to cities around the world
(continuing from Part 1) As for Anne Frank and her diary-writing, the story of the 13-year-old who documented her thoughts and observations in daily diaries from 1942 onwards while hiding in “the secret annex” in what is known today as Anne Frank House, putting her skills of observing things around her and writing them down Read more
Many know that Madeleine the travelista shared her inspirations while a 6-year-old that she wanted to “travel around the whole wide world”. Our very own travelista loves Paris, a city with a lot to like: art, design, culture, gardens, food, history, architecture. Then, there’s London: yes Paris has buildings wrapped with plants, but London has Read more
Did you know there are vineyards in various places in Paris? I guess they can be called urban vineyards? (Yes, we at Madeleine’s have been thinking about vineyards as we’ve recently spent some time on an island vineyard in Italy, even if course we have also been thinking about Paris, the Olympics taking place right Read more
It’s November, and it’s time for the art-meets-islands festival in the Saikung area of Hong Kong. The “Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival” is a three-year arts project that started in November 2022 and focuses on some of the islands and villages in Saikung with the idea that “isles can be the place where people meet, Read more
Did your London friends tell you about the Green Park’s Underground roundel turned into Green Planet (as it did in January 2022 to celebrate David Attenborough’s TV series?) First, you will have to have a park called Green Park, then you’ll have a station named after it – a feat that neither Hyde Park nor Read more
The romance of “April snow” and “May snow” The Tung Blossoms (油桐花) (Latin name: Vernicia fordii) that line mountains and hillsides around the country in April and May are very popular in Taiwan. Taiwanese people often refer to Tung Blossoms as “April Snow” or “May Snow” (depending on when they are in full bloom) and their Read more
We love the “oo-ing” and “ah-ing” we somehow allow ourselves to do when we see beautiful light pink blossoms in the midst of an urban cityscape – cherry blossoms in Tokyo, roses in Paris (“the roses in Paris are worth waiting for”) – and doing a pink-flower-and-scent-walk using our secret gardens in Paris map is Read more
Now that autumn coolness has descended upon us (at least those of us in the northern hemisphere), we can definitely remember the very hot Europe we were in this late summer, London followed by Paris followed by Antwerp, and before then we were in “southern winter” in Sydney. “The world” as we found in these Read more
With many countries experiencing an energy crunch and gas prices going through the roof, and as many cities around the world are still recovering from Covid restrictions and Covid-related angst, we must share some promising and even amazing ideas that we’ve seen in our travels to many cities in the world. In fact, there’s been Read more
Wouldn’t you want to know about some of the magical ways to experience a city from “above”? Paris … When in Paris, you can find your way to the Promenade Plantée that is an elevated walkway built around a disused railway line about three floors above ground level and winds its way “above” Paris in Read more