FelixPino

St. Peter's Basilica

Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and remains one of the largest churches in the world.

Changing the Guard or Guard Mounting is the process involving a new guard exchanging duty with the old guard.  The Guard which mounts at Buckingham Palace is called The Queen’s Guard and is divided into two Detachments: the Buckingham Palace Detachment (which is responsible for guarding Buckingham Palace), and the St. James’s Palace Detachment, (which guards St. James’s Palace). These guard duties are normally provided by a battalion of the Household Division and occasionally by other infantry battalions or other units. The handover is accompanied by a Guards band. The music played ranges from traditional military marches to songs from films and musicals and even familiar pop songs.

When The Queen is in residence, there are four sentries at the front of the building. When she is away there are two.

The Queen's Guard usually consists of Foot Guards in their full-dress uniform of red tunics and bearskins. If they have operational commitments, other infantry units take part instead.

The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon. It was constructed in about 575 BC by order of KingNebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city. Dedicated to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, the gate was constructed using glazed brick with alternating rows of bas-relief mušḫuššu (dragons) and aurochs.

Strasbourg

Is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking, explaining the city's Germanic name. Strasbourg's historic city centre, the Grande Île (Grand Island), was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, the first time such an honour was placed on an entire city centre. Strasbourg is fused into the Franco-German culture and although violently disputed throughout history, has been a bridge of unity between France and Germany for centuries, and the coexistence of Catholic and Protestant cultura. It is one of the most romantic cities in which I have been, walking cobblestone streets, the weather is perfect (obviously not in winter).

Absolutely strasburgo this in my top 10 cities in which I would like to live.

In the 2nd photo is a restaurant on the edge of the river I had the pleasure to have lunch and take a Vin d'Alsace, it was an otherworldly experience.

Cítricos

These 2 photos are from 2006 when I was starting out in photography, that's my old firm. And so despite not being the most professional photos, are on me great sentimental value for being part of my training in this hobby. 

Strawberries were taken in the market for a town called La Colonia Tovar is a town of Venezuela, capital of the municipality Tovar, Aragua state. Founded in 1843 by a group of immigrants from the then independent state of Baden (later incorporated in Germany), is characterized by maintaining the cultural imprint of their origin, so it is called "the Germany of the Caribbean." 

Hofbräuhaus München

The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl, Munich's famous “hofbrauhaus” was founded in 1589 by the Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm V. It is one of Munich's oldest beer halls. It was originally founded as the brewery to the old Royal Residence, which at that time was situated just around the corner from where the beer hall stands today. The beer quickly became quite popular thanks to the first brewer, Heimeran Pongratz, and the famous "Bavarian Beer Purity Law" of 1516 that stated that only natural ingredients could be used in the brewing process. In fact, the beer became so famous that it once saved the city from annihilation. When King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden invaded Bavaria during the Thirty Years' War in 1632, he threatened to sack and burn the entire city of Munich. He agreed to leave the city in peace if the citizens surrendered some hostages, and 600,000 barrels of Hofbräuhaus beer.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived around the block from the beer hall in the late eighteenth century. In a poem he wrote, Mozart claimed to have written the opera Idomeneo after several visits to the Hofbräuhaus fortified him for the task. In the period after World War One, the beer halls of Munich became swept up in the chaotic politics of the period. In the period just before World War One, Vladimir Lenin lived in Munich and reportedly visited the Hofbräuhaus on a regular basis. In 1919, the Munich Communist government set up headquarters in the beer hall, and in 1920 Adolf Hitler and the National Socialists held their first meeting in the Festsaal, the Festival Room, on the third floor.

Catedral de Almudena

Caminando por el centro histórico de Madrid frente al Palacio Real, me encontré con la Catedral de Almudena. Una catedral impresionante, impecablemente preservada y que tiene una evidente mezcla de estilos Neogotico, Neoclasico y  Neoromano.

Her Majesty's Theatre-The Phantom Of the Opera

In this beautiful theater located in London, I could enjoy the classic play The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Köln (Cologne) is one of the most amazing cities I've been to, I love it in every way. from the food so spectacular, to the colorful streets. It is a mixture of modern and medieval. The photo above is the Cologne Cathedral, on the right is The Great St. Martin Church.

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London.

The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public records office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom

The peak period of the castle's use as a prison was the 16th and 17th centuries, when many figures who had fallen into disgrace, such as Elizabeth I before she became queen, were held within its walls. This use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower".

London exceeded all my expectations! That culture! everywhere you look its beautiful.

I hope to return soon!

The Palace of Westminster from London Eye 22/Jun/2012