This is the largest remaining Romanesque church in the world. Saint-Sernin basilica located in Toulouse, France was built during the Romanesque Period between 1080 and 1120.
The Basilica of Saint Sernin is notable for its imposing architecture and important medieval sculptures and frescoes. It is worth visiting for the exterior brickwork, the two crypts, the tympanum over the main door depicting Christ’s ascension, and the 800 sculpted column heads.

Above the portal there are five arches with decorative stone moldings. A tiny arched window sits at the topmost arc of the rose window.

The church is very long, tall and wide with two aisles on each side of the nave. The central nave is barrel vaulted, the four aisles have rib vaults and are supported by buttresses. The crypt has two levels, the lower one with ribbed vaulting is of the 14C. The upper crypt is more Romanesque and contains the most celebrated relics.

History: The first Bishop of Toulouse was Saturninus , who in 250  met a violent death for refusing to worship pagan gods. His body was secretly buried and eventually he became a cult figure with a church to honor him built in the location of today’s basilica.  In 1860, Viollet-le-Duc restored the church, but his changes are currently being removed to restore the original appearance.

Should you be given the distributing news that you are officially dead, do not panic. You have probably just tied your yukata (house robe) right over left – kimono speak for ”deceased”- and need to retie it. More than 300 years old, Hiiragiya Ryokan is a historic inn that is widely regarded as the pinnacle of style and traditional hospitality. Look closely and you will see the wooden hitching posts, used by traveling feudal lords who arrived on horseback, on the long clay walls. Such grand arrivals might e a thing of the past, but theater comes with the territory, and thanks to the six generations of the same family, service is as sharp as samurai sword. Photo by: Rob Gruhl

After a flurry of bowing on arrival, a personal maid leads guests to their rooms. These are measured in units of tatami mats; the largest sleeps seven. Some come with a delightful cedar tub, which keeps water hot for hours. Rooms are simple, but attention to detail is faultless, and to maintain an air of authenticity some do not have televisions. Photo by: risotto al caviale

Bedfellows spend far too much time bathing and eating to miss that, though. The traditional kaiseki meal is the highlight of the stay there and demands both an empty stomach and a sense of adventure. Ryokans are fertile ground for cultural faux pas, but once you have entered into the spirit and begin to relax, it can be great fun to don the geta (wooden clogs) and flip-flop around wearing the yukata to the communal bath and to dinner. Photo by: bestbeon

The maid will fill your tub, roll out your tatami, and should you need it – assist with tying that robe. Location: Kyoto, Japan. Photo by: RicciHull

Photo by: melissamatlins

Brad Pitt and David Bowie are among the high-profile guests who have visited Jnane (formerly Jnane Tamsana), in Palmeraie, not far from Marrakech. Jnane is the creation of Maryanne Loum-Martin, a Senegalese lawyer-turned-designer, and her husband, Cary J. Martin, an ethno-botanist from the United States. Photo by: Travel Intelligence

The twenty-four rooms are split between Jnane House, Jnane Salmia, and Maison des Voyageurs-Moussafir. The airy, grand architecture is all stunning adobe walls, Moroccan arches, and lush, bougainvillea-clad patios. Indoors lie handpicked textiles from Senegal, Morocco, and Asia. Rooms are furnished simply but beautifully with generous beds, chaise lounges, fireplaces, paintings, and flowers. There are three swimming pools (two are heated in winter), a tennis court, English and French libraries, and a recreation room with CD and DVD collections. Photo by: anilegna

Jnane means ”garden” in Arabic, and the gardens there are a huge natural attraction. Ingredients for the restaurant’s excellent Med-Morroccan food are grown there. The owners are also dedicated to furthering and exploring Marrakech’s cultural life and have devised a series of diversity excursions. Led by friendly, local university-educated guides, these tours take guests off the tourist track to provide unique insights. Photo by: ccarlstead

Photo by: whitemittens

The one-time capital of Russia, founded in 1703 by Peter the Great, is like a living museum where white is recurring theme. To live out those Dr. Zhivago fantasies, visit in winter when a dusting of snow covers the city’s golden cupolas, whereas in summer, the sun shines all night during the ‘‘White Nights”. Magical, full of history and charm, the Venice of the North’s highlights include the Winter Palace, home to the Hermitage Museum’s amazing three million pieces of art. Spoil Yourself and book into the Kempinski Moika 22 overlooking the Hermitage. Located in a traditional St. Petersburg mansion, it dates back to 1853, during the reign of Czar Nicholas I. Photo by: heini-pdm

