EMPIRE STATE OF MIND- NEW YOORRKK!!

by: Lydia Margaretha.

Glee - New York State Of Mind

Some folks like to get away

FOR a holiday from the neighborhood

Hop a flight to Miami Beach

Or to Hollywood

But I'm taking a Greyhound

On the Hudson River Line

I'm in a New York state of mind

It was so easy living day by day

Out of touch with the rhythm and THE blues

But now I need a little give and take

The New York Times, The Daily News

It comes down to reality

And it's fine with me 'cause I've let it slide

Don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside

I don't have any reasons

I've left them all behind

I'm in a New York state of mind

I'm just taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River Line

'Cause I'm in a New York state of mind

1. EMPIRE STATE BUILDING

For the better part of a century, visitors to the New York have headed straight to the Empire State Building for the thrill of a lifetime: the journey aloft to its fabled Observatory nearly a quarter of a mile above Fifth Avenue. Here you are treated to breathtaking panoramas across the rooftops, avenues and byways of the New York Metropolitan areas, to as far away as four neighbouring states.

2. FREE SKYRIDE

Movie.Motion.Sights. Zoom through the city’s famous traffic even faster than New York’s most skillful cabbie… Experience New York’s most famous sites from views only daredevils can imagine… Soar a mile above the City That Never Sleeps – then zoom down to the sidewalk in the blink of an eye! Located on the second floor of the Empire State Building, New York Skyride is an awesome aerial tour of New York City that sends you on a ride around, above and even below all the city has to offer… and you feel the sights from the comfort of a specially-equipped, motion-simulated, big- screen theater seat! 

3. INTREPID SEA, AIR & SPACE MUSEUM

The new Intrepid Museum is a unique journey filled with spectacular interactive 
exhibits and virtual, multi-sensory technology. The complex boasts 30 restored 
aircraft, former USS Growler submarine and the British Airways Concorde. 
The Intrepid Museum is a dynamic adventure for visitors of all ages and 
offers group packages, member benefits, birthday parties, special event packages 
and educational programs. New York Pass grants you free admission to the 
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, as well as entry to 70 more Attractions in 
New York City.

4. CENTURY 21 DEPARTMENT STORE

Century 21 Department Store, also known as “New York's Best Kept Secret”, has more than 15 departments of sensational quality and designer merchandise at 40-70% off retail prices. Choose from the finest selection of European and American designer Men's, Ladies', and Children's clothing and shoes, lingerie, linens, cosmetics, handbags, luggage, giftware, housewares and electronics.

5. B. SMITH'S RESTAURANT

B. Smith’s Restaurant located in the theatre district for over 25 years features an American menu with Southern influences. The bar is popular for its B. Smith signature martinis and happy hour specials. You never know who you are going to see dining at B. Smith’s as it’s always busy with a diverse clientele: Theatre Crowd, Business and Entertainment Executives, Recording Artists, Tourists, and people familiar with B. Smith and her lifestyle brand

6. D'VIDA

A health food and juice bar, a grab-and-go snack spot providing nutritious smoothies, vitamin-packed juices, healthy baked goods, and probiotic-rich frozen yogurts. A place to fuel your body with functional foods that emphasize local, and organic ingredients, so that energy levels are maintained during sightseeing and touring. Serving an all-natural, low calorie proprietary smoothie base formulated with fiber and low glycemic index ingredients. Smoothies come with the option of adding antioxidants, protein, vitamins, and minerals. D’Vida’s health food counselors are ready to customize menu items to clients’ individual needs with healthy add-ins and personalized recommendations. 

7. CREOLE RESTAURANT

CREOLE’s lighting, brick wall, art work, its bar and the aroma from the international Creole cuisine, which permeates the room, create an ambiance of the nostalgic early jazz supper clubs. One is immediately comforted by CREOLE’s hospitality, which promotes unity and family, upon entering the front door. Guests are seduced into a zone of sexy tranquility while dining at the restaurant. Dishes, such as Blackened Spicy Catfish, Gator Etoufee, CREOLE Stew Chicken, Blackened Shrimp Napoleon, Sweet Potato Beignets, and 20 gumbo variations are signature dishes at CREOLE.

