Empire State of Mind. NY, USA

In New York. Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, Theres nothing you can’t do, Now you’re in New York, 
these streets will make you feel brand new, Big lights will inspire you,
 lets hear it for New York, New York, New York One hand in the air for the big city, Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty,
 no place in the World that can compare, Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeaaahh
 come on, come, yeah, hiphop.com cities is a pity half of y’all won’t make it, me i gotta plug Special Ed and i got it made,
 If Jeezy’s payin LeBron, I’m paying Dwayne Wade,
3 dice cee-lo
3 card Monte,
labor day parade, rest in peace Bob Marley,
 Statue of Liberty, long live the World trade,
 long live the king yo,
 I’m from the empire state thats…Welcome to the bright light...

From Alicia Keys song “Empire State of Mind Lyrics”

The Chinese New Year 2010 - 庚 (Tiger)

Unlike western calendars, the lunar Chinese new year calendar has names that are repeated every 60 years. Within the 'Stem-Branch' system is the shorter cycle of 12 years denoted by animals: 2010 is the Chinese year of the Tiger. In particular, this is the year of Gēng-yín 庚寅 (Metal Tiger). Gēng is the seventh of the ten celestial stems and Yín (Tiger) is the third of the twelve terrestrial branches, thus February 14th 2010 marks the year of the Tiger with its association to bravery. At the Chinese New Year red is important. People wear red clothes, they write poems on red paper, and give children 'luck money' in red envelopes. The symbolism behind the red color is fire, and fire burns off bad luck. As for fireworks one belief is that the cracker jacks and sparks frighten away evil spirits. After the fireworks at the beginning of the celebration of the Chinese New Year, comes the more tranquil Lantern Festival on the last day of the festivities. Most Lantern parades feature a dragon made of silk and bamboo. The dancers hold the monstrous dragon aloft on sticks. Their coordination skills make the dragon appear to dance. Amazing!

The red beach. Santorini, Grecce.

Santorini was for me a bit of a disappointment, just a postcard with too much tourism inside. The beaches are not abundant, and not easy to reach. I only found some curiosity at the Red beach. The red beach is one of the most famous and beautiful of the beaches ofthe island. It is located near the village and ancient site. Because it is smallish, the red beach gets quite busy. A number of people come onto the headland just to admire this beach and never make it down to the hot sand. The reason why it attracts so many people is because of the slabs of red and black volcanic rocks behind it. Indeed one walks from the car park over a rocky route before it comes into view. If you look along the rock you can see it gradually turn white and the next beach obtains its name from this. The sand itself is reddish black and painful to sit straight onto. There are thus a lot of sun loungers and shades. Just in front of the clear water is a corridor of large pebbles. You find on this beach that the sun seems to beat down particularly strong. The snorkeling is good here due to the interesting rocks. 
This place is only accessible by car and then by walking from the lot. It can also be reached by the sea, with caiques (small fishing boats which are used during the summer for transportation) that depart from the ports of Akrotiri and Fira. Just a funny place!

Azulejos Portuguese ceramic tiles. Tomar, Portugal

Tiles (called azulejos) are everywhere in Portugal. The azulejo (tile) is the most typical and widely used form of decoration in Portugal since the middle ages up to now. They decorate everything from walls of churches and monasteries, to palaces, ordinary houses, park seats, fountains, shops, and railway stations. The term azulejo comes from the Arabic word az-zulayj, meaning "polished stone." They often portray scenes from the history of the country, show its most ravishing sights, or simply serve as street signs, nameplates, or house numbers. Although they are not a Portuguese invention (the use of glazed tiles began in Egypt), they have been used more imaginatively and consistently in Portugal than in any other nation. They became an art form, and by the 18th century no other European country was producing as many tiles for such a variety of purposes and in so many different designs. Today, they still remain a very important part of the country's architecture. I took this photo in the first day of 2010 at Convent of Christ at Tomar. That is a good way to start the year. The famous window will come in another post.