Salzburg, which had thousands of hand-decorated eggs for every sweet occasion. I was completely breathless as I've never seen so many colourful Easter eggs in my life and this was just one part of the store. The store was not very big though and I was really afraid of bumping into someone and falling on top of all those precious eggs. And it's not the place I 'd like to take my kids to.



Whether to buy or not, it's simply worth looking at all the gorgeous designs.


These eye-catching eggs are sweetest gifts that are not easy to bring home. People were getting them packed in lovely egg cartons but unfortunately, I didn't buy any as there's no way to get them safely back with me to Malaysia.


I caught this cute Easter frog staring at me wide eyed, smiling sweetly at me and I couldn't resist taking a picture.


Apart from the usual Easter traditions of eggs, Easter bunnies of different designs, colours and sizes are widely available too.


The yummy sweet bunnies are all nicely packed and displayed near the main door.


Another option to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. Have a Sweet Easter!

First Commenter - Lina