Although the building’s facade is unchanged, the interior has been updated and modernized. Cozy duplex rooms with a nautical theme are plush and romantic, especially thanks to the daily delivery of fresh roses: a nice touch on the windowsill against a backdrop of snowflakes. Another bonus is the daily English high tea, especially when it is well below freezing outside. Photo by: anastasia.kolesnikova

The dedicated Tea Room blends England and Russia’s finest traditions: The national ritual loved by the likes of Pushkin and Chekhov has been adapted with pastries and cakes, but also very English cucumber sandwiches, alongside the antique samovar bubbling away brewing zavarka tea. Photo by: anastasia.kolesnikova

Trieste is the smallest province in Italy surrounded by the Adriatic Sea and close to Slovenia border. City of Trieste has always been the meeting point of trade and culture. With its many cultural attractions, restaurants, cafes, hotels, quality museums and ancient Roman remains, Trieste is the perfect base for a city vacation. Situated by the sea front, the city holds some gorgeous scenery which can be experienced when visiting the Castle of Miramare.

The Miramare castle was built between 1856 and 1860 by Cari Junker. Faced with bright Istria stone, the castle was the famous residence of Maximilian of Habsburg. The Miramare castle is surrounded by a beautiful park with rare exotic trees. It is not too luxurious, but its location is incredible – from every corner of the castle there is a view onto the sea.

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The Cavern Club is a rock and roll club in Liverpool, England. Cavern Club is an old wine cellar with tree tunnels connected by archways. The Cavern Club first opened as a jazz club in 1957 and became world famous when The Beatles performed here almost 300 times in the early 1960’s.

The Club is located in the catacombs of this historic one time brewery and mill of 26,000 square feet, is host to the best live bands in Metro Detroit. The bands played songs by Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, and Eddie Cochran.

Paul McCartney’s Live at the Cavern is essentially the video counterpart to his album “Run Devil Run”. The music, however, isn’t obvious at all. Rather than go down the tried and tested route of rehashing all the rock  and roll classics everyone knows, McCartney decided instead to create a show focusing on his own personal favourites from his formative years.

Just two hours drive from the frenzy of Buenos Aires in vast fields strewn with flowers and dotted with cattle, along tracks leads between silvery elms into a plantation of soaring monkey puzzle trees and a clearing pristine green lawns. There sits a French-style chateau dating from 1893 that has sweeping staircases, balconies, and yellow awnings. Under the tall eucalyptus trees, a long table is laid for lunch and hosts are waiting to welcome you, grilling huge steaks on a traditional Argentine asado. Sip a glass of Malbec, bite into a spicy empanada and relax. You are home. Photo by: Bennet Summers

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No trip to Argentina is complete without staying in estancia, the cattle farm that made Argentina wealthy. Dos Talas is both the most romantic and most authentic example. There you are a guest of the owners, descendants of the founder Pedro Luco. They will show you the park, filled with avenues of towering trees, created by Argentina’s leading landscape architect, Charles Thays. They will invite you to make yourself at home in the glorious interior spilled from high-ceiling rooms onto the elegant terraces. Photo by: Paul Foot

The history is palpable in the extensive library and evocative photographs that cover the antique tables. Guests sleep in carved mahagony beds on crisp white linen and wake to fling the French doors onto a private balcony. Spend the morning strolling around the grounds and afternoon sitting by the pool, gazing out over the apparently limitless plains. As the sun sinks on the horizon, set out with the resident gaucho to ride a horse into the sunset. Filled with peace you will return to dine in style and sleep deeply. Photo by: Bennet Summers

Photo by: my-name-is-jonas

If you want to see a valley so magnificent that it gets you thinking about what the Garden of Eden might have looked like, travel to Cuba. Richly, fertile, with endless tobacco, sugarcane, and coffee plantations, the western province of Pinar del Rio is a blessed with a lush greenness, beautiful rivers, and natural springs. The pretty village of Vinales is nestled into the breathtaking Sierra de los Organos mountains, and the Vinales Valley is UNESCO-protected. Photo by: rikun1401

A glance from the road down to the town will tell you why: nothing can prepare you for your first view of the mogotes -tree-covered limestone knolls, molded by underground rivers, rising dramatically out of green landscape. Photo by: Paddockmuir