8. WORLD YATCH DINING CRUISES

Step aboard World Yacht, New York’s premier dining cruise. Indulge in outstanding cuisine with attentive service from our international staff, while surrounded by dazzling city views. New American cuisine with a French influence serves as the basis for World Yacht’s seasonal four-course menu, accompanied by a carefully crafted list of wines and signature cocktails. Your unforgettable journey takes you down the Hudson River, around the tip of Manhattan and up the East River. Enjoy music, dancing and champagne, as you sail under Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, and marvel at the close-up views of the majestic Statue of Liberty. World Yacht...the very best way to see New York!

8 MUST-VISIT-PLACES IN ROME

by: Lydia Margaretha.

1. VILLA BORGHESE

The Villa Borghese is a large natural park in Rome. It contains a few buildings, attractions and hosts the Galleria Borghese museum. It's main entrance is through the upward leading path of the Spanish Steps.
Greek TempleThe area was a vineyard up until the In the 17th century. Then Scipione Borghese, Cardinal and nephew of the Pope Paul the fifth, turned the area into a splendid garden. The vineyards of the Villa Borghese were quite famously renowned. Then, in the 19th century, the garden was given an English refinement twist. At the begining of the 20th century, the park stopped being privately held and became a public place for locals and tourists alike.

2. CAMPO DE FIORI PIAZZA

One part of the eternal city that epitomizes the free willed spirit of Rome is the Piazza Campo de'Fiori. A large languid city square in the heart of Rome, it is a place where you can hear the Roman heart-beat. Encircled by buzzing cafes, bars and inns since very old times the place is home to a thriving fruit and vegetable market in the mornings and a throbbing and pulsating nightlife. The Piazza was once nothing but a flood plain of the river Tiber, and the first church was built there in the pontificate of Boniface IX. Later on the Orsini Palace which used to once stand there once was rebuilt. The square was actually never formally conceptualized, but remained the focus of commerce and street culture catering to the outpourings from the streets surrounding and leading up to it. These streets accommodated various trades like cross-bow making, tailoring, coffee making, hat making and the like, and were therefore named after them.

3. TRASTEVERE

Medieval Rome at its most earthiest and in some areas, its most charming – that is Trastevere. Its name means “over the Tiber”, as it is separated from central Rome by this river that streams through the city. It used to be home to artisans during the medieval times. 

Part of Trastevere’s charm is the warren of narrow lanes that lead to street-corner shrines and garden terraces. All around, there is plenty of local color to be discovered and enjoyed. This includes cobblestone streets, vine-covered walls, homes adorned by flower boxes and one-of-a-kind boutiques.

Trastevere is a great place for long, relaxing walks. The quiet lanes lead from over the Ponte Sisto (the graceful bridge) to Viale Trastevere and further on south. Ponte Sisto is Renaissance in design and is made of bricks and stones. Meander through the alleys and make it like a treasure hunt – uncovering treasures such as old houses, little squares and unpretentious restaurants. You will discover that your walk is actually a feast of the senses – the sight of the colorful houses, the smells of a home-cooked meal that waft from the houses and the sounds of the locals going about their everyday business.

4. ROMAN FORUM

The Roman Forum, the heart of Rome. The citizens of ancient Rome spent a good part of their days there. The great place was surrounded with temples and legal buildings and filled with statues, bridges, arcs and columns. So the "Forum Romanum" was a remarkable marketplace center point for all business and shopping made by the ancient citizens of Rome.

The Forum was also used by Roman orators for public speaking. This created a shopping and trading ambiance that would get people stopping and listening. Many religious and festivals where also held at the Forum. It is also known to have been the cradle of the Latin population 26 centuries ago.

The creation of the forum, as market and public meeting space, was a roman integration of the Greek's agora. Forums also made their appearances in many other towns and Italy provinces.

The "Forum Romanum" extended along side of the Palatine Hill in front of the Capitoline Hill. It was of a rectangular shape and had around it: shops, public treasury, a basilica, the Roman curia and a prison. The forum extended almost to the coliseum (colosseum) when the Constantine Basilica was built. A small bridge crossed the small stream that was flowing towards the Tiber.

The temple of Saturn, which housed the treasyry, as well as the Temple of Concord where located in direction of the Capitoline Hill. The Arch of Augustus, west of the forum, was one of the entrance. South of the Forum was the temple of Vesta near the house of the vestal virgins. The Arch of Septimius Severu closed the Forum northwest. 

