Seville, Spain - Harmony of Religious Polarity
Spain has weathered (and continues to) several intensely fascinating and bloody turmoils in her long and tumultuous existence! Religion and Politics – the spices of any war have played an especially heavier hand in this area. Perhaps, that is indeed reflected in their cuisine – Bold and Fiery!
Yet, in Seville, one of the oldest cities in Spain, I witnessed a form of co-existence and even resonance; religious, between Islam and Christianity. The city carries this Islamic heritage in the stunning Alcazar, which, along with the Cathedral built much later and in the closest proximity that these two religions are ever seen, dominates the landscape of the city. Set against this brilliantly rich history is a city that today pays harmonious homage to its past through architecture, food and culture. Seville is a perfect spot in Spain, and even Europe, to get a powerful experience of the influences of various cultures in European history! There is no better place that reflects the Moorish and Roman with such equanimity.
Spaghetti and Meatballs : Italian after all?
Italian cuisine is one of America's favorite ones and, indeed, Italians constitute 6% of the US population. But, the forever question has been is "Is the Italian food eaten in the US really Italian?"
Does the infamous spaghetti-meatballs dish really have no Italian origins?
The truthful answer to that is that is "It's complicated"...
{walk} New York: Touring the Woolworth Lobby
For the ten years that I have lived in this city, I have never much appreciated the architecture given my preference to the European rather the American design sensibilities. Yet, even so, I cannot claim to be completely ignorant of the gems that dot the city that is my home, even if, they were built in reminiscence of cities that the immigrants originated from. Amidst all this, and, especially, since I started watching How I Met Your Mother, oh a few years ago, the name Woolworth has been rather bandied about in my hearing in the context of bucket list to-dos, changing my mind about American architecture and all that.....