The beautiful countryside can be explored on foot, bike, or horse. The sleepy village of Vinales itself is a classic small Cuban country town, with a strip of colonial-style bungalows painted in various pastel shades overlooked by pines. Most of the houses are good deal smarter and the owners more house proud than the average Cuban campesino. This is the best place to sample rural Cuban hospitality, too: the people are friendly, sweet, courteous, and helpful. The valley is an outstanding example of natural beauty. Photo by: bno20

Grandma Martha is one of the most revered Bulgarian rites, which has been preserved from ancient times to the present day. This is a centuries-long Bulgarian tradition symbolizing the end of the winter and the coming spring. On the 1st March, everyone gives his or her relatives and friends a martenitsa – twisted red and whire threads – and makes a wish for health and happiness with the words: ” Many happy returns of Grandma Martha”.

The white woolen thread signifies long life, and the red one – health and strength. Later on a coin was also added to the token to protect people from illness and ailments. Martenitsas are worn until the first storks, swallows or cuckoos appear with the warmth of spring. People then untie their martenitsas and tie them on to a blooming fruit tree. A martenitsa tied to an object at home brings prosperity to the family and its farm.

Martenitsa horseshoe with clover - It brings luck and happyness to the house. Protect from evil eyes. It is placed next to or above the door and hampers luck from running away. As the saying goes, the devil keeps away from places, where a horseshoe can be found. Should a horseshoe be tied to the mast of the ship, above the door of its cabin, or placed under the deck, luck will inevitably accompany such a boat at sea.

If you are looking for the perfect Eco retreat this has to be your place. The Hotelito Desconocido is a heaven for nature lovers on the midst of a huge bird and turtle reserve in the wetlands, between the sierra Madre Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. There is a touch of magic in the air, as guests are rowed from the main hotel’s lodge across the estuary to their beachside huts, where cacti poke out of the sand.

The colourful rooms are basic yet perfectly charming. Without electricity, the only amenities are a shower, sink and toilet, as well as a mosquito-netted bed. You can lounge sleepily in shaded hammocks or on a pristine 65 km beach, where, at dusk, turtle hatchlings dive into the sea under the gaze of relaxed guests. The food there is fittingly simple, healthful, and delicious: calmari salad, seviche, and coconut cake. 

After dark, sip a cold beer or a margarita and chat at the bar, or share a game of pool in the bar’s dim twilight. Turn-down service involves dozen of tea lights twinkling in the dark and in lieu of room service, you can hoist a flag up outside your window to indicate you would like a delivery of fresh Mexican coffee and cookies before breakfast. It is different and rather romantic. 

It is quite impossible to remain in touch with the rest of the world there, but that is the entire point. With the coolest village a few miles away, Hotelito makes sure you are in the world of your own. Madonna, Mick Jagger, and Quentin Tarantino have all hidden out there. 

Photos by: -photoholics-

A stunning seventeenth-century colonial harbor town on Brazil’s Costa Verde, Paraty is a perfectly preserved UNESCO World Heritage site. Paraty meaning ”river of fish” in the Tupi language, was founded in 1667. The town’s growth was based on its location at the end of the Gold Trail connecting Rio and Europe to the gold mines in Minas Gerais by the sea. Photo by: Rodrigo_Soldon

After the gold business ended, Paraty became the center of the famous Brazilian rumlike drink, cachaca. The town became so synonymous with the drink that for a while the beverage was known as a Paraty. Today it is beautiful town surrounded by a tropical forest and remote beaches. Photo by: Claudio Barbosa

Wander the colorful, cobbled, car-free streets where horses and carts still make deliveries and take in jaw-droppingly beautiful architecture. Churches like the Capela de Santa Rita or the Igreja Matriz da Nossa Senhora dos Remedios are immaculately preserved. Admire the pastel-painted homes and the riot of color that are the shop fronts flaunting bright hammocks. Photo by: Eriberto Almeida Jr

Paraty is all about food, music, and, of course, cachaca. Try the local cuisine: fish and banana gratin or banana-and-cheese-stuffed squid in coconut milk. Spend the night in any of the basic yet beautiful pousadas: simple rooms with antiques and local art on display. With no motels or fast food outlets to be seen, this is a low-key as it gets. Although quite and remote it is not undiscovered. Mick Jagger, Linda Evangelista and Tom Cruise have all been known to visit this world and nobody cannot blame them. Photo by: neofito

Photo by: André Pipa

In the heart of the old walled city of Cartagena is La Passion – a small hotel created with all the emotion and romance that its name implies. Overlooking the Caribbean Sea, Cartagena de Indias is one of South America’s most beautiful and vibrant cities and this hotel captures much of the Colombian city’s spirit with its beguiling shabby-chic grandeur. 