5. SPANISH STEPS

The Spanish Steps is another very popular attraction that is located in the heart ("Centro Historico") of Rome. It is also one of Rome's favourite romantic spot and one of the most popular's city landmark.

The Spanish Steps has 138 steps that connects the Piazza di Spagna (or Spanish Square), one of the most elegant square, at the bottom to the Franciscan Trinità dei Monti church at a higher level. These nice and elegant steps were made by Francesco de Sanctis between 1723 and 1726. The Steps were built to create a nice path between the church on top of the hill and the Spanish embassy located on the Piazza below. 

Spanish Steps with FlowersThe vibrant and stylish Piazza di Spagna is surrounded with 18th century buildings. Colourful flowers also gives the Spanish Steps an enhanced visitor experience.

6. SISTINE CHAPEL

The Sistine Chapel in Rome is named for Sixtus IV della Rovere, who was Pope from 1471 to 1484. The interior walls of the chapel are covered in exquisite frescoes painted by some of the greatest Italian artists in history, including Perugino, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Rosselli, and of course Michelangelo, who painted the stunning frescoes which adorn the ceiling. The chapel is not only a work of art; it is in fact still used as a site of papal religious activity—the election of a new Pope takes place in the chapel, at an event called a conclave.

The fresco style of painting was used throughout the chapel. The word is derived from the Italian affresco, meaning “fresh”. Fresco painting is simply painting which is done on a surface of plaster, either wet or dry depending on the method a painter chooses. For the frescos of the Sistine Chapel, layers of wet plaster were applied to walls, and then painted over, allowing the pigments to soak into the plaster. This style of fresco painting produces art which is vibrantly colored, and the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel are no exception.

7. ROME COLISEUM

The roman coliseum ("colosseum" or "colosseo") is probably the most ancient world renowned monument in Rome. It was one of the very first roman amphitheatres to be built. It is located between the Caelian Hills and the Esquiline on on marshy type of land. Records show that the coloseum was built over many years and was inaugurated around 80 A.D. Learn more about the coliseum's history >

Although the brutality of the spectacles to be presented in the colosseum was to put man's so call dignity to shame, it's history sparkled people's imagination for generations. Gladiator fights, human fed to hungry beasts and violent sporting events has nothing the human race can be proud of. However, it's architectural magnificence will always make the colosseum one of the greatest historical monuments of Rome.

8. VATICAN MUSEUMS

The Vatican Museums, located in the Vatican City in Rome, are public museums devoted to displaying works of art and sculpture from collections owned by the Roman Catholic Church. These museums are an exceptionally popular destination, receiving well over three million visitors every year.

One of the most interesting museums in the Vatican collection is the Ethnological Missionary Museum. Founded in 1926 by Pope Pius XI, this museum houses an eclectic collection of approximately 80,000 artifacts from all over the world. This distinctive museum houses religious artifacts from Asia, Oceania, Africa, and the Americas. Included are exquisite lacquered screens from Japan, Aboriginal funerary poles from Australia, wooden sculptures from Easter Island, African tribal masks, and a collection of stunning sculpted portraits of North American Indians.

Also part of the Vatican Museums collection are the rooms of the Vatican Palaces. Included are the Belvedere Palace, the Gallery of Tapestries and the Gallery of Maps, the Sistine Chapel, and the Raphael Stanze. The Raphael Stanze is a collection of four rooms which was once the residence of Julius II della Rovere, who was Pope from 1503 to 1513. These rooms were decorated largely by Raphael, and house some of the most famous frescoes painted by this great artist. Almost every inch of the walls, floors, and ceilings of the four rooms are covered in exquisite artistry, from frescoes, to paintings, to mosaics. The art in these rooms document Biblical scenes and themes, as well as important religious events in medieval history.

make everyday a holiday and celebrate just living! YOLO

our fiiiiirrrrssssttttt post

hi everyone. welcome to our blog.
we will introduce our self first.
we're lydia, jose, and johan/ jomo.

we made this blog for our english assignment.
accidentally, we're like to visit beautiful and fun places when holiday.
SOOOOOO, we will share so many beautiful places we've ever attended.
hope you guys like it. byeee!!

goodnight-
lydia, jose. johan.
XIS2.

test coi