When Poets are more Accurate than Scientists
Science can sometimes make something extraordinary and beautiful into a mundane and boring phenomenon. For example, look at this gorgeous picture which can really resonate something unutterable within our being. Science would have us believe that all we are seeing is "an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines onto droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere".
I beg to differ.
What we are seeing is much more accurately described by the poets:
Rainbows are visions
They're only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide
So we've been told and some chose to
Believe it
But I know they're wrong wait and see ...
Someday well find it
The rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
Look at them Apples
Who would have thought that the same apples that keep doctors away would keep the art lovers coming? Here is a gorgeous painting of apples in Kivik, Sweden where the town of Kivik held the first annual Kivik Apple Market festival in late September 1988, the end of the Swedish harvesting season.
The best thing at the Apple Market in Kivik is the "apple art": pieces of art that look like paintings, but are actually pieced together by tons and tons of colorful apples, like a mosaic! The paintings made of apples look beautiful and can weigh up to 4 tons.
Unfortunately, the fair (which used to be free) started to charge a fee to enter the apple grounds. It's unfortunate because the rest of the fair is lack lustre and some of the simpler apple art is only so-so.
Azores, Portugal
You won't find many backpackers in the Azores even though it is only a 4 hour flight from Boston ... well, at least, not yet anyway. And this simply adds to the beauty of the place, that it is not overrun or dictated by what tourists need and want. The Azores aren't one of those places where you are walled off from the reality of the local scene. On this night, the waters are seemingly calm, but that picture is deceptive.
The Azores are composed of 9 islands of volcanic origin located about two thirds of the way between the east coast of the United States and Portugal. The Azores form an autonomous region of Portugal and its main attraction is the immense beauty of the natural and human-modified landscape.
Stuff you would want to do while you are there include trekking, boating and kayaking, golfing, paragliding, and diving. This is not for people who just want to party all night and sleep all day as can the be the case on the more popular Greek isles. Tropical characteristics are infused into the European character given the landscape. It makes for a very interesting visit.
Pineapple has curiously become a staple of the cuisine of the Azores, and you will find most folks having a large slice of it after a big meal. It is also served with small, grilled blood sausages as a typical appetizer- that tastes better than sounds. Other food that the Azores are famous for are its dairy products. You have to try the cheese.