The hotel is small, with eight high-ceilinged bedrooms. Except to find murals, ancient floor-to-ceiling windows, wicker chests, old-carved-wood headboards, Persian and Columbian rugs, Moroccan ashtrays, and lamps from Seville. You may get a vast concrete bathtub, fashionably flaking plaster, or grand French furniture. Amid all this period style there are still state-of-the-art features such as air-conditioning and plasma televisions.

La Passion is more than just a style. There is substance, too, especially in the rooftop pool that is subtly lit at night and gives striking views of the city’s monuments and the sea beyond. The hotel has its own speedboat that can whisk guests to nearby islands. There is even a small wooden fishing boat hung from the ceiling for guests to use as a swinging sofa.

The National Art Center is a unique and innovative art exhibition facility. Opened in 2007 in Roppongi, Tokyo.
The facility has 47,960 m of floor space on a 30,000 m site with four stories above ground and one below. Access is from Nogizaka Station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line.

The building is made up of seven enormous column-less display rooms, each 2000m², a library, an auditorium, a restaurant, a cafe and a museum shop.
The building is very art nouveau, from the outside and inside, so the building itself it almost part of the exhibit.The place is huge with rooms and rooms full of amazing artwork.

The largest Nitten Exhibition, supported by the Nitten Japan Fine Arts Group, displays a collection of over 12,000 works annually, taking up an area of 10,000m², or more than 5 display ‘blocks.

The building was designed by the world-famous architect Kisho Kurokawa (known for designing the capsule hotel), and the swirling design is part of highlights. The National Art Center Tokyo is open 10-6pm, closed on Tuesdays with late opening on Fridays until 8pm.

The Bigorski monastery is a Bulgarian Orthodox monastery in the western part of Macedonia in the valley of the radika River between the towns of Debar and Gostivar. The monastery is famous for its elegant wooden iconostasis and it amazing icons and mural paintings.
 

It was established in 1020 by Archbishop John and bears the name of St. John the baptist. “Bigirski” originates from the bigor stone- the main type of rock in the region. The monastery was demolished by the Turks in 16 century and quickly recovered afterwards. In beginning of 19 century, during the management of Abbot Arsenius, the monastery was expanded and enjoyed a large number of benefactors. The ornamented wooden iconostasis of the monastery church was elaborated in the 1830s.

The chief master was Petar Filipov from then village of gari, a representative of the Debar woodcarving school, who, in cooperation with his brother Marko and several other assistent, worked for six years on this masterpiece. The icons in the iconostasis were painted by icon- painter Michail and his son Dimitar. Besides the iconostasis, the wood- carvers also elaborated the prelate’s throne and the abbot’s chair in the church, whose northers features marvelous mural paintings of St. Clement of Ohrid, St. Nahum, St. George and other Bulgarian saints.

This small, elegant country chateau is more than 200 years old and stands in a quiet valley through the Pyrenees, among flower meadows, wooded hills and tree-shaded brook. In front of the house is a clear lake where the dragonflies hover and deer drink. It is also perfect for a cooling dip.

Domaine de la Grausse is a tranquil spot for a vacation, but add in the benefits of the yoga sessions here and it becomes a perfect way to escape the pressures of modern life. The special yoga breaks in this remote spot run between May and October. Guests stay in beautifully converted farm buildings on a self-catering basis.

There are double and single rooms, kitchens, and shaded dining patios. Visitors can buy fresh produce at the village market nearby or eat the local cafes and restaurants. The experienced resident yoga teacher, Dagmar, conducts sessions in the morning and evening. She combines the best of various schools of yoga and adapts to her pupils’ needs. The sessions are suitable for all skill levels and are held either on the top floor of the chateau, with French windows overlooking the lake, or, on the hottest days, in a renovated stone barn built into dramatic rock face. Guests can also unwind with guided meditation sessions and holistric therapies including Reiki, massage, and reflexology.

Location: Ariege, France