Ah, hanami season. The cherry blossoms are in bloom, and so are the tourists. It’s Kyoto after all. I love living here, it has so many wonderful places to visit, but…during certain times of the year, namely March and April, and all of November, this can be a difficult place to get Continue reading “Site 119: Kyoto’s Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple”
Two girls were lying on the floor when I entered the basilica. Did they do it on purpose, or were they so overcome by the beauty of the light that enveloped every square inch of the interior that they lost control of their legs? It’s probably the former but I’d like to think Continue reading “Site 118: Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia”
I decided to do a day trip out of Barcelona but had a hard time deciding where to go. Girona, Figueres, Montserrat, and Stiges tend to be the most popular places, but by this stage in my travels my body was like “enough!” – which meant that by the time I actually Continue reading “Site 117: Cemetery Vilafranca del Penedès”
Wow wow wow. This place is amazing. I don’t why this isn’t considered a major tourist attraction, the funerary art and architecture here is stunning. It hits you right as you enter the main gate at the bottom of the hill, and continues right to the top of the mountain, Continue reading “Site 116: Barcelona’s Montjuïc Cemetery”
Barcelona. Home of two of the world’s best cemeteries, Poblenou and Montjuïc. I have wanted to come to Spain to photograph these two cemeteries specifically. After grabbing a quick lunch after arriving in Barcelona, my first (and only) stop of Continue reading “Site 115: Barcelona’s Poblenou Cemetery”
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Santa Maria Cemetery. It was less than a five minute walk from St. Isidro, and had the added benefit of being open later than the other cemeteries, but other than that I didn’t know much about it. It’s inside St. Isidro park, and next to a funeral home Continue reading “Site 114: Madrid’s Santa Maria Cemetery”
The forecast called for sun this afternoon, but in the end, I visited two cemeteries in the rain. I would have visited more, but I planned (or in this case, didn’t plan) badly. I assumed that most cemeteries would be open until at least 4 p.m. (but most likely 6), but I was Continue reading “Site 113: Madrid’s St. Isidro Cemetery”
Last month I went to a Dark Tourism conference in Amsterdam where I saw a number of presentations from people studying various aspects of what is commonly known as “dark tourism,” although most sites under that umbrella don’t like to be considered as such Continue reading “Site 112: Spain’s Valley of the Fallen”
I visited two sites today, ones that are closely linked in distance, but not in spirit: the royal burial site of El Escorial and the monumental church/burial place at the Valley of the Fallen, raised by former dictator Francisco Franco. I don’t normally join tours, Continue reading “Site 111: San Lorenzo de El Escorial”
Welcome to the Cementerio de Nuestra Señora de La Almudena, one of the largest cemeteries in Europe. I spent the afternoon here and even then I barely scratched the surface. I’m not sure how to describe this cemetery – there are large gates and fences that leave Continue reading “Site 110: Madrid’s Almudena Cemetery”
The 17th-century Church of Santa Engrácia became Lisbon’s pantheon in the 20th century in order to honour the country’s most illustrious people. It’s located in the Almafa district of the city, an area full of tiny winding streets that go up pretty steeply up the hill. Continue reading “Site 109: Lisbon’s Pantheon (Santa Engrácia)”
I thought perhaps I would give this cemetery a miss, as it was closed on Saturday and I had plans to go to Evora on Sunday. But I woke up not feeling well (perhaps the lingering effects of all the bug bites I had received a few days earlier) and the idea of travelling on the train Continue reading “Site 108: Lisbon’s Ajuda Cemetery”
So the Pleasure Cemetery (Prazeres in Portuguese) lies in the west of the city (or what used to be the west), and is the twin the Cemetery of Alto de São João in the east. At first glance, they do seem very similar – both on enviable hillside locations, both full of family Continue reading “Site 107: Lisbon’s Prazeres Cemetery”
With another really rainy day forecast, I thought I would try to go somewhere that would provide some measure of protection against the elements, which is how I ended up at at Lisbon’s Jeronimos Monastery (aka Hieronymites Monastery) early on Saturday morning. Continue reading “Site 106: Lisbon’s Jerónimos Monastery”
Back in 1833 a cholera epidemic ravaged the city, and Queen Maria II ordered the establishments of two cemeteries to deal with the dead – Prazeres in the west, and São João in the east. Since the latter was the closest to where I am staying in Lisbon, I decided to head here first. Continue reading “Site 105: Cemitério do Alto de São João”
stone and dust 